The Last Heiress

Chapter 6 - My Father's Wishes

"I have instructions to give you a new cellphone," Orion finally blurted out and offered me the cellphone he had been tapping against his thigh. I felt the shame wash over me. I thought he had been busy texting his high society friends for the last twenty minutes when he had been looking for the right opportunity to hand me my new phone.

Before I could take that shiny beacon of communication, of reconnection with my family, in my hands, Orion snatched it back.

"There's something I need to tell you before you can have it. First, your father was taken into custody three hours ago."

"What? No, that can't—"

Can't be possible.

Did they know who my father was? There wasn't a world leader on this planet who didn't owe him some type of favor. My father was good at being at the right place at the right time to play the hero during a rebellion or a natural disaster.

"It happened," Orion stated with a hard edge to his voice.

Then he seemed to take a deep breath and bowed his shoulders in shame as though the outburst was unintentional. Even in his deferential position, I could see his broad and muscular shoulders flex under the fabric of his closely tailored jacket. The fabric was pulled taut with his every movement. It was as though Lucifer himself had appeared on earth and was forced to comfort a child after their lollipop had fallen into the drain. "And, Angela, listen to me. You can't attempt to contact him. It's too dangerous. He asked my father to look over you. That means you are my responsibility. Do you hear me? If there's any news about your family back home, I will bring it to you. Do not try to reach Charles. Excuse me, I mean your father. You don't know who might be listening."

"You mean you can't protect me from some political assassins, even from inside your fortified city of sleepless dreams?"

"No, Angela, not political assassins. Far worse," Orion waved his hand through the air as though he was batting my questions away. "Can you trust me when I say this is your best chance of staying alive? Laying low will also keep the rest of your family here in Manna City safe. You have a grandmother here and a brother?"

"A grandmother," I clarified. "And a cousin who is happily residing in Paris right now."

Yes, like most men of my father's influence and status, we had family secrets. My aunt and her husband died in a boating accident when I was ten. Wang Shu was her only child. Who knew if it was an accident or if it was someone who wanted to send a message to my father? Either way, my father loved Wang Shu like his own child, no, even more so because he resembled my father in appearance and personality.

I supposed that my full lips and high, child-like forehead made me look too much like my young, flighty mother and not enough like the other Liangs with their grave, deep-set eyes, and eloquently straight brows.

In the last couple of years, my father even started to joke about leaving his fortune to Wang Shu if I didn't find a suitable husband.

A husband — perhaps — like Orion Oslen?

I didn't know why the thought disgusted me so. Orion wasn't the first boy of the right age and family connections my father attempted to set me up with. Yet, even as I sat here, I could see the characteristics in this young man that would send any other girls' hearts afire. Disregarding his annoying habit of tapping on his knee and then the car upholstery with his thumb with every silent second that passed between us, he was a fine physical specimen of a man.

I knew that the girls at the international private school I grew up with would melt at the sight of a pair of owl-like eyes, soft pink lips, and a proud, straight jaw like his. Yet, like always, I felt nothing. I could never feel any emotion other than disgust at the thought of some boy's body brushing up against mine.

It wasn't simply his nervousness and his lack of answers as to what would happen to me next that was sending my disgust shooting into a stratosphere. Was it? Perhaps, instead of allowing myself the indignity of feeling fear, I was choosing to interpret my rapidly increasing heart rate and clammy hands as hatred instead.

Orion's finger brushed against mine as he finally handed the cell phone to me. It wasn't intentional. The phone, being brand new, was slick and slippery. If he hadn't made sure it was firmly in my grasp before releasing it, it would have fallen, and he couldn't allow such a social mishap to occur.

It was an act of gentlemanly politeness. That's all. Why did I want to throw open the door with my other hand and run from this car?

Orion wasn't wholly dense. He saw the disgust all over my face as I rubbed every last fingerprint of his from my new phone before placing it inside my purse.

"I have a girlfriend — my apologies — a fiancée. Perhaps you'll meet her before heading back home."

I nodded and let out a breath of relief. Somehow, the knowledge Orion had been claimed by someone else calmed me. Embarrassment flooded over me. He hadn't come here with any romantic intentions. He was just doing a favor for my father.

My iciness had been uncalled for. No, it had been nothing short of rude.

"I hope so. Head home, I mean," I reply, doing my best to make conversation for the first time. It was an awkward attempt, but my words seemed to relax him as well. Orion nodded eagerly. He leaned forward and rubbed his hands together. He wore a small signet ring over his pinky, and I could infer by his exaggerated agreement with my every word that this role of a helpful friend was utterly foreign to him. Why wouldn't it be? He was Orion Oslen, the young princeling of Manna City, but to me, he was just another fawning suitor I had finally rid myself of.

"You'll go back home soon, even if I have to bring you there myself. I give you my word, Angela."