The Resistance Mogul

Chapter 1 - The Park

I lay on the uncomfortable bed, staring and the dust covered ceiling-fan. The book I was reading were just words that went into one ear and out the other. It was a time waster until I had to leave. The crumby old hotel I was staying at would soon no longer be my sanctuary. A sanctuary from my parents. Many people would kill to have my life, the daughter of the CEO of Blue Fashion magazine. Attending countless parties and red carpets, meeting numerous celebrities and models, all things people would die for and I would happily give away.

In my world, I could never have real friends or a real relationship. They cling to me as if they were attached by glue. Holding on to me to experience and live the life of fam and glamour. Hoping one day that they will have their own part in the world of smoke and mirrors.

Everyone I crossed paths with had one intention in our relationship, the worth of my name, Veena Bitterblue. I hate my name; it sounds so over the top. It's the name of a stuck-up celebrity. One of those celebrities that would wave and smile when a crowd was around to see them, but would charge the hell out of you for a signed piece of paper. The name my arrogant mother gave me.

My parents are fake, one of the biggest pretenders I've met. My father - CEO of Blue Magazine – seems as if he could be a kind and well-rounded man and a sweet father, but beneath the shell is a shallow, power obsessed man. He was a man that would solely focus on the fame and fortune that arrived with the magazine inheritance. My mother, on the other hand, was Sophia Alexandra Bitterblue, famous super model. She was just as shallow as my father, maybe even more. She really only cared about her looks and staying young.

Although she is only thirty-five, she believes she looks like an eighty-year-old woman who smoked all her life. My father's 'kindness' in paying for her plastic surgery is not helping her either. My mother's obsession with beauty is starting to spread, for my sixteenth birthday she booked me lip injections. I never showed up to the appointment though, plastic is not for me.

My parents don't see me as their child, but rather an investment, a way to make more money. I stayed in that hotel for a week and they never knew I was gone. I see them for two to three months a year. When I still attended school, I would see the other children overjoyed when they saw their parents. They would talk of the things they did together on the weekends.

Eventually I decided to leave school and start home schooling around age 14 when the paparazzi started to take interest in me. That was the same time that I learnt I couldn't believe or trust many people. I went out on a date with a guy in my class. I told my best-friend only. She knew I couldn't tell many people because it would get out to the public.

The following morning, multiple gossip magazines had pictures of last night's date. I was devastated that my beat-friend would give a tip to the reporters for some cash. Money drives people crazy and even the most humble people can fall into its clutches.

Staring at the clock, I decided I should go out for the night, considering I'll probably just spend the night in my room otherwise. I fling open my suitcase to see what I could wear; I only planned to stay here for a week, so my options were limited. In the end, I wore a black party dress that was tight fitting, but allowed me to move freely. After I got ready, I grabbed my coat and rushed to the elevator. I don't know why I was running down the hall, it's not like I had a time limit.

Walking into the crummy hotel's club made me shutter. Some awful band was playing in the background and every person looked like wana-be phonies. I got seated at a table at the back of the club, I didn't mind where I was seated as this was just a time waster.

"Would you like anything to drink miss?" The waiter asked. "Anything sweet, but strong." I say, not paying him too much attention. The waiter hustled to get my drink, looking quite nervous.

"You leave the waiters quite anxious, I see," purred a voice I did not recognise. I look up to see a man - no, just a boy - looking down at me. "I guess." I state before looking back at the menu.

"You don't look like you're over twenty-one." He continues, seating himself at my table. I put down the menu, half annoyed he wouldn't even ask to sit.

"Neither do you." I say, not really looking for conversation.

"I'm not, but you can't really get through a night at a crummy club like this sober." I half smile at the statement, maybe he wasn't all bad. "The names Holden Chefield may I know yours?" he asks. I pause for a moment wondering if I should give my real name. I shrug it off and answer truthfully.

"Veena Bitterblue, pleased to meet you." I say, maybe a bit too formally. Holden smiles, and then gives me a slight laugh. "Veena? Unique, very pretty." Holden says, quite smoothly I might add. I look a way for a bit, not sure how to manage the awkward convocation. "What brings you to this crummy hotel in New York? You certainly don't look like you come from these parts." Holden asks, smirking as he does. I realise the hint was the brand of my dress, Chanel.

"Just a break from life, it's been getting on my nerves lately. You?" Holden blankly stares at me, before answering. "Same, but I have a feeling from a different type of life." Holden stands up and holds out his hand. "Come with me, this place ain't for a lady like yourself." Now it was my time to stare. "Lady, huh. Where do you suppose, we go Mr Chefield?" I say, as I take his hand. Practically picking me up from my chair, he just pulls me out of the club.

I shouldn't have taken his hand, I don't know him. He could've been leading me to my death, but I did. Holden kept leading me through the quite streets of New York on a Thursday night. After what seemed like hours of walking, he stopped. I looked around me, my eyes widening as I did. He's taken me to Central park, but a part I've never seen before. The ground was littered with a new layer of white snow, and the tress where covered in snowflakes. The icicles hanging off the tree branches sparked in the moon light, giving a magical feel to the park.

"It's beautiful." I say, too awestruck to speak further. Holden chuckled, as he walked closer to the half frozen over lake. The snow was crisp, I didn't want to walk over it and interfere with its beauty. The cold started to get to me as the icy wind blew past the tress. I wrap my arms around my chest, realising I'd left my coat back at the hotel. Holden must have seen me shiver, because he grabbed my waist and pulled me in closer. He then draped his jacket around my shoulders, still holding me in his arms. His emerald green eyes left me even more stunned than our surroundings, but I pushed away from his hold when I realised what I was doing.

When I turned back to him, I noticed that a slight grin stretched along his dark skin. "Sorry Vee, you just looked too beautiful with the snowflakes in your hair." I haven't even noticed that snow had started to fall from the sky. "I'm sorry too, I... I have to go. Goodnight Holden." I started to run back to the hotel. When I got back, Holden was all I could think off.

He wasn't the most handsome man I've ever seen, but there was something about the contrast of his bright eyes to his dark skin. Although, it's where he took me that stunned me the most. I've gone on many dates before and all of them where to high end restaurants, theatres even private islands, but the park was by far my favourite.

The next morning, I packed my few items and called a cab to head home. I still had Holden's coat, but after my little embarrassment last night I couldn't face him. I looked back at the club, but he wasn't there and neither was my $200 coat. Not that my parents would notice, but I liked that coat.