Chapter 2 Adesua Ridley
Adesua Ridley
Adesua’s chest tightened with each breath.
Her emerald gown with flickers of gold specks felt as if it were about to pop off as she waited with her siblings in the private foyer for their father.
The staff swung open the double white French doors with gold trimming for Father, who was adjusting his coat and cuff links while clearing his throat.
As a child, Adesua had always found him quite intimidating, with his coy demeanor and constant smirk as if he knew everything under the sun, but she remained grateful because she could have been homeless or left at the orphanage, forgotten.
“My children, we have done this far too often not to know how important this night is. Not only for our family but also for your future families as well. This celebration of success is a prime opportunity for some of you to find a suitable partner. You are all of age now, and I expect each of you to be involved tonight. We must uphold the prestige of the Ridley name through business and the company we keep.” He shot an aggravated look at Kavita, who rolled her eyes and began picking her nails.
She groaned a silent huff that only Amelia could hear.
Adesua found it comical that Kavita was the engaged one, as unruly as she was.
She knew exactly what her father meant by the “company” he’d mentioned.
Adesua and Amelia knew it would be their fault once again if they couldn’t keep Kavita and her hellish flapper friends in order.
It felt like they were pieces of prime rib on a platter being served to the people of New York.
Adesua made her way behind her brothers to the grand double doors cascading with red roses.
The moment had arrived. She heard the trumpet players alarm the crowd with nine notes.
Everyone knew what it meant: The Ridley siblings would be making their first appearance at the ball in less than five minutes.
An announcer’s voice brought the room into a roar. “I hope you all have your best dresses on. The Ridley siblings are in this very room right behind me! Can we make some loud noises for the illustrious Ridleys? We have the king of the keys, Duke Ellington—make some noise for us, Mr. Ellington!”
Hundreds yelled at the tops of their lungs while the piano harmonized with the violinist, briefly getting the crowd louder.
“All right, quiet down, you’re all going to make me lose my job. Save your vigor for when the real feast is served, if you know what I mean!”
Mr. Jenkins, the head butler, shot the announcer a stern look as he approached him.
“Right you are, right you are! Back in a flash, folks!”
Just on the other side of the grand double doors, the siblings waited as the jazz band played their iconic entrance song. Adesua tried to resist the urge to tap on the side of her leg along with the beat. It wasn’t that the tune wasn’t catchy, more so that it all felt rather performative to her.
“Oh, this is about to be one helluva night.” Wei smiled like a wolf in the moonlight while jabbing his younger brothers Diego and Henrik in their sides.
Adesua’s gaze shifted to Amelia, her hand firmly gripping her arm. Kavita, ever the bold one, took the lead, striding confidently to the front of the line, passing each of her siblings with an assured nod.
“Well, it’s no secret who the star of the family is,” she declared, her voice dripping with confidence. “And it’s only fitting that I lead the way.”
Mr. Ridley shot a look at Kavita, tilting his head so she would know to go behind her brothers. Instead of turning around directly, Kavita dramatically circled around her siblings to show her annoyance. Adesua grabbed Kavita’s arm to get her in line.
“I am the only one getting married, and here I am still being treated like the spare.”
“Oh, be quiet, Kavi, you know you’re Father’s favorite. You get away with everything, so just try to keep your little friends in line,” Wei said, annoyed.
A hush fell over the room after the last note played.
It was time to shine. Adesua’s eyes darted from one sibling’s face to the next; she understood what this meant.
It was time to put on the most incredible show of their lives.
The room felt heavy amid the sea of delicate silks, diamonds, and tuxedos, and they all seemed to exhale simultaneously.
Suddenly, the ballroom doors swung wide.
The announcer’s voice rang out ferociously, clearly astonished at the sight before his eyes. “Ladies and gents, I give you the immaculate Seven Wonders of our beloved New York City: the Ridley siblings!”
As the siblings lined up one by one in the small foyer room near the balcony overlooking the crowd, they felt like royalty, peering through the tiny slits in the windows at everyone laughing, filled with fellowship.
