Chloe stood outside the restaurant she got fired from. Not attending work for three whole days without telling anyone was the third strike.

Chloe took a deep breath and walked in. She didn't pay any attention to what was going on around her, she strode straight to Kyle's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in"

Chloe walked in with gentle steps. She kept the bag Ella gave her close to her.

In the last week, she spent all the money on food and the things she needed as it wasn't enough for her to pay for a place to live. She needed a job now. Somewhere she can earn something. She lost all of her legal documents and resumes when their landlord threw out all of their stuff. She didn't have a laptop or a cellphone.

"Hi, Kyle" she smiled

Kyle straightened up and leaned back in his seat. "Hello, Chloe"

"Kyle, I came here to ask for my job back, please. Look I don't have anything left. I'm all alone with nothing to my name and now I don't even have a place to live. Please, Kyle. I'll do anything. I sweep the floors if you want me to" Chloe said in a single breath and waited for Kyle's response.

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You don't have a place to live?"

Chloe shook her head. "No... No one will give me a job without any of my legal documentation. You have the copies, can you please consider taking me back?" She asked

"I could but what will I get out of it?"

Chloe's lips parted as dread kept up in her stomach. "I'll work harder... The whole day,"

Kyle smiled. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"He... Um... He and I aren't together anymore"

"And why is that?" He asked mockingly.

"We--- we broke up..."

He clicked his tongue. "So, you're single now?"

"Yeah..." She looked down.

"Hmm... Let me make you a deal. You can continue working here if you spend the nights with me" he smiled. "I mean you need a place to stay, don't you?" He knew Chloe was desperate.

"Excuse me?!" Chloe snapped

"You heard me. You'll work, get a place to stay, and you'll get paid. It's all in your favor"

"Coming here was a mistake! You can keep your stupid deal!" She snapped and turned to walk out.

She wandered around in the streets. She still had the necklace Ella gave her but she didn't want to sell it. She wanted to keep it until she was at her lowest. She wasn't afraid of hard work or any kind of work. She will overcome this. She always does. She's all she had from the day she was born and she didn't need anyone now.

It started to get dark after a few hours. She needed a place to stay, somewhere to spend the night. She sat at a bench for hours until it was midnight, she thought about sleeping on it.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a group of men watching her. Like they were waiting for something. She looked around and it was still pretty crowded. She gulped and got up. She discreetly looked over her shoulder and saw them following her from a distance. This only agitated her more.

She ran. She ran until she couldn't see them anymore. She turned into a dark alley and sat on the ground. Afraid, she rocked back and forth. A puddle showed a reflection of her saddened face.

She sat there alone for few more hours. Slowly, her eyes started to feel heavy, and her body turned tired. She wanted to sleep but she'd jerk herself to shake off the drowsiness until she couldn't anymore.

She thought about if she slept in plain sight, what if these dirty men find her and take advantage of her. What if she got raped. She saw a giant dumpster at the end of the dark street. She walked towards it and saw a pile of old books and newspapers resting in the corner. She straightened out all the newspaper under the dumpster and crawled under it.

No one could see her there or crawl after her. She fact she had barely eaten in the last few days made it easier for her to crawl under such a small space. She laid over the old newspaper under the dumpster.

The smell made her wanna throw up but this was all she had.

Tear burned her eyes as she missed her bedroom. She remembered how she used to curse her stupid attic bedroom. She hated it...

Now looking at herself, she couldn't help but sob. Her one bad decision ruined her entire life. She decided to run away with Axel. It was her decision. No one forced her. She couldn't even blame anyone but herself.

Sobbing silently, she drifted off to sleep.

Two months passed, Chloe lost a ton of weight, her body almost skeletal. Her skin lost all the shine, and pink tint. She looked like a frail old woman. She didn't beg but wherever she sat people would leave money right next to her or gave her something to eat.

What confused her the most was her protruding stomach. With the little money people gave her, she decided to go to a doctor. She was afraid that she might have some kind of tumor in her stomach.

