Chapter 3: Her Only Possession

"Avery, why can't you just find a nice guy who will love you and stay with you until you grow old?" Jane said.

Avery placed her head on her friend's shoulder, "Tell me that when you finally found your true love. As far as I'm concerned, true love isn't real."

"You'll never find it if you keep up meeting old men." Avery laughed. "At least I don't get my heart broken like you."

Jane shook her head. She knew that no matter what she told Avery, the other won't listen. It's like Avery closed her heart from the world without even trying.

"Wow. That family is getting popular nowadays." Jane commented as a commercial played on TV. Avery turned her attention to it. "Do you think that he might be interested in me?"

Jane sighed, "You're hopeless. Why not date the son?"

Avery laughed, "I'm not interested in immature men. He probably doesn't have much money, unlike his dad."

Jane did not react and just hoped that a prince charming can save her friend from her trauma and fears. She did not want to lose hope.

When Avery woke up the next day, she heard Jane and her boyfriend fighting in the living room. She groaned as this was not the first time this happened. Even if Jane believed in true love, she wasn't good at finding the right men. She usually ended up with men who were just after her body or worse, her money.

Avery would never understand her friend but she supported her anyway. She knew that one day, Jane would come to her senses and stop waiting for her prince charming because fairytales do not exist.

She got her phone from the bedside table. By now, John and his wife might think they won since Avery stayed over at Jane's place but what they didn't know is that she had a backup plan.

"Hello? Aunt Z? Is my place still available?"

"Good morning, Avery. Of course, you said you'll come back. Did your boyfriend leave you again?"

Avery laughed. Before she met John, she was staying at a nice apartment 30-minutes away from Jane's place.

When John offered her to buy her a condo, she asked Aunt Z, a 30-year-old woman who liked to wear cat prints and the owner, to reserve her room. Avery still paid for rent since John gave her monthly allowance.

"I might come home there tonight. I'm just letting you know."

"Sure, dear. We are always open for you."

Avery hanged up and called another number. It was the same number she was staring at last night. The number that could change everything.

"Hello?"

"Hi. You don't know me but I have something that you can use to beat JDC Mobile."

"I am interested. Are you free later?"

"Yes. I'll see you in a bit."

She hanged up and smiled. Avery was not afraid that John would leave her. She just wanted him to give her things. But since he did not cooperate, it was going to be his loss, literally.

She got up from bed and head to the kitchen where Jane and her boyfriend are. He was a tall muscular man with long curly unwashed hair. He wore black tight pants and old shirts. From his look, one could already tell that he was not financially stable.

The two were still fighting and it seemed to be something trivial. Jane liked men who are below her. Men who were not able to finish their studies which explained why she would never get a decent conversation with her partners. Jane was already crying and Avery hated seeing her friend like this.

"Will you leave her alone?"

Jane and the guy turns to Avery. She glared at the guy.

"Avery…" Jane tried to stop her friend but she knew she can't.

"Who are you?" he asked with irritation. Avery hated men like this. It was the total opposite of her targets.

Avery laughed. Jane knew that this was a bad sign. "Who am I? I'm the one who will report you to the police. You don't think I know that you're physically hurting her?"

He turned to Jane, "who is this woman?"

Before Jane can answer, Avery spoke again, "Leave. Or I will send all evidence I have on you and you will be in jail."

The man frowned and started leaving the apartment. Jane turned to Avery who was now preparing coffee. The room was silent. Avery looked at Jane who wiped her tears.

"What should I do for you to leave the guy?"

Jane looked at her friend, "If you date someone our age, I'll leave him."

Avery frowned, "You really don't want to leave someone who's already hurting you?"

"Aren't you tired of dating older men when you can easily find a boyfriend who is young and isn't married?"

Avery sighed. There was no point in this debate. She knew she can't give Jane what she wants. She finished her coffee and left the living room.

She understood that her friend was just concerned about her but Avery can't imagine herself falling for someone. The thought of having romantic feelings for someone disgusts her already.

The rival company of JDC Mobile is GigaPhones. Both were well-known in the industry but JDC had more clients considering that it is cheaper. But Avery had something against John that GigaPhones can use to their advantage.

The building of GigaPhones was huge. It had a lot of employees as well. Avery walked inside the building and as usual, some people turned to her direction. She and the owner, named Mark, met at his office. Mark was older than John but he had a better taste in fashion. Although he used branded clothes to show off his wealth, he was good at matching his outfits.

"I didn't know that you're young." He commented upon seeing her enter. She smiled and sat in front of him.

"Thank you for your compliment."

"Are you one of their employees?"

She smiled. "No. I was his mistress."

Mark's eyes widen. "I can't expose something like that."

She shaked her head, "Oh no. I don't want them to know it's from me. I know what's happening inside the company. He's corrupt and I have all the evidence. If you give this to the media, JDC won't be able to get back to the top."

She then placed a small USB on the table. Mark looked at her. Her aura was different than he expected. She wore a beautiful pink dress and her hair was tied up. Her expression was confident and proud. He had an idea why she's doing it but he was not sure that this is what he wanted.

"What do you get out of this?"

"I'm going to ask you for money. About a million. Once JDC is crushed, your earnings will be moved to hundred million."

Mark nodded as he slowly got the USB. "I will send you the money after I confirm that the details here are correct."

Avery smiled. "No problem. Just remember, I didn't come to you. We never talked."

He nodded. "Of course. But if I may ask, how did you do it?"

Avery smirked. "A true magician never reveals her secrets. Just think of it this way, John trusted me with everything but he can't lose his wife so when he was given a chance, he decided to get rid of me, forgetting that I know all the secrets of his company."

"You are a scary woman."

She laughed. "I'm not. He just didn't cooperate with me. If he did, then this wouldn't have happened."

After the meeting, Avery was on her way to her apartment when she saw a familiar figure. It looked like the guy who entered her condominium.

"Hey!"

She tried to catch up with the guy but he was walking fast. Plus, her high heels were not helping her at all. She didn't know why but she was sure that it is him. But what was he doing here?

"Hey!" she called again. This time, he turned around.