"I am tired of living like this," Brenda said to Carla angrily. "Why would he keep doing things like this to me?"
"Calm down, Brenda," Carla said, shifting closer to her. "Our parents are crazy, but we don't have to become like them. We just have to work harder and live the life we want.""How on earth am I supposed to do that?" Brenda asked, shaking her head. "I have done everything possible to make my family better. I have sacrificed everything just to get out of this place. Yet, the more I work, the more everything gets worse. I am tired of being this way."Carla remained silent for seconds, thinking of the best way to calm her down. She understood how Brenda felt and wished she could help her out. It wasn't the first time she was complaining about her family. As her best friend, she knew some of the problems they faced, and it hurt her that she couldn't help her best friend."Have you tried talking to him? Maybe he will listen to you and change." Carla suggested.Brenda chuckled bitterly. "Do you think I haven't done that? Every time I had the chance, I always begged him to stop gambling, but he wouldn't listen to me. He keeps accumulating debts from different people, and he doesn't listen to anyone." Brenda sighed.She was outraged, but she was trying her best to control it. She glanced around the sitting room, her mind racing with thoughts. Their apartment was poorly built, and they owed a lot on the property. As she glanced around the sitting room, she realized they had sold almost every valuable property they had. Every time her father owed a huge amount of money to someone, he would resort to selling some properties or borrowing from other people to pay them back.Life had been unbearable for her for the past few years. Her father had become a chronic debtor from gambling ever since her mother died. Like that wasn't enough, he forced her to do everything he wanted. Brenda followed his orders obediently but with pain. Sometimes, she desperately wanted to leave, but she knew her younger sister, Ralia, would suffer the consequences of her actions. Although she was in school, she had to work to care for her sister and father. Due to his gambling excesses, she never had enough money to afford the things she wanted."I know it's hard to deal with all of this," Carla said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "However, it's not enough for you to run away. What's going to happen to him when you leave? I am ready to take you and Ralia in at any time, but I don't want you to make a decision you will regret."Brenda had made plans to leave home with her younger sister on her birthday. But she eventually didn't because Carla had talked her out of it. Now, she returned home to discover that the money she had been saving was missing. She had saved about one thousand dollars for her tuition, but someone broke her saving box and took the money. That was enough reason to make her want to leave home again."I'm not going to regret anything," Brenda responded dryly. "The only thing I regret right now is leaving money in this apartment for him to steal. I am so angry, and it's driving me crazy.""Are you sure he took it?""Yes," Brenda answered, nodding her head firmly. "There's no way anyone else would take that money. I mean, it's just three of us in this apartment, and Ralia would never steal my money."Carla heaved a heavy sigh. "You are right. I don't think it's also a coincidence that he went on a business trip immediately after the money got missing.""Exactly," Brenda said, rising to her feet. "It would be stupid to think anyone else stole the money. Besides, I think I have proof he took it."She walked into her father's room and came out with some papers in her hand. She flung it in the air as she walked back to Carla on the sofa."Here," She said, handing over the papers to her. "He paid one thousand dollars to that account yesterday. Can you see the time? It was almost an hour before I discovered my money was missing."Carla examined the paper and shook her head. "That solves it, he took the money.""Of course," Brenda replied, plopping down on the sofa. "I found this at the back of his wardrobe. He was obviously hiding it from me.""So what are you going to do about it? I can give you the money to pay for the fees." Carla offered. Unlike Brenda, her parents were wealthy. They gave her everything she wanted, and she had the freedom to explore. She didn't have to worry about what to eat or clothes to wear because she had everything. Most of the time, she tried to help Brenda with money, but she would often decline."I don't know. I have a feeling he is in trouble or something. He can only get this desperate if someone is threatening him. I just hope he hasn't gotten himself into more trouble.""Or maybe he needed money to gamble. Don't focus on the negative side of things. I know there's no positive side because your money was stolen but let's try to think of less scary things that could happen. As I said, I can always give you the money." Carla said, trying to comfort her."Thank you, but you don't have to worry. You know I always figure things out.""Yes, I do know you can figure it out, but I want to help. My best friend needs a thousand dollars, and I want to give her that. You don't have to pay me back at all."Brenda smiled and placed her hands on her thighs. "I don't know what I'll do without you."There had been best friends since high school and eventually applied to the same university together. Although