84 Debutante - The Arrival

Olivia quickly got dresses and put on an oversized black coat to hide her dress. She didn't want anyone to see it till the very last second. She grabbed her white crown princess clutch and placed her phone inside, after she was done she checked herself over one last time in her vanity before she stepped out of her room.

The girls met up with each other in the corridor before the descended the stairs, where their father, camera in hand was already taking pictures of them as they came down. "You really know how to keep someone in suspense don't you Livy." Avery said teasingly as he started to kiss each girl's forehead.

"Of course! I want to see your face the moment I am presented to society as one of the young ladies of the Steel family." she said courtly with her head held high. Avery rolled his eyes "Of course you do... if it's not amazing I will post a very sad review of your debutante presentation." he said flatly as he escorted the girls out the door towards a H*mmer limo that was waiting for them outside.

"Don't worry you will be amazed." Olivia said with a mischievous grin. The driver was already waiting outside by the car door. Once he saw the family approach the vehicle he opened the door and bowed as they stepped in. The each thanked the driver in turns before he closed the door and hopped behind the wheel.

Avery watched over the girls as the starting talking excitedly over what they expect at the debutante. As the were slowly approaching the Maki Hudu Memorial Building, the girls anxiety suddenly sky rocketed and they became silent.

The building that mostly resembled a white palace, with its giant dome and many columns was located at the heart of the city. It was one of the oldest and biggest buildings in the area able to hold functions for 100,000 people. City hall had always done it's best to keep up with the renovations of the building so that they could hold functions, galas, exhibits, convention and of course the debutante.

Avery looked at his girls with a serious face and tried to keep his voice calm, collect and clear as he wanted to pass the last piece of advice to his children before they walked through the doors. "My little ones, Livy, Laila and Loreley, I know I have not been the best dad to you but I want you to know that no matter what happens today... no matter what anyone whispers, gossips or says to your face... YOU are MY children. YOU ARE members of the Steel family. Biological or adopted, I will always be your dad and no one can take the love I have for you three away."

The girls looked at him worried and he sighed before he continued. "I know you may not believe me but one day you will understand that when you love someone deeply and truly, you may lose your way from the ones that really care about you." he paused and gulped, they could see his adam's apple move up and down slowly.

"Though they will never leave you completely and will probably let you down from time to time, never question the love they have for you. I have learned that the hard way and I have regretted my past decisions but I will never take them back! I have you three now and my little waterlily on the way so what I want to say is... as long as so work hard, persevere and hold onto hope you will see the light shine in the darkness one day." he said as he looked at each of his girls with love, affection and sorrow.

The girls nodded and felt the car stop. The slowly climbed out of the car and waited for their father to get out before the wrapped their arms around him for one last family hug before they had to separate.

They took their time walking up the stone steps that lead to giant glass panel doors. As the stepped over the threshold they had to follow the usher to the left of them and go up a set of red carpeted stairs. Olivia took one last look at her father and blew him a kiss before she mouthed the words 'I love you'.

The girls were walked into a room on the second floor designated as room 'D'. As they were told before in their last year of school, there were four rooms for each school. In room 'A' was the students of Azeri Academy, room 'B' was Tekula Academy, room 'C' was Ka Torto Academy and finally them Lewood in room 'D'.

Fortunately for them their father was able to get the rules bent a little so that they could be togther. The people inside were incredible nervous and the girls moved to find their friends. The quickly found Marek as he was one of the tallest boys there and moved to where he was standing. They sighed in relief as they saw that their friends had the same idea and were already there waiting.

Autumn looked stunning in her blush pink, mini gown. The bodice was decorated with rose gold flowers, glass beads and crystals, her top was cut into a sweat heart silhouette and the skirt that reached down to her mid calf had multiple layers of silk arranged in an overlapping way to appear like a rose in bloom.

Blair on the other hand wore a royal blue, off shoulder cocktail gown. The front of her dress went down to just above her knees while the rest of the dress flared and waved outwards and went around the back and stopped above her ankles. The dress was made of intricate lace and silk, and was decorated with a rhinestone flower applique around her waist.

The boys only wore black tuxes and decided to wear dress shirts that would match their girlfriends dresses. Eli moved swiftly to stand beside Olivia and kissed her sweetly. "You feeling ok? Do you need to sit down for a bit? They won't be starting the presentation for another hour." he cooed.

Olivia looked into his eyes and brought her hand to his cheek. "You look so handsome..." she whispered and Eli could see the passion starting to burn behind her gaze. He gently chuckled and took her hand of his face and brought it to his lips. He started to lick the small gap between her fingers and watched her slightly tremble. He brought the hand down and smiled at her affectionately.

Olivia got the message he was trying to tell her and blushed slightly "I am getting a little thirsty but I can wait a little bit longer, I don't want have a reason to go to the washroom just yet." she said under her breathe. Autumn seemed to have heard her and whispered the information to Blair.

Blair's eyes exploded with rage as she stomped over to the couple, she then moved Eli aside. "Olivia don't be stupid you need to stay hydrated so you don't faint! Eli grab her a cup of ice chips and we will watch over her!" she commanded. Eli nodded and made his way through the crowd. "Honestly Olivia you need to think of not only yourself but of your little waterlily!" she said as she waved her finger in Olivia's face. Olivia smiled and hugged her friend.

"I love you so much!" she shouted and soon enough Autumn, Laila and Loreley got in on the action. Eli came in no time at all and even brought with him a folding chair. Olivia really didn't want to sit so they gave the chair to Autumn to safe guard until she needed it.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the happy family." a familiar voice shouted above the crowd. "You're back from the dead and knocked up apparently... is it Eli's?" the voice said unevenly. Eli moved in front of Olivia and refused to even let her see the face of the person trying to taunt her.

The crowd parted and soon the group saw River at the other end of the room. She was wearing a black velvet cocktail dress that almost reached down to the floor, it was decorating with golden roses and one mighty dragon. There were two slits that went up the dress the showed off her very fair skinned legs as she walked slowly towards them.

The temperature around Eli dropped several degrees as he gave River a death glare. "What Eli? Did I hit a nerve. Did this slut come back to the living claiming to have your son in her womb!" she spat as she swayed her hips dramatically as she took a few more steps towards them. "As I recall the moment she was out of the picture you found comfort in my arms." she said seductively as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Everyone turned to Eli shocked by the news that they heard. Eli kept his poker face in place and refused to even say one word to her. Olivia grabbed on to the back of his jacket and held onto the advice her father told her 'hold onto hope'. Eli felt her hand on his back and started to relax his face.

River misunderstood his expression and became prideful. "So you do remember my lips on your body!" she exclaimed with a loud laugh. Things were looking bad and Olivia tried her best to hold onto Eli's back.