A Woman's Empire

III

CHAPTER THREE

Audrielle's bottom lip quivered as the cursed sentence left her father's lips. It dawned on her that this 'freedom' she was supposed to be granted, was now destroyed just by these two men, who she had to consider family, sitting around her. Just as she had conquered her past and crawled out from the present, her future was another brick wall in the middle of her path towards her freedom. But this one was forever, she simply couldn't climb over it or wait for the gate to be opened, this one was a hundred feet tall and at the top, it was braided with electric barb wire, waiting for her curiosity with open arms, only to push her one hundred feet down to the ground.

She was afraid to speak. Her insides churned and suddenly the room felt small, everything was combusting around her. A ball of emotions punctured her airways and she felt like she couldn't breathe. In the corner of the room sat Grandpa Charles and with the fire burning and crackling away, he watched the poor, innocent girl in front of him break down with a sick, twisted smirk on his face. The Harrington family was pure evil and poor Audrielle was the innocent princess in this palace, yearning for her prince in shining armour to come and rescue her with a white horse. But business was not a fairytale, there were sharks, there were men who should not be walking the earth and there's innocent people being torn from the life they should have.

"You're forcing me to marry a man that I do not know?! Just so you don't have to break history?!" Audrielle sobbed and Mr. Harrington stood up, looking straight into his daughter's eyes that were glossed over with glass tears.

"It's an arranged marriage, Audrielle. As the only offspring of this family, you are the heir but because of the generations before you, as a business, we have decided that it is best if a male role took the throne." He stated firmly as he walked around his desk to the mini bar where all his expensive liquors perched neatly on oak shelves. Audrielle stared at her father in disbelief. As a business... it hurt to know that her life was nothing more than a deal that was negotiated. Tears streamed down her rose red cheeks and her eye makeup that she had just fixed minutes before, was destroyed and in replace were dark gullies that etched her bright skin.

"I am a human father! I understand that you want a male present to take over the business, but unfortunately, you are stuck with me. And I am sorry, but I am not marrying a man simply for the benefit of your fucking business!" Audrielle screamed and suddenly, chills ran down her back. She had never talked back to her father, let alone swore at him. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Grandpa Charles promptly stood up and without the support from his gold plated walking cane, he made his way over to Audrielle.

He looked her dead in the eyes and with the utmost anger, he swung his right arm back and brought it back around so fast that Audrielle didn't see the action coming. His palm connected with her already hot cheek with a loud smack which echoed around the silent room and Audrielle's face snapped to the right viciously.

"You are a woman." Her grandfather spat before suddenly grabbing at her chin, making her blurry eyes meet his cold ones. "You definitely do not get to make rules around here. This bloody title of a 'heir' you have, is just a label. You are not special and your father and I are the ones who imply orders around here. Not some silly little girl who won't be able to look after the family business which has been around for a hundred years. If we tell you you're getting married, you are putting on a dress and walking down that fucking asle, whether you like it or not." He spat in her face, venom dripping dangerously from each and every word he said.

Audrielle once strong nature, that only lasted a mere minute, had now broken and with tears endlessly falling from her amber eyes, she became fragile, that even the slightest touch could shatter her to a million pieces; never to be put back together.

"Father..." Audrielle whispered in a strained voice. He slowly turned around a faced his daughter and almost flinched at the bright red hand mark lashed across her left cheek. He looked down after taking a drink of his whisky that burned the back of his throat and incintergrated any emotions that crawled their way back into his heart.

"You are getting married next month, Audrielle." He muttered in a stern voice and just like that, Audrielle's hope and dream of this 'freedom' fell to the ground in a pile of pieces by her heels. With all the courage left in her, which was hardly any, she wiped away her tears with shaky hands before pushing open the heavy oak door that had gold embellishments. Just outside the office, was her mother who for once in her life, showed some emotion towards her daughter. The look of shock and shame took over her plastic face but Audrielle didn't stop to raise her eyes at her mother. She didn't call anyone in this house family and now her one and only birthday wish that she had secretly begged for since she was fifteen, was now flushed down the drain. As she climbed her way up the stairs with a heavy yet empty heart, the hallways of this place suddenly felt longer and the doors to freedom were bolted shut, prisoning her in.

Luckily, security were onto it and not another person had trailed down the halls of the third floor, but Audrielle couldn't care less, she didn't care if someone saw her crying. They would send her a strange stare and then take a photo of Audrielle before they would even think about her feelings. The photo would then be sent to a news agent or a magazine line where they would write about the 'spoilt daddy's girl walks the halls crying at her twenty first'. It might hurt Audrielle a tiny bit, but it wouldn't leave a scar. On the business, yes, but after today Audrielle didn't give two flying shits what would happen with the business.

Coming to a stop in front of her bedroom, Audrielle rummaged through her little clutch to look for the little golden key that unlocked her bedroom. It took a while for Audrielle to find it as the tears blurred her eyesight, making simple things hard to do. Just as she found the key, with shaky hands, she inserted the key into the lock and twisted the door knob, rushing inside her room before falling to the floor in a pool of lilac silk and salty tears. Croaked sobs spilled out of Audrielle as she desperately tried to tear of the once beautiful but now an evil spell that had wrapped around Audrielle's body tightly like a python strangling its prey. Her fragile fingers slowly unzipped the side of her dress and then she kicked off her white stilettos that were clipped around her ankles. Cries spilled off her lips and she screamed, one that could send chills through your body as she pulled the dress off her delicate body. Audrielle climbed to her feet and the dress feel to a pool of lavender liquid on the ground. She stared at it with hatred as she ripped the pearl necklace that hung around her neck. Expensive pearls flew through the air before landing on the marbled floor in a scatter. Audrielle was a true mess and as she thought about her future that she wanted and dreamed of quickly fade away into a golden haze, she bent down and picked up the dress, ready to chuck the pile of luxury fabric onto her bed when she screamed loudly.

There, in front of her was a man sitting on her bed in a suit and a smirk on his face. Audrielle stood back in horror, almost tripping over one of the loose pearls while holding the dress against her chest as a tool of protection. The mysterious man chuckled with the evil smirk still plastered on his face but this time it was ten times bigger.

"I don't know what you're trying to hide, love. I've seen it already." His accent was thick and Audrielle could hint some Italian in it. Audrielle wore of shock and disgust on her hot, flustered face.

"W-Who are you?" Audrielle asked, her voice small and hoarse from all the crying and screaming she had done and now she could feel a headache coming from it all. Mr. Mysterious man cackled before pushing himself off of her perfectly made bed which consisted of blush colored blankets that had white roses embroidered onto it and half a dozen of pillows that matched the bed and color palette of her room.

He slowly stalked towards Audrielle as he hungrily took in her glowing, long legs. Audrielle's brown orbs widened and he sent her a smile, one that looked sinister. When he was close enough to her to see her bloodshot veins in her eyes and the subtle spray of star like freckles that were hardly masked by the foundation, he took hold of her left hand that was shaking in fear. Slowly, he placed a kiss on her soft skin before standing back up and leaning towards her ears.

He gently pushed away the wisps of hair that outlined her face before he whispered, "I, Ms. Harrington, am your fiance."