Wildfire

Chapter 1

Lilies; white, pure, sweet and beautiful. All of the things a 'proper' lady needed to be. Well... proper wasn't exactly a word one would use to describe Demetria Carrera.

Stubbornly dressed in carton coloured cargo pants, a white crop top and a black jacket, she stomped her way through Sturven street. Oh how she stood out. A wild flower in a sea of gardenias. The looks she often got from the townspeople all blended into three categories: disapproval, the 'bad example to the little girls' charade and, her personal favourite, envy. There were only two kinds of girls in this town - the ones who hated her and the ones who wanted to be her.

Riverside County was a town in the capital city of a country that was way behind on the times. It was the 21st century and women were still being taught that pleasing their husbands was their sole purpose. A woman's life in this town was one directional - school, horse riding lessons, etiquette classes, age group associations and parties, marriage, kids, the end. Far be it for any lady to have a dream or a thought outside of the box society placed them in.

The one time a woman ran for the position of a senator sparked a nation wide outrage. It was 'scandalous'. The woman was a 'bad' influence on the youngsters not just because she thought she could introduce the 'ungodly' ways of the foreigners, but also because she wore a pant suit for her campaign speech. The fact that trousers or anything other than ankle long skirts was considered the epitome of waywardness just showed how bad these people had it. They were rooted in their old traditions. And dear God was this town freaking traditional.

Demetria winked at two guys who caught her eye. They had been eyeing her from head to toe before she even got close to them. The taller one of them knew how to take a joke and winked back while the shorter one just sneered in disgust and whispered all too loudly about how 'loose' girls were these days. From the annoying drawl in his speech and his golden skin, she could tell which family he was from.

A Dulac lord, huh? As if his family didn't run the whorehouse disguised as an innocent lounge bar. Yet, they were considered the most devout family in the town's church.

"Hypocrites," Demetria scoffed, pressing the buzzer outside the gate of the huge establishment she was standing in front of. The unique logo of the animal shelter caught her eyes before the gates rolled open.

"Madam, you're here early," Hadid, the friendly gatekeeper, said, smiling broadly as he usually did while taking the hamper in her hands. "You didn't bring your car today?"

"Nope. Felt like taking a walk. Where's Jia?" She asked, easily slipping into informal speech. She adjusted her cross bag as they crossed the parking lot and approached the entrance to the building.

"Inside with the new intakes, madam."

"Thank you. Oh," she paused, turning around when the man was about to follow her in, "the hamper is for Helma and the kids."

Hadid shook his head, a bright smile on his face. This lady never ceased to shower him and his family with gifts every chance she got. "You didn't have to."

"Don't get all humble on me now. We haven't gotten to the best part yet," she mused, an excited smile on her face as she brought a small box out of her cross bag. "This is for you."

"Madam-"

"Happy birthday, Hadid."

He would have refused. He wanted to refuse but the look on her face told him she wouldn't take no for an answer. He wasn't the only one who received such privileges. All the workers here got just as much benefits. It was pleasant working for this young lady. He had to admit, he had been very worried when an uptown folk came looking to buy the run down place for his little lady some years back. With how obnoxious golden spoon ladies were, he thought she would be a menace but she proved them all wrong. Thankfully so.