My parents are well known in the town of Windenburg. Beauty and the beast they call them. They had two kids that were hidden away from the world. Sheltered out of fear of how their children would be treated knowing their father was a beast. Those kids were my younger brother and me.
We lived in a big house and we never left. Food and other supplies were brought to us by our butlers and outside help. My father, the beast, was a programmer, very good at his job and the highest level which allowed him to work from home. My mother was an avid reader and a famous author. Her author name was Isabelle Lakes, for who would read a book from the insane lady who married a beast?
Everything we could ever want and need was inside that home. I spent most of my days reading or painting. The only people besides my parents my brother and I ever got to talk to were our butlers (we had 3 for some reason), our gardener, and the occasional maid. Sometimes we would have pizza delivered to our house but the butlers always dealt with any visitors that came to the house. It was extremely rare anyone came to the door to actually visit. We did have a lot of people that would ring the doorbell and run away, my home and family were a game to them. My brother, Grayson, and I got along very well and always played together if we were not busy doing something else. My parents were very loving and always made sure we knew how much they loved us.
My favorite books were romance. I had just turned 16 and longed for someone to love the way the characters in my books loved. I wanted that so badly, but how could I ever have a love stuck inside this home? One day it hit me, sneak out. It would be tricky. The butlers were always walking around the house and checking that things were in order. Only 1 of the butlers lived in the house, the other 2 worked from 7am to 10:30pm and then would go home. I planned carefully about how I would sneak out, where I would go, and when I needed to be home by. Often times the 2 butlers would arrive around 6:30am or earlier. I figured leave by 11pm and be home by 4am would be a great window of adventure without being caught. My mom went by a fake name so if anyone asked I would lie about my name. No one would ever know. Instead of telling them my real name, Stella, my name would be Clara Thompson. It was the perfect plan.
So one night I did it, I snuck out. Two of the butlers had left and the one remaining went to take a break in his room. I didn't want to go out the front door so I went around back sneaking around the bushes careful not to be caught. My parents and brother were all in bed, but I snuck quietly just in case. Sometimes my mom liked to stay up late drinking tea and catching up on whatever the latest book she was reading. I was near the kitchen window when the light inside came on. My shadow giving away my location. I ducked under the bush more careful to not let my shadow show again and crawled to the gate. The gate door was just a few feet away from me, freedom on the other side. The kitchen light went off and I made a run for it opening the gate quickly and closing it slowly and quietly. I was free to explore. The first place I wanted to go was the park. I had my backpack and had printed a few maps off I found online earlier that day. I couldn't risk getting lost and someone finding my room empty and me no where to be found. It was about 11:30pm when I arrived to the park and to my surprise there were a ton of teenagers there. A party! I sat at the bench and watched for a little bit observing everything and then decided to join in on the fun. I was dancing and singing and making friends. A girl named Amber came up to me first and asked if I was new to the area, I told her I was. I spent most of the night with her. She introduced me to some of her friends and we ended up dancing with them. Next thing I know I look at my watch and it's already almost 4am.
"Amber! I am so sorry but I have to go!" I screamed over the loud music.
"What? You can't go yet! It's the weekend, have some fun, stay a little longer!" she yelled
I thought about staying longer but I had to beat my butlers home.
I grabbed her hand and had her follow me a little further away so we didn't have to scream.
"Look. I snuck out, they will kill me if they found out that I snuck out to go to a party." I said nervously as I looked at my watch watching the minutes past.
"Okay, no worries. There is another party next Saturday too, you have to come! Now, go home and don't get caught. And just so you know, we all snuck out to get here." she said as she started walking back to the party.
I started walking back and was looking down at my feet just thinking about how much fun I had. So many possibilities. So many things to do. I have to do this more.
All of a sudden I bumped into something and fell onto the ground.
"What the hell!" I said looking up.
I had just walked into Dominic, one of the butlers. He was wearing workout clothes. It was 3:30 in the morning. He helped me up off the ground.
