Opposing Forces Read Online Free PDF Page A

quite partial to beer, but it was not considered ladylike to swig straight from the bottle.
     
    She hated being part of the Zurich elite, she longed for a normal life, with normal grounded people. People who had proper jobs and lives that did not revolve around gossip and backstabbing.
     
    “Sabina, my love,” Charles von Gruber flopped down beside her. “You look like you need entertaining.”
     
    “I just thinking about leaving,” she responded flatly.  She knew Charles well; his father worked closely with hers. Charles was a typical rich playboy, never took work seriously, had probably never held down a job and lived off his father’s money.
     
    “A good idea, we could go back to my place.”
     
    “In your dreams, perhaps,” she scowled.
     
    “Don’t be so uptight.” He attempted to put an arm around her but failed.
     
    “I’m not being uptight, just honest.  You’re a toad.”
     
    Charles laughed.  “You know our fathers would dearly like us to become better acquainted, so what better time than now?”
     
    “I don’t care what my father wants, I’m not a commodity that can be bought or sold to the highest bidder.”
     
    “You’re a Grundberg, Sabina,” Charles sighed. “You’ll only marry into old money so step down off your high horse.”
     
    “I’ll marry whom the hell I please,” she snarled back.  “And whoever it will be, won’t be some inbred moron like yourself.”  She threw back the last of her beer and headed out the club.
     
    The cold night air hit her as soon as she stepped outside. She hailed a taxi and as it sped through the deserted city, she realised that it was not Zurich she hated but her family name.  So much was expected of her because she was a Grundberg.  People envied her because of her surname, but if they only knew that it was actually a curse. 
     
    The taxi pulled into the courtyard of her home and she slipped quietly through the front door.  She made a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table cradling it in her hands.
     
    “You look deep in thought, Sabina,” her mother’s voice made her jump.
     
    “Sorry, I was miles away,” Sabina pulled a face. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
     
    “No. You’re back earlier than expected. Was the party no good?”
     
    “I wasn’t in the mood for it.”
     
    Bettina scrutinised her daughter. Her usual zest for life had been missing of late. “Something has been bothering you for a while, my dear.  Are you going to tell me what’s eating you up?”
     
    Sabina put her cup down.  “I’m tired of being a Grundberg, mother. I just want a normal life.”
     
    Bettina smiled and put her arm around her daughter.  “You and me both.”
     
    “I’m serious, mama.  I want to move somewhere I’m not known.”
     
    “Have you thought about going to Lausanne?”
     
    “Grundberg is not a surname I want to have in Lausanne,” Sabina was horrified at the thought.
     
    “How about using my maiden name?”
     
    “Laroque?”
     
    “Yes. Sabina Laroque sounds good.”
     
    “Can I do that?”
     
    “Of course.  I can ask Michael to officially amend your surname to Grundberg-Laroque. By doing that, you can legally just use one without the other.”
     
    Sabina thought about it for a few minutes.  “Sabina Laroque,” she mused. “I like it.”  She looked at her mother.  “Are you sure about this?”
     
    “Of course, my darling.  I think it’s time we thought about a new, more interesting life for you away from Zurich.”
     
    “I would like to enrol in university.  Lausanne has one of the best.”
     
    “Then I suggest you start making enquiries for September enrolment.”
     
    “Really?”
     
    “Yes.  You don’t need my permission to decide your future. You govern your own life.  Have you thought about what you would like to study?”
     
    “I have a few ideas.  I liked the three months I spent in the Amazon, so maybe something around conservation and