Chapter Three

Amanda's POV

I stayed at the hospital till nightfall, until I was certain that my mother was stable. It was 9 pm when I finally left her ward to find a place to sleep. I had no choice but to spend the night at the hospital, after all. 

Where else would I go? Those loan sharks had seized our house already. This thought threatened to bring tears to my eyes, but I blinked them back. I had cried enough for one day. 

I found a storage room full of light blankets, and I took two and spread them on the floor beside my mother's bed. I was just lying down when a nurse walked in. 

"Excuse me, ma'am, what are you doing?"

"I…I just want to spend the night here with my mother," I said, praying she wouldn't ask for more details on why I couldn't go home. 

The nurse shook her head. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but you're not allowed to do that." 

My chest deflated. "Please, it's just for tonight. It's already so late, and I don't have anywhere else to go."

"It's against hospital policy, ma'am. Visitors aren't allowed to spend the night in the hospital."

I felt helplessness fall over me. I did not have any money to book a hotel or even a motel. I had nothing. Tears filled my eyes as I muttered and dashed out of the ward. I was feeling so many things at once; shame, anger, frustration. I just couldn't take it anymore. 

I was sobbing uncontrollably when I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. It was picked up immediately. 

"Hello?" I blubbered into the phone. "Please come pick me up. I'm at the hospital…"

Twenty minutes later, a car pulled into the hospital parking lot,t and my best friend, Vanessa, emerged. 

"Gosh, Amanda, what happened?" She pulled me into a tight hug and let me sob on her shoulder. In between tears, I told her everything that had happened. Logancheatedg on me, and my mother's illness. I didn't tell her about the debt because I felt like it was too much. 

"Logan? He deceived you? That fucking bastard! I swear I'm going to kill him!" Vanessa hissed angrily. "Fuck, I'm so sorry, Amanda. Come, let's go home. You can stay at my place until you figure everything out."

*****

TWO WEEKS LATER

"Yes, I submitted my résumé at the front desk a week ago, but I still haven't gotten a response," I told the receptionist frustratedly. 

Two whole weeks had passed with me scrambling to find a job. Now it was just 3 days till the debt was due, and I'd barely come up with a quarter of the money. 

"Your application has not been looked at yet," the receptionist said. 

"Please, I really need this. Please, is there a way to move it forward?" I truly was desperate. If I wasn't able to repay this debt I would lose my family house forever.

She stared at me for a while and then sighed. "Okay. I'll look at it for you."

My heart soared with joy. "Thank you. Thank you so–"

My words trailed off when I heard the voice of a man. My head snapped to the side to see a tall man standing at the other counter ordering something. 

"Yes. Just plain black coffee and a croissant."

My eyes narrowed, my heart pounding. I recognized that voice. I stared harder until the man turned to the side. That's when I caught sight of those piercing blue eyes. His stare was dark and wasy. Just like the night he ruined my life!

"Ma'am?" The receptionist called out to me. But I was no longer listening to her. The sight of the man filled me with so much rage that I found myself rushing to where he was. 

"You!" I hissed, grabbing his coat and dragging it so he turned to me. "You destroyed my car, ruined my life, and left me in the middle of nowhere!" I yelled. "I swear I'm not letting you go without some kind of compensation, do you hear me?!"

He glared at me coldly for a few seconds before gripping my hand and shaking it off him. "Who are you?" He demanded in a cold voice. 

I stared at him in surprise. "Are you fucking kidding me. Don't pretend like you don't know who I am now!"

"I have never set eyes on you in my life. I don't know who you are. You must be mistaken. I don't know what you're talking about."

With that, he picked up his order and walked out the door, leaving me staring after him in shock. My fists clenched as I watched him leave. He destroyed my car, almost got me killed by those thugs, and now he was playing dumb? Acting like I was telling lies for attention?

Oh, hell no. I would sooner die than let him get away with this!

"Hey!" I yelled as I sped out of the door after him. I know I probably seemed like a woman possessed, but I was too enraged to care. The man was climbing into the car just then and driving away. 

I quickly grabbed my phone and began to type out the plate number, running after the car until I was finished. My chest was still heaving when I dialed a code into my phone and brought it to my ear. 

"Hello, police?"

"What's your emergency?"

"I would like to report a kidnapping. Yes…I have the plate number of the car…"

*****

After a long, unsuccessful day of job hunting, I was heading back to Vanessa's house when I saw a black van up on the road. I didn't think much of it until it started driving closer to me.

I picked up my pace, walking faster. 

Just then, the van came to a screeching halt, and two men jumped out. Before I could let out a scream, they grabbed me and shoved me into the van.

"No!" I yelled. "Help…"

My words trailed off when one of them smacked a white cloth into my nose and mouth. I tried not to breathe in the toxic chemical, but it was too late. The last thing I saw was the two men discussing in low tones as I faded into unconsciousness. 

I don't know how time passed, but when my heavy eyelids fluttered open and I groggily looked around, I realized I was lying in bed. I tried to get up and instantly regretted it when a sharp pain shot through my head. 

"Ow…" I hissed. After giving myself time to recover, I hobbled over to the living room of the hotel suite I found myself, wondering what the hell happened last night. 

As soon as I set my eyes on the blue-eyed stranger, last night's incident came rushing back to me, filling me with anger. 

"You!" I instantly remembered getting abducted on my way home. Anger expanded in my chest. "Did you…did you kidnap me?! Haven't you done enough?!"

"Calm down," his cold voice cut through my words, but I didn't care. "Just have a seat and we can–"

"No! If anything, you should be behind bars. You ruined my life, destroyed my car, and left me stranded! Everything is in shambles because of that night in Italy. I want nothing to do with you, and if you try to stop me, I swear, I'll scream till the walls come down!"

Heaving, I grabbed my purse and bounded out of the room. My hand was on the doorknob when the stranger's voice echoed through the room.

"Marry me!"