The Billionaire's Only Wish

Ava's POV:

The loud sound of someone knocking repeatedly on my door woke me from my slumber.

At first, I thought it was a dream, so I stretched my body and took a different position on my bed, trying to go back to sleep. I heard another loud bang on my door, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Is there a burglar in this house?" I muttered.

"Ava!" I heard my name. It was Eleanor's voice.

"Ava, get up this instant."

"If you don't have a job, don't you think you should at least get up early and make breakfast," Eleanor yelled as she banged on my door again.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes instantly, looking at the phone at my bedside. It was barely 4:30 a.m. It took me a few seconds to process what was going on. A week after I bid my parents farewell, I moved in with my sweet mother's friend, who had never yelled at me until this morning. I was almost certain someone had gotten on her last nerve.

"Why did she have to wake me up this early?"

"Ugh!" I yawned as I got up from my bed and went to open the door for Eleanor who was still yelling and banging at my door.

"Good morning, Mum," I greeted.

"You fool! Who is your mother?" I was confused by that question because she told me I could call her mother when I moved in with her, she also promised to offer me motherly love and care for as long as possible. What changed?

"Why did you lock your room door? "

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Be sorry for your pathetic self, were you drunk last night or something? Because only a drunk person will pass out the way you did. I've been knocking and calling you for the past 30 minutes. Why did it take you so long to wake you up?" Eleanor yelled at me and I sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry," I said, still wondering why she was so upset that early.

"Go make breakfast," Eleanor said waiting for me to head to the kitchen immediately.

"What!"

"You heard me."

"But It's barely 4:30 am, and..."

"Shut your mouth, Ava. I know what the time is, go fix something for me to eat now!" She walked away after giving me a bad eye.

I didn't have the time to ponder why her attitude towards me had changed. But I knew that it was either she had been pretending all along, or she got possessed by the devil himself.

Who changes from a nice to a mean person overnight? I dragged my feet to the kitchen to prepare something for her.

"I want a sunny-side-up egg." I heard her say from the passage leading to the living room.

While I was on it, she came to the kitchen and asked me to prepare something enough for everyone at home.

We used to be four until her husband, Mr James went to jail.

Eleanor hated it when we mentioned his name, so we barely talked about him.

I made a breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, and toast bread with tea.

I wasn't hungry but I had to eat my breakfast at once and also prepare for work, I had received enough shock for the morning and didn't know what to expect next.

"Ava, you're eating all these?" She said looking at the food I served myself on the dining table.

"When you start making real money and supporting me in this house, you can eat this much, but for now, I won't let you eat like a glutton." She grabbed my plate and halved the food in it. I was angry about that, but I ate what was left.

I didn't know what response to give her without sounding disrespectful, but she was already getting on my last nerve.

She had the guts to mock me, but she used to eat over at our home when my parents were still alive. I had walked in on my Mum on three occasions giving her a few good-looking clothes too. My parents were not the wealthiest, but they were generous; they liked to share what they had, especially with family and friends.

It's funny how some people forget the good deeds done for them as soon as they stop receiving them, right? Maybe I should add "ungrateful" to that description.

It was over a year since I graduated from college but I was yet to get my dream job. I had to make do with the ones I got, even though the pay wasn't encouraging. Before my parents passed on, I had zero responsibilities, so I wasn't under much pressure to get a better job. They gave me all the assistance I needed.

I knew I had to continue applying and not give up. With the sudden turn of events, I had to start planning for the worse, I didn't have to wait to be thrown out.

I could only hope for the best, even though I didn't graduate from a prestigious college.

I sighed heavily and went back to the kitchen. I put Lydia's meal into a smaller plate to keep it warm for her while I got back to my room to get dressed for my job at the bakery.

I worked at the bakery in the morning and the library in the evening.

My jobs were not so bad after all, if not for any other thing, they kept me occupied, so I had less time to think about my parents who were no more. I loved the smell of freshly baked bread and enjoyed reading books, especially romantic novels.

After preparing for work, I heard Eleanor call me again.

I went to the living room, where she was watching a sitcom. She was still eating the breakfast I served her.

Once she saw me, she threw the cup of tea I made for her at me.

It hit me on the head, fell to the ground, and made a shattering noise.

I was stunned by that. It was the last thing I expected to happen amidst the frustration she let out since she woke me up. My next instinct was to defend myself, but I heard a small still voice say, "Don't do it."

"What kind of coffee did you make for me?" she spat. I had no idea what she meant.

"Is there no milk in the house?" She yelled at me angrily.

I sustained an injury on my head from the impact of the cup that she threw at me.

"I'm sorry, I'll make another one," I said to her and she scoffed.

"Never mind, just get your filthy self out of my sight," she said to me and I nodded and walked into the kitchen to get a broom. I swept the pieces of broken glass carefully.

"Replace my teacup."

"I will," I responded as I went into my room to change my dress. I felt bad but didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing me broken.

I took off my clothes and went to take my bath for the second time that morning. I changed into a new set of clothes, grabbed my bags, and was ready to leave the house.

It was already 7 a.m., and I was supposed to clock in at work by 7:30 a.m., so if I didn't leave immediately, I'd be late.

