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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It almost felt like she’d flipped a switch. She was playing a well versed role and she was killing it. I knew she was in pains on the inside, the way her smile dropped when no one was looking or the heavy sigh that would escape her lips when she was done talking. She was only at the ball because of me. Our meeting with Mr. Black wasn’t until the next day and if she wanted to skip the ball, she could.
The pre-meeting before the ball was a success. We met new prospective business partners and she was doing really well on her own, advertising her father’s company and speaking about it like a CEO would. On our way to the ball, I complemented her on it and she brushed me off as always.
Emily was about to snag her fourth glass of champagne but I was fast enough to intercept it before it could touch her lips.
She pouted. “What was that for?”
“You’re going to get drunk if you don’t stop.” I placed the glass on our table.
“That’s the point, I want to get drunk.” She attempted to reach for it but I was too far away from her and she wouldn’t be able to if she didn’t bend over the table.
“You’re not getting drunk tonight. Not under my watch.” I sipped her drink, infuriating her.
“You’re annoying.” She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest in a childlike manner.
“I know baby. Now drink water.’ I placed a bottle of water in front of her. “Please.”
She was reluctant at first but finally gave in, gulping down a not-so-generous amount of water in one go.
I face palmed myself, “you should have sipped it, sips.” I shook my head and took a sip of my champagne to emphasize my point.
She rolled her eyes, looking away.
“Chididnma,” I called her, placing my hand on her arm.
She flinched but relaxed almost instantly that if I wasn’t paying attention to her I wouldn’t have noticed. Her mood worried me and what made it worse was because I didn’t know how to help her.
“You okay?” I moved to the empty seat that was between us.
“Yeah, I am.” She nodded, looking everywhere else but at me.
“You know I can read you through you, right?” I moved my hand higher so it was now on her shoulder.
She didn’t respond, making me sigh.
“Whenever you’re ready to go, just let me know.” I kissed her cheek, lingering a little longer than usual.
I got up to meet someone.
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