Who Are You?

"I found out a day before the accident that I was just an adopted daughter. I always wondered why my parents loved my younger sister more than me. They treated me differently from how they treated my younger sister. They didn't like me right after Abigail was born."

"I wondered that day when I received a scholarship to be able to finish my studies at the university, but my parents weren't happy about it. Do you know what they said to me that day?" Ava said as she narrated how her life had been with her adoptive parents.

Jeff found himself shaking his head; he didn't know why he was enjoying listening to her story as an adopted daughter.

Ava smiled bitterly and continued:

"Dad said he would advise me not to take the scholarship because he couldn't afford to pay for any of my expenses. He said he could only afford to send my younger sister to a private university, which was going to cost him a lot. He made it clear that Abigail was my younger sister, so I should understand why he could only afford to support her."

"I was sad but tried to understand him. I told him I could manage my expenses by getting a part-time job. They agreed, even though they didn't want me to. They didn't care. I worked so hard and pushed myself through until I graduated," Ava said, sighing and fighting back her tears.

"You don't have to continue if you're going to cry," Jeff said softly.

"No, I want to tell you everything because I'll feel better letting out all this that I've kept inside for so long. I didn't have anyone to share this with. I could only cry and comfort myself."

"It's a painful experience that I would like to forget, but keeping it to myself is a burden and pains my heart," Ava said, crying while she continued to try to hold back her tears.

"I graduated carrying all the burdens with no help from those I thought were my parents. I graduated and was happy, even though they didn't come to my graduation because they didn't care."

"All my life I've only felt like an orphan. I never felt like I had parents because I was invisible to them, while my younger sister always bullied me in high school and at home. But the worst they could do was blame me. After, the day I found out why they didn't care for me was the day I found out I was just an adopted daughter," Ava said in tears as she continued:

"That day, I found out I was an adopted daughter, I also overheard Dad talking to a man about selling me to him to save his company from facing bankruptcy," Ava said, sniffing as she wiped her tears.

"I didn't want that. If they were my biological parents, I would stay and surrender myself to be sold because I would feel at ease knowing I was saving my parents from debt, but not with them."

"Anyway, thank you for listening to me," Ava said, standing up from the dining table as she rushed upstairs to her room, leaving Jeff who stared at the space she had vacated.

He didn't know why, but he felt his heart sink and ache seeing Ava's tears.

He looked down at the food.

"She cooked the food to thank me," he thought and started eating, and to his surprise:

He loved the food.

The taste was different.

"Is it her recipe that she used to cook the food? She must be really good," he thought while he finished all the food before leaving the table to go to his room.

—————-

The next day….

Ava woke up late because she had cried all night in her room.

She had made up her mind to grow strong and become a beautiful, successful woman.

Waking up, she stretched her body in bed, stood up, and walked to the bathroom for her daily routine.

She brushed her teeth, took a bath, and dressed in a free gown that stopped at her knees.

She walked out of her room and strode downstairs to eat.

Getting down to the dining room, she was surprised to see Jeffrey sitting in one of the dining chairs while staring at his phone.

He didn't notice her presence until she pushed a chair to sit.

"Good morning, Mr. Walton," Ava greeted. Her voice was calm, soft, and sweet to the ears.

Jeffrey looked up at her and dropped his phone.

"Morning," Jeffrey replied to her greeting while Ava smiled and spoke;

"I thought you would be gone to the office by now, but you don't seem like you're going anywhere," Ava asked softly while Jeffrey nodded his head.

"I have something to say about your discussion last night," Jeffrey said softly.

Ava nodded her head to listen to what Jeffrey had to discuss with her.

"You can stay here until you find a place to live. You don't need to push or rush yourself too much to leave the house. I will be out of the state, and back in New York. I have some business matters to handle over there, and it's going to take me some months or a year to come back here again," Jeffrey said softly, causing Ava to look surprised by what he said.

"You mean you don't live here but only came here for business?" Ava asked, still confused.

"Yes. I don't live here; I come to look after my companies here, which is why I spend some months here. So feel free until you can leave on your own without worrying about where to stay," Jeffrey said softly and stood up to leave the dining area.

"Thank you. I will forever be grateful for this," Ava said in gratitude, but Jeff didn't turn to her as he climbed the stairs back to his room.

Ava twitched her mouth.

"I thought he was about to eat," she thought while a maid walked up to her and greeted her.

"Good morning, Miss," the maid greeted while Ava replied with a friendly smile.

"Morning, I'm Ava," she said politely.

"Okay, Miss Ava. I'm sorry to say this, but my master would like your food again. I don't know if you can teach me your recipe so we can cook it in the same way my master liked it," the maid said with a nervous smile.

Ava smiled politely and stood up from the chair.

"How about I cook again, then you can learn if you want? Honestly, I would like to do something in this house too," Ava said with a friendly smile while the maid smiled back.

"It's alright if Miss Ava wants to, but I will help you with the cooking and learn from you," the maid said, smiling brightly.

"Haha, you're making it seem like I'm a good cook here. You're a professional cook, which means you must be extraordinarily good at cooking, while I just a cook in my way I know how to," Ava said and laughed along with the maid.

"You are really nice and funny, but you are truly a good cook for our master to want to taste your food again," the maid said while she led Ava to the kitchen.

The cooking was done after some minutes; Ava didn't think too much about why Jeffrey wanted to eat the food she cooked again, but she was happy he loved it.

The food was ready, and while setting the table, the doorbell rang.

Ava didn't pay much attention to who was at the door because it wasn't her house. While the maid walked to the door to greet the visitors, Ava heard the maid greeting the people she had opened the door for in a respectful way. She turned to look at the maid, and her eyes met with a middle-aged woman and a man.

She didn't know what to do as the man and woman walked toward her. Ava was confused about what to do but greeted them respectfully. "They must be Mr. Jeffrey's guests," she thought while she greeted them.

"Hello? But who are you?" the woman in her fifties said, looking at her from head to toe.

Ava froze in her spot, staring dumbfounded; she didn't know how to answer the simple question.

"Huh, uh." Ava nervously swallowed the lump in her throat until a cold, unbothered voice was heard behind her.

"She is my guest; don't make her feel nervous. What are you both doing here?" Jeffrey's voice trailed as he came down the stairs.

The man and woman turned their faces in his direction while the woman smirked secretly.

"We are your parents and we have a right to be here and check on our son," the woman said softly with a serious face.

Jeffrey finally walked to them, standing next to Ava unknowingly. His face was cold and serious like he wasn't surprised and happy to see who had just called themselves his parents.