Forbidden love

She wanted a usual life like every teenager she knew. she just wanted to go through high school, college, graduate, get a job and probably fall in love. A life without complications and stress, but hers was quite the opposite as she was born into a prominent family, well recognized in the state as her father happened to hold a high rank in the white house and her mum, the legal counsellor to the president. Maybe it was the power her family possessed that affected her life wishes as she was the only child and her father had a business and needed an heir so even as a young teenager, her father had already begun applying for suitors. She hated this fact but there was absolutely nothing she could do. As she thought about this, her gaze was fixed on the entourage that had just driven in. she had witnessed a lot of suitors come pay her parents a visit but this was quite different from them all as the family seemed quite prepared. she watched her parents exchange pleasantries with the people she assumed to be her soon-to-be relatives. "They're here for me. Aren't they?" She asked, turning to her servant who stood at the door with her head bowed. "Miss, I've been sent to inform you to get prepared as your father will be requesting your presence soon." The servant informed and she smiled. "Alright, go tell him I'll be with them shortly." she responded and the servant walked out. she stole one last glance at the young man who had just slighted from one of the cars all dressed in a black tuxedo as her parents, mostly her mum give him a warm welcome. "He must be the son of the devil."she cursed underneath her breath as she stared at him. he didn't look bad, but she considered him the son of the devil because he obliged to her father's request. She rose to her feet and walked up to her closet. On getting to it, she flung its doors wide open and ran her eyes through the dresses. She needed something classy but simple so she chose the red gown she was gifted by her mum on her sixteenth birthday and proceeded to wear it. *** she walked into the sit out to see her father in a deep conversation with the guests who had just arrived. They seemed to be so engrossed in whatever it was they were talking about that they couldn't recognize her presence not until the young man she had assumed to be her fiance, saw her. He quickly cleared his throat alerting the rest, of her arrival. "Darling, how long have you been there?" Her dad asked as her mum led her to a seat. "Not quite long, probably a few minutes." she replied. She felt so uncomfortable with the young man's stare. He gazed at her like she was already his and this distracted her a bit. "So my love, these are my guests, Mr and Mrs Luke and that is their son, Leo." Her father introduced, holding her hand as she forced out a smile on her pretty face. "Um... good day... good day Mr and Mrs." she greeted, not so sure of what to say. "Aw.. darling, just call me mum, it's weird to hear u call me that." Mrs Luke corrected. "And as you all know, this is my gorgeous damsel, Elora." Her father introduced. "So, Elora would you love to know why Mr and Mrs Luke are here today?" Her father asked, turning to her. she wasn't dumb in fact even a dumb person could ascertain that they were here to buy her from her parents. "Yeah." she replied, smiling. "So Leo used to be your best friend when you were still little...." 'best friend?', 'did her dad actually say that?'. According to what her mum had told her, They had just met with Mr and Mrs Luke when she took in so what exactly did her dad mean when he said they used to be best friends. She nodded her head affirmatively as she tried as much as possible to avoid Leo's piercing gaze. "And turns out, our family which includes his, would love to keeps the wonderful relationship going. He is interested in marrying you." Her father added, beaming with smiles. She knew quite well that this was what he had to say so when she felt weird on hearing him say so, she had no other option but to excuse herself and rush to her room. she ran into the bathroom and after much struggle, she succeeded in loosening her dress. she stood in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection as tears clouded her eyes. Soon, it began rolling down her cheeks and she made no attempt to stop it till she heard a knock on the door. Hurriedly, she cupped some water to her face and wiped it dry before emerging from her room. It was her mum at the door. "Darling, are you okay?" her mum asked, staring at her. "Yeah, I'm good. It's just cramps." She lied. "You sure?" "Yeah." "Alright, let's head back before your dad becomes curious." Her mum said and she obliged. *** They both walked in and returned to their previous positions. "Are you okay?" her father inquired, as her mum aligned the strands of her hair that fell over her face, behind her ears. "I'm good." she replied. "She looks just like her mother, beautiful and elegant." Mrs Luke remarked. "um...Thanks, it's nice meeting you m...mum." she stuttered and everyone smiled. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon and it's nice meeting you too, my darling." "So Leo, what do you think?." Her father asked, turning to the young man who was bent on admiring Elora. "She's more pretty in person than in pictures." He complimented as he stared at her. "So that's a 'yes' then?" her mum asked. "Obviously."His mum replied and he smiled. "That's good news." "And my darling, what do you think about Leo?"His mother asked, patting her hair. She turned to her parents, most especially her dad. it was the first time seeing her father so happy as she didn't want to ruin that. "I...I..I...think I don't have a say to that for now till I get to know him better." she replied. "I'd love to know you better too.Leo responded and unluckily for her, she got caught up in an intense eye contact with him. Staring deep into his pair of glazing gray pupils wasn't something, anyone would do for fun. "Alright, so we'll be leaving you two to catch up and discuss.." Her dad said as they all rose to their feet. "Y'all are leaving?" she asked, staring at her mum. "Yes." her mum replied. "Take good care of her son, we'll be back soon." his mum said to him. "sure, I'll keep her busy till your return." he responded, leaning back on his chair as they all left the room. At first, she thought only staring at him could make her nervous but her thoughts changed when he sat beside her. "H...have you had anything to eat?" she stuttered, avoiding his gaze. "Yeah, I have. what about you?" he responded. "N..n....y...yes...no...yes." she stuttered further and he smiled. "Please be free with me, if you haven't had anything to eat, I won't hesitate to ask the maidens to prepare a buffet for you." "um... alright." she replied. "I'm Leo, you're Elora, is there anything else you'd love to tell about yourself?" he inquired. "No, I'm sure my dad must have given you a well detailed history of my life." she replied and he laughed.