Chapter 2 Cristy

Crystalline Collins is an affectionate, kind-hearted girl from a small town near Manhattan. She is now 17 years old, young and beautiful with deep chocolate brown eyes and ash-colored hair that she inherited from her father.

When she was six months old, her mom died of a heart attack and her father remarried.

The woman who came home could be her father's wife but not her mother. Right from the age of three, she started using Crystalline for household work.

Her half-sister Stephanie is four years younger than her. She is not as beautiful as Crystal. Her step-mother- Josselyn was always jealous of Crystal for this reason. She bought very beautiful and costly outfits for Stephanie and gave only rags for Crystal to wear. But Crystal was happy with what she got as long as she didn't get beating from her stepmom.

It is the dream of Crystal to work hard, get good grades and one day get a decent job to support herself and her dad. Freddy is the only person in the family who loves her but he would act unconcerned because the greater he would show his affection to Crystal the more severe is Josselyn's jealousy.

"Daddy, I need your signature on this application." Crystal reached her father's workplace immediately after her work at home without anybody noticing her.

"Sure, my princess. Daddy will never stop you from achieving success. I wish you happiness in your dream career."

Freddy wants to see his daughter happy by any means. He knew she was suffering very much from the sick treatment of her stepmother and half-sister. That's why when Crystalline brought him an application to study at NYU he readily agreed.

"Princess, I signed the application but I seldom doubt if I would be able to pay the fees." Freddy is a carpenter. He didn't earn enough for his daughter to earn a university education. His earnings hardly sufficed to feed the four stomachs in his family a three-course meal."

"You don't have to pay for anything Daddy. This is a scholarship program. For the top grades I achieved, hopefully, I would gain a free seat." Freddy anticipated that God would help Crystalline because she worked very hard to get a scholarship at NYU.

It was finally the day of the result. Early in the morning when everybody in the family was still sleeping, Crystal sneaked into Stephanie's room and opened her laptop to check the result and it was the happiest day of her life.

Crystalline succeeds in getting the scholarship to NYU for her dream career. She secretly went to her dad's room to wake him up and share with him the gleeful news just then she heard the twisting of the front door.

She tip-toed behind the door to hide herself and check who it was. Alas! It was Richard. He is the brother of Josselyn, a womanizer, and looked for an opportunity to exploit the innocence of Crystalline. Why was he in her house so early in the morning?

She came out of her hiding place and informed him with a disgusted look not meeting his eyes. "Mom and Dad are still sleeping. Come after another two hours."

A sardonic grin crossed his features. "Then what were you doing in their bedroom? Did you think I did not see you come out of their bedroom? You planned to steal money from your dad's pants pockets. Isn't it?"

"No...no..I...I...went there to inform my dad..." Crystalline's voice halted in the middle of the sentence. She should in no way share her happy news with him because he will spoil all her plans.

"You went there to inform your dad, what? That you were stealing money from his pants pockets?" A ridiculous smirk laced his brims.

"I know my sister doesn't even grant you pennies but give you a load of donkey's work. Whereas your sister goes to school and puts on new clothes for every occasion and festival. So you are jealous of her and go to their bedroom to steal money. Do you think I'm not aware of your mission?" He towered her in dominance with his hands ducked in his pant pockets

"I do not have to steal. I only have to ask and my dad will give me everything. Coming to wearing branded dresses, I'm not on any day jealous of Stephanie. She is my sister." Crystal said unwaveringly but he turned a deaf ear to her.

"If you want me to keep my lips sealed and not tell my sister anything, you have to do me something." He looked down at her in a self-conceited fashion.

"What is it?" Crystal asked him adamantly.

"Uh..uh. No arrogance should be heard in your tone, my cute bird. You are here to bargain, not to dictate terms to me." Richard came closer to touch her cheek but she took two back in repugnance.

Crystal's action instigated annoyance in him. "How dare you avoid me! I have been waiting for this day for so long. You are so beautiful, sexy, and young." His eyes scrolled down her body in lechery.

Crystal shivered under his intense glare in abhorrence. He was smelling cheap liquor and cigarettes. And she hated that smell. "Stay away from me. Otherwise...."

"Otherwise what? You cannot do anything to me my beautiful parrot." He came closer and inhaled her hair spray dipping his head on her shoulder.

A sort of extreme disgust occupied Crystal and she immediately stepped back. "Bloody slut!" He pulled her violently to him holding her arm.

Her breasts collided with his chest. A lustful chuckle came out and he was about to kiss her when Crystal bent her head to escape the smooch.

"Not one more chance!" He growled low like a hungry wolf and squeezed her breast.

Crystal cried aloud and pushed him away. In the process, she hit her leg on the table and the flower vase on it fell breaking to pieces. The sound woke up Josselyn and Freddy too.

Crystal breathed an air of relief and detached herself from the grip of Richard. "You bitch, how did you break such a costly flower vase, you're not a source of even a penny and on the contrary, you brought me such a huge loss. That is the vase my mom gave me on my last birthday." Joselyn shouted.

Freddy did not care about the tantrums of his wife but looked at Richard thunderously. "What are you doing in my house and that too with my daughter early in the morning?"

"Your daughter was trying to steal money from your purse and on the contrary you are reprimanding answers from me?" Before Freddy could speak Josselyn took over.

She stomped to Crystal and pulled her hair about to hit her head against the wall. "How dare you steal money you whore. What do you want to do with that money? Buy beautiful clothes and look more attractive than Stephanie?"

Crystal anticipated a huge hit followed by an earth-shattering pain in her head like always but the hit didn't reach her. She opened her closed eyes and saw her father holding firmly the arm of Josselyn and stopped her from hitting him.

"You will believe this drunkard and womanizer and will not even give Crystal a chance to speak? If my daughter was a thief much more would have been lost in this house than what we lose today. This house runs with three course meal on the dining table only because of her." He warned Josselyn perilously.

In the process, Richard showed her a huge stack of currency notes. And the features of Josselyn immediately changed from terror to miserliness. "I don't care what this bitch intended to do in the bedroom. Enough of the loss I and my daughter suffered because of her. Richard wants to get married to her. In return, he will give us 50 thousand dollars with which we can clear away all our old debts."

Earth shook under Crystalline's legs. "No Daddy please don't marry me away. I want to study. Look...." She went hastily to Stephanie's room and brought out the laptop to show it to Freddy. "I got selected for a scholarship program at NYU."

Josselyn's face turned red and Richard's features were worth watching as if his cat lost its life. "She is not going anywhere but to get married to Richard and clear our dues." Josselyn finally stabilized herself from the shock and spoke.

Freddy nodded, making Crystalline's heart beat erratically. "If clearing dues is the only matter here, why don't you marry Stephanie to him after another 2-3 years? She is a backbencher and fails every year. On the contrary, Crystalline cooks for all of us, does all the household chores, and also studies well."

Josselyn's face turned into a hurricane at her husband's statement. But Freddy didn't care. He looked at Richard glaring daggers. "Get out of my house before I beat you black and blue."

Richard staggered out. Freddy looked at Crystalline with pride and appreciation. "You finally did it, my child. Congratulations! Now there is no one to stop you chasing your dreams. Fly high and never return here."

Freddy was very happy and blessed his child giving her a warm send-off the next week to join NYU.

Little did he know he was going to be the one who would shatter her dreams.

Six months passed and on a grave evening, Crystalline received a call from her step-mother. "Your dad suffered a heart stroke. We need two million dollars for the surgery within a month. Otherwise, he would lose his life."