Ch. 2: A Kind Stranger

Her fury and hurt were inconsolable. “HOW COULD YOU?!”

Aria tried calming her down. “Sweetheart we—”

“Don’t sweetheart me! Jason and I have been together for 5 years! Yet, instead of scolding the scumbag for cheating on me, you both allowed him to continue his infidelity. And what’s worse is he cheated on me with THAT HALF-WIT, ARROGANT, POMPOUS BITCH BRIGETTE! I’ve forgiven a lot of things in the past; I allowed shit to slide, and ignored my own feelings in hopes that my parents would side with me for once!”

Dylan was beginning to lose his patience. “Watch your tone.”

She retorted almost immediately. “Dad, don’t talk to me like that! You all have THE NERVE to stand here today and try and lecture me about this bullshit?!”

“Darling, we’re your family, but it’s your fault for bringing him around so often!”

“Excuse me?! MY FAULT!?! BRIGETTE IS A WHORE, A HOME-WRECKING WHORE!”

That was absolutely the last straw for Leah and Brigette came running in, ready to pounce on Leah, but Leah was quicker. She punched Brigette in the face, dragged her by her hair and kept hitting her until they pulled the duo apart. "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET HOE! GET OFF OF ME!"

“You deserve what you got bitch!" She calmed down slightly, turned on her heel and pointed her finger directly in Aria's face.. "Back to you! Excuse me for bringing the one person around that brought me happiness in this hell hole! Excuse me for bringing the one person around who didn’t treat me like shit! But, my mistake, right?! Because I trusted him around you lying, dirty, shameless scumbags and I STILL got what I wanted, taken away from me! Don’t bother finding me! I promise you; I will make you all pay!”

With that, she left the study. There wasn’t anything in the world that could suppress the rage and the pain that she felt at that moment. Leah grabbed her things that were near the door and ran out without a backward glance. The driver for the Jackson family was stunned when he noticed the Young Miss storming out of the home; before he could ask if she needed a ride somewhere, she had disappeared into the cold and rainy night. Leah had walked for some time and kept crying helplessly; she didn’t know how far she had travelled, until she met Derreck.

**** Back In the Maybach ****

Leah couldn’t help thinking how blind and fooled she really was and she laughed bitterly at the memory; the only thing that remained, was the silver diamond ring on her left hand. She looked down at it, forgetting it was there and her tears began falling once again.

Derreck looked over at the small woman next to him; he now had a better view of her appearance. She was a fair, small woman with a rounded-out nose, piercing blue eyes, rosy lips and long black hair; she was no more than 5’4” tall. He observed her expression and his gaze fell on the ring that was beset on her hand. He had a small frown, but quickly replaced it with an indifferent expression.

With observant eyes and an indifferent tone, he spoke up. “He must be lucky.”

Leah turned her head to look out the window and quickly wiped her tears, she then turned to her right to look at the man sitting next to her. She finally allowed herself to absorb his features. He was a very tall and slender man with caramel skin, profound jaw bone, rounded nose, green eyes and light pink lips. She responded with a forced smile.

“He was my fiancée. I forgotten that I had the ring on until now. Where are we headed?”

Realizing that she had changed the subject, he didn’t pry further, instead he replied flatly. “I’m taking you to a hotel for the night.”

She gave a small smile. “Thank you. I never got your name.”

“Derreck, Derreck Gray. And you are?”

“Leah Jackson. Nice to meet you Mr. Gray. I apologize that it is under such circumstances.”

He replied indifferently. “It’s alright.”

“Thank you for your kindness, truly.” She gave another small smile and looked away. 

He gave a smile in response. “You’re welcome, Miss Jackson.”

The car fell into silence once more. After driving another 20 minutes, they arrived at a 5-star hotel; Bliss. When they approached the building, Derreck got out of the car first and guided Leah in. They walked into the building through the revolving doors and approached the front counter. The woman behind the desk eyed Leah suspiciously, but didn’t allow it to be shown on her face.

“Welcome to Bliss, my name is Ashley, how long will you be staying with us?”

Before Leah could say anything, Derreck spoke for her.

“As long as she needs.”

“Yes, sir Mr. Gray.”

“That won’t be necessary. 3 days will be fine.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Derreck hid the contempt he felt in his heart and simply nodded towards the woman behind the desk. After getting Leah checked in, the woman gave her the key card and pointed towards the elevator.

“Okay ma’am. You will be staying in room 2520. Enjoy your stay here at Bliss.”

“Thank you.”

Leah turned to the man beside her and spoke in a low voice.

“Thank you again Mr. Gray. Your kindness and generosity will not go unnoticed. I will be going to my room now.”

