The House of Allen

Two

At first glance, one would think that Alex Clifford is but a humble worker for the business owned by the Allen family. This is true as Alex has been working for them as the manager of their farms and factory ever since she graduated from the community college. She is well-loved by the people at the farm, some of them knowing what the woman went through during her younger years while some just appreciated her for her genuine care for the employees and being totally hands-on whenever needed.

What some people may not know is that Alex Clifford was once an heiress herself. Her father, Franklin Clifford once owned the biggest livestock business in town that supplied to customers from nearby towns and countries. They were one of the oldest families in town and held a close relationship with the Allens and the Gibsons. These three represented the oldest families who helped in the formation of the town hundreds of years ago. These families took control of the main sources of living for the town.  

The Allens owned the farming industry where they produced crops of almost every kind for the consumption of the townsfolk and also for export to nearby towns and to foreign investors. The Cliffords were in charge of the livestock.  Their farmlands provided meat like beef, pork and chicken for everyone in town and the excess, they always donated to the local shelter for the people there to feast on.  It was said that the Clifford farm’s meats were the highest qualities that the best chefs of different cuisines sought after their produce for their businesses.  Lastly, the Gibsons owned one of the biggest vineyards in the region.  The town, being in a river valley, was blessed with the best type of soil to produce grapes that are then processed to become the finest of red wines.  The Gibson wine was said to be served at the table of royalties, and was therefore sought after by connoisseurs not only from the country, but also overseas.

For years, Cliffords enjoyed their life of luxury. They were well-loved by the townspeople as they routinely held festivals in their estate to celebrate achievements instead of the usual balls where only the richest could attend. Mr. Clifford was also known to help out people by paying for their hospital bills, giving food and shelter as well as a job to anybody who needed it. Out of the three families, the Cliffords was the most well-loved which is why everybody was shocked when one day, Franklin Clifford was taken in by the police for drug trafficking.  

Only one thing was going through everybody’s mind during that time: how could the kind Mr. Clifford ever done such a thing? However, pieces of evidence were shown against him and he was taken into prison and his family – his only daughter Alexandra and his wife Louisa – were left to fend for themselves. The estate, as well as the family business, was taken over by the state until the day that Mr. Clifford could be proven not guilty and the mother and daughter pair only managed to save some of their possessions.

Alex, who was fresh out of high school at the time, was forced to attend a community college while working part-time for the Allen family; a job that was graciously offered to her by Mr. Allen to help out on her living expenses as well as paying for her tuition. Mrs. Clifford, who had never worked a day in her life, had to take up a clerical job at the local bank to help pay for their rent. Little by little the two managed to learn how to live an ordinary life with the help of the people in their community who still could not forget the family’s kindness to them. Alex was then offered a permanent job as the primary manager for the farm and factory of the Allen family after she graduated from community college with a major in business. Now, as a 25-year-old, none of the traces of the old party-loving and easy-going heiress could be seen on Alex Clifford. Whatever was there before was replaced by the Alex who is kind, hardworking, and practically married to her job.

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“Wow, I don’t remember the estate being this huge?” Levi turned to his cousin Jaxon who had exited the car behind him and was spreading his arms wide and smelling the fresh air.

“I have to say, I really missed it here.” Jaxon flashed his smile and waved at the people who were walking out of the house to approach them.

“Mom! Dad! How are you?” Levi practically ran giggling towards his parents who locked him in their embrace. Jaxon was also busy doing the same to his parents and sister.

“Hi, Levi. Did you enjoy England?” A soft voice spoke beside him and the male broke out of the tangle of arms to look at the person who spoke.

“Bea, darling!” He smiled as he approached his fiancé and locked her in a tight embrace.

“I couldn’t wait for the ball to see you so I had to come right now to meet you. I missed you so much!” Bea said as she lifted her head to give Levi a small peck in the lips.

“Oh, I missed you so much too! You will stay the night, right? We have a lot of catching up to do.” Levi smirked, making the woman blush and hit his chest lightly.

“How could I say no to you, honey?” Bea smiled as her fiancé placed an arm around her shoulder and escorted her inside the house. 

Levi and Jaxon have been away for a little over three years as they were sent away to England to study business. Initially, it was only Levi who was supposed to be going, but the young man insisted that he needed his cousin and best friend Jaxon to be there with him or it would be boring. In reality, he needed Jaxon to be there with him as the older man has more street smarts than he does. That, and he needs his best friend to keep him in line during the years that he will be away.

His fiancé Bea was against the idea, but he reassured her that it is for their future so that he can run the family business and help her with her family’s vineyard as well when they get married. Levi has always thought that he is a very lucky person to be engaged to the prettiest woman in town. It was an arranged marriage that the two have known since they were children. The two were encouraged to spend a lot of time together to develop affection for each other and by high school, the two started seriously dating. Levi would usually pick Bea up from school and the two would spend their time together doing whatever it is that couples do. 

To be honest, Levi does not know if he really loves Bea, but he knows that he is lucky to have her and cares deeply for the woman.