Chapter 3 - The Mistress

The night before Megan's suicide attempt...

“Why did she drop out of college when she was about to finish?” I asked Marco over the phone.

I slumped into a seat in the hotel lobby, surrounded by all the papers Marco had sent me about Ava. I initially planned to ignore the details about her dropping out of college, but I couldn't help but wonder. There was no apparent reason stated in the article, despite it detailing almost her entire life. I felt like there was something unusual about this woman.

“I also don’t know the reason why. I’m still trying to find the answer, Megan. When are you coming back to the city?” he inquired.

I rolled my eyes and focused more on the papers in front of me. I couldn't get any sleep because of this. My curiosity about this woman, who was involved with my father, kept me awake.

“Until I found out everything about her, Marco. Why?”

“Well, your father is on his way there,” he said, surprising me.

“Why? He never came here since Mom died,” I said as I organized the papers one by one.

I scanned the entire lobby. There were no guests today because the entire resort was closed to tourists. It had been under renovation since last year.

“I don’t know. Do you want me to go there?” he asked with concern.

I smirked. "You're being clingy. Do you have a crush on me?"

I heard him cough, so I laughed. Before he could respond, I heard footsteps at the entrance of the hotel. Before I could turn, I froze as I saw Dad and the woman beside him.

"He's here with Ava. I'll call you later."

"Wait, what—" I ended the call and stared at them until they noticed me.

I immediately fixed my gaze on Ava. I didn't take my eyes off her as they approached me, accompanied by Dad's bodyguards and his assistant, William.

My dad stared at me with his stern expression, noticing that I still hadn't stood up to greet them with respect. Why should I? They were disgusting.

"Instead of attending your meetings, you're here wasting my money and time for your whims," Dad said, looking at the papers on the table.

I ignored him. Instead, I looked the woman up and down with a small smile on her lips. She's not the Ava I was expecting. I anticipated someone with modest clothing, not pleasant to the eyes, but I was wrong.

Well, she was probably spending Dad's money on her desires. Damn.

"Megan," Dad called me with irritation, but I still didn't move. "What brings you here... and you even brought your mistress?"

Everyone gasped. Dad seemed surprised by my question, as well as the woman who quickly lost the smile on her face. Perhaps she thought I would greet her warmly. Fucking mistress.

"What did you say, young woman?" Dad muttered with a threat.

We locked eyes. I smirked and nodded.

"You thought I wouldn't find out just because of that damn article, huh? Just like you, Dad. Fond of doing background checks on people who seem... questionable." I trailed off, gazing at Ava. "Pretentious bitch."

"Enough! You're such an immature, disrespectful brat!" Daddy shouted, silencing me.

But like his shout, my heart pounded loudly.

"Hon, calm down," Ava uttered, clinging to my father's arm.

I almost gagged at that. Such a pretentious bitch!

"Why are you here? Are you going to disturb even this safe place for me? I'm on leave, Dad. I need to think and rest," I said and turned away from them.

But before I could leave completely, I was stopped by the next words from my father.

"I want you to know that this resort is on the market now."

I quickly turned back. My lips and hands trembled.

"What?"

Instead of answering, he signaled to William, and William handed me a folder. I snatched it from him, and inside, I saw the details about selling this resort. This was also the reason for the ongoing renovation. And they didn't bother to inform me until ow, when it was almost done.

"No way," I firmly uttered. "No fucking way. This is Mom's property. You can't sell it without her consent."

"I only came here to inform you, Megan. I don't need your opinion regarding my decision, so leave this place now," Dad said, turning away from me.

"No! It can't be!" I shouted with all my might, causing them to stop.

They all looked at me. I tore the papers I was holding into pieces, throwing them in front of them.

"You can't sell this, Dad! This is the last memory of Mom!" I screamed, my heart full of anger and resentment.

Ava Choi shook her head in disgust, fueling my emotions even more.

"Are you even taking this away from me? How could you do this?! You can't sell this because this is Mom’s!" I shouted again.

But a hard, painful slap answered my frustration. My world stopped.

"Wake up, young woman! Stop involving your emotions in work, Megan. This has been planned for a long time, and someone like you won't stop what I want to happen to my company. Above all, you know that this resort is the reason for the declining income in the company, don't you?!" Dad's voice was firm and threatening.

I gasped. I struggled to hold back the tears that wanted to escape. My chest tightened. I felt like I was about to faint. They can't take this away from me.

"N-no, Dad, please..." I pleaded.

"My decision is final, so get out of here!"

"No! Why are you doing this to me? After deceiving and treating Mom like a stray cat, is this what you're going to do to me? Do you really hate me so much that you're doing all of this just to erase all memories of Mom, including me, because I'm her daughter? Why? Just because of that bitch? Because you're going to marry her?"

Again, his palm flew across my cheek, almost making my head snap from the force.

"Enough, Leon. She's still your daughter. You can discuss this calmly," Ava restrained Dad, and I finally broke down in tears.

"This woman won't be swayed by a calm conversation, Ava," Daddy muttered some curses before turning to me.

"My decision won't change even if you cry blood, Megan. I don't want everything to go to waste just because you can’t let go of your mom. Jesus! She’s dead. Let her rest! Dead people have no place in this world, so get yourself together and get the fuck out of here!" he declared firmly and left me hanging there.

I felt like an extinguished cigarette. I didn't know what to do next. It was true that this resort was one of the major reasons for the company's losses, and if it was sold, the estate would recover more.

But it couldn't happen! He couldn’t do this to me. No way would I give this up. I would die before I let them sell it.

I cried for an hour while clutching onto Mom’s memories. I held onto the necklace she gave me tightly as I walked towards the farthest part of the resort where the deep cliff was located.

***

Thinking that I could end my life there, this man took over the situation when he retrieved the necklace I dropped into the abyss. I couldn't speak as I watched him. A wrong move, and he would surely fall on the rocks. And that wouldn't be good for him.

“Is this what you need?” he shouted and waved the necklace.

I nodded and cried again. I reached for it from his hand.

“Mommy…” I whispered as I held the necklace tightly before turning to the man. “Thank you—oh my god!”

He fell off the cliff.

Along with his fall came the complete loss of my consciousness.