Ava cried bitterly until she fell asleep; she couldn't go downstairs to join the family for dinner. They didn't care about her. They ate dinner peacefully without her.
The next day…
Ava woke up and remembered she had cried all night until she fell asleep. She sighed and stood up from the bed, walking to the bathroom to take her bath and prepare herself for school.
She was all dressed in her uniform and left her room to join the family downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning, Mom and Dad," she greeted with a cheerful smile and sat down where she normally sat.
"Morning," Mr. and Mrs. Everett said in unison, while Abigail just rolled her eyes, and they all started eating.
After they finished eating, Ava stood up and walked behind Abigail to the garage, where the driver was waiting to drive them to school.
Abigail hated having Ava with her in the car, but she would make her suffer in school to let her know her place.
—————
SOME YEARS LATER…
Ava endured and managed to graduate from a government university through a scholarship, and now she is a 22-year-old lady.
Mr. Everett, who didn't plan on sending Ava to university, couldn't do anything since she was brilliant and received a scholarship.
When Ava brought the news to them, he and his wife were not happy and told her, "We didn't plan on sending you to further your education, and I will advise you not to take that scholarship because I'm not going to help with your expenses or your needs. I don't have the money to do all that. I have tried and managed to make you finish your high school, so I hope you understand my point."
"Moreover, your sister is going to finish soon, and I think it will be okay to send her to university because she is your younger sister. You should understand I can only afford to send one of you to university, so think wisely and just reject the scholarship," Mr. Everett said, which left Ava taken aback by what her father had just said.
She thought bitterly, "Why would Dad not be able to afford me, but he can afford my sister? Does he hate me so much? I mean, his company is doing well, and yet he could only tell me he can't afford me for my expenses, even while I got the scholarship?" Ava thought bitterly, but she smiled at her father to not let them know she was sad.
"It's okay, Dad. You don't need to worry about my expenses. I will take this scholarship and help myself with my needs. I'm not a kid anymore; I can take care of myself with some part-time jobs. So it's fine, Dad. I will make you proud; I promise you, Dad and Mom," she said with a smile, causing Mr. and Mrs. Everett to be speechless.
"If you can take care of it all on your own, do whatever pleases you then," Mr. Everett said coldly.
"Do you have to take the scholarship? We are your parents, and you should know we also want the best for you. How would you be able to take care of all that on your own? Well, do as you like then," Mrs. Everett said, while Ava could only keep her bitter heart to herself and assured them she could do this on her own.
And yeah, time flew by so fast; she was now a graduate with the best results.
It's been two months since she has been home, and she thinks of searching for a job in the field that she had studied hard in school.
One day, she applied for a job and was waiting for feedback. Just then, her father called her from his room to help him look for particular files in the master bedroom while her father returned to the sitting room, where he had a guest waiting for him.
Ava walked to her father's bedroom to look for the files he had asked her to bring for him.
While searching for the files, she came across a file that she thought was the one and opened it to check, but she was taken aback by what she found. It was a paper of an adoption agreement with her name written on it.
Hot tears streamed down her beautiful, clean eyes, and tears filled her eyes.
She was just an adopted daughter? Was this the reason why her parents were treating her differently from her sister?
"So they adopted me? Is this why they treat me differently and love my sister more than me? So, Abigail knew all this and bullied me in school because she knew I wasn't her biological sister?" Ava mumbled to herself, her tears filled with bitterness.
She remembered she was asked to bring a file, so she placed the adoption paper neatly back where it was and found the files she was searching for. She walked out of the room to the sitting room, where her father was sitting with the guest who looked cold but handsome and young.
Ava could see her father respected this young man, but she was indifferent and walked to her father to give him the files he had asked her to bring.
"Very good. You can go back," Mr. Everett said to Ava, who forced a smile and left for her room.
The young man sitting watched Ava leave. He smirked and turned to Mr. Everett.
"How about you negotiate, then I will help your company?" the young man said calmly, causing Mr. Everett's eyes to light up with curiosity.
"I would like to buy that girl. I heard she is your adopted daughter," the young man said again, causing Mr. Everett to gulp nervously.
"But why do you want to buy my daughter in return for helping my company that is going bankrupt? If you want to marry one of my daughters, then my younger daughter would be nice for you," Mr. Everett said with a nervous smile.
The young man shook his head with a cold chuckle.
"Don't misunderstand me, Mr. Everett; I'm not marrying any of your daughters, but I want to buy that girl for my personal reasons, which will remain my property forever. Do you think you can sell your biological daughter into slavery? Well, I want her, not your daughter; she will be useful for my personal needs," the young man said, causing Mr. Everett to swallow the lump in his throat nervously.
"Hehe, no, no. I can understand you now. It's fine if you want to buy her, but she is also my daughter, and I'm curious to know why she is the one you need and for what purpose," Mr. Everett said softly.
"Is Mr. Everett questioning my needs, or do you want me to help you?" the young man said with sarcasm.
"Huh? Oh no, not at all. I will talk to her, and you can take her with you tomorrow; I hope that will be okay," Mr. Everett said, while the young man nodded and stood up.
"Be thankful I was able to find what I can take in return for your offense and debt. One of my boys will come to get her tomorrow. Prepare her, and no excuses, Mr. Everett, or you wouldn't like my disaster," the young man said and left while Mr. Everett's wife walked to her husband.
"Did I just hear you want to sell Ava in return for your company?" Mrs. Everett asked while her husband nodded.
"Yes. He wants me to sell her into slavery, so don't think too much about it. I just need to talk to that girl, but I don't know where to start," Mr. Everett said to his wife.
"If it's selling her into slavery, then it is good for her. You don't have to worry about what she will think or her reaction. Just tell her you want to marry her off. Don't tell her you want to sell her into slavery; do you get that, honey?" Mrs. Everett said to her worried husband while, unknowingly to them, Ava was eavesdropping.
When she heard this conversation about selling her, she walked back to her room silently with tears.
"They're about to sell me to a ruthless stranger. What do I do now? What did I do to deserve this?"
"Today I learned I was adopted, and now I'm going to be sold off into slavery? No, this can't be! I have to find a way to escape this," she said to herself, tears streaming down her cheeks.
While she was crying, a knock was heard on her door. She quickly wiped her tears and adjusted herself before walking to the door to open it.
She knew it was probably her adoptive father or both of her adopted parents. She opened the door, and Mr. and Mrs. Everett were standing there.
"Mom, Dad?" She pretended to look surprised while Mr. Everett smiled.
"Do you let us in?" he asked, while Ava forced a smile and walked back inside as Mr. and Mrs. Everett trailed behind.