Chapter 3

Evander didn't look worried at all when Alessia said those words. He didn't jump up from the sofa, and he didn't try to stop her. Instead, he leaned back against the cushions, tossed his phone on the table, and let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"A divorce?" he asked, looking at her as if she was a small, foolish child. "You want a divorce? Do you even hear yourself, Alessia? Look at you. You have no money. You have no job that pays good money. You have nowhere to go! You think I care if you leave? It is actually a big relief for me. I won't have to look at your heavy, ugly body anymore."

Alessia held her breath, trying hard not to let her chest shake. She wanted to stand strong, but his words still hurt like sharp stones thrown at her face.

Just then, footsteps came from the stairs. Liora walked down slowly, wearing one of Evander’s silk shirts that barely covered her thighs. She was smiling, twirling a shiny metal car key around her index finger.

"Baby, look," Liora said in a sweet, high voice, completely ignoring Alessia as if she was a piece of trash on the floor. "The garage people just delivered the new sports car you bought for me! It is so pretty and expensive. I can't wait to drive it to my birthday party next week."

Evander smiled softly at Liora, his eyes full of warmth—the same warmth he used to give Alessia years ago. "Anything for you, my love. You deserve the best things in this world."

Alessia stared at the shiny car key in Liora's hand. Her heart broke into a thousand tiny pieces.

That car cost millions. Millions! And yet, whenever Alessia had begged Evander for one hundred thousand dollars to save her father's life, he always cried that business was bad. He always made excuses, telling her to wait, while her father sat in the hospital, getting weaker every day. He had millions of dollars to spend on his mistress, but not a single dime to keep her dying father alive.

"You are evil," Alessia whispered, tears finally spilling over her eyelids. "Both of you are evil monster human beings."

"Cry all you want," Evander said, getting up to put his arm around Liora's waist. "Go and pack your small bags and get out of my house. And don't ever come back here to beg me for money for your useless father. He can rot in that hospital for all I care."

Alessia didn't say another word. She walked to the small guest room, grabbed her cheap bag, and stuffed a few of her clothes inside. She didn't take anything Evander had bought for her. She just wanted to leave that dirty, painful house forever.

When she walked out the front door, the heavy wooden door slammed shut behind her, locking her out in the cold night air.

Alessia took a bus straight to the hospital. Her heart was beating fast with fear. She didn't care about her broken marriage anymore. She didn't care that her best friend had stolen her husband. The only thing that mattered in the whole world was her father.

When she reached the hospital floor, the smell of medicine and bleach filled her nose. She walked down the quiet hallway and entered her father's room.

Her father looked so tiny and helpless in the big white bed. Wires were attached to his chest, and a clear tube was going into his nose. His skin was pale, and his eyes were closed tight. Alessia sat on the small chair beside his bed, took his cold, rough hand in hers, and pressed it against her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she sobbed quietly, her tears wetting his blanket. "I am so sorry I couldn't get the money from Evander. I am so sorry."

Suddenly, the door opened, and Dr. Ben walked in holding a black clipboard. His face was very serious, and he didn't smile when he saw Alessia.

"Alessia," Dr. Ben said softly, standing at the foot of the bed. "I am glad you are here. We need to talk about your father's brain condition."

Alessia wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her heart dropping into her stomach. "Is he getting worse, Doctor?"

Dr. Ben sighed heavily. "Yes. The swelling in his brain is increasing very fast. If we don't perform the surgery to remove the pressure, his heart will stop. We cannot wait any longer, Alessia."

"Please, Doctor," Alessia begged, her voice cracking. "Please do the surgery! I will work hard at the bakery, I will find the money, I promise!"

"I am so sorry, Alessia," the doctor said, shaking his head with a sad look in his eyes. "The hospital management gave me a strict instruction. We need the one hundred thousand dollars deposit before we can take him into the operating room. You have twenty-four hours. If you cannot pay by tomorrow evening, we will have to discharge him, and... he will not survive at home."

Twenty-four hours. One hundred thousand dollars.

The numbers danced in her head like a bad nightmare. She didn't even have one thousand dollars in her bank account. How could a poor bakery worker raise one hundred thousand dollars in just one day?

Alessia walked out of the hospital building like a ghost. Her legs were weak, and her mind was completely empty.

Outside, the sky had turned dark and ugly. Heavy raindrops started falling from the clouds, slapping against the hard concrete ground. Within minutes, the rain was pouring down heavily, soaking through her clothes, making her hair stick to her wet face.

Alessia stood right there on the sidewalk in the pouring rain, totally unbothered by the cold water. She pulled out her cracked phone with shaking fingers. She scrolled through her contact list, looking for anyone—any old school friend, any relative, anyone at all who could help her.

She called her aunt. Busy.

She called an old classmate. The person listened to her story and quickly hung up the phone, saying they had no money.

She called three more people, but they all gave excuses and ended the call.

Nobody cared. Nobody was going to save her father.

Alessia dropped her hands to her sides. The rain mixed with the hot tears pouring down her cheeks. She fell onto her knees right there on the wet pavement, crying out loud into the noisy storm. She felt completely defeated, broken, and thrown away by the world.

Just then, a loud, smooth sound cut through the noise of the rain.

A long, pitch-black luxury car slowly rolled up to the curb, stopping right in front of where Alessia was kneeling. The windows were dark like night, and the shiny car looked like a powerful beast sitting in the storm.

The back window rolled down smoothly. Through the heavy rain, Alessia looked up and saw a pair of deep, sharp eyes staring straight at her.