The morning air was different from what she was used to. The air was cleaner, actually smelled like flowers, there was warm sunshine in the air. She was sitting at a round fancy table, drinking an ice coconut coffee while she flipped through piles of papers. She kept glancing over to her left shoulder, glancing at the golden yellow of the sand, the glistening navy blue ocean which sparkled each time a wave crashed into another. The only thoughts that came into her mind was how quiet the world seemed, how she was going to miss having this view with peace. She was enjoying her vacation and not having to do anything besides what she desired, which was to do anything she thought of at that moment. Which was for now to sit in the café she found while shopping around the unfamiliar town, enjoying her ice coffee with a gorgeous view. While she was enjoying her iced coffee her phone was ringing as she was taking a sip of her iced coffee, she picked up her phone.
"Yes" she said with annoyance.
"It's time to come home, Elizabeth. We need to discuss something between me and your dad" Her mother calmly screamed through the phone. Elizabeth pulled her ear away from the phone before her mother's voice ruptured her ear.
"I'll be on the next flight tonight. Are there any problems wrong with the company?" Elizabeth said while waving at the waiter to bring the check. Her mother's answer could be heard a mile away as Elizabeth was settling her bill with the waiter.
"Yes, mother. Are you sure everything is okay? You seem agi–" Before Elizabeth could finish her sentence her mother hung up the phone. Elizabeth sighed, she could feel her peace slowly fading away.
After she got off the phone with her mother, the waiter had brought her check to the table and she paid. Elizabeth got up from her table while she dialed for her car to pick her up from the café. Elizabeth was dropped off at her hotel. She went into her room to pack her clothes, Elizabeth asked if the hotel could send the rest of her stuff to the address she provided, they agreed. Elizabeth was on her jet when she received another phone call from her mother but she decided to answer it in the morning when she was face to face with her mother. It was early in the morning when Elizabeth's jet landed at her local airport. Elizabeth tried to call her mother back but the phone went through. It was now later in the morning when she finally arrived at her house. Elizabeth noticed there was a new car in the driveway, but gave it no second thought while walking inside her family's mansion.
"Good afternoon, Glennie. Where's my parents?" Elizabeth said while Glennie took her coat from her.
"She's in the family room with some other guests" Gleenie said as she draped her coat over her arm and went on with her business.
"Other guests? Who?" Elizabeth said while walking to the family room.
Elizabeth could hear laughter and talking coming from the room, she wondered who her parents were talking to. The unfamiliar voice was unfamiliar to her. She walked into the family room smiling, greeting her parents.
"So, what was the news that you wanted to tell me?" Elizabeth said while sitting down on the beige couch while being handed coconut water in a fancy glass cup.
"We have something we need to talk to you about" Elizabeth's father said while sipping his hot black coffee, there was steam still coming off from his coffee cup.
"Okay, what is it?" Elizabeth said while putting down her coconut water. She looked up to lock eyes with a girl about her age with black irises, short straight hair that seemed to be fried, she had dark under eyes like she hadn't been sleeping for days, there were also a bunch of piercings that seemed to be healed but she was not wearing piercings, which seemed odd to Elizabeth, she could not pinpoint the exact reason behind it.
"We want you to meet our daughter, our real daughter" Elizabeth's father roared as he sat down his cup of coffee.
"I don't understand, what do you mean?" Elizabeth said as she shot to her feet. Her face looked confused.
"Honey, listen, we received an email a few days ago, the email stated that you were not our biological daughter. We went to a friend with a blood analyst lab and got our blood tested while you were on your vacation and it said you were not our daughter." Elizabeth's mother chimed in as her eye's kept darting back and forth between Elizabeth and the other woman.
"What?!" Elizabeth said while trying to make sense of everything.
Before Elizabeth had a chance to say another word, she was interrupted.
"I actually wanted to tell you all something, especially now that Elizabeth is finally here. My mother, well, the person who raised me told me that she swapped your baby with her baby so she could give her daughter the life she could never give her daughter, which was to be born the only heiress to your beauty product company. She wanted to give her daughter a life without having to struggle for money or anything. She wanted her daughter to grow up loved, and a planned out future for when she grows up, she would have everything she needed before she was even born. So she told me that she switched the baby's on the madam's twenty-fifth birthday when people would be too busy to bother with a maid carrying the baby. They would have just thought that she was taking care of your baby while you were at the party." The real daughter said as the mom was holding her shoulders while holding back her tears.
"Are you serious? I've been your daughter my whole life! I–" Elizabeth shouted as she got up from her spot on the couch as she was holding her head with her right hand massaging her temples.
"It's not your fault, we would still consider you as our daughter. There would just be some changes first, for everyone's sake." Elizabeth's father said while his arms were crossed with an evil expression on his face. Something Elizabeth only saw when he was firing and or reprimanding one of his employees.
"There's something else we need to talk about. We received a marriage prompt from the Autumn's, but I feel like that is too much for her to handle right now and since you're still one of our own, we figured you could help us with this matter." Elizabeth's father slightly shouted as he resumed drinking his coffee.
"Wait, you guys want me to make some changes and then consider a marriage proposal because it is too much for her to handle?" Elizabeth said while grabbing her heart, trying to catch her breath. Before anyone could say anything Elizabeth dashed to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
After slamming the door behind her, Elizabeth calmed down for a second, while catching her breath. She let go of clutching her shirt and started to get herself together. She started to collect her thoughts before she went crazy. She got her suitcases out and started packing her life into the few suitcases she has. Elizabeth didn't realize how little she had in this house about her life, she was too busy learning the ways of taking over her family's company so from a young age she was put to the test on everything. She found a picture of her and her grandparents when they lived in China when she was eight and it was the only time she did not have to follow the strict schedule her mother put her through and the music lessons her father made her take to make her more feminine for her future husband. She couldn't believe once again everything was happening, but twenty-two years of living underneath her parents felt like she was in a mental hospital that turned to prison when she did not do what they wanted her to do. It felt like hours, but she got everything she wanted from her room and left with one last look of her bedroom which now looked like a tornado ran through it and took nothing but everything and left clothes everywhere. She wondered if she should clean up her mess, but she realized they made her clean up after enough people for her lifetime.