they were complete opposites, their friendship didn't suffer because of their differences."Well, you can always make me dumplings," Carla replied in an attempt to change the conversation. "I can't wait to get back to school.""I haven't made dumplings in a while. I miss that too." Brenda answered, smiling. "I don't know if I am happy about school. I feel like something bad is about to happen. Or maybe I just need a break.""Come on, don't be so pessimistic. Do you know that Micheal and Liam are not returning?" She made another attempt to change the conversation."Why? What happened?" Brenda asked eagerly."I heard they failed their courses and didn't want to repeat." Carla knew the only way to stop Brenda from overthinking about her missing money and family was to distract her with stories from University."That's terrible." Brenda slapped her hand over her mouth in shock. "I can't believe there are leaving.""Well, medical school is not for everyone. They are basically one of the most unserious people I know.""Still, I don't think anyone deserves to be kicked out that way." She sighed. "That means we will have to work harder this semester.""You already have a perfect GPA, what do you mean?" Carla asked, shrugging. If anyone needed to work harder, it had to be her."We must work harder because the semester will be tough."Carla rolled her eyes. "Honestly, medical school is driving me crazy.""There's...."Brenda opened her mouth to speak, but the doorbell rang. With her mouth slightly opened, she turned to Carla."Are you expecting anyone?" Carla whispered, her eyes wide with fear."No. It's 11 pm, why would I be expecting someone?" She said in a low tone."Could it be your dad?""He's on a business...."The doorbell rang again, and this time, Brenda became more worried. Her father had traveled for business and wasn't returning until a week later. With the kind of dangerous life he lived, it was terrifying that someone was outside their apartment by 11 pm. She stole a glance at Carla, who was also frightened and swallowed."Who is there?" She called out, hoping to hear her father's response, but none came. Her heart was pounding furiously against her chest as she rose from the sofa. They never had guests whenever her father wasn't home. Her father had also warned them never to let anyone into their apartment as they could be dangerous people."What are you doing?" Carla asked, rising to hold her back. "You don't know who is behind that door.""I want to find out.""Oh my.." Carla stammered. "Oh my God. Are you serious? It's freaking 11 pm, and your sister is in bed.""Just wait here," Brenda said, moving toward the door. Her hand was sweating and quivering as she inched closer to the door. Taking a deep breath, she turned the door knob.Deep dark eyes cut straight into hers, and shivers ran down her spine. A heavily built and dangerous-looking man stood outside, glaring at her."Where is Alex?" He asked, his voice husky, and Brenda staggered back with fear."Where is your father?" The man asked again as Brenda gawked at him. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, and she couldn't muster any words. She couldn't tell whether it was the way the man looked at her or the way he made her feel. Although it was dark and she couldn't see his face, his aura and stature were enough to tell her that he was a dangerous man. He was over 6ft3, and his burly figure was somewhat terrifying. Her mind quickly darted back to the papers she found in her father's wardrobe. Could she be right that he was in trouble again? Did he really travel for business, or was he hiding? "He's not home," she muttered inaudibly. She slowly lifted her legs and moved closer to the door. "And where is he?" The man asked, his eyes not leaving her face. "I need to see him." Brenda thought of the best answer. Could she tell him that he was on a business trip? Would that give him away? She didn't know what to say to protect her father because she was convinced that the man was dangerou
"How could you? How could you do that to me?!!!" Brenda yelled at her father. "I was in a tight spot! You can't blame me for that!""You were in a tight spot?" She asked, her eyes wide with anger and her face red. "Then you sold your daughter to a man thrice her age? Is that what I am to you? Another gamble piece? Is that what I am worth to you? Answer me!!""You do not have a right to talk to me like that," Alex yelled back, combing his fingers through his hair. "I was desperate and he was going to kill me. Do you think for one second that if I died, you and your sister would have survived? Do you think you would be going to college or have a roof above your head?""Oh, spare me that crap! Spare me that f*cking crap!" Brenda yelled, her voice echoing across the room. "I have gotten where I am without you. I work my ass off every day to afford college and take care of Ralia. And what do you do?""I try—""You steal from me, lie to me, and make our lives more miserable. That's what yo
