Chapter 1 Preparation

His eyes opened to the painful slap he felt on his cheek so early. "What is it again?" he grumbled out of bed, holding his cheek. "What are you still doing in bed, you lazy thing? Tomorrow is your master's birthday, so you better hurry up, you clown," Mrs. Pheona said and walked out of the room, shaking her seductive curves. She was in her early 50s but still beautiful. Bryan followed immediately to avoid further trouble. He wasn't ready for any. Despite the ill treatment he received from the people he called family, he still had something that brightened his mood and made his days count—Sasha. She was the only reason he found life a bit meaningful. He had bought a ring earlier and planned on proposing to her on his brother's birthday, but he kept this a secret. He wanted to surprise her in front of everyone and show her how much he really loved her. Bryan hurried out to the garden and quickly took the scissors to begin trimming the flowers, without even bothering to have breakfast. The town knew him as part of the great Jing family, but he still worked like a slave in the house. Imagine an adopted child of a rich family doing the gardener's work. He rushed the flower cutting and quickly picked up a bucket so he could scrub the car for the day when his leg met an obstacle, and he stumbled to the ground. "Oops, sorry. Hahaha," he turned to see his sister—Ava, with two other beautiful ladies laughing at him. "What the hell was that all about?" He stood up angrily and glared at them when he discovered the obstacle was his sister's leg. She had intentionally done it so he would be laughed at. "Hello, loser, just wanted to say hi," she smiled devilishly, and they laughed out loud. "Ava, is this the brother you were talking about?" Just as he was about to say another word, Susu, Ava's new friend, asked, and Ava replied. "Yes, he is," she gave a swift response. "A*wnnn, he's so handsome." She walked closer, and Bryan could feel her breath on his face as she gazed into his eyes. He could tell that her compliment wasn't sincere but just to ridicule him as his sister's friends always did. "You are really handsome but a loser. I don't know why Mr. Jing picked you up from the orphanage and let you into his home. It is so bad to let just anyone into royal blood. Just look at the way you are dressed," Susu said in disgust, and they all laughed. Bryan ignored them, picked up his bucket, and left immediately. It wasn't the first time he had been bullied by his siblings and their friends, so he couldn't stress himself over these ladies when he had someone special to see. Besides, they were all rich and highly connected; retaliating might be disastrous for him. He scrubbed the car in a jiffy, took a shower, and got on his small scooter bike, which he rode down to see Sasha—his girl. ****** He arrived and excitedly pushed the door open, but his excitement dropped to zero—allowing surprise to take over. "Sasha...." he said when he saw her with two friends, smoking and dancing to the sound of loud music. The whole room was partially covered in cigarette smoke. "OMG, Bryan," she responded in surprise when she saw him and quickly turned off the music. "Why didn't you knock before you came in?" she asked him angrily while he stared at her in surprise. He had never seen her smoking and looking so irresponsible before, nor had she ever replied to him in such a way that made him feel unwelcome. "Who is he?" Maya—Sasha's friend—asked, wearing a confused face, and Bryan answered her swiftly. "I'm her boyfriend. Do you have a problem with that?" He glared at the indecent girl who he thought might have been the one influencing his girl. "Seriously... Hell no! We never expected a girl like Sasha to be with someone as tattered as you," Maya replied, and the other girl laughed. "What's wrong with my dressing?" He asked and looked at himself while Sasha sighed in disgust. He was really old-fashioned, though, but he didn't feel it was a bad thing. "You can't take care of her, man. Besides, there is this rich guy who is after her, so I still don't know who you are," Cindy said and puffed out the smoke, leaving him in utter confusion. "A rich guy? What are you talking about?" He was about to confirm what she said when Sasha quickly grabbed his hand and took him outside. ..... "What is the problem? Why are you here?" She asked him in a low tone, as if he had just embarrassed her. "I came to see you. Is there a problem with that? Besides, what were they talking about anyway? You have a rich guy who comes to see you? And why are you smoking with those girls? Remember the family I came from. We are respectful people, and I wouldn't want you going out of line if you want to be with me." "Don't bother about that; they are just being naughty. It's one of those things. So, have you got what you promised?" She asked him with a frown, and her face brightened up when he handed her the fancy bag he had brought along with him. "Here it is," he sighed as she opened the bag and brought out a really beautiful red dress. "OMG, at last!" She squealed in excitement. "I love it so much." Of course, she liked it. He had been saving for months from the little change the family gave him for upkeep and also doing some menial jobs just so he could get the special gown she had always wished for. His brother's birthday party was the next day, and he needed his girl around. He had already planned a secret proposal to the girl of his dreams. "So, would you be coming to my brother's birthday party tomorrow?" Bryan asked with an accomplished smile on his face, but then, Sasha's mood changed again. "Ermmmm, baby, wait. What about the necklace I asked you to get me? I haven't seen it yet," she waived his first question as she packaged the dress back into the fancy bag. "Oh, that? I'm sorry, but I was not able to save enough for it. Things were too much for me." Sasha's reaction threw him off balance immediately he said this. "What? Why can't you get me just a little diamond necklace that costs just $1000? Are you that broke? How do you want me to appear there when I have friends who look so expensive just because of their boyfriends? Do you want me to feel intimidated?" She asked, and short-tempered Bryan couldn't take it anymore. "What the hell is wrong with you, Sasha? Can't you see I'm trying my best to satisfy you? I had to save enough and starve myself in that house because not always do they feed me, especially when they want to punish me, which has become a norm. Please stop nagging, and because you don't have the necklace doesn't mean you can't come, okay?" "Oh, so now I'm nagging, right?" She looked him in the eyes while he tried to calm himself down. She really didn't know the struggles he went through just to get her the gown and didn't even care. All she wanted was her request. Bryan, who was going through a lot, couldn't argue with her anymore and decided to end the conversation before things got out of hand. "It's okay, dear, just be present for the party tomorrow. I have something really special for you, even more than the necklace," he said and walked out angrily while she held the bag, still staring at him as he got on his old scooter bike. "What is happening, Sasha? We could hear your voices from inside," her friends came out of the room as Bryan started his bike. "He couldn't get me a necklace we saw last week, and he still had the guts to shout at me, claiming he has something really special for me at the party tomorrow," she said angrily and glared as Bryan rode his old bike away from her vicinity, and the girls laughed. "Of course, that was just an excuse. What did you expect him to say? Can't you see how broke and dirty he looks? He couldn't even afford a thousand-dollar necklace," Maya said. "By the way, what special thing does he have for you tomorrow?" Cindy asked. "Something stupid. He wants to propose to me. That's what he has been keeping as a secret and didn't want me to know, but I already found out about it from someone." "What? Propose? Are you for real? What are you gonna do now? You definitely can't marry a guy like him, leaving that rich guy you hang around with, right?" Cindy asked. "Nope, I won't. And that's why this is the opportunity I have to teach him a lesson." "Woah, that's my girl...." Maya and Cindy squealed and jumped up in excitement. "I guess you wouldn't just show up; it's gonna hurt him since he has high expectations of surprising you," Cindy blurted, and Sasha shook her head negatively with a smirk on her face. "I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna show up at the party." "What? Then you are gonna be present for the proposal? How would you pay him back then?" "I will be present, of course, but what would hit him would be more disastrous than me staying at home. He would be so heartbroken without me saying anything to him...." Sasha gave a menacing smile and walked in. Her friends, knowing how ve ngeful she could be, anticipated the news, which would definitely be shocking as she described it.