A century later

Margaret sighed for the umpteenth time that morning as she ate breakfast with her two daughters. There was a moody air around them as they tried forcing themselves to eat in silence, making a clinking sound with their spoon on their plate.

Ashley just stood close to the kitchen watching them and shaking her head with a scowl on her face. They were unbelievable.

Ashley White is a very beautiful and elegant twenty four years old girl, with long, curly burgundy hair that met her arms, and her eyes were greenish-blue (cyan).

She has a beautiful hourglass shape, not slim and not fat, she's average at five feet seven inches in height which was perfect for her. She was perfect.

She's the daughter of Andrew White and Moira Bloom White who was the owner of the Bloom construction industry until after her painful death.

Her mom died when she was eight years old. She was shot by a rival enemy who later got caught and arrested after a thorough, long investigation.

That was when her life started rumbling. The pain knew no bounds.

Three years later when she was eleven years old, her dad brought another woman home. A widow with two daughters and he married her.

That woman is Margaret Moore and her two daughters are Shelly, the eldest, and Taylor Moore.

Shelly is four years older than her while Taylor is two years older.

And then, four years later, when she was fifteen, her dad died. He was diagnosed with a heart sickness that took his life and she was left alone with strangers she never once connected with throughout the years her dad was alive.

Her dad didn't leave anything for her since she was too young to handle anything so he left it all to her stepmother.

At least, that was what Margeret told her.

The only thing he left was her trust fund which Margaret used to pay her college fees and every other concerning school.

After college, she was left with nothing, not even a seat in her own mother's company.

They treated her like a child or a poor person begging for alms. Whenever she tried to talk, she was met with a strong hard slap on her face.

Little by little, she became a stranger in her own home. A messenger, a cook, a maid...she became a pawn.

She wanted to leave, but her friends urged her to numerous times but she couldn't. She couldn't leave her family legacy with strangers.

She had tried many ways to get back what she own but it all prove abortive. She doesn't even have the money to keep fighting.

She has tried looking for office jobs but she kept getting rejected all because of her stepmother.

And now, bad things have befallen them.

Margaret gave Ashley a glare then she looked away with gritted teeth, beginning to imagine what thoughts are going on in her head.

Shelly sighed and clanged her spoon on the plate in anger. "This is outrageous, mom. We can't get poor again. We have to do something about this. Tell me you have something in mind."

Taylor blinked, lowering her gaze since she couldn't meet anyone's gaze. She was wallowing in guilt.

Ashley could only scoff causing them to look at her.

"You've got something to say?" Shelly questioned with a disgusted look.

"Of course. You guys have succeeded in bringing my mom's company to the ground..."

Shelly stood up causing her heart to skip but she didn't budge. "Maybe after the company falls under, y'all will rest. Go back to the slumps where you came from." She provoked further.

Shelly was marinated in resentment toward Ashley, her anger coiled in her stomach and as she raised her hand in an attempt to put a slap on her face, Margaret stopped her.

"Stop, Shelly. Not the time."

Ashley who already flinched in preparation for the slap blinked and sighed in relief.

Shelly turned and looked at her mom. She was in full anger mode. "Why? Ashley seems to feel she's got more guts now, mom."

"I don't get it, Shelly!" Ashley spoke out loud, waving her hands in the air. "I don't get why you're taking your anger out on me when I'm not the one who caused the company to go under. Your stupid sister did in case you're forgetting. She brought my mom's company to the mud, she gambled it all away due to her stupidity and you're one to be angry? That company was my mom's blood, sweat, and tears and you strangers came from nowhere and destroyed it..."

"WATCH WHAT YOU SAY, ASHLEY!" Margaret bawled out with a bang on the table and stood up in suit. Her breath was heavy and her eyes glared daggers at Ashley.

Ashley scoffed. "Why? What are you going to do that you haven't already done? You've taken everything for me..."

"Well, I have a solution. My company isn't going under." Margaret asserted.

Shelly and Taylor looked at their mom with hope in their eyes. "Serious, mom?" Shelly asked.

Margaret nodded.

Shelly chuckled. "Okay then, mom, maybe after our company gets back on its feet, change the Bloom name to Moore so Ashley finally keeps shut." She said, giving Ashley a revolted gaze.

Ashley frowned, although curious to know what Margaret has to say.

Margaret sighed and looked at Shelly and Taylor. "The solution is marrying one of you off."

Shelly frowned. "What? No frigging way."

"There's no other way, Shelly."

Taylor sighed and stood up. "Then I'll take the responsibility, mom. It's all my fault."

Shelly looked at Taylor with a scoff. "Don't be silly, Taylor. If mom is gonna be marrying anyone off to save the company, it should be Ashley."

Ashley looked at her. "And you think I'm gonna agree to that? That's presumptuous of you, Shelly."

Shelly looked at her. "You wanna save your mom's company, right? Then you should make the sacrifice."

Margaret sighed. "You haven't even heard who I'm talking about."

Shelly looked at her mom. "Who?"

"It's Derek Cage."