His heartbeat

"Miss, your father is asking for you, he urgently requested you meet him in his study right away" a maid said as she curtsied. Demetria stood by the huge window next to her enormous bed as she fiddled with the curtains, she was wearing a long silky peach night dress, her fiery red hair was braided loosely along her back as her emerald green eyes wandered anxiously around the room. "Thank you, Jenna," she said to the maid, "Tell father I'm coming" she added for the maid to curtsey and leave. Once the maid had left, she quickly peeked out of the window, looking down at the garden which was two storeys below her room. "Seems the security guards are on a break" she mumbled to herself, when she didn't see anyone in the gardens,she closed the curtains and walked towards the door, her green gaze traveling to the clock on the wall, it said 9:15pm—she still had time. Coming out of her room, she walked down the cold stairs that led to the quiet dimly lit hall, on the other side of the hall was her father's study. Standing before it's mahogany doors, she knocked and waited. "Come in" she heard a gruff voice say. She stepped inside the wood themed room and stood in front of the middle aged man who was seated behind a rose wood desk, a lit cigar in his mouth. "Father?" she called, "you asked to see me?" The man nodded as he quenched the lit end of the cigar in the ash tray that was beside him, "Sit, child" he said, pointing to the chair in front of her. When she was seated, he clasped his huge hands on the table and looked at her squarely. "Demetria..." he started and she sighed Inwardly, she had always preferred the shortening of her name, Demi—she believed, was more pleasing to the ear. "Demetria," he called again, "you have always been an obedient child, always ready to please me.." Demi bit her lips as she waited for what was next, "But now, you've changed. You've become disobedient and you've disappointed me dearly" he said with a frown, "I chose Mr O'Neill for you, I know him as a man of principles and integrity and found him to be a great match for you, but what was the your reaction?" he asked the last part rhetorically. "You refused!" he said looking at her with hard eyes. "I'm sorry, father" she whispered. "Sorry won't fix anything Demetria," he sighed, "You'll just have to be obedient, and I'll ask you this, one last time.... will you obedient or do you wish me to force you?" Demi shifted uncontrollably in her chair. She didn't want to get married, atleast not when she's forced to, but her father wouldn't have it either way. He had gotten her betrothed to this 'Mr O'Neill' someone she had never met before and doesn't even know. She had decided to give it a try but after two dates she finally realized she could never marry him. He was just like the other men she had grown up to know; rich, spoilt and incredibly shallow! But when she had told her father of her decision, he had been very angry and had even threatened her, "You will marry him whether you like it or not, and if you don't agree to the wedding, I'll drag you off there to be his mistress!" "Demetria?" her father called and she was jolted out of her thoughts. "Yes, father?" "You will be obedient and marry Mr O'Neill ?" he asked, his grey eyes watching her every move. "Yes father," she said and sighed, "If you believe it's the right thing to do then.....Yes, I will marry him" Her father's stern face broke Into a satisfied smile, "I'm so glad you have come to your senses my dear," he said, "You have redeemed yourself and I'm pleased with you once again" Demetria smiled as her eyes twinkled. Ofcourse, it was all about him, when was it ever about what she wants? No....she just there to please him. "If it's okay with you,I'll be going back to bed" she said to see him nod. "Yes, yes ofcourse, you need your beauty sleep if you're going to look good and refreshed for tomorrow" he said, lighting up his cigar again. Demi raised an eyebrow, "Tomorrow?" she asked, "What's happening tomorrow?" "Oh, nothing really, I just invited Mr O'Neill for breakfast" "Oh.." "That won't be a problem will it?" he said as he raised his eyebrows at her. Demi smiled,"Ofcourse not father, I'll be pleased to see Mr O'Neill tomorrow" "That's good, now off to bed my dear" her father said as she stood up and walked to the door. "Goodnight father" she said before walking out and shutting the door. She didn't bother waiting for a reply from him, because she knew that he never replies back. Reaching the safety of her bedroom, Demi locked the door and switched up all the lights. Heaving a sigh, her eyes traveled to the clock again—it was a few more minutes to 10. Rushing to her Closet, she grabbed the army green backpack she had hidden there, inside were some clothes, shoes and a few other necessities. Placing it on her bed, she proceeded to remove her night dress, underneath the dress was a black tank top, she then searched her bag to bring out a pair of Jeans, a deep green hoodie and some very comfortable sneakers. Standing in front of her mirror, she looked at herself, "Not bad" she murmured. This was the first time she had ever worn outfits like these, her father was against any street casuals. Everything about him had to be sophisticated and medieval, the architecture of the whole mansion, the town they lived in and