บท 1: Dark Past

Ali Avery was a talented young man who managed to realize his ideals by becoming a successful businessman. He built his career from very scratch. His efforts, which became a significant result of his hard work, made his family proud and happy.

From all sides of the spotlight seen by many people, no one knew or cared about Ali's dark past when he was young.

Young Ali didn't know when it started and why they did it, but his peers began to isolate and move away from him. At that time, young Ali's naive mind did not take the situation seriously and only thought he had just made a mistake and needed to correct it.

He just apologized if he did anything wrong to his peers and began to help with social activities that made him highly regarded by the teachers and the parents.

The situation got even worse with time. Young Al began to get rough treatment even from the older people in his family. Their emotions became less stable, and they could quickly become angry for specific economic reasons. It was not uncommon to treat young Ali with harsh treatment with an excuse as a proper discipline.

His opinions were often ignored and left with harsh words like "you're just a kid, what do you know!" and much more verbal abuse that came after that.

That treatment made him feel inferior, and he began to be afraid of many things. The situation worsened by spreading in many directions... Words like 'Ali, you better keep quiet!' and 'you're annoying, just go away!' were often thrown at him.

'I just want to help.' 'What did I do wrong?' Young Ali began to sink into the sea of self-blame.

Several months passed with that treatment, and young Ali didn't even have friends at the time. He just buried everything he felt deep in his heart, unable to express it and could only suffer silently.

Until he got a friend who often came to the park and accidentally met him, they often played together. The two boys became best friends afterward. Young Ali thought the friendship between him and his playmate was quite close, so he began to talk about himself about what he had gone through.

The outcome was not what he expected. His best friend also avoided him with the excuse, 'I don't want to get involved with you anymore'. Young Ali's mental condition became worse afterward due to his best friend's betrayal, who began to join in bullying himself with other people.

Bullying really turned out to be excessive when he had moved up to a higher level of education. Now, he often received some physical abuse for the reasons he didn't even know.

However, when the physical abuse news reached the teachers' and parents' ears, they only considered it a joke of children in general and did not take the situation seriously. No one knew, young Ali's mental state was getting worse and had caused a deep trauma.

'I didn't do anything wrong. I did my best. What makes me deserve this treatment?' Young Ali started to question himself. He was devastated, and nobody cared. He reached, and no one was there.

Over time, young Ali became more aware of himself and paid more attention to his environment.

He had become more fond of being alone than in a crowd, quiet as his consolation, and a remote place as his sanctuary. He unconsciously built a very high self-awareness towards himself and the environment around him.

When young Ali entered junior high school, he began to resist the abusive treatment of his peers. The sharp gaze he gave to the people who wanted to bully him managed to shrink their evil intentions.

The bullying still happened several times because the numbers were not small. They also did not hesitate to cause injuries to young Ali's body. He was threatened not to tell anyone if he didn't want things like that to continue.

Some compassionate responses were only offered to him without really helping him from those who knew the incident's ins and outs. Young Ali knew that no one would help him, but he also realized he was utterly alone.

Young Ali knew it couldn't go on anymore, so he started to fight back when the bullying incident came to him again, regardless of what happened to him.

The incident took a big turn, but young Ali emerged as a victim. However, he was feared as a thug or a hoodlum. He who had no friends ended up losing the opportunity to make any friends.

Everything improved after young Ali entered senior high school in another city. Although he was quiet and more likely to be an introvert, he made many acquaintances due to his firm, straightforward, and reliable character.

The events he experienced in the past made him afraid of friendship, and he only considered them as just acquaintances.

Time was a helpful medicine for young Ali. He began his career as an entrepreneur immediately after graduating from senior high school in the overseas land.

The business he was doing sped up so fast, but it did not last long. His trusted person, who had the highest power after himself, betrayed him and took all company assets from him.

Ali realized it all too late, and he could only mourn his bitter fate after everything had crumbled.

