Arranged Marriage: Dangerous Heiress

        Ashaya had planned Esme\'s party for years after she adopted her. She thought that she\'ll never have a daughter but God gave her two. Then, there\'s little Rosie who helped her with organizing. She reached Rosie\'s chin and she smiled at her. She bent down and kissed her nose.

"I love you," Ashaya told her.

​​

"I love you, mommy!" She said aloud.

"Rosie!" The door burst open and little Kassandra, Owen\'s daughter burst in and she ran with her big gift.

"Hi, Kassandra." Ashaya greeted.

"Hello, Auntie. I have a gift!" She lifted it. Ashaya thanked her as she took the box and put it on the table. Then, Kassandra showed her beautiful artistic fingernails to Rosie. "Casey made that for me."

"I want one!" Rosie slipped off from her seat and run to her. "Mommy, I want one." She pouted.

"Okay, sure."

        Victoria entered the room and she apologizes.

"It\'s already, Vic." Ashaya waved at her.

"If you don\'t mind, I\'ll take the girls to Casey. So, Rosie will have her nails done too."

"Oh, thank you." Ashaya sighed. "I\'m sorry, we are too busy. But I\'ll call Laurence to look over Rosie."

"Sure."

        Ashaya watch as the little girls went with her Aunt Victoria who is four months pregnant. She reached her phone and called Laurence to watch over Rosie. At this time, Laurence is with Zayne and he can babysit the two.

        Percy came and he smiled.

"The cotillion is perfect," Percy told her.

"So, who\'s her last dance?" Ashaya asked.

"It\'ll be Laurence. She said that she wants her brother to be her last dance."

        Ashaya nodded.

"Not, Ken?" Ash asked. He shook his head.

"Well, they are too close together like twins. So," Percy shrugged.

"It\'s okay. As long as Esme is happy."

        Percy approached his wife and wrapped his arms around her.

"You are a wonderful mother, ever." He whispered to her. She giggled and kissed his cheeks.

"Thank you, my hubby."

"I need to thank you for raising our children so wonderful." He mumbled. "Perhaps, we could try for another?"

        Ashaya laughed.

"Percy, you know that I can\'t get pregnant anymore. Maybe in our next life? Let\'s be together again and make lots of babies?"

        Thinking of it, Percy wanted to be with her in the next life. If ever there\'s reincarnation.

<><><><>

        Esme exhaled as she looked at her red ball gown. Her foster-mother, Ashaya hugged her and admired how beautiful she is.

"You just looked like your mom." She told.

Esme smiled and tried hard not to cry. She never had this kind of party and Ashaya promised everything for her. From this special party to her wedding. Esme didn\'t think about the wedding at all. Because she thought that she\'ll never love someone else but the person that she promised to love until she dies.

However, it\'s not a dead-end for her. She\'ll be in college and if Julliard\'s thought about her live performance, they might\'ve accepted her in that school. After she sent her application, they responded to her. They just need her for the final interview and audition and it\'ll be a go.

Esme worked hard to get there. She played music. Join variety shows. Even other contests for cello and piano and singing. She joined it. She might not be a champion at all, and go to first place and second place but it\'s all worth it because some people appreciate her music.

"Thank you so much, mom. For taking care of me. For loving me…"

"Don\'t cry," Ashaya said and she sniffled trying hard not to cry.

"I won\'t." Esme took the tissue and dump it to her eyes before it watered.

"Hey, beautiful women!" Laurence entered the room. They turned to him. Laurence\'s world seemed to stop seeing Esme. He stopped all of the feelings that he felt. The feelings that aren\'t in the right places. Then, he grinned. "Who is that witch?" Laurence asked her mother and they chuckled.

"Laurence!" She pouted at him.

"Oh, is that my sissy?" Laurence asked and he approached her and hugged her tightly.

"Let\'s go?" Ashaya asked.

        Esme wanted Laurence to be her escort for her Magical Mermaid Theme. Everyone is dressed like they are from the world of mermaids. Shells around, with bubbles around and even the princesses, Rosie and Kassandra are wearing mermaid headdresses and gowns.