even her. She had been arranging her backpack when she heard a quiet knock on the door, she tiptoed to it and looked through the tiny hole in the door, sighing gladly when she saw who it was. "Jenna," she said when the maid walked in. "Miss, are you ready?" the maid asked to see her nod. "You did what I told you to?" Demi asked the maid who nodded as well. "Yes Miss, I withdrew $15,000 from your account like you told me to and told your father that you needed a new makeup kit, I deposited $10,000 into your new account," she said as she brought out a wallet from her pocket, "The $5,000 is in there along with your new credit card and your bus ticket" Demi opened the wallet and counted the money, it was complete. She had purposely asked for this amount so her father—who is in charge of even her bank account, won't suspect anything. She smiled as she tucked the wallet into her pocket, it was such a plain little thing but it was her first wallet. She walked to her vanity table and from the dresser, took out the new phone she had just bought, she was going to start afresh somewhere new, far away from her tyrant of a father. She also took out a velvet box and a piece of folded paper and walked up to Jenna. "Here," she said as she handed the box over to her, "I want you to have this" The maid collected the box and wondered what was inside, when she opened it, she let out a gasp and had to use her free hand to cover her mouth. Inside the box was a diamond and ruby necklace with matching earrings, it was one of the numerous presents gifted to Demi by her supposed suitor. "Oh Miss, I can't accept this" she said with a sad frown. "Jenna," Demi said putting a hand on her shoulder, "This is my parting gift to you, I don't know when I'll see you again, so please don't refuse it" "Oh but Miss, I couldn't possibly wear this, a poor maid like me. Why, people will think I stole it" Jenna answered, tears forming on her eyelids. "I don't expect you to wear it Jenna, you can pawn it. I'm sure you'll get a great deal from it, I would have given you the rest of my Jewelry as I wouldn't be needing them anymore but I wouldn't want it to seem that I've been robbed when I'm gone, so please take this" "Oh, miss Demi..." Jenna said as she flung herself on Demi. In her heart, she wished her the best of luck, the poor girl has been under the dictatorship of her father for so long—she knew that she needed to go out and experience life even if it meant running away. "You have to be on your way now" Jenna said as they released each other. "And don't forget to be careful, the city can be a dangerous place" Demi nodded as she hung her backpack and buckled it's straps. She pocketed her phone, and also dropped the piece of folded paper on her bed and sighed, covering her hoodie, she walked gingerly towards the window and opened it. "Be safe" she heard Jenna whisper as she held on to the strong piece of rope she had tied to the window. "you too, I'll call you once I reach the city" Demi promised and looked back at the rope. She grabbed it with both hands and started climbing out of the window, two storeys down. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears as she descended, her focus on the rope as tried hard not to look down or better still—fall. she heaved a huge sigh once her feet touched the ground. Seeing her get safely down, Jenna unwound the rope and locked the window before stealthily walking out of the room. Once her feet had touched the ground, Demi crouched low as she half–crawled, half–hopped through the garden. She had reached the Orchard part of the garden when she heard footsteps, immediately she hid behind a huge chestnut tree. After a while, she saw security guards patrolling the area, Demi held her breath as she crossed her fingers, she cannot be caught—her father would skin her alive! As if her prayers had been answered, the guards moved away and Demi moved quietly from the tree, tiptoeing till she reached a very old gate at the back of the garden. No one ever came her and she had found this place by mistake and had already oiled the hinges so opening it wouldn't be a problem. As she stepped out of the gate, she fought her way through vines of plants before found herself standing right in front of a road. Happy could not describe Demi's current mood, walking quickly she headed to the bus stop that was a few yards right in front of her. "Ticket please" the bus conductor said to Demi as she entered to the bus that was half filled with passengers. "Is this the bus to the city?" she asked and the man nodded as he looked at her strangely. She gave him her ticket and took a seat at the end of the bus, after a few people had also been seated the bus started to move. Demi tried hard not to smile during the whole trip, so this is what it felt like to be in a bus, she looked around to see some people talking, some siting quietly and/or listening to music while others had begun to nap. Demi took out a little notebook from her bag and a pen and started writing: First entry after leaving home (9:30pm): I had my first bus ride! I never knew the bus could be so lively even at this time of the night. This feels so exciting! Can't wait to get to the city! Smiling at what she had written, she stuffed the book and pen back into her bag and covered her hoodie more firmly around her