Saving Ms. Bad Girl

C H A P T E R – II: DEATH OF AN ANTHUR

C H A P T E R – II: DEATH OF A ANTHUR

Roses fall, but the thorns remain.

Dutch Proverb

AMARY ANTHUR

MARCH 08, 2017

As I woke up for today I felt that I have the need to please everybody, Thompson’s penthouse is my favorite, despite how in love I am with the bricked wall house mansion that my father handed to me on my 21’st birthday, the city view always and never failed to impress me.

I wore a robe and stood up, I took a glimpse of the city view and walked to the coffee table where my cigar lays,

I lit up a stick of menthol cigar and puffed its smoke as I poured myself a glass of water. “Cigar in the morning, very good Amary” Caleb said as he leaned his back on the wall,

“It’s my life Caleb, you cannot always say what I have to do, besides we’re of the same age and you have been scolding me non-stop for about 10 years now, I’m not a chain smoker, I only have 10 sticks a day” I said as I then drink the water I poured for myself,

“Wow, I’m so proud of you” he said sarcastically,

“Come on, Caleb. You are my personal guard” I teased, he chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“Pharmakeia will be delivering $500 worth of dust tonight,” he said, I smiled as I heard it.

“That’s good s**t” I said as I sat down,

“What do you want for breakfast?” I asked him,

“Breakfast? Are you serious Amary? It’s lunch time. You better wear something a bit decent too, I know you’re dying to eat at Marsh house” He said, yeah it’s true.

“Okay, wait for me outside dickhead” I said, he took a deep breath and sighed,

I got up and wore a sports bra beneath my black tank top and a cargo shorts, I love men’s shorts when I have to go outside wearing something out of my laziness,

“Seriously?” Caleb asked as I stepped out of the room,

“What? Why? Aren’t you used to this Caleb? Come on! What’s up with you?” I held both his shoulders and shook his body then walked to the elevator,

As we were inside the elevator, Caleb started to somehow fix my hair,

“You didn’t even bother to brush your hair,” he spoke as if she’s my mother,

“I didn’t mom,”

“Funny, damn your hair smells like cigar” he coughed to mock me that made me roll my eyes in utter annoyance,

Caleb is my childhood friend because his father his my father’s personal guard and favorite pet, he is actually my best friend too which is why I am happy he is my guard, it wouldn’t be difficult for me because he knows me way too well,

He then held the straps of my tank top and pulled my top a bit higher, I quickly turned around with my brows meeting,

“The line between your apples are showing,” he said,

“Do not address my boobs as apples Caleb, their melons!!” I almost shouted as I pinned him on the walls of the elevator,

“And Caleb? Who the f**k cares if my cleavage is peaking? I have a f*****g breast and you cannot stop it from puffing!” I said, I turned around annoyed and quite bashful, I hate it when Caleb makes me feel like I’m a weak woman,

“I’m sorry okay? It’s just that ...“ I raised my right hand and not facing him which made him stop from speaking,

We got out of the elevator and the people were of course ecstatic to see me, my bright red hair always stood up most specially when the sun rays meets my strands,

“Did you even gargle?” Caleb asked,

“I f*****g didn’t wanna smell it?” I said, he gestured me a face palm which made me chuckle, I sat down and made my eyes roam to see any person I know, as I was doing so I saw a man eating two tables away from me,

James Linden, their enterprises is superb and I believe making bonds with this man will be a good thing for our business,

After ordering and asking the people to serve me the best food I stood up and approached Linden, good thing I caught his attention. Unlike other business men he wasn’t all thrilled, he was composed and classy

“Linden?” I said frankly quite unsure if I was right, I extended my right hand,

“Anthur” so I was right, he extended his hand back for a handshake.

“We are so delighted to have you here at Nashville” I commented as I scanned how he looks, damn this guy is quite sexy but somehow he looks like a typical rich boy,

“Nashville is one of my favorite cities, music is here and this excellent set of people is a reason to come back to” he said, his comment made me smile, Nashville is my pettish city,

“That’s excellent to know, I hope you are enjoying your food” I said as I raised my brow trying to make sure he’ll do so,

“I will, have a great lunch yourself” he said as he signaled me to come back to my chair, I guess he wouldn’t invite me to dine with him, very good Linden.

