To Crumble a Family

My heart beat paced faster and the whole room became more dense as I laid my eyes on the tall dark haired man.

Eric Willingham. 

The biggest pawn in my game.

Eric Willingham,  he doesn't know it yet, but he is going to be my husband and also the reason his family would be crushed to nothing.

He looked too dangerously good to be toyed with. But I love a good challenge. 

Staring at him made it feel as if this whole gala hall was empty and it was just me and him. 

Even the man on the stage making an announcement became invisible to me.  It might sound crazy but I could have sworn I perceived the strong scent of his perfume even though he was seated tables away from me.

The feeling of someone's gaze boring into me snapped me back to reality, bringing back all the colors in the room, the low chatter and the elite men dressed in their most tailored suits and  their women in the most expensive red carpet dresses.

The typical atmosphere of an event hosting the wealthiest families in Annecy. A night where they all leave their homes and come here to show off and compete with each other.

A low hiss coming from the same man who has been glaring at me, made me face him.

Father.

If looks could kill, I would be dead by now.

Others may not notice it, but mom's hands on his was the only reason he hasn't lost his shit and pounced on me yet.

 I saw this coming. I knew this would happen, but still, I decided to attend this event. Even though my father forbade me from attending any events or showing my face in public as his daughter.

The man on the stage who has been spouting nonsense,  hailing the Willinghams finally gave the mic to Ralphael.

Finally.

 I shifted in my seat, ready to embrace what was coming next.

“Just as my buddy here has spoken, we enjoy everyone's presence and would like to share the great news of our new launch coming in  a few weeks.” Raphael spoke and  everyone including my father had all their attention on him.

“With great honor, as the right hand man of the esteemed Willingham family,  I announce to you that our new jewellery line is finally ready to be launched.” He smiled and the air was instantly filled with the sounds of clapping hands.

He kept talking and giving in more details and I waited patiently till he said,

“And I'd like to welcome our head designer, Adriana Steele on stage please.” 

I smiled at the mention of my name.

Standing up, I gave my father a quick glance. Of course his mouth was hanging open.

But he was not the only one staring in shock. 

Mom and every other guest in the hall had their eyes on me.

Hell, even the Willinghams were looking at me. Even Eric.

I marched to where Raphael was standing and gave him a quick smile.

“The best, and only the best would come from us,” I said. “I'd like to thank the Willingham family for giving me such a marvellous opportunity and also, my father, Christopher Steele and my mother, Lisa Steele for helping me achieve all my dreams.” 

With that, I stepped down from the stage with my head raised high in pride.

The murmurs in the hall intensified. 

Everyone was gossiping, their eyes traveling between me and my parents.

“Christopher has a daughter?” 

“Oh, but the couple have always claimed to be childless,”

“What in the world is Mr Steele hiding?”

I could pick up the words from other tables while my eyes darted towards my father.

His face was bloodshot red and he was clearly ready to tear me to shreds.

“How dare you!” He growled under his breath.

The camera's flashing with every passing second forced him to smile.

This would be the gossip of the week.

“Let's leave dear,” Mom said. The place was suddenly not as organized as it was before my appearance on stage.

Camera men and media people were shoving their way towards us.

“Mr Christopher, is this really your daughter?” One yelled.

“What has been the reason for keeping her identity a secret?” Another chirped and the questions kept coming.

 "You piece of shit, what have you done?" Father muttered under his breath. 

I returned his words with a smile. 

I kept my head straight as the cameras flashed. 

Father should thank me. Normally, at such galas and events, the only people who get the spotlight are the Willingham family. But here we are today. The whole press wants to talk to Mr Steele, all because of me. 

"Let's leave," Mom said again with more urgency. We stood up and made our way to the exit. The media men were all over us. 

"Mr Steele, what is this? Is she your daughter, or is this just a scandal?"  A red carpet reporter asked. 

"Mr Steele, everyone knows you and  Mrs Steele don't have a baby, and also you've said in so many interviews that you have no intention of adopting. Did you change your mind all of a sudden?"  Another chimed. 

We kept walking, trying our best to ignore the press. 

Father could pass out any second. The thought of it made me chuckle. 

The walk to the car has to be the most stressful one, even with the security personnel trying their best to push the interviewers aside.  We managed to get to the car, and the ride home was smooth. 

"You worthless little thing!" Were his first words when we shut the door to the living room. 

