Bryn lived on a farm in the countryside. Just her and her step-mother Julie. She got married to her father when Bryn was just five years old and they had been living together as a happy family for ten years until one day when he fell ill and died.

Julie was so kind to Bryn it was like she were her real mother and her father truly believed that if anything ever happened to him, she would be able to take care of her, but the second he died, everything changed. Julie showed her true colours and began mistreating Bryn; making her do all the chores whilst she just laid back and relaxed like she was at a resort.

Bryn not only handled the chores inside the outside but she handled the chores outside as well. Not only doing the cooking, the cleaning and the washing but feeding the chickens and collecting the eggs, feeding and milking the cows, feeding and washing the pigs and riding to the market on her bicycle to deliver milk and eggs to the shops as well. The farm only had twenty animals excluding the chickens that were around fifty but because she did everything herself, it took quite the tow on her and everyday left her completely drained; she was up as early as 5 O'clock and went to bed as late as midnight.

It was a hard life and it was hers for a good five years and in those five years she had gotten so used to the routine she could do everything with her eyes closed and not even break a sweat. She handled what she needed to but was that all she wanted her life to be? No. Bryn had dreams of her own but as long as she lived there and slaved day in day out and had not even a coin to her name, she knew that that dream was one that was never going to be.

She had spoken so many times to her step-mother about going to school to study fashion design she would always brush it aside telling her that she had zero talent and was just going to fail. She said such strong words to her all the time but Bryn did not give up. Once she was done with the day she would go down to the basement which was her room and pull her diary from in between the mattress and the wooden bed and draw more designs that came to her mind.

Bryn had drawn on almost half of the diary's pages and each page had striking clothes design that looked like it was done by a world renowned fashion designer. She didn't have any crayons to colour them in, they were just done with pencil but the designs were so good they stood out; each one like they belonged on the red carpet, on the body of a famous actress. That was how talented Bryn was. And it wasn't just how good she was, it was how it made her feel. Every time she scribbled drawings in her diary she had this look in her eyes; like a kid in a candy store. It was her happy place; imagining unique dress designs and putting them on paper was something that brought her the greatest joy.

One night, Bryn set the table just as she always did and joined her step-mother for dinner. They never did much talking and so their dinners were almost always as quiet as the air. Bryn was sitting at one end of the six chaired table and Julie was sitting at the other end; both bathed and dressed in fresh clothes as that was a rule, to be freshly presented for dinner. 

"Bryn," Julie gently called out to her.

"Yes step-mother," she responded.

"There is something of great importance that I must tell you."

"Alright."

"You love this farm don't you?" Julie asked.

"Of course I do. It meant a lot to father and so it means a lot to me too."

"Good. So if someone was threatening to take it away from us you would do anything to save it wouldn't you?"

"Save it, goodness step-mother what are you going on about?" Bryn asked. "Who is threatening to take our farm away from us?"

"The bank."

"What?"

"Yes. There was a large payment that needed to be made that your father died before making," Julie said.

"Oh no step-mother, are we going to lose the farm?"

"We were going to lose it but not anymore . . . The payment has been taken care of."

"You made the payment?" Bryn asked.

"The payment was made but it wasn't by me . . . It was by Mr. Adrien Adamson."

"Mr. Adrien Adamson . . . The billionaire?"

"Yes," Julie answered.

"Why? What does he have to do with us or the farm?"

"I went to the bank to ask them for a loan and they said no, and so I went to Mr. Adamson's office next door and I begged him to help me."

"And he did?" Bryn asked.

"Yes he did. Your father worked with him for years and so it wasn't very strange me showing up to his office to ask him of this huge favour."

"And that was it? You asked him for the money and he said yes?"

"Well . . . I may have had to give him something in return," Julie said and grabbed her glass of wine to sip from it.

"What?"

"You."

"I beg your pardon," Bryn said.

"He made the payment to the bank in exchange for you."

"What do you mean in exchange for me?"

"Just that, he paid for us to keep the farm and in exchange . . . I gave him you," Julie responded as Bryn just sat there with her eyes widened and with her jaw dropped. "So his driver will be coming by tomorrow to pick you up so that he can take you to his house where you will be living from now on."

"What!"

"Yes, so once you're done with dinner you will go down to your room and pack yourself a bag."

