She wasn't going to marry anyone he wanted. Since he wanted to break her, she would show him how much broken she can actually be.
When they reached the white house, she got settled and ordered a banquet. The chefs stood by the side as she sat on the long dinner table with assorted dishes placed on it.
She picked her cutlery casually taking a plate; she placed some food on it.
''Where is the president? '' she asked, placing some food in her mouth;
''He's not been home since three days. '' Claire paused;
''when will he be coming back? ''
''I don't know ma'am. '' she paused and turned back to the food. She barely touched what was on the table when she stood up and left.
After resting, she went for a swim. She was drying her wet hair as she walked back to her room when she saw her father playing golf. Her feet paused and she turned to where he was standing;
She saw a surprise flash through his eyes when he saw her;
''Oh… Claire, you are here. '' he smiled brightly as though he didn't know why she was there in the first place. Claire stared at his face, quietly and not saying anything.
''You can tell your guards to leave, or you can let them to hear what I want to say to you, the choice is yours. ''
Skipping the pleasantries, she went straight to what she had come to say. The smile on his face dwindled at her words and he looked at the guards, signaling them to leave.
Claire waited till they were out of earshot before she spoke;
''We are no longer together. '' She said.
Her father cleared his throat; ''it's good that you've realized what is best for you. ''
Claire laughed at his words;
''No, no, Mr. President, you are getting it all wrong. I never said I'm going to marry who you choose.''
His face turned sour when he heard her;
''What do you mean? ''
Claire smiled and closed the gap between them, and then she spoke staring straight at his face;
''The last time I checked; you lost the right to police me a long time ago, in other terms, you lost the right to act as my father a long time ago. You threaten to kill Leo, but do you realize that that is all you can do, threaten.
You can't force me to marry anyone Mr. President.'' She said, shaking her head.
''You think it's just mere threats? ''
She laughed when she saw that he was getting red with anger;
''tsk tsk, what else can you do? You can only threaten because you know if you actually kill Leo, I'm still not going to do what you want. ''
Her father laughed; ''Oh you little girl; what do you know? ''
Claire's laugh stopped on her lips;
''If you don't marry who I choose for you, I'll actually kill that man. Don't try me. I'll do it and you'll be left with pain.''
All the anger she was trying so hard to mask was pushing up to the surface;
''If you dare, I'm going to make sure you go in for it. ''
She brewed with rage, her hands clasping by her side;
''Darling dear, you know one thing about revenge? It doesn't bring back what you've lost. You can't even hurt a hair on my skin, but even if you do, you can never bring him back. You'll live the rest of your days regretting the choices you've made, wishing that you didn't choose to let him die.''
Claire bit her lower lips tightly, and then she smiled;
''At least you would be rotting in jail by then. Have you ever thought about the shame, from the white house to jail? Oh no, I don't think you've thought about that. ''
She paused;
''You know sometimes, I wonder if you are really my father. Because you're so damn wicked! It baffles me. '' she shook her head as though in shock.
Mr. Howard stared at her quietly not saying a word, it seems her words hit.
''Oh well, I just wanted to tell you that I'll be staying around for a while, so get ready to be seeing this face for a really long time. Hope you won't be having meetings here, because I might be barging in wearing nighties. '' she smiled and then skipped away.
''Make sure you don't try to contact him, your calls are monitored. ''
Claire's feet stopped and it seemed that she wanted to say something but then she decided against it and continued walking forward.
Mr. Howard stared at her till she was out of sight and then his head fell. He had not treated her well; he didn't even treat her mother well. But he didn't have a choice, he wasn't going to remain a president for ever, and he needed her to get married into a strong family and reputable family that would strengthen their alliances.
She was right though, he was just two years into his first tenure, he wasn't about to end it all because of some marriage. If he did anything to Leo, she was really going to make sure he went in for it. He had been trying to keep a good record, so he could win his second tenure, he wouldn't allow something like this to destroy his years long reputation.
It was sure threatening, but he wasn't going to let her go easily.
…
Claire walked into her room and sat down on the couch dejectedly.
She had not hated any one so much as she hated this man. How long has her calls been monitored? She thought. Her eyes flickered over her phone and she picked it up, there were no calls from him, even though it was expected, it still hurt her.
She tapped on his contact and her fingers hovered over the call button, she wanted to hear his voice, no, even if it was just a breath, it was enough. Ignoring what her father said earlier, she called him;
But surprisingly the call ended before it could connect.
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