"Ava," Eleanor called out when she saw me heading toward the front door.

"Give me some money! I need to go shopping for the house today, what I have on me won't be enough," she said and I frowned.

It was now clear to me that this woman was after my life, I didn't know why. What was my crime?

"I don't have any," I responded and she laughed.

"I guess that's a joke, Ava." She said to me and I sighed heavily wearing a more serious face, hoping she would believe me this time.

"I honestly don't have any money to give you, all I have is my transport fare," I said and turned to leave.

But I made the wrong decision because she pulled me to face her and gave me a dirty slap.

"Give me the money you have now!"

Ava's POV:

"What do you expect to eat when you return today?" She added.

"I've fed you for some time now, shouldn't you at least be grateful for that?" She spat on my face and dragged my cross bag, opening it and taking all the money she found.

My transport fare was gone, and I was almost late for work.

She pushed me away from her, and I fell to the floor with a thud.

"Foolish girl."

"That's why your parents left you." She said to me and walked away.

I watched her leave with the only money I had at the moment. My eyes were filled with tears, I let out all the pain I had endured the whole morning.

I was thinking of how to deal with the insults she reigned on me, but saying something so insensitive about my dead parents broke me completely.

"Ava, are you alright?" I heard Lydia's voice, and I turned to face her, while still sitting on the floor.

"Ava, are you alright?" She asked again as she ran down the stairs to come and help me up from the floor.

"I'll be fine," I didn't know if her mother was somewhere watching us, I also didn't know if she saw what transpired between me and her mother.

"Did my mom do this to you?" She asked as she helped me get up from the ground.

I was quiet for a moment. I didn't know how to report a mother to her daughter.

"What? What happened to your head?" She asked as she touched a part of my forehead.

I hissed at the pain, I hadn't put any ointment on top and it was hurting bad.

"You're hurt, did you fall or something?" She asked with concern.

"Your mum... she threw a teacup at me, but it's just a small wound," I said to her and she scoffed.

"But why? What did you do?"

"This is big and swollen. It must be hurting so bad."

"Come, let's go put some ointment on it." She said to me and I nodded and sniffed.

Tears dripped down my face uncontrollably.

We walked upstairs to her room and she sat me down by her dressing table and went to bring a first aid box.

I used that moment to look around her room and I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Lydia.

Her room was a contrast to mine, it reminded me of my room in my father's house. It was beautifully decorated to my taste.

I felt like going to work that morning and never returning, but where could I run to?

Eleanor had shown me her other side, I didn't need anyone to tell me she didn't like me. Maybe I had become too much of a burden to her, or it was the frustration from not having her husband around, or she was scammed and lost a huge sum of money. I thought of several possible reasons to justify her bad attitude towards me.

I wasn't naïve, I knew I could stand up for myself, but I was scared of ending up on the streets. I didn't have anyone I could move in with. My boyfriend wasn't an option. I was against cohabiting before marriage.

I sighed heavily as I imagined how helpless I was.

Lydia walked in with the first aid box.

She cleaned the wound, applied some ointments, and used a plaster to cover it up.

"You're good to go now." She said to me with a wide smile and I had to force a smile back.

"Thank you," I said, and she giggled.

"It's nothing to thank me for, we're sisters you know," she said and I nodded.

"Here, keep this, apply it later." She handed me the little bottle of ointment.

"No, I can't," I said to her with uncertainty. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to have that.

"Yes, you can." She placed it in my palm.

"Aren't you running late?"

I was supposed to be at work in fifteen minutes.

"I need to go now," I got up from the chair where I was seated.

"Ava, wait." I stood by the door, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Here you go. You're late, you should take a cab." She handed me some money.

I couldn't reject it because I needed it.

I thanked her and ran down the stairs.

I got to the bus station and thankfully, the last bus going to town was about to leave.

I got in, paid my fare, and took a seat.

I sighed subcautiously, grateful that Lydia intervened.

Soon, I arrived at work and quickly changed into my work clothes. I was a few minutes late and hoped my supervisor would not notice.

My job was to stay at the counter and attend to customers. Thankfully there was no cue yet.

After attending to some walk-in customers and taking inventory of baked goods loaded in the delivery truck, I had some free time.

While I sat at the front desk looking at the wound on my face with a small mirror, my mind drifted to Mr James, Eleanor's husband. I wondered how he was faring. I remembered how one morning after preparing for work I opened the front door of the living room to see him standing with some police officers. I was worried and wondered what they wanted, but he asked me to go to work and that everything was fine. I got home that day waiting for him to return home from work but he never did. It was Lydia who told me he got arrested for fraud allegations.

I saw him as a good man and didn't believe he did what he was accused of, but I couldn't help him. I only hoped that the authorities would do their job and he would be released soon.

If he was at home, Eleanor wouldn't have treated me the way she did. He would have stood up for me. I hissed as I arranged my hair to cover the wound on my forehead again, I didn't want anyone seeing it and asking me what happened.

Time passed quickly. Before I knew it, four o'clock in the evening had arrived-my shift was over.

