"Yeah…" Raven answered, blood rushing wildly in her veins, she remained masking an expressionless face, but her chest was burning, suffocation choking her breath. Her fingers fidgeting, her legs shaking, biting nails.
"I gave everything to this business. I worked fifteen hours a day. And once your business kicked off, I was kicked out. Should I count the insults that I had to bear at the office that you and George rained on me?" Raven calmly, her voice breaking, it was nothing compared to what she held in her tongue.
"I don't understand your excuses. A boss often yells at his employees, you say, you want to get a job. If you can't stand what I say, I doubt the boss could soften it more than I do." William's lips curved downward, sarcastically chuckling, "I invested money and time in this business. It is a pressuring burden on me. I did not need to get involved in this stupid startup; I did because I wanted you to have a business of your own."
"Even if you wanted to get a job? Do you even qualify for anything decent? I doubt anyone would hire you. Even if you did get a job, what would the pay look like? Something between two hundred dollars a month?" He added, scratching his scalp.
"Yeah, you are right," Raven said, pressing her lips.
'One sheep
Two sheep
Three sheep
Four 🐏
Five 🐏
Aein? I can picture them again??!
...............…89 Sheep
Wait? When did I lose it again?'
"I have planned to fire Ayan, he is not trustworthy. But I will need people, manpower will decrease, so Raven and George, you have to handle the business while I will focus on the Chen-Zhao-Shah alliance, this venture will earn us more than this startup has ever done."
"So, Raven. Let the past stay in the past." William grabbed a water bottle, gulped it half empty and said, "Keep an update on the business. Try to manage what you can. Leave the rest to your brother."
"I will try. Can I go now?" Raven shook her head and asked.
"When?" William pressed, constantly asked, and she kept replying, "I don't know." And the lecture spiralled back to square one.
Four hours later, Raven still couldn't break herself free from this toxic cycle. She tried to give the answer her father was seeking, but her tongue weighed down on her, her teeth walled her, and her lips stitched. Her stomach bitterly growled from hunger.
She looked at the watch, her brows heavy, her eyes burning from holding tears, 'I must negotiate.' She decided and took a deep breath.
"One thing I can promise to do. I will help with the marketing project. Help with the product launch. I assure you, this will be a success this time. But…" Raven stopped, looked at her mother and sister, "I need all the support I can get."
"Fine." William nodded, and a smirk appeared on his lips.
Raven finally took a breath of relief and turned to leave. As she reached the corridor, she overheard, "Shah heir signed the deal with us. Thanks to Evan. He is the best backer for our venture. But we need long-term support."
"A marriage alliance means long-term support." Mia, Raven's mother, mentioned again.
"It is too soon. And why don't you ask your daughter to lose some of her weight? Who knows, Shah's heir won't even need to be convinced? He will agree right away if he sees her worthy enough to marry her." William mocked.
"God, kill me now. Why am I even alive?" Raven slammed her fist against the wall.
She snatched up the bright smiley sponge ball, crushing it down to a tight ring. The tip of her thumbnail bled. Her teeth ground together, enamel aching from the strain.
Her eyes burned—yellowed red, raw. Tears spilt over, tracing hot lines down her dry cheeks.
She hurled the ball at the wall. It bounced back uselessly.
Her legs trembled uncontrollably. Her fingers itched, nails digging into her skin. Her blood pressure dipped, the room tilting. Her body jerked in sharp, involuntary spasms—frequent and intense.