Not Just Play by Warick Love Page A

Those were the best three weeks of her life. Now, she’s doomed.
     
    She hopped onto her bed and tossed her beloved bunny slippers away. While she loved being an only child---as she was able to bask in all the luxurious and the doting and the attention, times like this made her wish that she had a sibling. No. Not just a sibling---but a twin to take her place whenever she feels like doing something crazy. Like running away.
     
    She closed her eyes, and for the first time since she got home, she felt how tired she was from the trip. Her leg muscles ached and her lower back was torturing her. She fell asleep.
     
    A few hours later, she was awakened by a knock on her bedroom door. “Come in.”
     
    “Miss Garnet, your father would like to speak to you in the library. You better go change. You know he hates waiting.” It was Randall Wells, her nanny. Yes, she’s spoiled rotten and she has a nanny at her age. Sometimes she just wants to collapse at the insanity of it all. All her friends live normal lives, are living by themselves, and enjoy dating several men. At her age, she was only able to experience a light peck on the cheek. She hates her super constricting lifestyle. Yes, she loves being able to buy anything she wants. She loves having nothing to worry about since she is the sole heiress to her parent’s vast fortune. However, she hates that she can’t even go out without a chaperone. She hates not being allowed to drive without a convoy. Most of all----she hates the antique monstrosity in this house.
     
    Her parents both came from a family of antique collectors. Her father is French, who met her mother while on a vacation in the Pacific. Rumour has it that it was indeed love at first sight. And after a few days since they gazed on each other’s eyes, her father took her to this house in Palm Springs. His father bought the adjacent property and renovated his former house and turned it to the mansion that it is now.
     
    Randall perused her closet and retrieved some of the dresses for her. Sometimes, it irritates Garnet that she has to dress up for trivial things like meeting with her father. She snatched an ecru satin dress and went to her dresser to get her pearls. After 20 minutes of preparation, she headed to the library with a really heavy heart.
     
    She lightly knocked on the door and turned the golden knob.
     
    Her father was behind a large mahogany office table reading some documents, while her mom was in one of the Victorian chairs opposite the table. This is among the very few times she had been summoned by both her parents. Her heart began to pound and the chill she felt right through her body seemed to tell her instincts to prepare for a big fight.
     
    “Sit down, young lady”, said her father who removed his glasses so his eyes bore into hers.
     
    She sat on the chair facing her mother and took a minute to look at her. At 49, Riva Hanoi Bonner still looks stunning. Wearing a China blue dress with her emerald cut sapphire earrings and her gold Cartier Bathtub time piece, she looked every inch proper yet very classy. Her shoulder length hair is styled to perfection, framing her beautiful face. Her eyes are as blue as the sapphires she wore. Riva took her cup of Chai tea and studied her daughter. Her long brunette hair is sleek and straight, and she has this soft fringed that emphasizes the shape of her eyes. Garnet’s eyes were as blue as a cornflower----alluring yet innocent. Her alabaster skin is smooth and has a slight flush on her cheeks. Her daughter is a woman now, and as an only child, she and her husband has to make sure that she will have a bright future ahead of her. She hated having to see Garnet’s reaction once she hears what her husband has to say. But, she has to be here for her.
     
    “So, which law school do you have your eyes on?” Armand Bonner began.
     
    In an instant, Garnet’s face burned. She felt the blood rise to her face. Suddenly her mouth was dry.
     
    “Law