Orphan To Unbreakable Queen - Chapter 146: Chapter 146

Aubree's interview was finally wrapping up.
Honestly, every single one of her achievements could be an inspirational story. For quite some time to come, Rithol City would likely be buzzing with Aubree's name.
After the interview, Aubree planned to leave with Bowen to pick up Alvin from school.
Bowen whispered in her ear, "No matter what you do or who you go up against, I'll be the sharpest blade in your hand." Aubree's heart skipped a beat as she met his gaze.
Aubree smiled confidently. "I will."
The entrance was still swarming with parents and reporters, so Aubree pulled Bowen toward the auditorium's back exit, planning to slip out unnoticed.
"Looks like someone just couldn't wait any longer," Bowen murmured, tightening his grip on Aubree's hand as his eyes narrowed at the figure blocking the back exit.
It was Bryan.
Aubree stopped dead in her tracks. Seeing her pause, Bryan cautiously approached her, his face etched with hesitation. "Aubree," he pleaded softly, "Can we just talk for a moment?"
His tone was humble, his expression pleading.
Aubree sneered inwardly and thought. 'Well, isn't this a surprise.
'If someone had told me that the almighty Bryan would one day humble himself and beg me just for a civil conversation, I wouldn't have believed it, not even in my wildest dreams.'
Upon seeing Bryan looking utterly distraught, Aubree curled her lips into a sneer. "You are seriously laughable," she scoffed. "Or is being this shameless just in your blood?
"Back when I was bending over backwards to please you, all I got were insults and beatings. Now that I've turned the tables, you're all crawling back to lick my boots. If I'd known this was your style two years ago, I would've given each of you a good, hard slap across the face the very first day I came back to the Wilson family!"
When Bryan heard Aubree's words, a searing pain surged from his heart, radiating through every fiber of his being. It was unbearable.
One never knows what one has got till it's gone,' Bryan thought bitterly. When Aubree first returned to the Wilson family, her clear eyes had looked up at him with such pure admiration. Now, every time he remembered that look, a sharp pang of regret twisted in his chest.
If only he hadn't been so blind and heartless back then, he could've had an extraordinary little sister—Aubree—who looked up to him with pure admiration shining in her eyes.
"Aubree, I came to tell you that Dad and I are already investigating what happened back then," Bryan said softly. "As your brother, I swear I'll uncover the truth about your abduction..." He trailed off, as if there was more he wanted to say.
Aubree had heard enough. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Does it even matter? Just being an adopted daughter was enough for you to treat me like dirt. Even if I hadn't been abducted, my life would've been just as miserable. Maybe I should thank those traffickers for taking me away. Otherwise, who knows, I might've ended up like Carmen."
Aubree fixed Bryan with a cold stare. "You must have heard what I said in the auditorium earlier, right? Did you think I was just making empty threats? Every single word I said was deadly serious. Bryan, I crawled back from hell just to make you pay."
"Aubree!" Bryan was stunned. The face-to-face confrontation laid bare Aubree's hatred for them, which was raw, intense, and utterly unhidden.
"It's not like that," Bryan pleaded desperately. "I just want you to know. We truly regret what we did, and we're changing. Could you give us another chance, please?"
"Enough." Aubree cut through Bryan's self-pitying act. "Even if you really regret it now, so what? Surely you haven't forgotten what all my pleading apologies ever got me before."
Bryan's face suddenly drained of color. How could he possibly forget? He was, after all, one of her tormentors.
The first year after Aubree returned to the Wilson family was a relatively peaceful period. But after that, a series of so-called accidents began to occur. The incidents that somehow always ended up being pinned on her.
The image of Aubree, tearfully apologizing in utter confusion and helplessness, flashed before Bryan's eyes. His face grew even paler as he recalled his own actions, standing by indifferently, hurling cruel words at her, or, worse, even laying hands on her himself.
Aubree clapped her hands and burst out laughing as she looked at him. "Bryan Wilson, current CEO of the Wilson Group, eldest son of the Wilson family. You used to be the envy of everyone. Who didn't praise you as a young prodigy, or respectfully address you as Mr. Wilson? Yet even someone like you could stoop so low—bullying and framing your utterly powerless sister.
"Even the cruelest caretaker at the orphanage wasn't half the monster you are!
"Did it make you feel powerful, watching me struggle like that? Every time I dared to defy your orders, you made sure I suffered worse than death. I, the poor wretch, had to grovel at your feet just to gasp for air.
"Bryan, karma's a bitch. You treated me like dirt back then, and now you expect forgiveness with just a few hollow words? Don't you find that laughable?"
Bryan's heart lurched violently. Though he had sought out Aubree many times before, this was the first time her hatred struck him with such crystal clarity.
They thought a simple apology could erase the past, but the scars they carved into her heart would never heal.
The light in Bryan's eyes slowly dimmed. 'Right,' he thought, 'how could I possibly have the nerve to come here and beg Aubree for forgiveness?'
Bowen had been listening intently, his loathing for the Wilson family reaching a new peak. 'If only I'd known sooner,' he thought bitterly, 'I would've done whatever it took to pull her out of that hellhole.'
Bowen's big, warm hand enveloped Aubree's. She startled slightly, then looked up to meet his gaze. "I'm fine," she said, her voice firm.
She couldn't bring herself to say she'd let go of the past, because she hadn't. She was hell-bent on revenge. But honestly, she didn't even care that much anymore. She just wanted to twist the knife into Bryan's wounds. 'Well, you want to repent?' she thought. 'I'll remind you, over and over, just how despicable you are.'
Aubree put to good use the remainder of her summer break by signing up for driving lessons. While getting by without a car was manageable in high school, she knew she'd need her own wheels once college started.
Aubree thoroughly enjoyed her summer break. With Aidan overseeing the simultaneous launch of Zappy's overseas version, the platform received rave reviews both domestically and abroad. Thanks to her partnership with Peace Entertainment and the strategic promotion by their cultivated artists and influencers, Zappy quickly gained solid traction.
Aubree said, "Next, we can explore partnerships with existing e-commerce platforms.
"It's such a hassle for influencers to search for products on other platforms every time they run ads. Why not just build our own Zappy Marketplace with one-click redirect? That way, it's a win-win for both sides.
"Charging a deposit for merchant onboarding is another way to expand our marketplace business.
"Actually, existing e-commerce platforms like ChumBuy and JinnCee haven't fully dominated the market yet. There's still a huge slice of the pie up for grabs in the e-commerce sector."
Platforms like ChumBuy marketed themselves as affordable and consumer-friendly, but in reality, they were far from genuine bargains.
The Zappy operations manager chimed in, "So, are we building an e-commerce section right into Zappy, then?"
"No," Aubree said, "Zappy's current e-commerce mainly links in-video ads. That's just a small part. My plan is to build an entirely new e-commerce model from scratch."
Even when Zappy launched, Aubree already had future plans brewing. There was still plenty of room for Zappy to grow, but the timing just wasn't right yet. As for gaming, with studios like Marlin Studios, Randall's team spearheading otome games, she didn't need to worry at all. She'd brought together the very same talents she'd hand-picked from her past life. They knew the drill.
At most, she merely needed to keep an eye on things to steer clear of the pitfalls she'd faced in her past life. With all that extra time, she naturally focused on developing new ventures.