The Dragon's Daughter

“Oh my goodness! I feel so dizzy already,” Anita complained as her friends urged her to drink another bottle of wine.

"Oh, come on! You are the birthday girl, today is your day, you should enjoy your heart's contentment,” Lucy lamented with a pout on her mouth as she brought the wine glass closer to Anita's lips.

“Oh god, Lucy! You are drunk, and you shouldn't force me to be like you,” Anita replied, trying to stand up from the couch she was seated on, but Lucy wouldn't let her; she held onto her arms tightly.

“Get drunk girl! Let's have some fun!” Lucy yelled cheerfully, raising her glass of red wine, but immediately after saying that, she darted off like a log of wood on Anita's shoulders.

“Holy moly! This is what I get from spending time with my friends instead of my man,” Anita smiled like a young child in love as she remembered an embarrassing incident that happened between her and Asher, her boyfriend.

“I need to go and meet my baby boy. Who knows if he needs my help?" Saying that Anita managed to lay Lucy on the couch. She stood up, wanting to tell her sister that she was off to her room, but noticed that Piper was too busy smoking with her boyfriend and his friends. Sighing sadly, she decided to ignore her.

“Whatever,” Anita scoffed and shook her head. As she made her way through the crowded room, her thoughts drifted to Asher. He was supposed to be by her side, celebrating her birthday, not off somewhere looking for wine for his drunk friends. But she pushed the thoughts aside, not wanting to ruin the night with her worries.

When she finally reached their room, she was greeted by the sight of Asher, sitting on the bed half naked with a familiar look of guilt on his face. She froze in the doorway, unsure of what to say or do.

"Hey, woman," he greeted, his voice slurred from the alcohol. "I wasn't, uh, waiting for you."

Anita could smell the alcohol on his breath, and it made her want to retch; ‘how could he be so irresponsible, especially on a day like her birthday?’ She reasoned.

"What's wrong?" He asked, noticing the look of disapproval on her face, “Why are you looking at me like that?"

She wanted to scream at him, to demand an explanation for his behavior, to ask if he had gotten the glass of wine he claimed he was looking for, but she knew it would only lead to another fight. She wondered why he was naked and wanted to question it, but decided that it would be better to keep quiet.

"Nothing is wrong, Asher. I just... I just want to be with you," she lied, gritting her teeth.

He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. There was still guilt lurking there, hidden behind a facade of false happiness. As she sat down next to him on the bed, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. But she pushed it aside, telling herself that she was just being paranoid.

Suddenly, the bathroom door was pushed open, and a young lady came out naked.

"Hey, babe. Are you ready for round three?” The drunken Asher asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Anita froze immediately, wondering if she was seeing things. The girl who had just come out of the bathroom was Spark, her childhood friend and workmate. Spark was surprised to see her, and her eyes blinked in guilt and confusion, but her expression was quickly replaced with an evil smile.

"Yes, love. Let's get back to it,” Spark replied, and she smiled broadly, looking at Anita with a mischievous glance.

“Umm,” Anita stood up, her body trembling in disbelief and shock. She nearly collapsed as she kept asking herself what she had done to deserve such cruel behavior from the people she regarded as her family.

“What... is going on here?” She stuttered with a broken voice, holding her heart, trying to assure herself that it was all a dream.

“What are you doing here, Anita?” Spark barked and hissed before turning to face Asher. “What is she doing here? I thought we agreed on no interruptions.”

“Calm down, my love. She will soon leave.” Asher stammered and slurred his way to Spark's side. He wrapped his arms around the smiling girl's waist and claimed her lips.

Right in front of Anita, they made out, and Asher kept making different promises to Spark, insulting and swearing at Anita. Anita was too broken to talk or blink an eye, so she fainted in the room. The cheating adults didn't bother to help her; they continued with their business, and immediately after they were done, they left the room, not minding if she died.

When Anita finally woke up, she was in the hospital, surrounded by her family and best friend. She had been in a coma for two days, and during the process, her boyfriend didn't bother to visit her; instead, he sent his lawyers to regain all the properties he had bought for her.

In reality, Anita was the one who settled Asher’s college fees, bought him a car as a birthday gift, paid his rent and hospital bills, clothed and fed him, and even provided a weekly allowance. At that moment, Anita realized she had been blind to the red flags.

She thought she didn't deserve to be loved, and hatred began to grow in her heart for herself. She felt miserable and vowed not to give her heart to any man very again.

‘I have just one wish,” Anita cried out, looking out of the hospital window. It was a red moon night, and everywhere was quite, “Take me out of this pain. Please, take me to a better place. I don't want to feel hurt and sad anymore. I am tried of being used. I want to forget all my troubles. Please help me,” she wished, before going to bed. But little did she knew that it wasn't an ordinary wish.