I settled on my chair and so did Caleb across of me. “That’s new” Caleb commented, indeed it is, businessmen are hungry to know me, because of our network and our company’s success. We also support candidates with their campaigns which help them save enormous amount of money,

“He is quite a rich man Caleb, his family owns Summit enterprises but I believe he is the second child, he is probably a proxy for his brother for tonight’s celebration. James Linden, I believe that’s his name, he isn’t so popular, he is a simple man I believe” I said, with all honesty I know not much about him but his brother? A lot,

“Don’t we deliver a high grade Mary Jane to his brother?” Caleb asked,

“Yeah, we do.” I said chuckling,

“He doesn’t smoke, that guy” I said pointing at James as Caleb took a quick glance to James who seems to be enjoying his lunch in delight,

“How did you know?” Caleb asked,

“Look at his damn lips, is pinker than my nips” Caleb almost choked himself as commented,

“There, there” I tapped his shoulders as Caleb rolled his eyes.

Food was then served= to us and we enjoyed our lunch. James was still there he seemed to be playing on his phone, I chuckled at how childish he somehow looks,

We stood up and made our way to the elevator,

“Liyen Young will be here at 4 in the afternoon to fix you” Caleb commented as he pushed the elevator button,

“Caleb, seriously?” I paused, as we rode the elevator, “You are using the word fix as if I was some kind of a broken machine” I added, Caleb’s set of words this morning is seriously not helping me,

“I mean,” he moved his hands in sync from top to bottom,

“f**k you Caleb” I said, giving him a frown, “I mean, every time you go out for clubbing you asks for a make-up artist and a fashion designer. You can’t even shop a dress or else you’d end up buying men’s clothes and good thing is you know how to wear heels but God knows how much you rant the moment you remove it” he said as I looked at elevator number to go to P for the Penthouse.

“Caleb, stop being like a mom for a second, you haven’t even greeted me, it’s my f*****g birthday” I pouted my lips like a little kid, he paused and left out a sigh,

Good timing the elevator doors opened and I exited and entered my room, “Of course I wouldn’t forget your birthday” he said, as my eyes were glued to the floor, he held my shoulders and pushed me to walk to my bed room, he lifted my chin up and to my surprise there were gold and black balloons on the ceiling and letter balloons which spelled,

Happy 25’th Birthday Amary, a bouquet of Red Amarys on the bed, a chocolate decadent cake, which is my favorite, and a box. I looked at him with happiness,

“Can I?” I asked pointing at the box, “Of course, it’s yours” Caleb said, signaling me to approach it,

As I approached the bag it started moving, which made me squeak like a little girl, my eyes started becoming teary, I looked at him and he was waiting for me open the box,

I analyzed the cover and saw holes in it, oh my gosh,

I quickly removed the wrap and saw a little puppy, it’s a Pitbull puppy and a certificate that tells “Adopted”,

“Oh my goodness Caleb!!!!” I run to him for a hug with my eyes all teary,

“Happy birthday my princess” Caleb said, I gave him a kiss on the cheek and went back to the puppy, it has a white fur with black spots and a beautiful blue eyes.

“You’re so cute! How should we name you?” I talked to the puppy,

“I’d call you Spotty then, because you have many spots in your body” I said as I gave Spotty a kiss on the nose.

“I am your new mommy,” I said as I hug the little puppy, close to my heart,

“Thank you so much Caleb,” I said, he smiled at me, “Take your time, rest, you will have a long night tonight Amary, Ms. Young will arrive exactly at 10” I nodded as Caleb exited,

Caleb still is my best friend, I love him a lot.

I ate some cake and placed it inside the refrigerator, I took a picture of the surprise that Caleb did and the good lil doggo on my bed. I sent it to my daddy and then posted it on i********:,

Daddy: That’s very nice dear

Mel: Caleb gave it to me, hmm. Wondering what you got for me.

Daddy: Tonight I’ll give it to you. Happy birthday my Amary.

I smiled as I read my father’s message.

I then gave the puppy some snacks that Caleb probably left and then water, I took a nap with the Spotty beside me. I woke up at 3 in the afternoon and took a bath. At exactly four Ms. Young came, she isn’t Young. Ms. Young is a very fashionable old lady who never went out of style,

“My, my, Happy Birthday Amary Anthur. Here is a gift for you. A rare black Amary’s essence perfume made by my own perfume line, only for you, no other copy just yours” she said, my eyes glistened and my smile went from ear to ear.

“Thank you Ms. Young” her assistants came in and arranged her necessities, she showed me 10 different dresses but only one caught my attention my attention,

“That’s a Ralph Lauren dress, it’s a Grayden Beaded Evening dress dear.” She said, she got it from the dress rack and placed the dress on top of me, it looks so serene yet very elegant,

“According to Ralph, it’s intricately hand-beaded with metallic beads and micro-sequins to form an allover abstract lace motif. This is perfect for you, it will make your red hair stand out” she said,

I nodded, she made me seat down as she makes her magic on my face, I felt different kinds of brush touch my face, I was ecstatic, despite of my boyish attitude I really like it when I’m being dolled up by another person.

