Arranged Marriage With Mr Billionaire CEO

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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Ava's POV

"Still sleeping like an asshole?"

My eyes snapped open as I jumped out of bed when I heard her voice.

No matter how deeply I slept, I could never mistake Clara Wilson's voice. My stepmom. I wondered if I would ever be able to be at peace, as I was years back before she came in. It had barely been 4 hours of sleep and yet she was already screaming my name. I had been called all manner of names as I was old enough to understand the meaning of those names.

My exams were tomorrow and I wished to sit and read. Of course not. All I ever did was work, work, and work.

"Ava!" I heard her heavy stomps thundering up the stairs. She was already close.

She pushed the door and I could see her eyes were filled with rage. I faced her, bracing myself as she walked towards me, holding a broom.

"Good morning, mother," I said softly, forcing the words through clenched teeth.

"I have been calling you for five minutes, lazy bitch. What were you doing?" she yelled.

I bowed my head low, panting like a dog. My stepmother hated me so much. Since I lost my mother, my father brought the witch into our home. I managed to get admitted into the same school as my sister, Alison, because my father wanted me to go there with her. Still, I couldn't keep up. One day I am at school, the next I am scrubbing the floor.

Today was supposed to be my exams, but instead, I am dragged out of bed to begin chores that might leave me too drained or too late to attend school.

The Wilson family is well known across the city, but no one knew I existed. They only knew about Alison, the Wilsons' only daughter. Perfect in every way.

"Are you now deaf as well as stupid?" She continued, advancing closer. My heart skipped a bit because I knew the next thing I was expecting was a slap. Indeed, I was given a thunderous slap. I stumbled backward, dazed. It felt like being struck by lightning.

"Mom, what have I done this time?" I cried, but then it was no use.

"Are you talking back to me?" She snapped, as I moved backward.

First, just apologize. "I'm sorry, Mom."

"I am not your mother. How do I keep saying that?" She had said that countless times, but then I kept making that mistake.

"I'm sorry ma'am," I apologized again. "I had a lot of chores last night and couldn't sleep early. I am sorry ma'am."

As I stood there, she clicked her tongue at me, getting impatient. "That explanation wasn't valid, I know you go around telling people I give you too many chores. I want to see you downstairs in five minutes."

I dashed into the small adjoined bathroom, changing in minutes, changing in record speed.

I got down in five minutes, as she ordered. "Ava, you must not mess things up for me today. "

"Yes mother," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Even though I wasn't sure of what I was not supposed to mess up, all I knew was that if I went against her orders, I would be in a world of pain.

She walked into the living room. "Your father and I had thought about some things and decided that there isn't a need for you to attend college anymore. From now on, you are on janitor's duty at the new hotel, the Silver Royale."

"Janitor duty?" I blinked, in confusion. "What on earth would I be doing there? Why has Father changed his mind? Did I do anything wrong?"

"So many questions. I don't like repeating myself. What do you do in school? Sleep with your sister's boyfriend, because that is all you do."

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