Chapter 2

Lena's POV

It was already getting to midnight, and I was still on the street. Everybody was finding their way home; engines of cars were slowly dying down. It was now just me, my pain, the sound of rain dropping on the ground, crickets chirping, and the sound of the boxes I was dragging.

Nothing bothered me anymore. I wasn't scared of something happening to me. I was even hoping that something would happen and that I would lose my life.

There was nothing to live for anymore. The love of my life couldn't stand by me; he couldn't defend me when I was being maltreated. He couldn't support me at the time of trials.

He betrayed me and sent me away.

Then the thoughts of my innocent child hit me, and I immediately snapped out of my stupid thoughts.

“Even if for nobody, I will try to survive for my child. I can't let anything happen to this baby because I am hurt,” I whispered to myself with a hoarse voice, tears finding their way out of my eyes while rubbing my stomach gently and dragging my boxes with the other hand.

I kept walking for hours in the dark and under the rain.

I was so drenched, exhausted, and hungry.

I looked so messy and emotionally drained.

Not far from where I was, I saw a bus station shelter.

“I could manage this for some time before I find a place to stay,” I said to myself in a sad, low tone.

I was chased out with no money. I had no money for a motel; I had to just spend the night there.

The night was getting colder, and I was shivering so badly. The rain all fell on me like it was just meant for me.

I was slowly looking pale. I got to the bus station shelter, kept my suitcases by my side, and sat down forcefully on the chair.

I huffed and puffed as the scene of what happened back there began to flash back.

I clenched my fist and pressed my teeth against each other, trying so hard not to cry. But deep within me, I wanted to just scream and break things.

“I hate myself!” I screamed at the top of my voice while hitting the seat and hitting myself.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I hate men, I hate everybody, I hate humans,” I hollered with a very loud crying voice.

I felt abandoned, alone, and lonely. No one to run to. The pain, the loneliness, and the betrayal were too much.

I lay down and cried out my pain with a croaky voice. I whimpered till I drifted off.

I could hear low mumbling noises; I thought I was dreaming.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw that it was morning.

I sat straight, stretched out my body, rubbed my eyes, and squinted, trying to see clearly. I was in pain; I could feel my body hurt.

I stretched until I got tired. My eyes were now clear. I could see people walking around, some with bags, dressed in corporate clothes and finding their way to their offices.

Children were talking, playing, and walking to school.

When I finished looking around, it dawned on me that I was being stared at by everybody. Eyes were all on me. Why? Because I was looking messy and homeless, and I was sitting on their seats with my suitcases close to me.

I bashfully bent my head down and started packing up. I felt ashamed and embarrassed, so I quickly took my things and ran out of the crowd.

I continued walking when suddenly the idea of getting a job came to me. But then I looked at myself from head to toe and realised that I was very dirty.

“Who will hire someone like me? I look like a beggar; they'll think I'm mad,” I said as I stopped walking.

“I need to clean myself up and change into something better,” I said, looking around to see if there was a closed place for me to go and clean up.

Luckily, I found one—a public toilet. I walked towards it, got there, and entered inside.

“God! Thank God there's water in here. Well, enough to take my bath,” I sighed.

I quickly washed my body because it's a public toilet and someone would want to use it. I dried my body and hair before putting on my clothes.

Immediately after I finished, a knock came.

“Sorry. A minute, please,” I pleaded.

I rushed out and gave space to the person who was waiting outside.

I straightened my gown and walked away.

I kept walking, because of course I'm homeless, so I would have to keep going till I found another shelter.

A little bit further from the public toilet, I saw a diner. Not too big or fancy, but manageable.

“I can start from here. At least they won't be needing my credentials to hire me because I don't have any with me,” I said with a loud sigh.

I got closer, took a deep breath, released it, then walked into the diner.

There were a few customers there, about five of them. I looked around until my eyes landed on a beautiful-looking lady who was attending to a customer.

I walked up to her, my shoes clicking on the floor.

“Good afternoon, ma'am,” I greeted.

She looked up and said, “Hello there. How can I help you?” She went straight to the point, pressing the tray she was holding against her chest.

“Er… I came to look for a job. I don't know if there's—”

“Oh, sorry,” she interrupted. “We are not looking for workers here,” she responded with a smile.

“But—”

Before I could finish my statement, she walked away. I felt bad because I couldn't get the job, and she was sarcastically being rude to me.

Maybe she thought I was looking for a place to stay because, yeah, my boxes were still with me and I wasn't looking too good.

I stepped out of the diner and sat somewhere around it. I was so tired. It was getting sunny, and I was yet to get a job and also find a place to rest my head.

I was weak and hungry to the extent that I could hear my stomach grumble. I was beginning to tremble and shiver.

I dipped my hand into my handbag and brought out my phone. I tried calling a few people I knew to ask for help. Some said they couldn't help, and some of the calls didn't go through.

I exhaustedly dropped my phone in frustration, placed my hands on my head, lowered my head, and burst into tears.

I was trying to be strong, but I couldn't anymore. I was depressed and frustrated.

I sank into despair and whimpered quietly till I got tired. My eyes were all swollen up. I could see a few people staring at me, wondering what was wrong with me, but I actually didn't care. The pain was more than their stares.

I cleaned my eyes, stood up, hung my handbag on my shoulder, held my boxes, and left the vicinity.

Because of the stress, lack of food, and lack of rest, the pregnancy caught up with me. I got dizzy and blacked out on the street.

Noises woke me up. I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head left and right gradually, scanning around, trying to know where I was.

The place looked different, and I was on a drip. That was when I knew I was in the hospital. I was trying to sit up when I felt a strong hand hold me.

I never knew someone was there, or let me just say some people were there.

I turned and saw three hot, good-looking men beside me. They were all in suits that probably cost more than Aiden’s cars; they looked hefty, clean, and wealthy. Even their watches screamed money.

I could tell that I was not in their class. Their aura hit different, and it scared me.

I instantly knocked his hand off me and shifted to the other side of the bed, looking terrified.

“Who the hell are you people, and what am I doing here? How did I get here?” I hollered.

“Hey, hey, calm down. We're not here to harm you,” one of them said, his voice thick, calm, and commanding.

He stood up and came closer.

“Stay the fuck away from me!” I shouted at the top of my voice.

The nurse quickly came in, and I began to ask her for help. She calmed me down and assured me that they were not going to harm me.

“Take a chill pill, ma'am. They brought you here,” she said, rubbing my shoulder.

I looked at her in surprise and asked, “From where?”

She smiled and said, “You fainted, ma'am, and they brought you here.”

I turned and looked at them. I saw two of them smiling, and the other one, who looked like the older one, kept his face as strong as a rock, with his hands in his pockets.

“Now, I will leave them with you,” she said to me with a soft voice.

“Wait a minute, nurse. Is my baby okay?” I asked, looking scared.

“Yes, ma'am. The baby is healthy and okay,” she responded.

I released a loud sign as she walked away.

My gaze returned to the men in black suits, standing opposite to me. I kept staring at them, and they were staring back at me. The way they looked at me felt like they knew me, and they also felt my pain.

The one who held me to help me sit up sat on the bed close to me and smiled.

“Are you Lena Morrison?” he asked.

I was confused because that was not my married name.