The Traps of Black Swan

[WARNING: Depressing chapter ahead. Read at your own risk.]

A small celebration or big party, Ava was always locked up in her room. The world didn\'t know there was an elder daughter to Shane and Maisie.

If Ava introduced herself anywhere, nobody would believe she was from the Kelly family but think she is some middle class with the same surname family.

... 

How long could a little girl be strong craving for the little attention, parents\' affection? She would cry in her room every other day without knowing what was her mistake to correct herself.

Once she had sat at the railing on the first floor looking at her parents and Jose. They were very happy for Jose when he just passed his exams whereas she was a topper.

She tried to control but cried which became louder due to unfairness and heartache. Yet she cried as "Mamma, Dadda..."

Her parents heard her, considered her as a disturbance. Her mother went upstairs and flung her hand across her face. Yet the cry of her was, "Mamma..." She lifted her hand to give her report card but it was thrown away and earned another slap.

"Are you jinxing us by crying every day?" Her mother shoved her away, "Don\'t come out of the room. If you don\'t eat for a few days, you will learn your lesson."

She was locked down in her room like a caged bird without food or water. She had drunk tap water the whole time having no power to go out. If it wasn\'t notified to Hayden by a maid, probably they would have found her dead.

She was admitted to the hospital and got treated for more than a week. At this time, little Ava really thought her cries could jinx and started smiling. She smiled at everyone to the extent she forgot why she smiles.

She saw some smile back at her, some say hello to her, some rub her head, and some giggle. Some also ridiculed but Ava thought smiling is good and all looked happy so how much ever she was sad, she learned to smile at the youngest age possible and hid her agony behind her bright happy smiles.

....

Being alone all the time, she wanted to learn many things. Dancing, painting, music classes, singing, cycling, skating, or whatsoever she mentioned, she was turned down each time.

She was allowed to ask her grandfather but if asked, her parents would get angry and even hit her saying she complained to elders. So she didn\'t chance to learn anything either.

...

She got to know she had a cousin when she was nine years old. Zain Kelly had by mistake entered a room that had storybooks, drawing books, and the little girl on the floor trying to paint a family of four. 

Zain had sat with her and helped her complete before he got to know she was burning with fever. The panicked little boy had run out to inform her parents but didn\'t return.

By the time others found her in the locked room, she had fainted from a burning fever but her parents didn\'t feel guilty for locking her whole evening to the next morning, they also didn\'t care if she returned alive or dead from the hospital.

Probably they wanted her dead but Ava\'s life was too long to die so easily. She always won life and returned to live among heartless beings.

Zain who was taken away got to know she was his cousin who was always mentioned as Jinx but his parents taught him she wasn\'t a jinx but was neglected by her parents.

He started to frequently visit the villa to meet her, play with her, know her, teach her. He got to know how innocent she was and how her parents treated her. He had witnessed her being scolded harshly and beaten mercilessly yet she would smile seeing his face without uttering anything against her parents.

He had forced his mother to take her away with them promising to look after her but that hurt the ego of her parents and stopped him from regularly seeing her.

The family and the brother\'s love she got from Zain also disappeared soon leaving her alone in the world where she is alone. 

...

One thing was never a problem for her. Whenever her grandfather met her, he gave her money as a gift or red pocket from the age of five. To keep their nose up, her parents also threw money at her as though she was begging for it, her maternal grandparents expired soon and left a few cash cards for her.

She had at least a million when she didn\'t even know how to count a million. Her wardrobe locker was filled with notes and she had no idea what to do with them.

But she never in her dreams expected her parents to think throwing money at her was the form of responsibility they were showing to her.

....

She was fourteen plus when she went missing for three days, two nights, and they didn\'t feel the necessity to search for her or file a missing complaint. They just ignored her, in fact, they didn\'t care if she was at home or not.

An unknown man had asked her address and left her in the home. She didn\'t know what was on her mind, she had told her parents, "I will study in a boarding school."

She didn\'t get a yes or no but a slap across her face. That day she hadn\'t cried or went to her room. Instead, she stood like a log hearing their curses repeatedly until she suddenly fainted.

She was feeling very empty, she wanted to be all alone, she didn\'t want to eat, she didn\'t want to cry, she didn\'t want to do anything. She just sat, looking at the air feeling nothing. Probably she was too depressed but had none to talk or share what was happening to her.

Did she want to die? No, she didn\'t have such thoughts but she didn\'t know what she was feeling either. She didn\'t know why she just felt lost.

Instead of talking or helping her out, Her mother and father had called her grandfather looking at her in the room, "Your granddaughter might die soon, don\'t blame us later."

Panicked, worried, Hayden had reached as fast as he could so see her lonely, lost, troubled, confused, and pained. It wasn\'t that he didn\'t love her, he wanted her to get their parent\'s love and care, he didn\'t have time to look after her with the company so he had no choice but the coax her.

"Ava, endure for a while, everything is going to be alright."

As obedient as she was, she agreed to him without a word because only he always spoke to her in a gentle voice, praised her, cared about her, checked on her, knew about her likes and dislikes, and importantly, he treated her well, "Okay Grandfather."

Her words still pained the old man\'s heart but hoped her parents could see it. He couldn\'t understand why can\'t her parents see, they are living together happily because Ava was born. In the following days, his attitude toward her parents started to become too stern, and kept Ava near him or occasionally took her to the Kelly mansion.

Even though Hayden couldn\'t look after her in the day, at least he could have dinner with her and say good night, sending her to bed.

However, his behavior also caught the hatred that was directed back at the little girl. She was entitled \'Cunning\' for scheming to get Kelly International. Then they tried to send Jose with her so that Hayden could favor him and push the girl away.

They didn\'t know she was mute around them because of how they treated her. That doesn\'t mean she was dumb. At the age of sixteen, she could sit with her grandfather and assist him with works.

 ....

Every school had various friends groups depending on the scores, family background, looks, and talents. Ava was a topper and she never said no. She attracted cunning ones who she thought were her friends. 

She had done their homework without knowing they would lie to her as they aren\'t feeling well. They would be with her to use her notes or to learn what they don\'t know.

Even if the good ones are around her, the ones who truly cared for her would eventually go away from her due to others. She wasn\'t known to all as she was an heiress of the Kelly family so most rich people just ignored her.

She was stupid enough to believe any lie to help them and she also helped the ones who are in need. Grace Wells was one of those. When the home teacher announced in the class that if she doesn\'t pay the school fee soon, she wouldn\'t be allowed to sit in the exam.

Many had laughed at Grace, made fun of her, shamed her but Ava took the money she had, and gave her to pay the fee. Receiving help for free, Grace always brought her problems to Ava and solved it. Hence excluding Grace Wells knowing Ava is a rich family daughter, others had no idea.

Anyway, Grace returned all the help by stealing her fiance. Ava really would have forgiven her for that but she drugged her sending her to the mouth of hell.

She never earned proper affection hence she had no idea which is true emotion and which is fake.