The wind was beating against Brenda's face as she propelled herself further as she ran. Her feet tapped soundlessly against the ground and her muscles burned from running excessively. But she continued. She had successfully escaped from their apartment without getting noticed. She had no idea where she was running to but she knew she had to get far away from her father and Ramirez. It would be all a waste if she was caught after running away. She kept glancing back as she ran to ensure that no one was following her. She stopped running after it was clear that she was far away from her apartment. With a tattered backpack, a jacket, and a torchlight, she stood by the sidewalk panting. She wiped the tears from her face with her jacket. She didn't even realize she had been crying until she stopped running. She couldn't stop thinking about Ralia and if she would ever see her again. She was sure that her father would look for her once he discovers that she had escaped. He would want to b
At the sound of the man’s voice directing orders to his men, two of them immediately rushed to pick Brenda up roughly from the couch they had placed her on and where she had just woken up from. They dragged her to a smaller room where a chair was placed right in the center of it. The room was dim and empty except for the chair and a few broken items. She was dragged and dumped hard on the chair and the men began to pace around the room, she glanced around and soon realize that she had been brought to a place where enemies or offenders where tortured till they talked, just as they were about to do with her that moment, taking her for a spy.“Please! I am not a spy!” she let out again trying to convince both men who walked round the room and occasionally around the chair she sat on.“Shut your mouth bitch!” one of the men screamed at her as he slowly brought out a penknife from his pocket before walking towards her and landing her a painful blow on her mouth.She screamed painfully when
Brenda was grateful in her mind that she was no longer going to be tortured every day anymore as Damien had said – not that she was in haste to believe him and anything else he says, but she was wondering why he would say something like that to her. He doesn’t like women? What sort of a man is he anyway? She was bothered that he just refused to let her leave even though he believed her, so she began to imagine just how much danger she was in falling into the hands of these dangerous people. Well aware of how dangerous mafias are, and now finding herself held captive by one of them, a new wave of fear hit her.Still seating on the dining table, Brenda tried to shake off the fear that gripped her, she looked down at her plate once more which had now been served. She had not touched the food even though she was starving, her gut told her she could not trust Damien. He just sat across her silently enjoying his meal while occasionally send gazes at her. Her stare shifted from the plate to
For two more weeks Brenda remained confined inside Damien’s mansion. They had stopped the maltreatment and tortures towards her already. Now they fed her well, gave her clothes and let her do what she wanted except leaving the house or roaming in the compound unescorted. She was restricted to just her room, the kitchen and a few other unrestricted areas. Everyday, still bent on finding a way out, Brenda failed to see a way possible. Regardless, she still studied all who worked there and every activity that went on inside the house. There were maids who provided her with anything she needed – she suspected they were doing so under the instructions of the master of the house. They served her food and gave her medicine for her wounds, a doctor was even called to check up on her. It was still very unclear what Damien wanted with her, she had begged him so many times to let her go but he would have none of it.Aside the maids, the guards and other workers inside the mansion like the garden
The question about Edwin Ramirez struck Brenda hard with surprise. Never did she imagine Damien to mention the name of the mafia lord who she was running away from. How did he even know who Edwin Ramirez was? How did that even link with her situation with him where he constantly blamed her of being a spy? She had planned to tell him everything about her escape but here she was shocked at the mention of Ramirez, or did Damien think that she was working for him or something? The sense of the matter began to dawn on Brenda but still confused how it all connected, she looked stunned at the raging Damien.“What? How do you….” She stopped herself from asking Damien how he knew Ramirez.“Answer me this instant Brenda! I’m not going to ask you again!” Damien kept screaming at her.“I don’t know who that is.” She denied.Waves of anger rushed through Damien making him grab Brenda by her blouse pulling her closer to him effortlessly with one arm. Standing closely, face to face with him, she tre
Damien left Brenda’s room quite in a haste after telling her that she was safe with him. He told her that until he figured out what to do with her, she was going nowhere. What kind of trouble was she in? What sort of prison has he placed her in? Brenda went deep into thoughts for the next few minutes after Damien had left her. She wondered the magnitude of danger she was now learning that her captor was a mafia lord too. It explained a lot to her but it also disturbed her. She had been running away from one dangerous man and had ended up in the hands of another one, worse, they both were enemies, which placed Brenda right in the center of it.She began to think of what Damien had in mind to do with her. She could not understand what he thought of her to keep her in his house with no clear purpose. She concluded that it might mean or eventually lead to her end, everything seemed to crumble the moment she thought it was going to be fine. She needed to get out of here, she needed to be r