The Affluent The Alluring

Prologue

Jenny's toddler pulled her hand as they stood in their province's square before the National Announcements of Today, or NAT, started playing. The toddler was persistent. She yanked her mothers arm more times than needed. Jenny pointed at her daughter.

"No ma'am!" Jenny's whisper was angry. "You do not yank Mommy's arm!" She grabbed her toddler and set her on her hip. The toddler's eyes started to water. "Please don't cry, Antonia." But just as Jenny whispered her plea, Antonia screamed. Water shot from her eyes and she grabbed her mothers top.

People near them started to look in their direction.

"Great," Jenny mumbled looking at her daughter. "I guess we won't watch NAT today, Toni." Jenny turned on her heal. People cleared a path for them as Antonia's screaming got louder.

When Jenny rounded the corner she got Antonia to stop screaming. She looked back at the square where everyone was standing. NAT started to play, the people are watching the screen. There was a picture of a girl on there, the picture was of a two-year-old. It was Antonia.

The people talking for NAT were ranting about how gorgeous this child was. The said there were rewards for whoever found her. People started looking around. There were whispers among the people about how that screaming toddler was the girl from the picture.

"Oh no, Baby!" Jenny's whisper was panicked. "Somehow you got paparazzied. We need to get you home." Jenny held her daughter close to her chest and ran.

Just as she turns the corner to her house some yells, "There she is!"

Jenny held her daughter tighter and ran into her little hut. There was a boy sitting across from her husband. "Harold, lock the door."

Harold stood to comfort his wife, "What's going on?" He glanced at the boy still sitting at the table. "Nathaniel, lock the door for me please."

"Yes sir, Mr. Simmons," the boy stood to locked the door. Just after he locked it, people began to demand to see Antonia.

Nathaniel is a poor and homeless boy that the Simmons family takes care of during the fall and winter. He's alluring, but that has nothing to do with why the Simmons family care for him like their own.

"What's wrong honey?" Harold took Antonia from Jenny. Nathaniel stood next to Harold when he set Antonia on her feet so Nathaniel could help her walk.

"We need to hide her," Jenny looked at her two year old. Her eyes watered as she let her husband hold her. "People are after her. Someone took a picture of our baby, it went viral. Now the rich want her so they can marry her off to their heir. And all the people out there want to have her so they can sell her to whoever bids the highest." Jenny watched as Nathaniel led Antonia around the small hut.

"So you want to hide her?" Harold's voice sounded worried.

Jenny nodded then pointed at Nathaniel who was dancing with Antonia. "We use him. He can go out the other door that you installed in case of fires. We'll give him all the money we have and food and blankets and-" Jenny looked at her husband who was shoving as much food as he could into a satchel.

"I agree," Harold spoke. "Go pack some clothes and get the savings box out from under the bed." Harold put one last can of peaches into the satchel before setting it across Nathaniel's shoulder.

Harold looked down at a very confused seven-year-old boy who was holding his daughter's hand. "You'd do anything for us, right Nathaniel? Especially little Anty?" He watched as Nathaniel nodded his head saying "yes sir" quickly. "We need you to do something for us. Me and Mrs. Simmons need you to take Antonia out the secret door in the back of the house and run for the woods. Once you reach the forest, don't stop running. Go further and further until you find the city on the other side. Don't go in the city because people are looking for Antonia, but instead find a small red shed that should be stashed with food. That shed used to be a little getaway home for me and Mrs. Simmons before we had Antonia, later it became useless so we turned it into a storage unit. Stay there until you hear someone announce Antonia dead. After you hear NAT say she's dead, keep Antonia in the shed and go into the city to use our savings money to buy more clothes and food for you two. After you know it's safe enough let bring Anontia home to us, do you got that?" Harold pat Nathaniel on the shoulder.

"Yes, sir," Nathaniel nodded his head again. "I will do everything you just told me."

"You promise me?" Harold's voice stern.

"I promise."

Then Jenny came back with their savings and clothes for the two children. After the packed everything for Nathaniel, they took him to the secret door in the back of the house.

"Stay safe," Harold told Nathaniel before he started running.

"And remember to tell her that we love her," Jenny whispered to Nathaniel.

After he heard Jenny whisper, Nathaniel booked it into the forest. It took him a couple of days, but he made it safely and quietly to the outskirts of the city where he found the red shed and kept Antonia safe.  He kept every promise to Harold except one, to bring her home.

***

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