prologue
daisy
Daisy kept her eyes focused on her fiddling fingers, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. She was hardly even paying attention to what the judge was saying, despite it probably being very important.
The heated stares could be felt from her stand and every camera only added thousands more. Being one of the daughters of the owner of Harrington and Co, it was no surprise the arrest caught attention from the media.
The incident was a shock for all that had heard about it and proceeded to paparazzi following the family to catch a glimpse of the ethereal beauty. Never was it heard of Daisy to do anything seen as bad, having usually being out of the public eye and inside reading her books. So, it was more than a surprise to hear of the quiet angel breaking the law. Everyone was anxious to know the verdict, eager to find out what the sentence was for the girl.
“Miss Daisy Harrington is found guilty for theft and assault of a police officer. Sentenced for twelve months in prison.”
The loud bang of the hammer rang in her ears, signally the finality of her ruined future. Daisy’s brown eyes rimmed with tears as her legs trembled, only half covered by her favourite light blue dress.
A large hand grabbed her bare arm and pulled her rather aggressively out of the small box she was held in during the trial. She looked up at the officer to see him staring straight ahead with an emotionless expression as they walked. He had most likely done this all the time and didn’t care about whether the person was rightly prosecuted or not. Daisy doubted whether he was even listening.
“Wait here. Your family will come and you’ll have a few minutes to say your goodbyes.” He said in a tone as if he had recited the line many times before.
Daisy was left in the middle of a small room with a little sofa in the corner of it. She assumed it was for decoration as were the many paintings that littered the cream coloured walls. Despite the room being tiny, she felt like it was gigantic and she was a mere bug. She found herself cowering away from everything, not wanting to move, afraid of doing something wrong to get her into more trouble than she already was.
The door unlocked and the turning of the knob followed. Her family made their way in wearing their designer outfits. They, as usual, looked immaculate and Daisy couldn’t help but notice the lack of tears. She was expecting sadder expressions than the mere sympathetic and awkward ones she received.
“Oh dear.” Her father hugged Daisy’s petite frame against his own larger one.
It was like she finally allowed herself to fall apart as the tears flowed down her cheeks and sobs racked her body. “D-daddy.” She hiccupped into his previously crisp clean suit. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to go to p-prison.”
“Daisy, darling. You have to.” The girl turned towards her mother, who placed a hand on her head and stroked her hair gently. “Think of our family.” She insisted, her expression hardly showing through the layers of make-up and botox on her face.
“B-but, I d-didn’t even d-do anything.” Daisy wailed helplessly as she looked back and forth between her two parents. She hoped that they would be able to get her out of this and things could go back to normal. If it wasn’t for the current situation she was in, she would’ve been laying in bed, watching TV shows all day and eating all the snacks she could find. Instead, she found herself in court and going to prison.
“Hey! Don’t be so selfish Daisy! It’s either you or me and you know I won’t survive in that place but you can because you’re so brave and strong. Don’t you want to be a good little sister?” Anna, her sister, said softly to coax her into giving in. She then forced a smile on her face, though Daisy just hoped it was a real one. Anna was never really nice to her so a smile directed in her direction lit Daisy’s face up. “I’m really sorry about not being so nice to you. You know I love you right?”
“I love you too Anna.” Daisy said with a small smile. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she finally agreed. “I’ll do it. I’ll go to prison.”
Her entire family let out a breath of relief and all said how proud they were of her. They gave her kisses and hugs until the time came for the guard to take her away.
