What if Cinderella didn't want prince charming?
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When Emily Odita was forced to visit her father and his new family in Lagos, she thought things couldn't get any worse until sh...
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Emily's POV
"Emily!" I looked up from my phone screen and to the direction the sound of my name came from, Rose. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I half lied. I was anxious and I couldn't help myself from zoning out.
Rose went back to looking ahead of her and I went back to staring at my phone screen. What was I doing on it? Checking my work mails to distract my mind but clearly that wasn't working.
I locked my phone screen and tucked the phone into my purse. I focused on the city of Lagos as we drove to Irvin's house.
Conversations flowed in the car, Rose desperately trying to make me join in but I hardly responded, and if I did I gave one word answers. After a few attempts, she gave up.
The traffic tonight was quite heavy so a car ride that was supposed to be about ten minutes stretched to almost an hour. When dad finally pulled up at their gate and it opened to reveal the huge mansion hidden behind it, my breath got stuck in my chest.
For reasons unknown to me, my heart began to beat faster than normal and breathing only got harder. I struggled to get air into my lungs and when I did, I held it in for longer. My chest constricted, a light pang spreading through it.
Like the very first time I was at the Udo's mansion, I hurried out of the car, taking in a deep breath of fresh air and slowly releasing it.
"You okay there champ?" Dad asked.
I whipped my head around to look at him. His forehead was creased with worry and confusion.
"I'm fine," I forced a smile.
"Nervous?" He asked with a smirk while adjusting his shirt.
"No," I lied and he knew it was a lie but he didn't comment on it, only taking my hand and leading the way toward the front entrance.
Without the expensive cars and extravagantly dressed people, I could admire the beauty of the mansion and its compound. The flowers were neatly trimmed, the interlocked grounds free of weed sprouting from the cracks. The water fountain was flowing, the LED lights around it, enhancing its beauty.
This time around, a maid opened the doors for us, her soft voice and gestures welcoming us into the mansion.
"Please come with me." She said after closing the doors.
All five of us trailed behind her. I tried not to look around like I had never seen expensive shit before but it was hard. Their house was like a museum, expensive artifacts hanging on the walls and laying around as side pieces.
"Mr. Udo is an art collector, one of his favorite hobbies." Dad explained, giving us the answer to the question we all wanted to ask but was too shy to.
"That explains a lot." I said with a nod, my eyes examining the painting by the side of my head. However, I didn't have enough time to look at it because we arrived at the living room.
