Eliana’s POV
My phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
I stared at the screen.
Dad was calling again ofcourse.
I sighed and dropped the phone onto the table.
“Are you seriously ignoring him?” Zara asked.
“Yes.”
“He has called you six times.”
“Then he clearly has a lot of free time.”
Zara stared at me.
I smiled.
“What?”
“You know he’s going to kill you, right?”
“He says that every time.”
“And one day he might actually do it.”
I laughed and reached for my drink.
The music was loud enough to shake the walls.
People filled every corner of the room. Some were dancing, some were talking, and others were busy taking pictures that would probably be all over social media by morning.
I looked around.
This was exactly where I wanted to be.
Anything was better than being at home,sitting across dad while he talked about Williams industries and everything I was meant to do with my life
For once, nobody was telling me what to do
Or at least, I thought nobody was.
“Eliana.”
I turned around.
The girl standing behind me didn't look happy.
I recognized her immediately.
She was the daughter of one of my father's business partners and the girl who hates me
“What?” I asked.
She folded her arms.
“I heard what you said.”
I frowned.
“About what?”
“About me.”
I looked at Zara.
She immediately looked away, traitor.
“I don't remember talking about you.”
“You called me desperate.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
I thought about it for a second.
“Then maybe you shouldn't have been acting desperate.”
Her eyes widened.
Zara grabbed my arm.
“Eliana.”
“What?”
“Just stop.”
I pulled my arm away.
“I didn't say anything wrong.”
The girl stepped closer.
“You think you can get away with anything because you're Richard Williams' daughter.”
There it was.
That name again.
Richard Williams,my father.
His name always managed to find its way into everything even when he wasn’t near me
I smiled.
“You're right about one thing.”
She looked at me.
“I am his daughter.”
I picked up my bag.
“But if you're expecting me to apologize because of his name, you're going to be waiting for a very long time.”
Her face tightened.
Someone nearby laughed.
She turned away.
Zara pulled me toward the other side of the room before I could say anything else.
“You have a problem.”
“I have many problems.”
“You enjoy creating them.”
“Maybe.”
She shook her head.
“You know what your father is going to say when he hears about this?”
I shrugged.
“Probably the same thing he always says.”
“What?”
I imitated his voice.
“Act like an heiress,be responsible.”
Zara laughed and I joined, for a second everything felt normal
But the smile didn't last.
My phone started ringing again.
Dad.
I stared at the screen.
For a moment, I considered ignoring him again.
Then I remembered that he wasn't the kind of person who stopped calling until he got what he wanted.
I answered.
“What?”
There was silence on the other end.
That silence was worse than shouting.
“Come home.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I'm busy.”
“Now, Eliana.”
“I'll come home later.”
“This isn't a discussion.”
I looked around the room.
Everyone was laughing.
The music was still playing.
I didn't want to leave.
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
I clenched my jaw.
There it was.
The reason I hated talking to my father.
He never asked me to do anything
He orders and just expects me to obey
And just like that my night out was,over this happens every single time.
“I'll be home soon.”
“You have twenty minutes.”
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
Zara raised an eyebrow.
“Bad?”
“Very.”
“You're going home?”
“I have to.”
She smiled.
“Good luck.”
“Don't say it like I'm going to war.”
“With your father? You might as well be.”
I grabbed my bag.
“I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Text me when you survive.”
I laughed.
Then I walked out.
By the time I got home, the anger had calmed a bit.
The house was quiet.
Unusually quiet which made me suspicious
I opened the front door and immediately saw my father sitting in the living room.
Of course.
My mother was sitting beside him.
She looked at me and immediately gave me the look.
The please don't make this worse look.
I ignored it cause I wasn’t taking this lightly.
“You're late,” Dad said.
“I came.”
“You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago.”
“I wasn't exactly checking the time every now and then .”I said sarcastically
His expression hardened.
“You think this is funny?”
“Not really.”
“Then why do you keep doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“Acting like you have no responsibilities.”
I laughed.
“I was at a party, Dad.”
“You caused a scene.”
“So?”
His eyes narrowed.
“So you're embarrassing this family.”
I crossed my arms.
“I didn't embarrass anyone.”
“You are the future of this family.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I'm your daughter.”
“You're the heiress of Williams Industries.”
“And that's all you ever see.”
The room went quiet.
My mother looked at me.
Dad didn't say anything.
I could feel my heartbeat getting faster.
“I am tired of everyone deciding what I should do because of a company I didn't ask to inherit.”
“You will inherit it.”
“Maybe I don't want it.”
“You don't mean that.”
“Yes, I do.”
Dad stood.
“You're twenty three years old. It's time you started behaving like an adult.”
“I am an adult.”
“Then start acting like one.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Maybe I would if you stopped treating me like a child.”
My mother finally spoke.
“Richard, she's upset. Maybe this conversation can wait until tomorrow.”
“No.”
Dad's eyes stayed on me.
“There are some things she needs to understand.”
I frowned.
“What things?”
He was quiet for a moment.
Then his voice became strangely calm.
“There are decisions that have already been made concerning your future.”
My stomach dropped.
“What decisions?”
He looked at my mother.
She looked away.
That made my heart beat faster.
“What did you do?”
“Eliana”
“No.”
I looked between them.
“What did you do?”
Dad's expression remained unreadable.
“You'll find out soon enough.”
I stared at him.
I hated that answer.
I hated the way he said it.
Like he knew something I didn't.
Like my life had already been decided somewhere behind my back.
“Whatever it is,” I said, “I'm not agreeing to it.”
Dad didn't respond.
I turned and walked upstairs.
I slammed my bedroom door shut.
For a moment, I stood there in silence.
Then I looked at myself in the mirror.
To everyone else I was probably just the spoiled heiress who went to parties,ignored her father and did whatever she wanted.
Maybe they aren’t completely wrong but there’s more to me than that.
But I knew one thing.
Whatever Dad had planned,I wasn’t going to let him make the decision for me.
Nobody was going to decide my life for me.