"Elizabeth, can we talk this over once again? I'm afraid Nancy isn't going to gain anything from this; only complications. We just got her back and we can't lose her to the Autumn family also it helps that they requested you in particular. I know you never met anyone in the Autumn family, barely anyone that's not insanely rich meets them all the time so I don't even know how they knew of you, but they did." Her mother tried to plead on Nancy's behalf by grabbing Eliabeth's hand hard and digging her nails into her skin, something she did when she wanted Elizabeth to do something she wanted without having to make a scene.
Elizabeth yanked her hand away from her mother, who looked outraged when she did not accept her mother's deal. Which was to do what she said when she said it. She did not feel sad, she felt angry, betrayed and wanting revenge. She chose to indulge in that feeling and do what she wanted to do for the first time in her life. Elizabeth regained her composure and kept walking out the door until her father tried to persuade her again but with money threats. Her father kept repeating that the Autumn family was going to make them pay back what they owed and publicly mock their company. Elizabeth just kept her head high, before she walked out the front doors with the help of Glennie who had her coat, she saw her sister smirking while staring her down just like her mother would do when she got her way over anything and she manipulated everything to her power to suit her needs best.
"I'm leaving. My resignation will be on Charlie's desk first thing monday morning" Elizabeth said without turning to look at her mother, only her father, and walked out after giving Gleenie a big hug. She thought she was the only one to treat her like a human being instead of someone who needed to do everything at once and still not be good enough for them.
"It's for the best" Elizabeth thought as the door closed behind her, while parents were still yelling and cursing at her.
Elizabeth got into her car and sped off. The sky was blood red and getting darker with the minute, She arrived at a fancy hotel. She often stayed here when she needed some peace and quiet. Elizabeth pulled up to the entrance, there were valets stationed in their own booths. She pulled up next to the closet available valet booth, her mind was elsewhere. Elizabeth did not even notice the valet asked her if she needed help with her bags. Thankfully the valet called for a bellhop anyway. The bellhop motioned his hands to Elizabeth bags signaling he is going to move her bags, he again motioned with his hands to the bar that could be seen through the left front windows, while the right windows could be seen having a fancy restaurant that was still open at this time of night. Elizabeth thanked the bellhop with a hundred dollar bill, with a thank you. She left to visit the bar while she still felt like doing anything. Elizabeth checked into one of the two penthouse suites, the same room she always had gotten.
"I'm sorry, it seems the room is currently unavailable. Would you like for me to book for the other penthouse suite" The young woman with a toothy smile voiced like a robot.
"That would be much appreciated" Elizabeth said with a smile.
After a minute passed, Elizabeth received her room key card and strutted towards the bar. She thought something good might come from relaxing like she was on her vacation. Elizabeth sat at the bar booth and ordered the chefs special. The bartender slid her a food menu from the restaurant next door, Elizabeth was very intrigued while looking at the menu. Her stomach started growling. The bartender put down a baby blue napkin with a gold initial "A", he gently placed her drink on top of the napkin. He took out a black notepad, like he knew she was going to order something to eat. He scribbled down her order as he eyed the other customers that were starting to sit down in the bar. She thought to herself that it was pretty busy at that time of the night for a hotel bar but thought nothing of it. Her drink was finished by the time her food arrived, which was fancy nachos with extra hot peppers on the side. Her eyes lit up as the waiter walked over with her steaming food. Inside she secretly squealed with joy, thinking ahead Elizabeth ordered another round of drinks for her.
"It will only take a second, ma'am" The bartender soft but strongly voiced while grabbing ingredients from the bar.
Elizabeth thanked the bartender, she elegantly demolished the nachos, after she wiped her hands clean with the baby blue napkin. A tall handsome man with angelic features sat in the spot next to Elizabeth, he turned his head to get a better look at Elizabeth. He had a smirk on his face which bewitched all the ladies that walked by to faint into puddles of water. Elizabeth locked eyes with the mystery man and smiled. She looked away and continued to order another round of drinks, Elizabeth had a high tolerance and always loved to drink. She thought this came from her dad who had also enjoyed drinking, but that now became something she couldn't say anymore, something Elizabeth never thought could happen, she sadly sighed.
"Is there something on my face?" Elizabeth asked while her hands tried to find anything on her face.
"Yes, your gorgeous face." The bartender said as he poured Elizabeth another drink and said it was on the house. Elizabeth was flattered by the sudden flattery, she smiled as sipped her drink as she continued to lock eyes with the bartender throughout the night, sometimes even making small conversations when he would come by to refill her drink and fruit. Eventually the handsome bartender asked Elizabeth what she was doing later and if she wanted to keep the partying going. Elizabeth accepted his proposal and asked when he would be done with work. He quickly replied,
"Now" with a low tone voice which made Elizabeth swoon even more. Before the bartender could put his apron down another bartender came over to ask where he was going. He replied that he was leaving with Elizabeth for the night in the same breath he told the woman bartender to mind her business. He immediately threw the apron down behind the bar counter, in the same motion he put his hand out to Elizabeth like a gentleman. They walked out of the loud bustling bar with neon flashing lights to walk out into another loud world but it was tolerable because they were together.