"Clara. Did you have a good time?" he said calmly.
Clara? That's the name I use out here in the world, how did he know? Did I have a good time? I looked at him confused.
"I know you are confused. Your father found the maps and plans in your room earlier today laying on your desk when he went to give you a few books he ordered. He asked me to keep an eye on you. He thinks it's good you explore. He thinks it's time for you to go to an actual school and do things on your own. He would have kept an eye on you himself, but we both know why he can't." he said.
I was happy and relieved. Sneaking out was fun but I would hate lying and keeping it all to myself.
"Oh." was all I could say.
"Ready to go?" he said as he reached out his hand for mine.
I grabbed his hand and began to walk with him.
"Before we go home, I know a great coffee place. They are a 24/7 kind of place. Don't worry about the time or anything. I'll take care of you." he said as he waited for my response.
"Sure! Sounds like fun. Thank you." I said.
We walked a little and caught the bus line to a place called "The Coffee Bean". It was super cute and had outdoor seating as well. It looked like a great cozy place to read. The smell of coffee filled the air. Dominic lead me inside and pulled the seat out for me like a true gentlemen. We had such a great time talking and laughing.
A year later Dominic and I would still go out and go to The Coffee Bean. I became very found of him. He made me feel calm. I was starting to fall in love with him. The age difference was so much though. I was 17 at the time, he was considered an elder.
"Clara." he said looking at me. He always called my Clara when we went out. It become my "out in the world" name.
"I know this may come as a surprise. You can say no, but I at least want to take a chance and ask you. I know our age difference is a lot but, would you go on a date with me?" he smiled nervously.
"Yes." I said smiling.
A few months later I started feeling sick in the morning and decided to tell Dominic. He got me a pregnancy test and I found out I was pregnant with his baby. I had fallen in love with this man. My parents did not know about Dominic and I being together. Now that I was pregnant it was time to tell them.
We sat with my mom and dad in the living room, Grayson was in the home classroom with his teacher. Dominic and I sat across from my parents.
"Mom. Dad. There is something that I...we...need to tell you." I said nervously.
Dominic grabbed my hand. He could see how nervous I was. I started feeling like throwing up.
"Belle. Beast. We are dating and your daughter is pregnant with my child." he said boldly.
We loved each other and I was growing a tiny human inside of me.
My father was livid and my mother began to cry. The day we told my parents, I was 4 months pregnant, they kicked me out of the house and was not allowed to see my brother. Grayson would not be able to go out into the world like I did. I could tell my dad would make sure of it, for he might become like me. Young and instead of getting pregnant, him getting someone pregnant.
Dominic didn't worry, we packed some of my things and he moved me into his home. It was a huge penthouse in San Myshuno. His parents were very wealthy and he inherited the penthouse and all the money when they passed away. He told me he would always love me and take care of me and the baby. That I had nothing to worry about.
5 months after moving in to his home I gave birth to our baby girl, Aspen.
When Aspen turned 2, Dominic proposed to me and of course I said yes. We had a forbidden love but it didn't stop me from saying yes. I loved this man. He was so good with Aspen, they had a good bond.
I decided to reach out to my parents. I wrote a letter to my mom with all the wedding details, the letter read:
Dear mom,
I know it has been a while since we last spoke, and that parting ways did not end on good terms. I wanted to reach out to you. I gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Aspen. She just turned 2 years old. They grow up so fast. Dominic has been an amazing father and takes care of the both of us very well. I know that he is older than me and that everything came as a shock. But I truly love this man and I am very happy.Dominic asked me to marry him and I said yes. I want you, dad and Grayson to come. Be there at my wedding and also meet your granddaughter. I hope we can put our differences aside and that you come. We hope to see you there.
Much love,
you daughter
Stella
3 weeks later was our wedding and to my surprise, my parents and my brother came. We walked for a long time and talked about everything. They finally met Aspen and even moved on from the age difference between my now husband and I. A Perfect day in my book. Everything was coming together and I was happier than ever.
THE END
