CHAPTER TWO: THE CRASH

Crown magazine is the biggest fashion company in the state, potentially the entire country. 

It is one that a lot of people grow up dreaming of working in but only a handful of people achieve that dream.

The company has been built by a long generation of crown heirs and heiresses.

 This long legacy began with Sophia Bridges, a poor- lower class seamstress born during the very capitalist Victorian era. The blogs has it that Sophia grew up very poor but soon her fortune changed after she got married to the then widowed Sir Richard Crown who died soon after their wedding and left her with all his wealth.

Sophia used this wealth to build and maintain a couture house which became the best in the country. Over the years, decades and eras, this couture house evolved and soon became a big magazine company which is now known as Crown Magazine, owned by one of the richest men in the country; Frederick Crown.

Ava took a deep breath and let out a shaky exhale as she stared at herself in the mirror, wondering how the interview would go.

She knew she would have to get the job because a lot of things were hanging on this success. First off, their house would be foreclosed if they did not come up with a means of earning a living and then Eli, the poor boy, has never had the easy childhood that most kids his age enjoy.

Ava knew she would have to get the job somehow, she tried to be hopeful but even as she talked herself up and feigned confidence she knew that she was a little bit unlikely.

It is Crown Magazine, THE crown magazine! They do not take a lot of people from the large sea of applicants and it was highly unlikely that they would choose her.

She was probably the least qualified person on their hiring roster, she did not have a writing and editing degree from some fancy school, she did not study fashion somewhere in Paris, she did not have the nepo baby connection, she did not have daddy's money to pay her way into an employment, she had nothing…absolutely nothing.

For a moment there Ava felt completely downcast, she considered just quitting now before giving herself the chance to try but then the echoes of Ian and Eli's laughter kept her strong.

She wiped the tears that had managed to escape her eyes and instead decided to focus on the future because that was the only thing she could do at that point, the other option would be to sit back and watch her family sink…that was unthinkable.

“My love, baby, I'll be back soon! I just have to check up on aunty Sandra,” Ava yelled as she exited the front door.

She could not afford to lie to Ian's face again so she opted to instead leave the house without a goodbye kiss from him or Eli.

She had lied that she was going to visit their friend Sandra because telling him that she was going for a job interview could lead to an argument, one as brutal as the one they had had about a week ago when she had suggested that she get a job to support the family.

Ian wanted nothing but the best for his wife and son, he prides himself on being able to provide for their every need but since the accident he hadn't been able to… Ava insisting on getting a job made him feel like a failure and he hated that.

For Ava, this was a way to prove to her husband that she has his back, that she was someone that he could lean on during his down times. 

This thought made her smile, the thought of supporting her family financially and buying them gifts and making their favorite food made her heart beam with joy.

It gave her all the confidence she had been lacking earlier. Bolstered by that confidence, she walked out of their house and into the New York street.

After waiting for a little bit, her Uber came and she walked in.

She was still a bit nervous about the interview but the thought of her family comforted her, that along with the fact that Crown magazine had sent her an email inviting her for the interview after she sent in her portfolio which was filled with photos and videos of all the clothes she had made as well as the fashion articles she wrote that were published in local magazines.

Ava rested her head on the car and hoped for a miracle.

She was almost completely taken by her imagination when she heard the driver yell in agony.

Ava's eyes flew open but at that point it was already too late. 

The driver had lost control of the car, he pressed hard on the brake but at that point nothing could stop the car from colliding with the one in front of it which had driven recklessly from a turn into the free way.

Ava's heart thudded rapidly in her chest, panic surged through her vein. This was it…the end! She would never get to see her family again! She would not watch her son grow up!

She yelled in fear as the car she was in drove straight into the other one and then everything went black, living became a distant memory, death a warm embrace.