        She walked in the aisle to the big pearl-shell. She sat on the sofa and smiled at everyone. The party started with a little introduction about her and messages from people close to her. Especially from her friends. There at least eighteen people. From her foster mother, father, Laurence, Zayne who read from the notes, Kale, Ken, Lovie, and other girls that are close to her age and her cousins.

        Then, it started for the eighteen treasures. She didn\'t expect to have it but each of them gave her a card. A debit card. That\'s her Aunts and Uncles of the family. Each of them indeed gives her cards. Her Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Zachary gave her one golden card and she didn\'t know how much is in there.

        Then, her grandparents, Grandpa Rafael and Grandma Angel who also loved her even though she\'s just adopted. She eyed her dad and he winked at her. She might be a millionaire in no time but she indeed saved one million a year from her 100K allowance every month.

        Her Aunt Sarah and her husband Uncle Viktor gave her a Russian card. He said that she could use it if she went there. She didn\'t know how much it costs as well.

        Rosie, her little sister, climbed up on the stage to her. She wasn\'t the kind of sister to kick out her baby sister away to have the spotlight. She doesn\'t want such a spotlight and she wrapped her sister in her arms and Rosie whispered in her ears.

"Can I eat your cake now?" Rosie asked.

        She bent down and whispered back to her.

"We\'ll eat the whole cake after I blow the candles. Okay?" She said softly and Rosie nodded.

        Next is eighteen dance or the cotillion. Her first dance is her dad and next is her grandpa and then so on and forth. Ken is her sixteenth dance and Kale is the seventeenth and lastly, her last dance. Her brother. They practice cotillion for days and since Laurence and Kale and others came late, they practice it through videos. They always dance the cotillion every time that there\'s a party.

"So, I heard that Kale is going to woo you?"

        Esme chuckled.

"He\'s an old guy," Esme commented. Laurence laughed and twirl her around.

"So, you are going to break the man\'s heart?" Laurence asked. Esme looked at him seriously.

"I already love someone else."

        Laurence creased his brows.

"Wait, you have a boyfriend?"

        She smiled at him smugly.

"I don\'t have a boyfriend."

"And Ken is courting you?" His crease grows uglier.

"Secret." She smiled at him sweetly and innocently. She curtsied and he bowed at her and they clapped their hands.

"You are so dead to me, young lady." He frowned at her.

"But mom and dad said that I can have a boyfriend."

"Not to me." He turned back from her, and she laughed as she went back to her sofa and the blowing of candles start.

        The cake also looks magical with the theme of a magical world under the ocean. She blows the candle and then, Rosie and Kassandra came up for her. She smiled, and she cut the cake and give each for the little girls and Zayne also came up.

        Everyone started eating and enjoying food. They dance and sing, and there is a performance from Kale, Rhys, Raiden, and Kade. Then, a single performance from her siblings. Laurence is leading and Rosie and Zayne are singing.

        Esme always sings karaoke with the two, and that\'s how they learn to read and sing the notes perfectly. Her heartfelt like swelling from the beautiful performance ever. Her siblings gave her kisses and then, her parents.

        Time for the games. She changed her dress from a beautiful gown to a dress where she could move around for their late-night game. They enjoyed it, and Kale pulled her to the corner and pulled out a box.

"Happy birthday, Princess." He said.

"Wow." She opened the box and she gasped. "This is beautiful." Kale gifted her a beautiful golden G-clef pendant with diamonds around it.

"I\'ll put it on you." Kale took it from her and put it on her in a very gentleman way. She smiled and admired it. She faced him. "So, uh, you are eighteen," Kale said.

"Yes." She grinned. "What\'s up?"

"I—I told my mom and your dad that I am going to court you when you turn eighteen."

"What?" She chuckled.

"Yes, so. Don\'t say no yet. I\'ll court you. I love you very much Esme from the start but you were a kid back then, so I have to wait for years…"

"But you have girlfriends back in California…"

"Yup. They were just flings." Kale told.

"Kale, you are my big brother." She hugged him and then, she left quickly.

"What the—" Kale slumped his shoulders. "My first rejection?" Kale mumbled. He laughed. Damn, what did he expect?