I was to resume at the library by 5 p.m., so I thought it would be nice to drop by quickly at my boyfriend's place. I wanted to surprise him with some freshly baked goods, he usually enjoyed them. I also wanted to tell him all that happened at Eleanor's place.

I boarded a bus to his place.

He lived in a small apartment, not very far from the library where I also worked.

I rang the doorbell but no one answered. I expected him to be home since he worked remotely at the moment.

I entered the PIN code because I knew it. Jackson and I were planning to live together after our wedding. We were planning to get married before I lost my parents, who had promised to support us, but we decided to wait for a little and both find better jobs before proceeding with the wedding plan.

I assumed he stepped out to get something and wasn't back yet so I put the pastries on the kitchen counter.

I was about to leave when I heard a sound coming from his room.

Out of curiosity, I walked towards the room. I was scared that it might be a rat or something even worse.

But when I opened the door, I was shocked by what I saw.

Serena's POV:

Not only was my boyfriend cheating on me, he was doing it with Lydia.

The very person I considered my best friend and sister. We had been friends for as long as I could remember. I grew up knowing her mum as my mum's close friend, and we grew up to be friends, visiting each other frequently and attending events together.

He was pounding into her with so much vigor and she was moaning like her life depended on it that they didn't even notice that I was standing there.

It wasn't until I screamed in horror that they knew someone was there. I was confused, I didn't know if to confront them and listen to their excuses or walk away. I took a few seconds to process the scene before me, not wanting to accept how much of a fool I had been; I was being successfully played by the two people closest to me and I never suspected. How did they do it? For how long had they been together?

They both paused and looked at me, they didn't look apologetic.

They looked like they didn't care that I found out, maybe they had been waiting for me to find out.

I was horrified and that broke me even more. The son of a bitch that professed unending love to me was staring at me without even attempting to say something, anything. I deserved an explanation.

How could the people I trusted with my life do this to me?

I managed to breathe out.

"What's going on here?" I asked, still in shock.

I hoped one of them would say something, but I was wrong. They turned and continued what they were doing.

I almost fainted, they made me watch them have sex. How crueller could they be?

I was too frozen to move. I hoped it was a dream, but it wasn't.

I managed to drag my feet out of his house. As I walked away, the sounds of her moans and his grunt made tears drip down my face.

I had been fooled. Lydia didn't care about me as she claimed and Jackson took my love for granted. I couldn't believe I had fallen for his trick a few days before. After agreeing to 'No sex before marriage', he convinced me to give it to him.

He complained that he had been celibate for too long and he could no longer stand the temptations he got from other ladies that flocked around him. He cried for it, saying that it didn't matter if I married him a virgin or not because we would still get married after all.

I was reluctant initially but I pitied him. I knew we would have been married if not for the sad incident about my parents.

I tried to discourage him but I was too weak, I was moved by the tears on his face. Before I knew it, my clothes were off, and he was inside of me.

I thought it was a sacrifice and I was being considerate, but I was wrong. He didn't love me as much as I loved him.

He never cared. He told me I was the only one in his life, but it was all a lie. He told me he had good plans for us, and would never betray my trust, but a few days later he was in another woman's arms. How much more pain could I bear in one day? I bet I had reached my threshold. I was going insane.

I didn't know if to head to the library or go home and cry my eyes out. I remembered Mrs. Eleanor, and our encounter that morning. Going home was out of the picture. I remembered my friend, Connor, who had told me I could visit him anytime. His modelling job took him out of town frequently, so I had to call and ensure he was home before going.

I was too broken to go to work, I needed to talk to someone, but his line didn't go through. I typed a message and forwarded it to him, while I thought of what to do next.

Amidst all that, I remembered the tragic death of my parents. I yelled as I crossed the road, unsure if I checked for oncoming vehicles.

I got badly hit, and the last time I was conscious, I saw myself on the floor. I tried to touch my head where it ached but that was the last thing I could remember. I was consumed by darkness.

When I gained consciousness, I was in the hospital. My whole body ached, but I managed to turn my neck. I looked around, and I met the gaze of a nurse. I stared at her, waiting for an explanation.

"It's a miracle your bones are not broken, Miss. The impact from the accident was significant, but don't worry, you'll be fine before you know it. A good samaritan brought you in, he made a down payment for your hospital bills before leaving. "

"Uhm... I was involved in an accident?" she nodded pitifully.

"How long ago?" After I asked, I noticed the table clock beside my bed. It was 11 pm.

"What? It's almost midnight. My family is not aware I'm here. I have to inform them." I didn't know what I was thinking, it dawned on me a few moments later that I no longer had a family. If Mr. James weren't in prison, I might have called him.

I decided to call Connor again. I stretched to grab my bag, but my arm ached badly, "Ouch!" I screamed.

"You still need all the rest you can get now. Your arm was badly bruised. Let me help you, what do you need?" the nurse asked.

"My bag, I need to check my phone."

She helped me open the bag and handed my phone to me. The screen was shattered.

I didn't know when tears rolled down my cheek and I began to sob.

"Hey, hey, don't do that. Be thankful you're alive." I nodded slowly, but the tears didn't stop coming out.

Now that my phone was bad, how could I reach anyone?

Where would I even go from here?