CHAPTER ONE: YOU'RE A JINX!

Ocean City,The Hovstad Residence, Year 20XX,

"Honey, what's wrong? why are you suddenly pulsating?come on, talk to me!" shouted Mr Henry Hovstad while descending the stairs. He was just coming out of the house with the intention of heading to his company when the sight of his wife passing out greeted him. He turned to the two kids who were staring at their mother unblinkingly and questioned fiercely. "Tell me what happened this instant!" His fierce bark of orders scared Ivy (one of the twins)so much since she flinched .vAriel,(the other twin) remained unfazed and immobile, with no intention of responding to him.

Ivy, her elder sister, mustered up her courage and finally began narrating. "We were just coming out to play when we saw mummy sitting there basking in the sun, so we decided to greet her. Ariel was leading the way while I was right behind her. When mummy turned and saw Ariel, she-she..."

"What happened thereafter? Speak!" Henry grew impatient and cut her off amidst her stuttering.

"She just widened her eyes and passed out" Ivy finished narrating. She was clearly pushing all the blame on Ariel while acting pitiful, what a two-faced kid! That's when Mr Henry woke up from his stupor and remembered that they had not called for an ambulance yet.

"What are you waiting for? call an ambulance this instant!" he ordered the servants who had gathered around to watch the farce unfold. The servants immediately scattered.

The ambulance arrived just in time . Mr Henry picked his wife up and carried her princess style and boarded the ambulance with her. He did not forget to cast a sharp glance at Ariel. That in other words, meant that he wasn't done with her yet.

Ivy returned to her room, leaving Ariel alone to be scrutinised by the servants who kept giving her weird glances. A discussion among the servants suddenly erupted.

"I heard that she is a jinx, everyone she comes into contact with always encounter misfortunes, so it's true?" one servant asked.

"I once met her while carrying a tray filled with food, everything just crashed to the ground, can you imagine that?" Another servant chimed in.

"I told you guys she's a jinx, but you didn't believe me, I don't know why sir is still keeping her around, she should be thrown out!" Another one cursed.

Five-year-old Ariel just stood there and allowed them to rain insults on her. It was really sad and it hurt so much, but what could she do? she was always called a jinx by everyone and she had no one to defend her. She did not believe she was a jinx. She was just like any other kid. She wondered why people couldn't understand her. After sometime, she left for her room amidst the curses. She immediately burst into tears when she arrived into her room.

On the second floor of the Hovstad mansion, a figure could be seen watching all these through the window in glee. The figure was none other than Ariel's twin sister, Ivy. Seeing Ariel get humiliated, Ivy felt really thrilled. She curled her lips in ridicule. "Ariel, Oh, Ariel, don't blame me. Everything here is supposed to be mine. Mummy, daddy and even my brothers, they should all be mine, So don't blame me for being ruthless." Ivy muttered viciously. Ivy had always felt inferior to Ariel, especiallysince Ariel was way more prettier than her and also the fact that almost everyone wanted to pamper and care for Ariel. What about her? She always remained unseen thus the spark of jealousy turned to hatred . She started sowing discord between the brothers and Ariel. The brothers all began to hate Ariel. Ivy on the other hand was hopeful that her brothers would pay attention to her. She was slapped hard in the face by reality since no brother of hers had the intention of doting on her.

Mr Henry Hovstad is the first son of the late Mrs Maria Hovstad and the late Mr Jeremy Hovstad who died in a car crash. Henry at that time was twenty while his brother Darius was seventeen. Due to the sudden deaths of both parents, Henry had to take care of the family business .The Hovstad family is among the top five aristocratic families in Ocean city. Mr Henry later married Mrs Kathleen who later gave birth to five sons, the first born Cliff who is twenty two is a cold handsome looking guy whose only aim is to do business, he is rarely home. The second born Craig is twenty years and is a renowned lawyer. He is always travelling around to treat defend people in court. The third born Aaron Hovstad, is the famous undefeated car racer who always tops the charts. He owns an underground racing track . He is also a professional gamer known as God A. The youngest son Amando,is fifteen and a well-known actor in the entertainment industry of country C and two girls who are twins Ivy and Ariel who are both five.

At the hospital in Ocean City, Henry kept pacing back and forth anxiously . When the door of the ward opened,Henry immediately grabbed the doctor by the collar and questioned; "Doctor, how is my wife? is she awake? tell me right now!"

Dizzy from the shaking, the doctor tries to smooth things over "Calm down, Calm down, your wife is stable now, but her condition has deteriorated even more. Just make sure she doesn't have direct or indirect contact with things that agitate her"

"Then doctor, when can she be discharged?" Henry inquired again.

"She can be discharged anytime, as long as you have a private physician at home to attend to her" the doctor assured him.

Mrs Kathleen Hovstad was thus discharged and taken home to recuperate. After tucking her in, Mr Henry called for Ariel in the living room.

"Do you understand your mistake?" he asked fiercely.

"No, I really don't. " Ariel calmly answered. She really didn't understand what was wrong with everyone, they kept forcing her to admit things she hadn't done.

"Kneel! such impudence! you drove your mother to that state yet you say you don't understand? Kneel and reflect on yourself overnight!" Mr Henry barked and turned to go upstairs.

Ariel was left kneeling, no one paid attention to her. Her limbs were stiff from the cold and for kneeling too much. She knelt there meekly until the following morning when people came down to take breakfast. Mr Henry glanced at her, snorted and took a seat. He was waiting for his wife and Ivy to come down for breakfast. When Mrs Kathleen came down and saw Ariel, she immediately became derailed.

"Ah! Hubby, what is she doing there? throw her out! she is a jinx! I don't want to see her!" she shouted maniacally while rushing down the stairs.

"Honey, Calm down, okay it's okay, I'll throw her out, be careful " Mr Henry assured while helping her down the stairs. Just now, he almost had a heart attack when he saw his wife rushing down the staircase carelessly. He immediately rushed over as soon as possible to prevent her from falling and getting injured. In anger, he kicked Ariel in the stomach and she immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. He berated her "Look at what you've done! I'm going to send you away today whether you like it or not!"

Ariel hissed in pain, but trembled at the thought of being sent away, she knelt back down and begged her father. The sight was heart wrenching.

"Daddy please, don't send me away, I will be good. I won't cause trouble, I will not show up before mummy again.."

"Shut up!" Mr Henry said, slapping her hard across the face. He glanced at the servants and ordered;

"Call the butler and tell him to prepare the car!"

His words seems to have no room for compromising.

"No,daddy please-"