CHAPTER ONE : The Start Of Everything

It was a Thursday night when she got the news—her mother was gone.

An eerie wave of fear gripped her, wrapping around her like a suffocating cloak. Loss. A loss like no other.

Her mum was her best friend. People say you never truly value what you have until you lose it—but that wasn’t the case for her. She had valued and cherished her mother deeply, every single day.

Her mum was strong, beautiful, and intelligent—the kind of woman she aspired to be but never could, because their bravery was different. When her mother set her mind to something, she never failed to amaze with the results. Marriage to her father never stopped her; she refused to be controlled or pinned down. She challenged her father to be a better man, pushed him to rise above. Their marriage had its ups and downs, yet she had believed love existed between them—until her mother’s passing.

That was when she realized her mum had been hiding a lot from her.

Protecting her from the harsh reality of relationships.

If anyone had ever truly been in love, she would have sworn it was her father. The way he swooned over her mother, the way he was a devoted husband—caring, stubborn, yet always respectful and kind. At least, that was what she had seen.

But after her mum’s passing, everything changed.

Her father brought in another woman.

If she had ever believed in love, that moment shattered it. Watching her father move on so quickly, so effortlessly, made her realize how vain and foolish the word love truly was.

☘️🍀 2 years Later 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀☘️☘️

"Dad, how could you?" Her voice was sharp, authoritative as she threw the stack of documents onto his desk.

He paused what he was doing, his gaze flickering to the papers in front of him. His expression shifted anger, then discomfort. With deliberate slowness, he removed his reading glasses, placing them back in their case before folding his arms, leaning back into his chair like a king on his throne.

She knew that posture too well.

It was the same one he used whenever he was about to drop a bombshell on her one she wouldn’t like or accept. A deep sense of dread settled in her stomach.

"You're getting engaged next week," he stated coldly, picking up a magazine and flipping through it with complete nonchalance.

"What?" She gasped, her voice rising. "Getting engaged next week? To who?"

Silence.

The new father she had been forced to get used to the one who ignored her every time she tried to speak, who dismissed her presence as though she no longer mattered was once again showing his true colors. But not this time. This time, she wouldn’t let him dictate her life.

Her hands clenched at her sides, disdain and disappointment flashing in her eyes.

She still couldn’t believe it.

The very same father she had once loved and cherished this was who he had become?

Her lips curled in mock amusement. "Well, if you're silent, that must mean you’re joking, right? Good. Because I also happen to have an engagement with the miners next week."

She turned to leave, but before she could take a step, a loud sigh escaped her father as he impatiently shut the magazine, placing it on the desk with a sharp thump.

"You're getting engaged to Greenberg's son. And the mine will be handled by me."

Her entire body went rigid.

"The mine belongs to me. I won’t let you take it," she shot back, her voice unwavering. "So this is what it’s about? The gold mine?"

A bitter laugh escaped her lips as realization dawned. "So you want to marry me off, and then what? Take the mine? Is that it? Why would you do this? And even if you wanted it so badly, you could have asked. Maybe, just maybe, I would have given it to you. But now? Now, I’m done doing what you want me to do. I will fight you to my last breath if I have to."

Her voice cracked slightly, laced with pain.

But her father? He stood there, eyes cold, his expression unreadable. And then anger.

"This is more complicated than you think, child," he said at last. "That mine has shareholders and investors who put their money into it when your mum inherited it. And when it started failing, I told her to sell it. I warned her, pleaded with her. But she refused. She insisted there was gold in it.

The investors grew impatient. I had to do something. So I made a deal with Greenberg

I offered them half the shares of the mine if they could pay off the investors. If the mine succeeded, they would have control. If it failed, it would be theirs.

And to seal the deal I sold your mum’s remaining shares to them."

He exhaled heavily, the weight of his words hanging in the air.

She stood there stunned! Who was This Man she called Her Father

She couldn't believe what she was hearing or seeing .

"What?" Her voice came out in a whisper.

She blinked, trying to process it all.

"Did Mum know? Was she aware that you signed a contract behind her back?" Her voice rose.

" She doesn't know right if she did ,she would feel betrayed,it would kill her or worse " she stated her voice low as realization hit her ,her chest tightened No it can't be ,it can't be the reason why Mum will fall sick will get an heart attack and stroke her thought whriling inside her .

"Why would you do that?!"Why ! She screamed her voice hoarse

" No it can't be The reason Why mum has a heart attack you wouldn't ! she couldn't have known! Did she find out ? her voice barely a whisper

Her father’s patience snapped.

"Because!" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the room. "Because your mum was a selfish, stubborn woman who wouldn't listen! She wouldn’t sell, wouldn’t compromise. She insisted that the mine was her heirloom, passed down from mother to daughter. She was so sure it would succeed, but the investors weren’t willing to wait.

What was I supposed to do, huh? Sit back and wait until they come for my neck?!"

Her chest heaved. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Her Mum would have been devastated,would have suffered through pain ,the news of this betrayal, her Mum wouldn't have taken this hit she thought.

"You should have waited for Mum to make that decision, Dad. It was her mine, not yours!" Her voice trembled with fury. "And I know she was planning to return their shares. She was willing to pay the investors back. She was fighting for it! And now look, She was right!

The mine is producing more gold than we’ve ever seen. Investors are coming back. And what did you do? You made a deal behind her back, an illegal one!"

Tears blurred her vision, anger and despair clawing at her chest.

Wiping them away furiously, she took a deep, shaky breath, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them and fixing her father with a steely gaze.

"So tell me, Dad… what does this have to do with the engagement?"