LOCKED UP IN VENICE

DANIELLA'S POV

50 Cent's In da Club was playing on high blast on the speakers as the strippers were on the poles doing their thing.

Just then, my cell phone rang but I ignored it. Ten minutes later, it rang again.

I picked it up immediately, "Hello?!"

"You must come immediately. Your Dad has been rushed to the county hospital."

The caller said.

"Sorry, guys but I have to go." I told my friends.

"But we're having so much fun!" one of my friends spoke up.

"Do I have a choice?" I grumbled as I took one last shot of my drink and got off the bar chair.

"I'll catch you later!"

I shouted over the heavy bass of the music, pushing my way through the dancing crowds and heading for the exit. Outside, the cool night air hit me like a sobering slap.

My heart was pounding as I jumped into a taxi, giving the driver the address of the hospital.

The ride to the hospital seemed like an eternity. The music from the club was still ringing in my ears and I felt a sickening mixture of worry, guilt, and a hangover starting to kick in.

As we pulled up to the hospital, I stumbled out of the taxi, quickly paying the driver before rushing through the sliding doors of the ER.

“I’m here for my father, Mr.Flintwood” I told the receptionist, my voice sounding strange and distant to my own ears.

The receptionist spared me a glance before typing something into her computer.

"Room 207. Second floor." she finally said, pointing towards the elevator.

My breath hitched in my chest as I entered the room. Seeing my father lying there, pale and unconscious, was a reality check. My party-hard lifestyle invaded by this stark, cold world of medicine and mortality.

My father's illness was real and suddenly, everything else felt irrelevant.

I pulled up a chair next to his bed, the remaining buzz from my drinks fading away. The room was painfully silent, only broken by the steady beep of the heart monitor.

"Sorry, dad."

I whispered, looking at his frail figure. My hand was shaking as I reached out to hold his.

Fish out of water, that is what I felt like in that sterile white hospital room.

'... the lyrics of the song echoed in my head, the irony not lost on me. Tonight, the only shots were the ones provided by a nurse and they weren't of tequila but of life-saving medication.

For the first time, I had a severe realization of what my priorities should be. As I sat next to my father's bed, I promised myself to be the daughter that he could be proud of.

The night was no longer about 'party rocking', it had taken a sobering turn and forced me to face reality. Party's over... it was time to grow up.

"My daughter..." my father rasped as he held out his shaky hand and I clasped it in mine.

"I have very little time left and I failed to tell you something." he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I know that I did my best to give you all the finer things in life but in return, I took a debt from Alexander. Unable to pay for it, I have decided to give your hand in marriage to him." he said as I gasped in shock.

"What?!" I shouted.

"You must marry him." he said.

"What? No, dad, there has to be another way!" I cried, my heart clenching at the thought of marrying Alexander.

I had seen him often in company of my father, a silver-tongued, devilishly handsome man with cold eyes. Never had I imagined that my father would think of giving me away to him.

"I've signed the papers, sweet heart," my father's voice was weak despite his attempt to sound stern.

"The only way I can repay the debt, and ensure your safety after I am gone... is this."

This couldn't be happening. I was only twenty-two, fresh out of college and had a legion of dreams waiting to be pursued.

Marriage wasn't even on the horizon, let alone to someone like Alexander. But I could see the desperation in my father's eyes, the guilt and the fear. He really had no other choice.

"Dad, I... I don't love him." I whispered, tears streaming down my face.

My father closed his eyes, swallowing hard. When he spoke next, it was almost a whisper.

"I understand, my dear. But this is the only way to ensure that you're safe from the ruthless world out there. Alexander is powerful, he can protect you."

"I can take care of myself," I said fiercely. But staring at the weak, frail man on the hospital bed, I knew I couldn't just ignore his dying wish.

“I…” My voice broke, staring at the pleading look in my father's eyes.

“Okay. I’ll… I’ll do it.”

As I whispered the words, the harsh reality of my situation dawned on me. My life as I knew it had just shattered into pieces.

But for the sake of my dying father, for the sake of securing my own safety... I would marry Alexander.

All I could hope for now was that life had some left turns for me.

I soon arrived at the mansion where Alexander lived and reached the gates where his guards were standing.

"How can we help you?" the guards demanded.

"M-my name is Daniella." I spoke up.

"I'm here because my father told me that he wanted me to marry an Alexander Vanderbilt?"

The guard looked down at the name and address that my father had written down for me and nodded.

"Alright." he said, nodding.

"Go straight ahead to the mansion."

"Thank you," I said, clutching the paper in my hand and walking to the mansion.

I rang the doorbell to the grand mansion and the butler opened the door before I gave him my introduction.

"Right this way, ma'am." the butler said, leading me up the ramp to face a man in a wheelchair as he turned to look at me with his cold gray eyes.

"M-my name is Daniella." I said as my voice quivered.

"And my father's dying wish is for me to marry you."

ALEXANDER'S POV

As I sat in my wheelchair, looking at the young woman standing before me, I couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions swirling inside me.

Her name was Daniella, and she was the daughter of a man I had known for years, a man who had now asked me to marry his daughter in his final moments.

Her voice trembled as she introduced herself and mentioned her father's dying wish. I could see the confusion and uncertainty in her eyes, and I couldn't blame her. This sudden turn of events must have been overwhelming for her.

"Daniella, I understand this must be a lot to take in," I began, my voice steady despite the turmoil within me.

"I never expected your father to make such a request, especially under these circumstances."

She looked at me, her expression a mix of apprehension and resignation. I could see the weight of her decision bearing down on her young shoulders.

"I want you to know that I will do ever