His confidant's response when he asked about why she chose to betray after all the trust he gave was limited to 'The world is cruel, so you have to get used to not trusting anyone. You are still too naive in this kind of field, Ali'.

Deep trauma and dark memories came back to haunt Ali even after a long time in the deep burial after suppressed by him after all this time.

He returned to his hometown with invisible sorrow and wounds. There was a desire to end his life immediately and be free from this cruel world. However, a strong urge to keep trying came afterward, given that he had survived several severe accidents at a young age.

Four times he was hit by a vehicle that did not comply with traffic regulations. His body was thrown off due to the heavy impact. Strangely, the whole incident did not cause pain and injury. Whether it was an external or internal wound when taken to the medical room for examination.

Ali realized something that was not real but felt real, his guardian angel was still with him and always protected him by his side.

Faith and determination arose when he realized he was not destined to always be slumped in life. He started his career from scratch again.

He participated in particular competitions with prizes, and he managed to win them to be used as venture capital money. It was also used to expand his connections with many parties.

Heartless leaders, cruel bosses, and selfish clients often evoked intense reactions because of his deep trauma.

Ali once again struggled against his fear and suppressed his body's intense reaction. His body and heart became so cold, it felt like a painful squeeze. He was trembling with the trauma of his fear.

His hard work and perseverance once again produced sweet fruit. He became a businessman in his hometown who took care of various fields. He had been considered a winner in life by living comfortably in a beautiful house, cars lined up neatly in the garage, and his profession, which was highly valued in society.

At the peak of his career, his father and mother lived with him... Also, his cousin lived with him right after she became an orphan.

In the world, only his little family he could care about. Other things might change him, but he started and ended with his family. Acquaintances only came and left at their convenience while coworkers only used each other for their personal benefit... But, only his little family remained with him even though they had their own shortcomings.

"Linda... Breakfast is ready, let's eat then go to school!" Ali called his cousin from the dining room. She was engrossed in watching a children's cartoon on the television in the living room.

"Yay! Brother Ali is the best! I love you!" His cousin immediately turned off the television and joined Ali in the dining room.

Linda Esmeralda was a cheerful girl full of flowers and stars. She was in junior high school, Linda was finally able to move forward from the sadness of an orphan over the death of her parents.

"Yeah, yeah... You just love my cooking." Ali didn't seem to care.

He had been cooking for quite a while for himself and forged his cooking skills to an advanced level. Ali also often became a chef with his mother or went to cook alternately for their little improved family.

"Hehe... How is that possible. Oh yeah. Where are uncle and auntie?" Linda asked before eating her breakfast.

"They've gone to their shop, you lazy girl. See what time it is?" Ali pointed to the clock on the wall. It showed half-past seven.

"Mfm... They are... Mmm... I see... Nyam... Diligent." Linda praised while chewing her food.

"Don't talk while you eat. Well, even though I told my parents not to open the shop and let me support them, but they still refused."

Ali's father and mother refused his request because the shop they had opened for a long time had several permanent workers. Their workers would have economic difficulties if they were laid off. Besides, his parents did not have the heart to close the shop and retire because of the frequent old customers.

Because in his youth Ali grew solely from the shop income. He only let his parents open their shop even though they did not receive much profit, given the intense competition in this global era.

After Linda finished her breakfast, she went straight to her room to shower and change into her school uniform. Then, she returned to the living room, and Ali was already waiting for her.

"Alright, let's go. I'll take you to school before going to my office." Ali invited Linda, he put on neat clothes and was about to go to his office. Dropping his cousin to school was like a routine for him.

"Un! Let's go!" Linda excitedly left with Ali.

Ali really enjoyed this warm and modest life. He still had deep trauma and intense bodily reactions due to his dark past experiences. Still, he was able to entirely hide that fear perfectly deep in his heart.

Little did he know, this was only the beginning of his story that would become more profound and the end of this brief warmth.