In Brooklyn, Cindy Paulson had just stepped out of her fine art class, where she studied to become a jewelry designer and eventually take over her mother's company, Tonia's Jewelry.
Just then, Cindy's phone rang loudly in her bag as she walked alongside her friend, Rachel Nolan.
Taking out her phone, Cindy's brows furrowed deeply when she saw her father's name on the screen. She was his first daughter, yet she was treated as less than a maid.
Wanting to reject the call, Cindy held back and answered. After all, the university semester had just begun, and she would need her father's help to support her education.
"Hello, Father. What is it?" Cindy asked coldly, her face scrunching with noticeable irritation.
"Where are you, Cindy? Come home quickly. We have something important to discuss," her father, Mr. Rex Paulson, declared over the phone.
Clenching her fist, Cindy drew a deep breath. "I do not want to come home."
"Cindy. You have no choice. This is about your mother, Tonia White. I am sure you do not want her to die."
A wave of annoyance washed over Cindy's slender figure.
"Fine. I will be back. Just give me an hour to get home," she replied, her tone laced with irritation. Her father grinned.
"Good. I will be expecting you."
Once the call ended, Rachel looked at Cindy with concern etched on her face.
"What's the matter?" she asked, her voice thick with worry.
"It's my dad. I have to go home. I don't know what he's calling me about, but I will be back. You can go home," Cindy said, her voice firm and irritable.
Cindy had avoided going home because she didn't want to witness her father's affection for her stepsister, Tasha, and his wife, Mabel. She believed they were the ones who drove her mother insane.
"Are you sure you will be fine, Cindy?" Rachel asked, her voice tinged with concern as she didn't want to let Cindy go.
"Of course. There's nothing I cannot handle. I will call you when I get home or if anything happens," Cindy replied, her brows furrowed deeply.
"Alright. Take care," Rachel said, knowing how badly Cindy had been treated even as the first daughter of the Paulson family. She wasn't recognized as such, and her father favored Tasha.
Rachel could only hope for the best for Cindy. She stood watching as Cindy got into a cab and went home. They were both from average homes, but unlike Cindy, Rachel's family didn't care about her and favored her brothers over her. They believed a woman's place was to remain in the kitchen and beside her husband. Like Cindy, Rachel had to work menial jobs to support her education. They worked as waitresses in a restaurant for their university expenses.
Shaking her head, Rachel left for the room she shared with Cindy. She changed out of the yellow dress she had worn to class that morning, stepped out in a blue dress, and went to work at the restaurant.
***
Cindy arrived at her father's house—a white duplex. Yet her father acted as if he were poor, refusing to sponsor her mother's medical expenses for her mental health condition.
"Cindy, you're back," Mr. Paulson said as he perched on the living room couch alongside his wife, Mabel, and their precious daughter, Tasha.
Mabel was a 44-year-old woman. She had once been Cindy's mother's best friend, which was why Cindy hated her. She had secretly befriended Cindy's father, and as soon as her mother's health declined, Mabel entered the family, pretending to care for Cindy before bringing her own children home.
Now, Cindy was 24 years old, and Tasha was 22.
Cindy disliked Tasha. After all, she had been only seven years old when her father married Mabel and her mother was admitted to the hospital. Mabel then brought home her daughter, Tasha and her son, Amos.
Cindy was furious at her father's betrayal when she learned he never loved her mother. His true love was Mabel, yet he hid it to take over her mother's small, flourishing business.
Taking a deep breath as she stood in the living room dressed in a white flowing dress, Cindy peered at her father and asked, "Why did you call me home, Dad?"
"Cindy, is that how you greet your own father? Well, this is about your mother. I found a cure for her."
"Really?" Cindy's eyes shone with hope. She wished her mother's health would improve, but it hadn't in 17 years. She had already lost hope that her mother would return to normal.
Her mother was an orphan with no one to help her, and now Cindy was left with her father and his new family.
"Good. Have a seat; let's talk business first," Mr. Paulson said, his voice gentler compared to the harsh way he usually spoke to Cindy.
It was just after 3 p.m., and Cindy knew she had to get to work at the restaurant by 4 p.m., where she worked until nightfall.
Moving to take her seat on the living room's black couch, Cindy fixed her gaze on her father.
"Yes, Dad. What business is this?"
"Well, Cindy," Mabel chimed in with a sweet voice, "the Sullivan family is looking for a wife for the elderly Mr. Daniel Sullivan. He is 70 years old, and they promised to compensate any family that allows their daughter to marry him with the hefty sum of 20 million dollars. That will be enough to fund your mother's medical bills, right?" Mabel flashed her pristine white teeth at Cindy, whose fist clenched.
*So this is what it's all about,* Cindy thought inwardly, watching her dad and his lovely wife, who had treated her poorly.
Cindy had many scars on her body because of her evil stepmother's brutality. But whenever she complained to her father in the past, he always brushed it off and told her they would heal on their own. He never confronted his wife or protected her.
What made them think Cindy would trust them to spend the money on her mother? Moreover, why should she be the one to marry an old man? Why not Tasha?