"Christopher, please," Mom begged. 

"Don't you dare Lisa!" He said. "I always knew she would be trouble! Look at her! Look at how she embarrassed me today!"

"Honey, she is just a child. Please forgive her," Mom begged. 

"A child! A child can't pull all that stunt! What do you want? Popularity? Well, you've gotten it." He barked. 

What could I do but smile?

"Now you've gotten the little attention you want, right? You know what you're gonna do tomorrow? I'm going to call a press meeting, I know those brats will be waiting outside anyway. You are going to come down and deny being my daughter, okay?" He was fuming. 

"Honey, this is wrong. Think about how she'll feel, please,"  Mom said. 

"I don't care about how she'll feel! Did she care about how I would feel before doing what she did?" 

"She's your daughter!" 

"She's not my daughter for the last time! She is not my daughter! You adopted her. I never wanted the adoption. I only signed the papers for your sake, and I remember  stating clearly that she can live with us and get all the luxuries,  but no one should ever know!" He took his tie off and stomped towards the stairs.

"You want your hands in my money, don't you? I promise you won't get what you want!" He added before ascending the stairs. 

"Adriana, my love, please don't take his words personal, you know how he can be," Mom said, wrapping her arms around me. 

"It's okay, Mom, just go to him. I'm fine," I assured her. 

She took a few minutes, thinking whether to go after him or stay with me.

I assured her again that I'll be fine. Only then did she race up the stairs and straight to their room. 

I felt guilty for the position I've put her in, but then, it's what needs to be done. It won't last, I promise. 

.

I let out a relieved sigh when my back hit the surface of my bed. 

What the heck? I never thought such fancy galas would be this stressful. 

Mustering the little energy left in me, I reached to my feet and loosened the straps of my heels and then threw them across the room. 

I lay back in silence, thinking about my next step. 

The noise from my vibrating phone is what made me realize that I had fallen asleep. 

I picked up without paying much attention to the caller ID. 

"Hello?" I grumbled. 

"Ms Steele," I rolled my eyes at the sound of Raphael's voice. 

"In bed already? You didn't mind calling and saying a little, you know, thanks for the effort I made." 

On a normal day, I'd just hang up on him, but now, he's my biggest key to success. 

"Raphael, I'm exhausted, but you know I  appreciate your efforts. And by the way, I am paying for the service. It's not a favour." I said. 

I could hear him chuckle. 

"That reminds me, I did a great job today. Why don't you send something."  I've already settled this gasbag! 

"Raphael, is it that the Willinghams don't pay you enough as their special advisor and personal assistant?" 

"Do you want me to abort the mission and focus on my loyalty to the Willinghams? I could do that, you know?" 

Sneaky asshole. 

"I'm not sending a dime, not until I hear the progress of the mission,"  I said. 

It was getting hot in here,

I stood up from my bed and started taking my dress off.  

I need to breathe! 

"As we speak now, Mr Willingham has agreed to my idea of getting you married to his oldest son." 

A smile crept on my face,  I had to swallow the excitement in my voice before speaking. 

"Good. I'm glad you are taking your job seriously." I said. 

"As we speak now, you will be meeting with your husband-to-be tomorrow for lunch,  you know, to get to know each other." 

This is great. The joy of getting results is one of my favorite things on earth. 

"But you know, all that can change with just a few words from me," He said. 

Greedy ass. 

"I'll send you the money, Raphael. No need for the pathetic threats," I said, then hung up. 

With my dress occupying a spot on the floor, I hopped back to my bed, my thoughts running wild. 

"Meet my husband-to-be tomorrow."

Nice.

These people have no jobs apart from poking their nose in people's family drama.

I peeped through the window one more time, there were at least five of them, each clinging to their cameras, waiting for someone to make the mistake of stepping out of this house.

I checked the address that was sent to me last night one more time before getting dressed.

Red, they say, is attractive, but I chose to go with olive green instead. I believe it compliments my skin, or maybe it's because I just have a thing for the color.

Either way, green it is. Plus it's covered enough not to show the scars on my lap. A win-win.

The date is 12 pm. Odd timing, but I guess that is when the Great Eric Willingham is free.

I still have time before then but leaving this house wouldn't be that easy so I needed to start early.

It was 10 am on the dot when I made my first attempt to leave.

My face came in direct contact with the butler the moment I stepped out.