A BILLIONAIRE'S TWIST

CHAPTER 3

Ember awoke the next morning to lively chatter and boisterous laughter echoing through the hall. Puzzled by the early visit, she swiftly got ready and headed downstairs to investigate the source of the commotion. Descending the stairs, she was startled to see her parents seated opposite a formidable-looking man, who was flanked by a stern bodyguard.

Strangely, her parents seemed to be listening intently to the man's words, as if receiving some instruction. Feeling unsettled, Ember grabbed her car keys from the dining table and headed out for her usual morning drive, hoping to clear her mind and dispel the confusion.

"Oh! Here she comes," her dad said with a trembling yet gleeful voice. Her mom, as if bowing toward her, gestured for her to move closer to her.

“Come, my dear, have a seat,” she said.

Ember, taken aback by her parents' unusual behavior, approached to see what might have influenced this change in them.

She stood frozen in place, feeling lost and disconnected.

“Emil?” Ember thought to herself.

"Ember, sit, my dear" her mom called out softly, but Ember was too lost in her thoughts to hear her. As she tried to make sense of the situation, she couldn't help but wonder how the mysterious figure had managed to track her down. Her furrowed eyebrows revealed her deep confusion. She got angry at the man and dashed out of the house.

Ember's departure from her parents and the stranger marked the first occasion she had ever defied her parents, let alone a respected stranger. As the cherished darling of the family, Ember had always been obedient and respectful. Despite her father's repeated calls and her mother's attempts to stop her, Ember remained steadfast in her decision, quickly getting into her car and driving away, leaving her parents in shock and confusion.

“We are deeply sorry sir…. We don’t know what has come over her”. Her parents apologized to Emil......“We promise to talk to her and resolve the situation as soon as possible,” they added. Despite feeling humiliated by Ember's actions, Emil remained stoic and signaled to his bodyguard before leaving the house, leaving his response to the apology ambiguous.

Emil's arrogance stemmed from his powerful position and immense wealth, as the owner of ‘City's Own Bank (C.O.B)’ the primary financial institution for the city. His financial status made him feel superior to others, almost like the president of the city, and he was ranked as the second-richest individual in the city.

Now, how did he get to Ember’s House that early morning?

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were both in retirement and almost bankrupt. During their work days, they barely made any provision for the future. They had no property, made no investments, and had no money saved in their accounts for the sake of their future. Neither did they have any insurance nor plans for their two children.

They were in great debt and had used their house as collateral for a loan they took but hadn’t paid for. They were about to lose it all. Their world was gradually crashing, and being able to afford three square meals daily was sometimes a challenge. There were days when they had to beg relatives and neighbors for assistance. Life had become tough and threatening for them.

Emil learned about this family's hardship when he asked his bodyguard to do a thorough investigation into Ember. He felt enchanted by her beauty and wanted to own her so he could brag to his friends when he went to dignified events…having the most beautiful wife was a plus to his reputation, it was going to serve as an elevation to his status and no grounds for people who wish to bad mouth him.

According to Blow’s investigation, he found out about Ember’s residence and the hardship her family was facing. Emil saw that as his golden moment to offer the family a great offer in exchange for their daughter Ember. So that morning he was there to convince Ember’s parents to give Ember to him and also to give them a waiver for all their debts owed to his bank and offer them a huge sum of money for their upkeep every month. Emil was purchasing Ember.

Ember, completely oblivious to the nefarious agreement her parents had struck with the selfish and thoughtless Emil, remained outside, hopelessly driving in aimless circles, unaware of the deceit and betrayal unfolding behind her back. She realized she was wasting fuel by just driving around, but her family barely had any money on them to buy fuel when they ran out. She found a reasonable space to park the car and got out to continue walking in her state of confusion and despair.

She felt nature simply didn’t like her and was being unfair to her. She had just been cheated on by a guy she dearly loved and thought would go to the end of the world with him. She put her dreams and academics aside for this one guy who later betrayed her, and then, in an attempt to forget about her pain, she got taken advantage of by a guy she saw at the pub where she went to have a few drinks with her friend. A lot was going on in her life, and it was too much for her to bear.

Ember sat on the stairs in front of a flat as she constantly wiped the tears from her eyes and hated herself more for everything that had happened to her…

“This is not the life I wished for” she sobbed…. "Why can't life just be good to me for once?”

******

Abby, who had seen her shedding tears uncontrollably from her window, was intrigued by why a strange girl would be crying to herself that early in the morning outside their flat.

“Hey!”…. Abby tapped Ember on the shoulder.

Ember, as if she had been bitten by a bee and was feeling the sting, jumped sidewards and looked back in terror. She stared at Abby and wondered why she had tapped her. She wiped out her tears quickly in order not to give the impression that she'd been crying, but Abby had already figured that out and that was why she even approached her first place.

“Hey! …what’s wrong with you? I saw you crying uncontrollably from my window?” Abby said as she sat next to Ember.

Ember was too hurt to pretend she was ok. Her tears kept rolling uncontrollably on her cheeks. Her eyes were swollen, clear evidence that she'd been crying for ages.

Abby, who was still waiting for a response from Ember, noticed she was too pained to even open up. She patted Ember's back and reassured her that everything would be all right, even though she didn't know the problem.

Abby had not seen Ember before, nor did she know her from anywhere, but was saddened by her grief and tears that early morning.

"Come on, let's go inside. You can vent in there, but not out here. You'll only attract the neighborhood gossip." Abby said as she helped Ember up.