The good/bad news.

Lily's POV

"Make sure to scrub those dishes sparkling clean! We have customers waiting, so hurry with it!"

"Yes cook," I replied, watching the tall, boisterous woman storm back into the kitchen. My hands were sore from scrubbing dishes. I felt hot and sweaty all over. My hair was matted to my head due to the sweat and I was sure I stank like hell.

I picked up a stainless steel tray I had washed and stared at my reflection. I looked terrible. Three weeks living on the streets, scrounging for scraps of food and hanging onto my life, barely. Three weeks of madness. It felt like I was stuck in a never-ending nightmare.

For the first week, I had roamed about. The shelters were terrifying.They mostly housed men and those men had a certain leer in their eyes whenever I walked in. I'd managed to find benches and stalls to sleep but it was brutal getting chased daily.

A few days later when it felt like I was going to be completely dead if I didn't do something to save myself, I went back to my boss at the diner. While I had my fear about him, he had gladly accepted me in. Not just to work, but to his house as well. According to him, he had heard from my parents who apparently told him to kick me out. But instead of listening to them, he had decided to help me. At least, until I could find my feet back into the world.

“Lily, what are you doing?”

I paused the cleaning I was doing and turned. I saw Scott looking at me intensely.

“Cleaning up,” I answered. This was the second day I was spending in his home. And even though he told me I was free to not do anything, I made sure to clean up the entire house after we got back from the diner each day.

“Come on, you know you don't have to do that.” He said, moving closer to me. His hand wrapped around my waist suddenly, and he gave a little squeeze before he removed his hand and went for the clothes I was using to wipe the table.

The alarm bell in my head went off, but I decided to ignore it. The fact was he was the only person who had managed to show me with some compassion and I wasn't ready to mess that up. At least not until my fear is justified.

“I am fine,” I said in a small but defiant way.

He shifted closer again. Dangerously close this time.

“If you desperately want to pay, then pay with sex.” He said. Before I could determine if he was being serious or joking, he grabbed me roughly, making sure our chests collided.

I was about to push him away and smack hard across the face when the scene on the television shifted to a flash advert.

There, I saw my very own sister whom my parents had claimed didn't get the job splashed across the TV, modeling some kind of wear that seemed so damn expensive even from the look. And it definitely had the company's name of that old geezer they had all forced me to sleep with.

The fact that it was apparent that my family had lied to me about that old geezer not giving my sister her dream job moved me close to tears.

Suddenly, I felt hotter. I wiped the sweat that drenched my face off and tried to dislodge the man still holding me captive. The more I tried to move away, the more he dragged me closer to him.

“You think I don't know you sleep around for a living?” He said, eyeing me with disdain. He pulled me closer again.

His armpits were filled with some fishy smell that made me feel nauseous. An acidic taste filled my mouth and I tried to stop myself from vomiting.

But it was too late.

The vomit sprayed out sooner than I could catch it and fell everywhere around me. And by everywhere, I meant all over Scott.

"Get the hell out of here!" He yelled, closing his nose and looking at himself with disgust.

He hurled me out of the house through the back door, and I crashed to the floor, brushing my elbow. Tears clouded my eyes as I arched him to slam the door closed. I had worked for days. I was supposed to be paid the next day.

But now it seemed I could kiss that pay goodbye as well. I let the tears fall freely as I picked myself off the floor and walked to the road. The stench of vomit was strong, it had stained my clothes and hands. And that made me even more nauseous. The fever I had spiked even higher as I walked and my eyes grew dizzy.

Wrapping my arm around myself, I tried to walk faster but I grew faint with each step and dizzier. Darkness filled my vision and I felt the world turn upside down before going unconscious.

When I opened my eyes, a glamorous chandelier stared down at me. It was quite huge and for a minute, panic filled me at the thought of it falling and squashing me to bits. I tried to move my muscles, but they felt sore and tired.

Where the hell was I? The last time I woke up in a foreign room, my life changed forever. I had slept with a stranger, my parents kicked me out, and I had spent the past weeks living a hellish life.

"Easy, dear.” A firm feminine voice reached my ears. I turned my head to see a very gorgeous woman, sitting by the bed. She had the most startling green eyes I had ever seen and a kind smile on her face. Her hair, golden, was tied up in a bun behind her head. She looked beautiful.

If there wasn't a chandelier right above me, I would think I was in heaven and she was an angel.

"Who..." I croaked. "Where?"

She smiled and reached out to help me sit up before handing me a glass of water. My hands trembled as I tried to drink from it and I heard her sigh.

"You poor thing. It had taken two whole days to get your fever down."

My eyes roved around the room properly, and I gasped. It was huge. I was in the middle of the biggest room I had seen in my entire life.

And the most luxurious too. The bed I slept in was huge. The drapes and curtains look as expensive as hell. I looked back at the woman beside me in horror and she chuckled as if the look on my face told her everything.

"I'm Emma Donovan.” She introduced, retrieving the glass of water from my hands. "I saw you collapse on the sidewalk two days ago and well I didn't think it would be humane to leave you there, you seemed like a sweet girl."

"Oh," I mumbled, clearing my throat awkwardly. She had saved me. "T-Thank you."

But what difference did it make? I would be going back to the streets anyway. Nothing would change.

"Oh, it's nothing. You can stay for as long as you want, okay?" She said, rising to her feet. "I'll ring the maids, we need to get some food for you. I doubt you've had anything good to eat in a while and that can't be good for the baby."

"Thank...." I trailed off processing her words. "What baby?!"

A baby? Just how?!

My eyes rounded, almost as if they wanted to pop out of their sockets. I looked at Emma and shook my head repeatedly as if to deny the pregnancy. And of course, to will the news away.

“No,” I whispered, still shaking my head in denial.

Emma looked back at me, a sad look in her eyes. "I'm sorry darling, you're pregnant."