031 Express Delivery (2)

Eden yawned and returned to her apartment to wait for the newspapers and magazines to arrive on her doorstep. She looked up at the stairs, sighing as she began the climb back up to her apartment. It was better than the life that would no doubt creak and groan one she stepped in.

Eden recalled the elevator ride at Zenith and the girl who had made fun of her.

She stepped back into her house and headed towards the kitchen to begin her breakfast when she came across another problem.

The kitchen was empty.

Rows of cupboards filled with nothing but air, Eden couldn't believe she had forgotten to buy food when she had gone out for cleaning supplies.

Eden groaned, smacking her face with a sudden facepalm gesture that could only come from realizing her mistake.

"Would the store even be open by now? Most places open by 8:00 AM, I guess I just have to wait," Eden said retreating to her room.

She checked her account and out of the 20,000 KRV she came in with she had a remaining balance of 19,940 KRV from buying a lot of cleaning supplies and subscribing to newspapers and magazines.

"I won't need to worry about money for a short while but I'll need to start making it soon, maybe I'll get a part time job at one of the local toy shops I have the experience but I also have a lot to learn," Eden said.

Her stomach rumbled in hunger but she ignored it, knowing she had nothing to eat at the moment. There weren't even cups or plates in her kitchen, if she wanted water she would have to cup her hands under the tap and sip from her palms.

'Even if there was a vending machine downstairs, I don't have any cash on me,'

The blonde was snapped out of her thoughts by the phone ringing. She picked up the device and looked at the caller ID not recognizing the phone number displaying on her chipped screen. After three rings she answers it.

"Hello?"

"Eden you just left," Lily's voice came through, surprising Eden. Why would her younger sister be calling her so soon after she left?

"You were there when I left, watching from the window," Eden said in a deadpan voice. She heard a loud whine over the phone in response to her statement.

"Well, yeah...but I thought you were only doing that to scare us," Lily said. Her voice over the phone sounded disheartened as if she couldn't believe it.

"Please, only you could do something like that," Eden said, shaking her head as she walked from place to place around her apartment.

"Well then since you've decided to demote yourself to a peasant I'm not going to stop you. Hmph, you should know Daniel stopped by,"

"Why did he stop by?"

Lily replied with a giggle that made Eden's stomach drop. It couldn't be what she thought it was right? Neither Daniel nor his mother would stoop so low right?

"Lily, why did he stop by?" Eden asked again.

"Well I guess that's none of your business since you don't live here anymore, that information is only privy to the members of the Marshall Estate,"

Eden balled her free hand into a fist, she had nothing to strike but the sound of Lily's smug voice put her in a terrible mood.

"You're right it is none of my business, just watch out for his mom,"

"What? Why?"

"You'll see when you meet her," Eden said swallowing painfully. It would be hard to move on from Daniel but she already had her suspicions.

Eden ended the call without another word, feeling a fresh wave of tears burn at her eyes. She held back a sob, diving into her bed and weeping softly again. She buried her head in her pillows and screamed out her frustration as she sobbed until her chest was heaving.

Eden took a deep breath, sighing painfully at the heartache that came with losing the one she loved. But it seemed Daniel moved on faster than she did.

Did he even really love her at all? Or did he just love the fact that she was the heiress of a company? Was that the only reason he even tolerated her?

Eden sniffed.

"I'm not going to let this get me down," Eden balled her fist and stood up swiftly, her stomach rumbled but she patted it and sat down at her work table to begin planning her new company. The surest way to get over heartbreak was to throw yourself in work.

If she focused on something else, she wouldn't even have time to think about Daniel and his cowardice. She huffed at the thought of the ring but would keep it in case she needed to sell it to purchase an office space or more supplies.

It had been 10,000 KRV a hefty amount for the workmanship, gems and the band that wrapped around her finger. Yes, it would make a valuable asset.

"Empress toys," Eden muttered, "Why not! I will be The Toy Empress and crush them under the heel of my toy empire,"

The book containing her vision sat open before her, allowing her to look through the research she had conducted over the years in preparation to ascend the Marshall Toy company, but she would need news papers to see who her biggest competitors would be.

Marshall Toys wasn't even on the list with how behind it was. They would have to pay off all their debts before they would even begin turning over a profit. It would likely be Minxy Toys and some others she had noted down.

"That first I need to do is find a toy shop willing to stock hand made toys, what am I saying? The first step is making the toys. I need more prototypes for stuffed animals and mechanical toys,"

Behind her was the old corkbaord she used to hang her plans on, but she would need a hammer and some nails if she wanted to hang it back on her bedroom walls and she hadn't spoken to the building manager about the types of modifications she would be able to make.

"Ah one thing at a time,"

The bell rang, prompting Eden to get up and answer the door. Hopefully it would be her newspapers and magazines.