The Heiress

Chapter Four

I was only a few steps away from my unlucky fate, having arrived at my father's guest house. I tried my very best to stay composed. Preparing my mind for the worst, I made my way to my father's suite.

"Hello Daddy."

My father turned to look at me, ignoring my greeting.

"Why haven't you been responding to my calls, Ava." He requested. "You had me worried."

I couldn't tell if he was worried about me or just angry about it. I stayed silent, avoiding his eyes.

"You were supposed to be here an hour ago," he lashed at me. "You should thank your stars that this gentleman is patient and has agreed to meet you later."

"I must be so lucky," I smiled.

"Save your sarcasm." My father's words were as harsh as his expression. "You need to learn to be more responsible, I won't talk more on that topic."

My father's scolding always gets to me, no matter how many times I experience it. I used to be his baby, what happened to the man that always had my back.

"This is how you talk to your daughter whom you're about to marry off?" I tried in vain to sound less shaky than I felt. "How sweet of you, huh?"

"I'm only doing this for your good."

I rolled my eyes, chuckling painfully. "Of course."

"Enough. You have 30 minutes, prepare yourself to meet him. Get rid of that attitude while at it."

I turned to walk away, when he called out again.

"What are you wearing? You're seeing your husband, not attending a business meeting. I'll send a dress to your suite, make sure to show up in it."

At that, I stormed out of the room not bothering to close the door behind me. I felt the rage coming up my chest and as soon as I was in my suite, I facetimed my mom, bursting into tears.

"Hey baby." Her voice sent me into a whole episode of tears. "My baby, please, everything is going to turn out okay."

"Easy for you to say." I said. "No one's forcing you into marriage."

"Ava honey, your father only wants what's best for you."

"You don't say."

"I promise honey, everything will be fine, okay?"

I sobbed hard. How would everything be fine. My world was crashing before my eyes.

"Brace yourself, Ava. You're strong. You'll get through this."

"Thanks mama." I sniffed.

My mom smiled so wide, it got me giggling. She always got like that whenever I called her mama, which was on very few occasions like this.

"I love you baby."

I kissed her through the phone and ended the call. Time to get this drama over with.

Soon it was time to have my faith sealed. My heart sank as I approached the courtyard, and then I saw him, the bachelor my father wants me to marry. He was seated at a table, with my father, sipping wine and chatting away.

My eyes widened as I stood frozen, staring at the man, seated with my father. He looked up at me and our eyes locked, those piercing blue eyes — the same eyes that stared back at me in that photo. It couldn't be.

My face went red with embarrassment as I recalled our encounter the previous night.

I was still trying to recover from the shock when my dad chirped in, oblivious of how tense I was.

"Ahh, there she is." He smiled. "Ava, come meet Dryan. Dryan, this is my daughter, Ava."

I got a grip of myself and joined them at the table.

"It's nice to meet you, Ava." Dryan smiled and held out his hand for a handshake.

I took the handshake, and smiled very briefly.

My father's voice faded into the background as I got lost in my thoughts. I was certain that this was the man in that photo.

Dryan and I locked eyes again, and I was searching his face for any sign of recognition, but his expression remained calm.

Was he deliberately acting indifferent? Or did he really not recognize me?

I decided to play it cool, if Dryan wasn't going to flinch, I shouldn't as well.

My father left us, giving us space to ourselves. His departure was followed by a deafening silence. I, on the one hand, was simply sipping on my champagne, avoiding eye contact, not knowing what to say to the stunning man in front of me. He, and the other hand, was just there. I couldn't tell if he was looking at me and I couldn't see his expression because of course, I was too embarrassed to look at him.

He broke the silence eventually.

"Tell me more about yourself, Ava."

I felt a flutter in my chest, his voice reminded me once more of the moment I flirted with him, pushing my body unto his, and pulling him unto mine in desperation and hunger. The memory had my face flushed and I quickly downed what was left of the champagne in my glass. I signalled a waiter to come give me another glass and then proceeded to answer him.

"Saying you want to know more about me, makes me assume you already know something about me." I said with all the courage I could muster.

He smiled. "I do know a couple things about you, given that you're your father's daughter, if you know what I mean."

"Hmm, please indulge me."

"You don't expect me to show up here without doing a bit of research on my own, do you?" Dryan said with a smirk.

I kept my eyes on him. "Did you make your research before or after our little fling last night?" I was happy with how composed I was so far. I didn't take my eyes off him, I watched his expression go from the corny smile he had on, to a sober look as he kept my gaze.

He seemed reluctant to speak, like I had left him speechless and he had no defense to that.

I continued, "Don't you think it's hypocritical (look for a behavior that describes someone who has s*x before the day he meets his future wife) to have s*x with a stranger, knowing you would be meeting your future spouse the next day?"

"I could say the same to you," Dryan shrugged.

I rolled my eyes. "You can't blame me. I'm not exactly thrilled to be married off to a man I don't know."

"Touche." Dryan nodded. "You did seem very thrilled to have s*x with him though." He took a sip off his glass.

I smiled, shaking my head. The smile gradually turned into laughter and Dryan couldn't help but smile too. He leaned in from across me and reached for my hand, holding them softly. I could feel butterflies in my belly from his touch. He raised my hands and pressed his lips against them. "Now, tell me about yourself." He demanded in a soft tone that sent goosebumps through every inch of my skin.