Chapter 2

I looked in the mirror and immediately took the powder from my old bag. I put some powder on my face and immediately put red lipstick on my lips.

I smiled. You can't be ugly when you die. If my body is ever found I should still be beautiful.

I put the broken glass next to me. I looked up at our family picture. Mommy and daddy were smiling while I was looking on the side.

"Daddy, I want you to pick me up when I'm there in the afterlife. We're going to be together, daddy," I whispered. I focused my glance on mommy. "Wherever you are now, I hope you are always happy. Thank you, even though you are like that, you brought me out of this world to see the beauty of the environment. Mommy, daddy, I don't have any problems in the world, it's just that there are people who mistreat other people so badly that life becomes ugly. Even though you left me, I still love you both," I added.

I touched my cheek and immediately wiped away my tears. I stood up and looked for a small knife. When I pulled what I was wearing earlier, a small paper suddenly fell to the floor. I picked it up and when I found it in front of me I saw that it was the calling card the old man had given me earlier.

"What does this mean?" I looked up. "Do you want me to call this stranger and ask him for help? God, are you really stopping from killing myself?"

I sat on my bed again. I reached for my phone that could barely read the text because it was so old.

"To call or not?" I asked myself.

My two thumbs had a mind of their own and typed in the number on the calling card. I was nervous but it was too late when the other line rang.

I was about to cancel the call but it was suddenly answered.

"Hello? This is Marcov Greyford. How may I help you?"

I couldn't speak because of his masculine voice. It's a little husky and it's like it's tickling my spine.

"H-Hello?"

"Yes. What's the matter and what's your name, please?"

I swallowed and slowly took a deep breath.

"V-Veronica Sterling. I'm the one you saw in the garbage dump earlier."

I closed my eyes. I'm at a loss for words to say to him when our conversation goes on for a long duration. I'm nervous and I don't know if I'm going to pee or what.

"The beggar—"

"I-I am not. Maybe, I need help but I'm not a beggar."

He laughed out loud. I was not annoyed by his laughter because the truth was that I liked it. I felt really weird while I was talking to him on the phone.

"Okay. Sorry. I thought you were a beggar. By the way, what's your problem? I can give solutions to any problem, Miss Sterling."

I was given hope because of what he said. A smile full of hope was evident on my face.

"Really?"

"Yes..."

Suddenly, my wide smile disappeared. Doubt prevailed in me. What if he doesn't help me with what I want? What if he is a scammer?

Someone suddenly kicked in my door and I immediately hid my phone behind me. I opened the door and my aunt came in.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Nothing, Aunt Millie. I don't have anyone to talk to," I told her.

I'm nervous. I squeezed the phone hard to get rid of my nervousness.

"You're talking to someone! Don't fool me, Veronne! Maybe I didn't beat you enough earlier. What do you want? Shall I do it again? Even harder?"

I stepped back when Aunt Milie raised her hand. Even if the person I'm talking to just raises their hand, I suddenly react. I have been traumatized by what my aunt and cousin were doing to me.

"I really have no one to talk to. Even if I die. I-I swear," I lied.

Aunt Millie stared at my dress. She even looked at my face carefully. She touched my lips and immediately spread my lipstick on my cheeks.

"Are you planning to go out? Remember that you can't go out, Veronne! The clothes you're wearing and the powder on your face we'll be crushed with you when you go out. Did you get it?"

I nodded several times. Aunt Milie gave me an evil look before she left me alone.

When she got out of my room I went to the door and made sure it was closed.

I sighed because of the nervousness that came over me. Fortunately, I ended the call.

I shook my head and immediately stared at my phone screen. "What the fuck?" I asked when I saw that the call with Mister Marcov Greyford was still going on.

I closed my eyes. I'm ashamed because I'm sure he heard my aunt telling me those words. Turns out I hit the loud speaker when I squeezed my phone earlier.

I put the phone close to my ear again. I bit my lip because of embarrassment. Two men have witnessed how my aunt and cousin treated me badly. First, the man who I believed would become my prince charming. Second, this old man who thought that I was a beggar.

"Well, Miss Sterling. I don't think you should tell me about your problem anymore. It was evident earlier that you are under the maltreatment of your aunt."

"I'm sorry, sir. You heard it. And thank you, because even though I accidentally tapped on the loudspeaker, you didn't speak. If you spoke—"

"If I spoke, I'm sure your aunt would have beaten you. How many times has she done this to you?"

I wanted to laugh at his question. How many times did Aunt Milie and my cousin beat me? Countless times. Even if I put my fingers in my toes and hands together, it would not be able to give the correct number of how many times I have been beaten in this house.

"You can't speak. That means you can't count it. Why haven't you reported it to the police? There are also sectors in our country that value women and young people. You can complain to the people in authority, Miss Sterling."

"I'm afraid, sir. I'm afraid that maybe my aunt and cousin will do worse to me if they find out that I said something about how they hurt me."

"What if they kill you there? Aren't you scared?"

"Sir?"

"You should have been out of there for a long time, Miss Sterling. How do you put up with their evil deeds to you? You deserve a better life. Don't you have parents anymore?"

I sat on the bed. I looked sadly at our family picture.

"I was still young when my daddy died in a car accident. My mommy, well, she went with another man and to this day, I still don't know where she ended up in the world."

"You need to leave that house, Miss Sterling," Mister Marcov Greyford told me boldly.

I swallowed before taking a deep breath.

"Mister Greyford, I have nowhere to go. I told you that I no longer have my parents. Aunt Milie has sold our possessions, including our house and other possessions and almost all the money she raised from all of that was lost in the gamble," I explained. "That's why it's easy for you to tell me to leave here just like that because you're not in my situation," I added.

"Miss—"

"If I leave this house, it means that I have committed suicide. It's useless for me to leave here after that, I have nowhere to go," I interrupted what he wanted to say.

He sighed heavily.

"Look, Miss Sterling, I can save you from that nightmare. Just come to me and I will rescue you."