The billionaire's secret baby

AVA

The sharp crack of my mother's palm against my cheek echoed through our cramped apartment like a gunshot. My face burned, but the pain in my chest hurt worse. I pressed my hand to my stinging cheek, blinking back tears that threatened to spill out.

"You worthless little brat!" Her voice was shrill, fueled by the cheap wine she'd been drinking all afternoon. "Eighteen years old and what do you have to show for it? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

I stood frozen in the doorway of our kitchen, still wearing my fast-food uniform that reeked of grease and desperation. My mother's bloodshot eyes blazed with a hatred I have grown used to but never quite understood.

"I work forty hours a week, Mom. I contribute.."

"Contribute?" She laughed, a harsh sound that made my skin crawl. "You call those pathetic paychecks a contribution? We can barely afford this dump, and it's all your fault. If I hadn't gotten pregnant with you, I could have had a real life. A good life."

The words hit me like physical blows. I'd heard variations of this speech countless times, but tonight felt different. Tonight, something inside me finally cracked.

"I didn't ask to be born," I whispered, my voice trembling.

"What did you say?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I said I didn't ask to be born!" The words came out louder than I intended, filled with eighteen years of accumulated pain and anger. "I'm sorry I ruined your life, Mom. I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment. I'm sorry I exist!"

For a moment, she looked stunned. Then her face twisted with rage.

"You ungrateful little witch. After everything I've sacrificed for you, this is how you repay me? Get out of my sight. Get out!"

She grabbed the nearest object, a half-empty bottle of wine and hurled it at me. I ducked, and it shattered against the wall behind me, wine and glass exploding everywhere.

"Get out!" she screamed again. "Get out and don't come back!"

I ran. I grabbed my jacket and purse from the couch and bolted out of that suffocating apartment, her screams following me down the hallway. The tears I had been holding back finally came, hot and fast, blurring my vision as I stumbled down the stairs.

The night air was cold against my wet cheeks. I had nowhere to go, no friends to call, no family who cared. I was alone in the world, just like I have always been. The realization hit me like a physical weight, pressing down on my chest until I could barely breathe.

I walked for what felt like hours, my feet carrying me through parts of the city I'd never seen before. Gradually, the broken streetlights and boarded-up windows gave way to gleaming skyscrapers and expensive cars. I found myself in the wealthy district, surrounded by a world I could never belong to.

That's when I saw it, a sleek club with a line of beautiful people waiting to get in.