Amelia's heart felt like it was about to explode. Just seeing her father's name on her screen gave her the chills. She looked at his picture once more, and felt she was doing the wrong thing. Was that the man she wanted to convince? The man she wanted to stand up to? It was hard to imagine her doing that. She showed it to James, who stared at it for a while before blinking and nodding. “Pick it.” Amelia picked the call immediately, and raised the phone to her ears. “Where have you been, Amelia?” His stern voice came through the phone, and Amelia felt like a child once more. When she was younger, she had been terrified of him. She'd never forget the look in his eyes whenever he scolded her. It always felt like he wanted to squeeze her, and pop out her eyes. Her father was scary, and those childish fears slipped into her once more. “Uh, I've been…” “Are you rebelling, you nasty little thing?” Nasty little thing. He had always called her that, regardless of how much she aged. She had a feeling he would still call her that even when she was as old as he was. “No, I've…” “Cut it, and come back home. I'm…” “I'm on my way home. I have something to tell you.” She said, with mustered courage. “I don't want to hear it for now.” He waved it off easily like it was nothing, “You're going to be meeting Mr. Vandriguez for a contract, but first, you have to start it off as a blind date. “Since you've been so busy slacking off, I added some other things for you to do. Immediately you get home, I'm driving you to the airport. You're flying to Paris to meet Mr. Aloïs…" Just like that, her father began to dish things out for her to do. Business meetings, contract signing, blind dates, business trips. He didn't stop. He was even more ruthless in the schedule he had prepared for her because she had been gone for days. Did he really think she could do all that? Was she a robot? How could anyone handle that schedule? He wanted to exhaust her. There wasn't even enough time for sleep in the schedule. Why was he that ruthless? All the more reason for her to stand up to him. She could not continue living her life that way. “Hurry up. I give you less than an hour. Use up an hour, and I'll add two more appointments. I have a lot of them on my plate, you know. Traffic is not an excuse. Run here if you have to.” He said, and ended the call, without even bothering about whatever Amelia had to say about it. That was simply too much. How could he say all that without batting an eyelid? “He wants me to be home in an hour, and he already prepared a new work schedule for me. I have about fifteen clients to meet in three days, and half of them are scattered in different countries.” She explained dryly. Even though she wanted to stand up to him, and had been filled with determination earlier, it had all faded. She was exhausted just by hearing his schedule, and she was also sad because she didn't know what she'd do if she failed to free herself from him. Then she felt James' hand touch down on hers. “It's your life, not his.” He reminded her, and she nodded. Indeed, it was her life. If they arrived there in two hours time, he could add more business appointments for all she cared. He was going to do them himself anyway, or assign them to his secretary. She was done being his puppet. They got to Amelia's house a little over an hour; it was a mini mansion, but was tastefully decorated. Everything about it seemed of good quality, and was arranged in style. They walked in, and Amelia took the lead. Her heart was pounding in fear, but mixed with that fear was the knowledge that she couldn't go back to living the way she once did. All it took was to keep on saying no to everything he told her. She would fight with those two words, and stand her ground on them. Even if he threatened to disown her, she would still refuse to remain his puppet. Before he ruined her life, she would snatch it from him because being exposed to so much stress, and no rest, could harm her physically, and mentally. They walked in, and James looked around. Everywhere was moderately decorated. The wall was painted with a light cream hue, and the shelves were made of mahogany, with well-arranged books on it. "Amelia!” A woman called, and James turned to see a tall and slender woman, dressed gracefully in a white gown. She looked like she was ready to leave the house, as she had heels on. She walked towards Amelia and James could see the striking resemblance. She was definitely Amelia's mother. Amelia's mother threw her arms around Amelia, and they hugged each other, dearly. Then they released each other, and Amelia's mother looked at James. James gave a little bow. “Mum, it's him. The one I've always been talking about.” She said, and Amelia's mother walked towards James, placing both hands on his cheeks. “James. What a fine chap.” She said slowly, with a warm smile. “Come, you must be thirsty.” She said, leading them to the kitchen. There she pointed towards chairs for them to sit on, and began to brew tea. “Is father in?” “Yes, and he's really mad, but don't you worry about it. I'll speak to him. If you don't want to go on those business trips, I'll persuade him.” She said to Amelia, seeming worried. “It's fine, mum. I have something to say to him.” “Alright.” She turned to James, “James dear, thank you for standing next to my Amelia. No matter what my husband says, don't think back on your decisions.” “I will never, ma'am.” “Is Amelia home!?” They heard a deep-voiced and angry voice. Amelia's father.