Mess

Chapter 5: Mess.

"From today, henceforth, I have nothing to do with you again," Ava said through her gritted teeth.

"Are you dumping me? I will make you regret this.* I promise." he sneered at her.

"Sure it will be my pleasure," she responded.

"Enough of this drama, all of you. So Ava, you are fooling around with old men for money, I really can't believe this." Mrs Smith snorted "You will have to stop all those shameless acts since you are getting married tomorrow. Henry and Lily are already together so it will be fair if we also find you a man," Mrs Smith said with a smirk. She was happy that her daughter got to capture Henry's eyes. His family was also well off, and they were well respected in the city. It will be a huge help to their business. They will soon be among one of the top ten richest families in the country. The thought alone brought a smile to her face. 

"I already told you that I'm not marrying Mr Andrew or whatever his name is. Did you call that one help? You don't need to help me. If you badly want Mr Andrew to invest in your business, you can marry your only daughter off to him. And I trust Lily, she would do the job well by seducing him. That's the only thing she is good at. I'm sure she would do it well."

Mr Smith suddenly lifted his hand and landed a resounding slap on Ava's cheek. Her beautiful white cheek turns red instantly. Mr Smith's palm print was visible on her cheek. "I told you to watch your mouth earlier, didn't I?" Mr Smith growled and prepared to slap the girl once again, but before his hand could touch her cheek. Ava was quick to grab his hand.

"You rebellious child. Let go of my hand this instant." Mr Smith yelled and struggled to break free from her grasp.

 "Is this what you will use to pay us for adopting you? You will marry Mr Andrew whether you like it or not. You will have to pay us back for taking care of you since you were a child." Mrs Smith yelled and pushed her away.

Ava was quick to maintain her balance so she didn't fall " Mrs Smith. Are you sure your ears are alright? I mentioned a moment ago that I've already cut ties with you people.  Mr. Andrew can do whatever he wants to do to you if you do not return his money."

"You are going to cut ties with us? That's unbelievable. If you truly want to cut ties with us, it is either you get married to Mr. Andrew or you pay back the ten million dollars before 10 pm tomorrow. I'm sure you will never be able to come up with the money, no matter what. Even if you work for your entire life, you will not be able to earn that amount of money. And don't think of running away. Mr Andrew will find you no matter what. Your only chance to avoid marrying him is to bring the money before tomorrow. The choice is yours to make. It is either you marry him tomorrow or bring ten million dollars tomorrow." Mr Smith said with a broad grin on his wrinkled face.

"What the heck are you talking about? Why will I have to pay before I can cut ties with you? Am I the one that collected the money from Mr Andrew?" Ava yelled angrily and balled her hand into a fist. She seemed to be dizzy for a moment. A lot had happened today, and she found it hard to digest everything that was going on.

"Ava, you know what Mr Andrew is capable of. I don't need to explain it to you. You are marrying him whether you like it or not. We both know that you won't be able to find the money. And sadly, you can't even run away because he has his eyes on you." Mrs Smith said with a mocking smile on her face.

Ava clenched her fist tightly. Her nails dug into her palms. She was so angry and dejected at the same time. She hated the fact that she was helpless among all these devils. She hated them so much.

She hated them to the core. Why is her life just miserable? She forced back the tears that were threatening to fall and looked away.

"I will take my leave now." With that, she walked to the door and pushed it open.

"Congratulations on your marriage in advance, sister." She could hear Lily yell from behind. She clenched the doorknob tightly. Nothing could ease her anger at that moment. She left the place without giving any of them a backward glance.

****

Ava found herself in front of her best friend's house. Abigail. This is the only place she could come to. Her life was a mess already. She seemed rooted to the ground without moving at all. Hot tears rolled down her cheek. She couldn't help herself from crying further no matter what. The more she remembered what had happened in the Smith family, the sadder she became. Why was she born in the first place? It would have been better if she had not been born. Nothing like this would have happened if she had not been born. Or should she just say she wished she had not been adopted into the Smith family? The people in the family were pure devils. The only person who had a good heart was none other than Grandmother Smith. But the old woman was gone, leaving her alone in this cruel world. Her world seems to be falling apart. Abigail was not around and she also knew that. She would be at work by now. She works for the biggest company in the city.  Silver Corporation. It was well-known by everybody. But only a few people knew who the owner of Silver Corporation was. The CEO kept his identity a secret. It's not like she was curious about him though.