Billionaires daughter

Chapterthree

Ada woke the next morning to the soft knock of her mother at the door. “Ada, breakfast is ready.”

Her mother’s voice was always gentle, the one comfort in a house filled with rules. Ada slipped out of bed, tied her robe around her waist, and followed her mother down the wide staircase.

The dining room glittered with chandeliers, the long mahogany table already set. Her brothers sat in their usual places—Chike scanning through the newspaper, Obinna scrolling on his phone, and Emeka pouring himself coffee. Their father sat at the head of the table, his expression unreadable.

Ada slid into her chair, her eyes meeting her mother’s for a brief second. A silent exchange passed between them—her mother’s gaze both worried and protective.

Breakfast began in silence, the only sounds the clatter of cutlery and the hum of the air conditioner. But Ada knew it wouldn’t last.

Sure enough, her father set down his cup of tea with a deliberate clink.

“Where did you go last night?” His voice was calm, but there was steel beneath it.

Ada kept her tone light. “I told you—I went out.”

“With who?” Chike added, his eyes narrowing.

Ada sipped her juice before answering. “A friend.”

Her brothers exchanged glances. They didn’t need to ask more to know that she was keeping secrets.

“You embarrassed me, Ada,” her father said, his gaze sharp. “Do you know what it means to keep a man like Chief Okeke waiting? To insult his son in front of his peers?”

Ada set down her glass. “Father, I didn’t ask you to arrange that meeting. I have told you before—I’m not interested.”

“You don’t know what’s good for you!” Obinna snapped, unable to stay quiet. “Do you realize what marrying into that family means? The Okeke empire and the Okafor empire—joined together. It would make us unstoppable.”

“Us?” Ada shot back, her voice rising. “What about me? What do I gain? A life trapped with a man I don’t love? Smiling at business dinners, playing the perfect wife while my own happiness dies?”

Her mother’s hand reached across the table, touching hers gently. “Ada, please…”

But Ada pulled her hand back, her eyes stinging. “No, Mama. I am not a pawn. I am not a deal to be negotiated.”

Her father’s face hardened. He leaned forward, his voice low and firm. “You will marry who I say, Ada. You are my daughter, and I know what is best for you.”

Ada’s chest tightened, anger and despair swirling inside her. “No, Father,” she whispered, her voice shaking but resolute. “You know what is best for your empire. But you do not know what is best for me.”

The table went silent. Even her brothers, so quick to defend their father, could only stare.

Ada rose from her chair, her heart pounding. “I will not marry Okeke’s son. Not now, not ever.”

Her father’s jaw clenched, his knuckles whitening around his cup. “Then you leave me no choice.”

Ada froze. “What do you mean?”

“You will not step foot outside this house again without permission,” he declared coldly. “From this moment, you are not to be seen in any place I have not approved. If freedom is what you crave, Ada, then consider it gone.”

Her breath caught in her throat. She felt her brothers’ eyes on her—Chike with pity, Obinna with frustration, Emeka with helplessness.

She turned to her mother, silently begging for support, but her mother’s lowered gaze told her everything.

The walls of the mansion suddenly felt higher, thicker, closing in around her. She was a princess, yes—but now more than ever, she felt like a prisoner.

And yet, even as fear rose in her chest, Ada’s mind drifted back to the memory of Sam’s smile, the warmth of his laughter, and the simple honesty in his eyes.

For the first time, she realized that her fight was no longer just about defying her father.

It was about holding on to the chance of something real.

Ada pushed her chair back from the table, her appetite gone. “Excuse me,” she murmured, before turning and walking out of the dining hall. She could feel her father’s eyes burning into her back, but she refused to let him see the tears welling in her eyes.

Upstairs, she shut her bedroom door and pressed her forehead against the cool wood. The mansion was beautiful, but it felt more like a prison with every passing minute. The chandelier sparkled, the curtains flowed with the breeze from her balcony, the furniture gleamed with polish—and yet none of it gave her peace.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She picked it up, half-expecting another message from her brothers, but instead it was an unknown number. Curious, she opened it.

“Hope you got home safe. – Sam”

Ada’s lips curved into the first genuine smile of the morning. She hadn’t given him her number; she remembered scribbling it on a napkin when they parted, almost without thinking. Now, seeing his message felt like a lifeline.

She sat on the edge of her bed, her thumbs hovering over the screen before she typed:

“I did. Thank you. Last night was… different. In a good way.”

Almost immediately, his reply came.

“Glad to hear that. Different can be good. Different can change everything.”

Her heart skipped. Change everything. The words echoed in her mind. That was exactly what she wanted—to change everything about her life, to escape the suffocating expectations pressing down on her.

But her father’s warning rang just as loud: “You will not step foot outside this house again without permission.”

Ada set the phone down and stood, pacing the room. She couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing Sam again. He didn’t know her full story—not yet—but with him, she had felt free, seen, alive. She wasn’t going to let her father’s iron grip take that away.

A knock sounded on her door.

“Ada?” It was Emeka, the youngest of her brothers. “Can I come in?”

She hesitated before opening the door. He stepped inside, his expression softer than the others’.

“You shouldn’t have spoken to Father like that,” he said quietly. “You know how he is.”

“I’m tired of being silent,” Ada whispered. “I can’t live my life as someone else’s bargaining chip.”

Emeka sighed, running a hand over his short hair. “I get it. But you know he won’t bend. He’ll make things harder for you now.”

Ada’s eyes locked on his. “Then help me.”

He frowned. “Help you? How?”

“Cover for me,” she said firmly. “I just need a little freedom. A chance to breathe. I won’t do anything reckless, but I need to live my own life—even if it’s just for a few hours.”

Emeka hesitated, torn between loyalty to his father and love for his sister. Finally, he exhaled heavily. “You’re asking me to risk a lot.”

“I know.” She placed a hand on his arm, her voice soft but steady. “But you’re the only one who understands me.”

His gaze softened. “Alright. But only sometimes. And only if you promise to be careful.”

A smile broke across her face, relief flooding through her. “I promise.”

When he left, Ada picked up her phone again, her fingers trembling as she typed a new message to Sam:

“Can we meet again?”

This time, it took him longer to respond. When the message finally came through, her heart raced.

“Name the time and place.”

Ada closed her eyes, her pulse quickening with both fear and excitement. She didn’t know where this path would lead, but one thing was certain: for the first time in her life, she was choosing for herself.

And she would not look back.