"Step-mother," Bryn said as her eyes began to water. "It's not true? It can't be true."

"So sorry darling but desperate times call for desperate measures. We were barely managing but now with this payment, the farm is secured for life, thanks to you."

"No step-mother you can't do this. You can't just give me away to some stranger like some object, I am a human being with feelings."

"I know you are," Julie said.

"So why are you giving me away?"

"Because that is the price needed to save the farm and I will gladly pay it."

"But you aren't paying it, I am," Bryn said as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"I know dear . . . I knew that somewhere down the line keeping you here was going to pay off and look at just how much it has. You are such a hero darling . . . You have saved your father's farm."

"Step-mother no, I refuse this. I refuse to go and you can't make me. This is my home and I am staying right here."

"Uh so you wish to dis-obey me," Julie said giving her look so sharp Bryn immediately looked away.

"No step-mother, I would never. You have been nothing but gracious to me I would never."

"Good. You will have the rest of your dinner in silence and when you're done you will go down to your room and pack your bag."

"But I don't want to go," Bryn said. "This is my home."

"Technically it's my home. Your father left it to me. You were just some person living here out of the good nature of my heart. I mean I appreciate all that you have been doing here over the years but I only kept you here to keep making money for me, it was the only reason I put up with you but now that I have all the money in the world, I don't need you anymore so come tomorrow dearest Bryn you will leave and hopefully . . . We will never see each other ever again."

"Step-mother please. Please don't do this."

"It is already done Bryn," Julie said.

"No please step-mother have mercy." She got off her chair and ran to kneel down next to her; crying like a little child that didn't want to to be left at school. "Please."

"Hush now, you are doing such a great thing."

"Step-mother please," Bryn said; her hands holding onto the top of her thigh like the paws of a dog.

"This farm is your father's legacy, do you want it to be lost? Hmm, to have the bank take it away from us and sell it to someone else?"

"No of course not."

"To have everything your father worked so hard for thrown away just like that. Is that what you want?" Julie asked and Bryn strongly shook her head.

"No I would never want that. He loved this place. This is all he has left to his name."

"Because if you refuse to go then that is what will happen. Mr. Adamson will take his money back and we will lose the farm. And do you know what will happen next? We will become homeless. Living on the streets and having to beg and steal for our next meal, is that the life you want for yourself? The life of a homeless beggar, living in boxes and diving for crumbs in the trash bins?"

"No step-mother," Bryn said.

"Because if you refuse to go then that is what will become of us. The farm will be taken away from us and we will lose our home. And not just that but the only thing that has your father's name to it will be gone, surely you don't want that?"

"No step-mother I don't."

"Good, so if you want this farm to continue to be your father's legacy then you must do this," Julie said. "You must do this for him. You loved him didn't you?"

"I loved him with all of my heart and I always will."

"Good then show him that love by saving his farm."

Bryn broke down and even placed her head on her thigh as Julie then began to stroke her hair; slow and gentle like she were petting a cat.

"Oh there there my dear, it was inevitable this happening. I never really liked you and after William died I wanted nothing more than to see you leave but I let you stay because I needed you to help me run the farm and you did so well at it. I needed you to help me make money and keep the farm running but now that I have so much money I can literally do anything I want, there's no use of you here anymore so I think the time has come for us to go our separate ways. And don't worry about the farm I will take care of it. With the money Mr. Adamson gave me I will be able to hire great help and grow it, just like your father wanted. And you have made that possible, goodness Bryn, your father would be so proud of you. Making such a huge sacrifice to save what meant so much to him . . . It would have been his proudest moment . . . It most certainly is mine. So don't cry my dear, it will be hard at first but I assure you that everything will be fine. That Mr. Adamson is a good man so I just know that you will be in the best of hands." Bryn broke down some more as Julie just grabbed her glass of wine and raised it into the air. "To new beginnings," she then said took a sip as Bryn just sat there with gallons of tears pouring out of her eyes; she couldn't believe what she was hearing, it was like a thousand knives to her chest. She knew her step-mother had not much likeness for her especially after her father died but she was hoping that she would continue to take care of her considering everything she had done for her but no, the first chance Julie got to get rid of her she got rid of her and it shattered Bryn's heart into a million little pieces. Given away like some prize in a contest, even her own father's death did not cut her that much.