The crowd screamed vigorously, those gathered almost salivating at the mere sight of them.
Adesua had always known what it was to live in the public eye.
Before, she might’ve gotten innocent looks of awe and admiration.
But today was different. She scratched behind her ear, her face, and the tops of her knuckles.
She noticed Amelia looking at her with somber eyes; she was the only one of her siblings who could usually spot her sign of distress.
“Hey, we are going to be okay,” Amelia whispered to Adesua. “A few smiles and nods, and the night will be over before we know it, just like usual.”
Adesua knew that was a lie, but it made her feel better.
Out of all the sisters, she was considered the soft-spoken one.
She’d never made a headline in Metropolitan Musings, which she didn’t care about, but she never felt seen—not in the way she would have liked to be.
It was always assumed that she was one of the lucky ones, that people like her rarely reached this caliber.
Tonight, it was about the sisters, especially Kavita, even though Adesua knew she was worried.
While the brothers were a part of it, everyone wanted a chance to marry into the city’s royal family.
She looked at her four brothers, each of whom looked at ease compared to her and Amelia.
They had contrasting waistcoats, cuff links, and pocket watches.
Adesua often noticed how women would fall to their feet over her brothers, especially the older ones.
Although none of them shared blood, they all had the same swagger.
Omar and Wei were the golden ones of the Ridley brothers, whereas the younger two, Diego and Henrik, were still very young and not as confident, having just graduated from high school.
It was written in stone that her older brothers would help lead the family business.
The real question among the whispering voices of the city was, Which one was going to take it all?
There was Omar, with his stoic, firm demeanor, who preferred strategy over small talk.
Then Wei, with his impeccable social skills, who could convince a lion to be his friend.
From the moment she’d met him, Adesua was sure it would be Wei who would take over the business.
Simply because his ego was so grand that he spoke as if the business was already his.
It was a rite of passage for the Ridley children to attend the best universities, regardless of the circumstances.
Everyone knew they would take on the highest roles in their family’s company.
The announcer warmed up his voice to continue. Wei knew he’d be introduced first, as he always was. “All right, boys, I don’t know about you three, but I know I’m feeling good enough to snag a few ladies tonight,” Wei said.
Henrik, the shy one, but keen to be very observant with his remarks, chuckled. “Well, isn’t tonight about finding only one woman to wed, brother? Not that you can keep any around.”
Wei laughed so hard that the guests heard him. “In due time you’ll understand, little brother, why that is.”
As the eldest brother at twenty-five, Wei had a demeanor that was both brooding and alluring, drawing everyone in.
He combed his silky ebony hair and gave a pearly white smile in the gold mirror before he walked toward the double doors.
Wei was most like Adesua in certain ways, such as the signature scent that followed him everywhere he went; he wrapped everyone in the room with the subtle blend of peppermint and cedarwood.
Wei, always wanting to create a scene, waved his hands to the attendants to back off.
Instead of letting them open the doors per usual, after each sibling’s entrance, he pushed them open himself.
The announcer took his place after swigging some alcohol to clear his throat behind the podium.
“Now, for the eldest boy—” Wei cut his eyes to the announcer, and his gaze felt like knives heading for his head.
“I mean, the eldest brother, a man who has brought the Ridley Line to new heights ever since graduating from his class at Columbia. Everyone, Wei Dimitri Ridley.”
Wei paused at the top of the stairs to look down at the crowd with a smile.
Adesua knew he loved this feeling of power.
She and he both knew he was in a world where people who looked like him were villainized just because they came from China.
Some of the people here tonight probably agreed with the Chinese Exclusion Act, but now he was on top of the world, and Adesua nodded with approval.
Because he should feel ever so worthy, the crowd cheered for him, desiring his wealth and the swagger that no one could buy.
Wei could give a simple wink to a group of ladies while walking in Central Park, and they would all fuss about which one of them he was winking at.
He walked down, his every step matching the beat.
Kavita turned to Adesua and slowly clapped when he made it down. “And I thought I was the dramatic one.”