She entered a small clinic and looked around. Her clothes were dirty, her greasy hair hanging limp on her face. Her shoulders and hands were connected by a string it seemed. Her arms have gotten so thin anyone could barely see them. She bit her dry, chapped lips and walked further in.

She silently paid the money and waited for her turn. While in the waiting room, she assessed everything. It was a dull, dreary white room and smelt like sterile equipment. The coffee table was filled with magazines that were torn by little kids. All around her were the gloomy faces of the patients.

They called her number, and she got up on trembling legs. She went inside and saw the assistant visibly cringing, looking at her up and down.

Chloe sat down on the blue chair, which was uncomfortable to her bottom. The doctor smiled at her and read the form Chloe had filled earlier.

The doctor looked down at her bulging stomach. "Are you pregnant?"

A cold wave embalmed her as the hair rose on the back of her neck and her mouth ran dry.

-ˋˏ ༻𐀔༺ ˎˊ-

Axel twisted and turned. He couldn't sleep. He got up and adjusted his pillow and slammed back on his bed. He closed his eyes but the sleep never came. He heaved a frustrated sigh and got up.

He clenched his jaw and threw the lampshade on the ground. It broke into a few pieces. He stood up and paced back and forth in his bedroom. Tears threatened to fall every two seconds but he kept them in.

A gentle knock on the door caught his attention. He strode towards it and unlocked it.

"Hey, are you okay?" Charlotte, his sister asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why'd you ask?"

"I heard a noise from your room"

"Uh, the lampshade broke"

"Can I come in?" She asked

"Yeah, sure," he stepped aside and Charlotte walked in.

She sat on his bed and patted the area beside her. "Come on," she said, Axel walked towards her and sat down. He intertwined his fingers and looked down at the ground.

"Now tell me? Are you okay?" She asked

"I told you I'm fine!"

"You haven't been the same since the day you came back" she mumbled sadly. "We used to have so much fun, Axel until you turned into this stupid jerk"

"Charlie, sweetheart, I'm fine. Just stressed about school" he kissed the side of her head lovingly.

"You miss her, right?" She asked in a low voice.

"What?"

"You miss that girl you ran away with" she mumbled

"She has a name, her name is Chloe," he told her

"So, you miss Chloe?" She asked

Axel looked down and squeezed his eyes shut. "All the time..."

"I have never seen you this obsessed with a girl before" Charlotte mumbled

"I'm not obsessed, Charlotte. I love her." He made it clear. "She's all I can think about"

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know... But what I do know is that she is better off without me"

Charlotte nodded and her eyes fell on the sketch on his nightstand. She picked up and stare at it. "Is that how she looked like?"

Axel smiled sadly. "No, she is so much prettier in person"

"Talk to her..."

"I can't... Dad won't let me"

"Then let me talk to her. I won't tell her that I'm your sister. Dad won't even know. You'll get to hear her voice and you'll know how she is"

Axel sighed. "Even if I wanted to... We can't... I don't have her number or anything of hers"

"That's sad... I wish you told me about her when she was here. I would've loved to meet her"

"Yeah... I wished that too. She is lovely and humble, nice and just so amazing..."

"Are you regretting leaving her for your family?"

"I didn't leave her for my family, I left her, so, she could have a better life! Dad agreed to pay for her tuition if we broke up and that's what I did"

"Wow," she smiled and elbowed his side in a teasing manner. "The ultimate sacrifice for the love of your life. How brave" she laughed

"It's. Not. Funny. Charlie!" He gritted through his teeth.

Charlotte's smile fell. "I know... I was just trying to lighten up the mood"

Axel closed his eyes and heaved a sigh to calm himself. "Look, Charlie, I really don't want to talk about her, okay. Just don't ever bring her up again. She's really close to my heart and I don't like to discuss her with anyone"

She nodded and got up. "Noted. I won't bother you again" she walked towards the door and turned. "Just let me know when my brother comes back because I hate Chloe's lover"