Chapter 3The Rebirth Trap
About 2,138 characters (~403 words) — this is Chapter 3, the last of the 3 free chapters on EditWrx Reads.
Eliza’s mask finally broke. She knelt and stroked my hair, her eyes suddenly, genuinely warm. "Yes," she said, her voice thick. "Every night."
There is nothing more powerful than a mother's devotion. And I had just created it. That night, she held me and read Cinderella. "Do you envy her, Ava?" she asked. "One day, you'll meet your prince." I looked up. "Mom? Did you meet your prince?" Her gaze went distant. A bitter shadow crossed her mouth. "No," she said, smiling. "I didn't."
She recovered. "Ava, are the lessons too much? If you don't want to learn all this, you don't have to. You're our daughter now. You can just... be a child." "When you grow up," she continued, "I'll find you a wonderful man from a good family. You can marry him and be happy and safe forever."
I knew, in that moment, that she truly saw me as her daughter. And I knew she must have given Maya the exact same offer in our first life. Maya would have taken it.
I shook my head, pressing it into her shoulder. "I don't want to marry a prince, Mom. I want to be like you." She laughed. "Like me? And what am I?" "You're powerful. You're brilliant. You’re on the board. I want to be a strong woman, just like you." I added, "And I hope I'm as beautiful as you when I grow up."
Marcus and Eliza Vance were a power couple. They’d built their empire together from nothing. But as I’d learned from my financial research, a man who can endure poverty with you can’t always endure wealth. Marcus was drowning in his own vices, and the tabloids loved it. Eliza, I sensed, was lonely. She missed the fight.
"My path was very, very difficult, Ava," she said softly. "I'm not afraid," I said, my voice steel. "You did it. I can, too. I want to be just as amazing as you." She kissed my forehead. "Okay, baby girl. Mom will help you."
From then on, Eliza didn't just train me. She forged me. She poured every ounce of her strategic brilliance into me. She was a legend on Wall Street before she’d stepped back, and she was going to make sure I was, too. "I never want you to suffer what I did," she’d say. "I won't," I’d promise, hugging her. "When I grow up, I'll protect you."