1 Her Misery

As Avery stepped into her modest, dimly lit small apartment after a hard day of working at one of the few billionaire companies, she felt like giving up on everything. She is the secretary of one of the youngest billionaires in New York, Ethan Knight. Being the secretary of a self made billionaire brings her a lot of work pressure.

Her fingers throbbed from typing endless emails, and her mind was full of executive decisions. The luxury and extravagance of the office were a sharp contrast to her simple life.

But her fatigue was instantly overshadowed by the loud voices and her mother's cries. She hurried towards the noise, her heart pounding. It was nothing new in her household. She couldn't never the last time she had a warm welcome in this household. Maybe fifteen or sixteen years ago, when she was a preschooler and her father was still alive. But everything changed after her father died and her mother remarried.

She went inside the small living room of her wrecked apartment and looked at her mother and step father. Her step father looked angry with clenched fists, and her mother had been crying, her eyes red and puffy.

"Mom! Why are you crying?!" Avery's voice cut through the fight, her words like a whip crack as she entered the room. "What's going on here?"

Her mother's gaze, a mix of desperation and relief, met hers. "Avery, thank God you're home. It's your stepfather... He... he lost your father's farm in gambling. Our only possession. The only token of his last piece of memory." Her mother cried like she was going to faint any moment now.

Avery stood frozen in the doorway. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. The farm, her father's pride and joy, had been lost in a reckless gamble. Her father was a proud farmer and they were very rich as well when he was alive. He had a big farm where he had vegetables, chicken and even cows. He was one of the best grocery suppliers around the city. She used to help her father on the farm and have so much fun. She has so many memories there. It felt as though a piece of her heart had been ripped out.

Tears welled up in Avery's eyes as the memories of her father flooded her mind.

Avery's mother's tear-streaked face reflected the pain and anger that Avery felt. No words were needed.

"How could you do this, John? How could you?" Avery asked while holding back her emotions.

"How could you do this, John? How could you?" Avery asked, her voice quivering with suppressed emotions.

John, seemingly unaffected, shrugged before retorting with an innocent smile, "Oh, come on, it's not that big of a deal."

"Just a stupid piece of land? That farm held memories of my father, and you've lost it like it means nothing?" Avery's eyes welled up with tears, her anger mixing with heartache.

"Avery, I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen…" Avery's mother couldn't stand still any longer. Overwhelmed with grief, she sank down to the floor, her sobs echoing through the room, mirroring the shattered fragments of their cherished past.

Avery rushed to support her mother, her heart torn between comforting her and directing her burning gaze at John, a murderous anger simmering beneath her surface.

But John, seemingly unfazed, just smirked and started walking towards the door, his casual demeanor exacerbating Avery's anger.

"Well, I can't change what's done. You should be thankful that I am alive. What would have happened if they had killed me? Whatever, I'm heading out to have a good time with my friends. See ya," he called over his shoulder, his indifference stabbing deeper into Avery's wounded heart.

"You can't just walk away from this! You ruined something precious!" Avery's voice cracked with a mixture of anguish and rage. Her grip tightened around a glass sitting on the nearby table, her fingers trembling with a potent mixture of emotions. With an anguished cry, she hurled the glass in John's direction, a physical manifestation of the pain he had caused.

But the glass didn't shatter against him; it merely brushed his shoulder, falling to the floor and adding to the turmoil that now consumed the room.

Avery's lips quivered as she stared at the glass's remains, her frustration mounting. John's smile persisted, a stark contrast to the broken shards at his feet.

"Cry me a river, princess. I'm off to enjoy myself," he taunted, his words cutting deeper than the glass ever could. With that final blow, he turned and fled, leaving behind two women struggling to make sense of the wreckage he had wrought.

As the echo of his footsteps faded, Avery's mother's sobs intensified. Avery herself stood there, fists clenched, tears streaming down her face. The room felt suffocating, as if the walls held onto the tension that had erupted within its confines.

Memories flooded Avery's mind – memories of her father's laughter in the fields, his calloused hands guiding hers as they worked the land together. Each corner of the farmhouse seemed to whisper stories of shared dreams and whispered hopes. And now, it was all shattered, just like the glass on the floor.

"Avery, I'm so sorry…"

"Whatever that bastard is not your fault mom." She said softly, fully knowing of her pain. Her mother had to tolerate a lot of pain to raise her to who she is now. Among whose pains a trash named John was also included.

With resolute eyes, Avery wiped away her own tears and faced her mother, gripping her hand with fierce determination.

"Mom, I promise you, we'll find a way to get the farm back. I won't let him take away Dad's legacy from us."

Her mother's gaze met hers, a glimmer of hope amidst the despair. "Avery, you've always been strong-willed, just like your father. You're our last chance."

Avery nodded, her determination solidifying. She had grown up with the stories of her father's hard work, his dedication to the land, and his dreams for the future. Now, it was up to her to carry that legacy forward. She took her mother's hand in her own, her grip firm and reassuring.

"I won't let his memory fade away like this. I'll do whatever it takes to save the farm, even if that means I have to beg in front of my ruthless, cunning boss."