head. The night sky looked so much better as she rested her head on the window, she took out her phone and saw the time, it was past 10pm. Turning to the girl beside her, she asked, "Excuse me, how long before we reach the city?" "Oh, it's a 9 hour trip.... didn't you see it on the ticket?" the girl asked and Demi smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I did...just wanted to...to be sure" she said and the girl shrugged. "Okay, but I hope you wore something comfy, it's gonna be a long night" Demi looked at her hoodie, she was quite comfortable and besides she was really curious to know how sleeping in a bus felt, "Yeah I'm pretty comfy" "That's great," the girl smiled, "I'm Lola, by the way" the girl said, flinging her ash blonde hair away from her shoulders. From the golden color of her eyes, Demi could tell at once that she was a werewolf—and Demi hardly ever came across them, infact she hardly came across any moonlight creatures, in the secluded town where she lived in, the majority of the population were humans, like herself. "Nice to meet you Lola," Demi smiled, "I'm Demetria but please call me Demi" she said to have the girl smile. "Demi," the girl repeated, "Cool name" "Thanks" "So, moving to the city to start a new life?" Lola asked. "Yeah, something like that" Demi answered. "Hmm, I can tell" "Is it that obvious?" Demi asked, intrigued. "Ofcourse not," Lola giggled, strands of her falling against her face as she pushed them behind her ears, "I was just kidding" "Oh.." Demi said as she laughed as well. This was the first time she was talking to a random person, outside her social circle. "So, where are you from?" Lola asked and Demi gulped. "Umm...I—" before she could rack her brain for an answer, Lola had thankfully interrupted. "Yeah, yeah I guess I really don't need to know about were your from, atleast I know where you're headed and I'm headed there too" Lola said as she chuckled as if enjoying a private joke. Demi smiled, she liked Lola, she seemed like a very Jovial person. They talked about many things, mostly about things like fashion, music and movies to which Demi gave rather odd answers which Lola found hilarious. "OMG, do you live under a rock or something?" she laughed, "How could you not know who Ryan Reynolds is? He's like the best actor ever!" Demi shrugged, it seems like she really lived under a rock because she had never heard of that name before and she was sure she had never watched any of the actor's movies. You couldn't blame her, Demi hardly ever saw the outside world. She schooled abroad in an all girls' academy where she was not allowed to come out of the school premises, she spent her holidays in her aunt's mansion in Northern Ireland if not at home and was still not allowed to leave the compound, that was how it was till she graduated from highschool and was sent to a private college of music where only on some occasions did she manage to go out, as such she knew next to nothing of the outside world. Among other things that Lola and Demi talked about where their selves, though Demi hardly answered some of the questions. "So tell me, do you have any siblings?" Lola asked and Demi shook her head. "No, I'm an only child" she said. "Lucky you!" Lola sighed, "I'm sure you get to have all the attention" "Maybe a little too much attention" Demi responded. "Do you have siblings?" she asked to see Lola nod her head and roll her eyes. "Unfortunately" Demi looked confused, "Why do you say unfortunately? Isn't it great to have siblings?" Demi asked. She didn't understand the expression on Lola's face, she knew that she personally would give anything to have a sibling, someone to talk and to relate to. "It's great to have siblings but they can be extremely annoying" Lola answered. "How many siblings do you have?" "We're 6," Lola said to see Demi's green eyes open in shock, "Don't look at me like that, some packs have more" "Whoa..." Demi exclaimed, "Are you the oldest?" "No, I'm not. I'm the second to the last child in my family" "Wow, how many brothers do you have?" Demi asked, visibly intrigued. "4, I and my twin are the only girls" "Wow, you have a twin? That is so cool!" Demi exclaimed. Lola scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, "That's what you think," she said, her hand going to push the strands of hair away from her face. "Here" Demi said as she gave her a rubber band. "Thanks," Lola said as she immediately packed her hair in a loose ponytail. "Isa—my twin is the worst thing that ever happened to me!" Lola continued in an annoyed tone. "What do you mean by that, Isn't she your twin?" Demi exclaimed, she had always thought that of all siblings, Twins were the closest, but listening to Lola it seems she was wrong. "You haven't met her Demi," Lola said with a sarcastic smile. "When you meet Isabella, you'll understand" "Is she that mean?" Demi asked and Lola chuckled. "No, not exactly" "Then why don't you like her?" Demi asked, confused. "I didn't say I don't like her Demi, I mean—she's still my sister and my twin for that matter" Lola said and Demi nodded, "But Isa can be very annoying!" Before Demi could say anything else, Lola had let out a yawn and stretched her legs, looking at her watch she exclaimed, "Wow it's already 11pm, we should go to bed" "Yeah" Demi said already starting to dozing off.