After almost two hours of dolling me up, she asked me to open my eyes as Ms. Young placed the fake eyelashes. I was mesmerized by how the mixture of red and black eyeshadow was able to make my eyes stand out even more.

She made me wear the dress I chose and goodness, it was perfect.

“Lovely, Amary.” She said, We took a picture as she looks at me,

“10 years of dressing you up Amary and it is indeed my pleasure to see you bloom in such a wonderful lady. Happy Birthday Amary” she said, I smiled as she complimented me,

“Oh s**t, heels” I said as one of her assistants hands me a black heels,

“Jimmy Choo, for you, it’s a black patent leather, very comfortable and easy to walk with, not too high just 4.5 inches of height.” She said my eyes widened,

“Goodness, when was the last time I wore one” I asked myself, I wore the heels and was a bit shaky as I made me first 10 steps,

“Remember, take a deep breath” Ms. Young came close to me, held my shoulders “Straight back” held my chin, “Face up, and remember who you are, you’re queen among the thorns, you are the Amary,” she said which made me feel empowered.

Damn, Ms. Young’s prep words never failed me, I took a deep breath. There was a knock on the door and I said, come in. It was Caleb on his tux,

“Looking good Caleb,” I said, but he stood there not saying a thing, he looked at me from head to toe, I was about to blush but then he said,

“You’re fixed” I rolled my eyes, grabbed my phone which I slipped on my stash band garter purse on my legs and placed one loaded semi-automatic pistol on my left leg,

“We better go” I said,

“The people are waiting,” Caleb said,

“More like the crowd Caleb, those people don’t care a single f**k about me. They’re just here to sell themselves” I rolled my eyes as I made my way to the door, to the ballroom of Gold Top function hall where the guests awaits,

“b***h, am I ready, how do I look?” I asked as I tangled my arms with Caleb’s.

“Perfect, Amary” he said, I bit my lips for Caleb seems too serious. As we entered, Caleb spoke over his microphone connected to an earpiece,

“Amary is here, ready the doors and tell the guests.” He said, this VIP treatments in a party never gets me, I’d rather eat popcorn and watch movies while smoking, or maybe go shooting or horseback riding,

“Here goes nothing” I said, Caleb removed my arms from him as he signaled me to enter.

“Everybody, let us welcome the birthday celebrant! Amary Anthur! The crowd was in awe, they were all clapping their hands as if I saved the world. As the crowd gave me their fake smiles and so did I, everybody in this place are fake except, Caleb and his father, Quincy my personal maid a trained gunslinger, and my father, everybody else are just here for money not for me.

Even my so called “friends” only befriended me for the sake of their businesses, as if I’d fall for that. I only use them for my fake happy, girly identity but I am not.

As I walked thru the crowd I become more aware of who I am, aside from being the daughter and heir of Anthur who owns thousands of lands, investor of many businesses, stock holder of different companies and the owner of Reich a shipbuilding company, top in the world and no one else can ever come close.

I stepped on the stage where my father is waiting for me, he extended his right hand to assist me as I step up.

“Thank you daddy, you look wonderful” I said, I looked at his wrinkled skin and grayish hair,

“You look wonderful my love, just like your mother” I finished the sentence with him.

He made me sit in a throne like chair on the stage, I looked for Caleb who when I caught eye contact with I made a quick crinkling of my nose to show how uncomfortable it is to sit in such. He chuckled and gauged his tongue out as if he told me suffer yah lil red head, which he often said when he’s teasing me when I am annoyed.

I rolled my eyes as my father grabbed a champagne glass,

“Tonight is my daughter’s 25’th birthday” he said, voice quite shaky,

“She looks perfect, she looks gorgeous and my my, she looks just like her mom” the crowd chuckled, “She’s a successful girl and thank the heavens I was able to raise her for 10 years alone, along with excellent set of people on our household.” He said signaling to Caleb and Quincy.

“Soon my daughter will inherit all the fortunes that I have gained, I believe she is smart and witty enough to run such powerful company. Let’s give my daughter a toss, for a long life and a successful future,” I was handed a glass of champagne as my father raised his glass and said,

“Cheers,” he leaned his bottle a bit to me and I responded,

“Cheers daddy” I said, the people drank from the champagne and they gave out a round of applause.

“My dear,” he handed me the microphone, oh no no no.