Leah walked towards the elevator, but Derreck spoke up.“Can I at least get you some clothes to wear?”

“No need. I will also give you the money back for the room. I can transfer it to your account if you’d like? I don’t mean to be a burden to you.”

“You’re not being a burden and there’s no need for repayment. I’m only helping a woman who's in need; I just so happened to be the one to help.” He shrugged. 

“Thank you Mr. Gray. I’m sure we would find ourselves meeting again, it’s not a big town.”

With that, she walked inside the elevator and went to the 25^th floor. Once she reached her floor, she walked until she found her room.

“Room 2520.” She whispered. 

Leah pressed the silver embossed key card onto the door and walked inside. The room was spacious! It was more like a mini house, so she immediately knew that it was a suite! There was a full-sized kitchen, a living room, a full bathroom and some other amenities. The bedroom was tucked away and off to the side. For the first time, in a long time, Leah finally felt herself being able to breathe. She put the key card on the kitchen counter and walked over to the couch.

Inside the living room, there were a set of windows that went from the floor to the ceiling and they were covered with red and gold curtains. The flooring was constructed of hardwood and in the bathroom was tile, while in the bedroom, there was luxurious carpet. When her feet hit the carpet, she instantly sank to the floor. She finally could remove the façade that she was wearing while in the car with Derreck just a while ago. She had taken off her shoes on her way in the room and tossed them in the trash.

As Leah pulled her knees into her chest, she took a deep breath and with a heavy heart, she began sobbing uncontrollably. As the minutes turned into hours, night descended even more as she cried into her knees. After 3 hours, with puffy, swollen eyes, Leah lifted her head and sat in the dark room. She glanced at the clock that was set beside the bed and realized that it was now 1am.

Slowly, she pulled herself up and made her way into the bathroom. She felt around for the light and looked in the mirror. She looked at herself pitifully and then looked down at the diamond ring that sat on her left hand; she then took the ring off of her hand and placed it on the counter until she decided what she would do with it.

She now remembered that she didn’t have any clothes to change into. Despite Derreck’s suggestion, she couldn’t bring herself to allow him to buy her clothes, so she walked out of her room after grabbing her key card and made her way to the elevator. She pushed the down arrow to make her way back into the lobby to walk around and find any shops that were either nearby or in the hotel lobby. When the elevator made its way to her floor, it dinged. She paid no heed to the people that were in the elevator and made her descent to the lobby area.

When the elevator reached the main floor, she was stunned. She hadn’t taken in the beauty of Bliss when she had first arrived, as she was wrapped in her own thoughts. It was beautifully crafted with high ceilings and intricate chandeliers. It wasn’t well-lit, as it created a sense of ambiance. The elevator was off to the right of the front desk and in front of the desk, were the revolving doors, the accessible door and the regular door. Off to the left, was a series of stores and restaurants. Behind the desk was the employee area (restricted access), as well as the small gift shop meant for tourists.

As Leah walked towards the stores, she realized that in the midst of her sulking, she hadn’t grabbed her wallet that was on the dresser upstairs in her room, so she reluctantly made her way back to the elevator to get back to her room. As she was walking to the elevator, she noticed a familiar face.

“Leah?" She wanted to hurry over to the elevator, but she had already been discovered, so she could only put on a wry smile as she spoke.

“Henry. Hi.”

He spoke to her in a probing, concerned tone. “Why are you here? Why aren’t you back at the Jackson residence?”

Leah looked at Henry with indifference before replying. “I only decided to come here at the last minute. No need to worry about me, or let them know of my whereabouts.”

After responding, she lifted her legs to walk, but heard him speak behind her. “At least allow me to take you back to your room.”

He had a sinister smile on his face, but replaced it with a solemn expression. Leah, was unsure of who to trust at this point. After the events that had occurred that night, the only person she seemed to trust, oddly enough, was Mr. Gray, whom she had never met prior. She turned around and responded flatly.

“That won’t be necessary Mr. Jordan. I’ll be on my way now.” Leah turned back around and made her way to the elevator. Henry looked at her with disdain and a mocking smirk and walked out of the lobby. No matter, I’ll get her sooner or later, he thought.

After making her way back to her room and then back down to the lobby, she once again made her way towards the shops in the hotel. Once she made her way towards the shops, she noticed a small women’s boutique, that housed all under garments. She stopped there first, before making her way to another shop for some pajamas and day clothes. She made a mental note to only use the money that she had made working; she didn’t want the money that the Jackson family had, no. She was determined to use the money that she had made; she didn’t want to owe those wretched people anything!