“You need to mark your bench, you have to show power, enough hiding behind my back, it’s time you show what you’re capable of” he whispered in my ears, my father’s voice are always like hypnosis to me, everything he says matters and everything he asks to be done should be done, exactly the way how he wanted it to be,

I grabbed the microphone, then he asked to take pictures of us then I stood up straight as my father went down the stage.

“Good evening everybody,” I said, they all responded and said good evening back.

“Thank you very much for having me here, a lot may ask why have only I conducted my birthday celebration here at Thompson Hotel. My mother always had a vision about me conducting an intimate party for my 25’th birthday. A party not too grand yet attention grasping. An event where my worth as a person will be further sent to the world, how big my role is in this society and in this business. I learned a lot, experiences, power, and dignity over our business. Nashville is the city that mother has always loved, she loved music and she loved the people and as much as my father wanted such grand celebration to be held for my 25’th birthday, I believe that the set of people present today are bench-markers for the future of the business world. I am delighted to celebrate my birthday with you”

The words about my mother is true and the rest are ersatz, as all of them looks so naïve to believe that they are important to me. They all gave a round of applause and fast forward people were busy chatting, my father was conversing from one group of people to another while I sit with my so called girl-friends from college.

As I was chatting with them I saw my father enter a room with James Linden, indeed, I believe I saw that coming but to my surprise it was my father who approached him.

I believe it took them about 20 minutes and 20 minutes of listening to Audrey’s whoring stories to different guys from her trip to France. Goodness,

My father had a great smile on his face, seems like they made a good deal. I left out a sigh, I stood up and was about to go to the bar station when suddenly a quick metal like passed by my peripheral sight and suddenly a scream screeched and my head felt heavy as I quickly turned around immediately seeking my father’s location,

And there I saw James Linden, holding a handkerchief by my father’s chest trying to stop the bleeding. Tears immediately formed to my eyes, I knelt to come closer to my father whose chest is full of blood,

“My dear, I am sorry” my father said as blood comes out of his mouth as he spoke and cupped my face with his shuddering palms. “Daddy please don’t do this to me” I screamed with tears flowing continuously from my eyes and my heart breaking into million pieces,

“I entrust you to James Linden my dear,”

“Please, please, please, stop” I said shivering as my anger to whoever did this to my father enliven my unscrupulousness.

“MEDIC! WHERE THE HELL IS THE MEDIC!” I shouted with tears flowing like waterfalls, my heart sinking, my head spinning, I cannot lose my father, no I can never!

“Amary, listen to me, James, he will take care of you” I looked at James whose eyes shows uncertainty but consolation, I brought my gaze back to my father, nodding in agreement to whatever he wants,

“Make daddy even prouder my love,” he said, as his arms lost power and fell on the floor. “He still has pulse!” James said as the medic came and transferred arms lost power and fell on the floor. “He still has pulse!” James said as the medic came and transferred him to stretcher. They all nodded and gave James a tap on the shoulder,

Caleb immediately approached me, “Go with them,” Caleb said,

“We’ll try to find the shooter and you, Linden, Mr. Anthur entrusted Amary to you. You better accompany her” Caleb said in quick manner, James and I nodded as we both followed my daddy who was brought inside the ambulance, I held my father’s hands, almost getting cold as they tried to give him first aid.

My tears were non-stop as I watch the medic save my father, but as they are doing their best efforts the line in the monitor went straight, the beep went continuous, no ups and downs, just a straight teeet sound. My head felt like spinning and I felt as if I was losing consciousness,

“Amary, Amary,” I fell to James’s arms and it all went blank.

I woke up later on with a very heavy headache and my eyes felt sore, my cognizance suddenly caught me as words slowly came out of my mouth,

“Where’s” my mouth felt dry, I saw it was James still on his tux and bloody clothes sleeping on the couch near my bed, I believe my movements caused him to wake,

He quickly got up and got me a glass of water,

“Thanks, where’s my daddy? Is he alright?” he sat down beside me, face already shows defeat.

“When we reached the hospital he was declared dead upon arrival, they tried to revive him many times but they couldn’t. I stare at blankness as I felt the pain on my heart slowly breaking and twisting and as if my heart was being drained of happiness.

I felt my head getting heavier and James caught me and assisted me to rest my back,

“Caleb I believe and Quincy are arranging your father’s funeral. I have not enough words to express my sorrow, I am sorry for your loss, Amary Anthur” he said, he gave my hands gentle grips as I nodded,

I couldn’t help but seek for an embrace from him, I cried and cried until there’s nothing to left but pain, anger and the drive to avenge my father.

“And Amary Anthur?” James said as he tapped my back,

“Hmmm?” I replied wiping my tears still in his arms,

“I am your fiancée”