Chapter 3

I was about to speak but suddenly someone knocked on the door of my room. I ended the call and threw my phone on the bed while covering it with my blanket.

I stand. Before I got to the opposite door, I closed my eyes tightly. I released a breath because I didn't want the people outside my door to think that I was actually talking to someone on my phone.

"What the hell? I've been here for a long while and you opened the door just now?"

"Why, Chontel? What are you going to make me do?" I don't feel like asking.

It was late at night but it seemed like my cousin was going to order something again.

She looked at me evilly before rolling her eyes.

"Are you planning to run away?" she asked me with a full accusation in her voice.

"Ch-Chontel, I have no plan to do that."

She pushed me so I eventually sat on the floor. She searched for something inside my room.

"Where are your things? You didn't bring a suitcase so you wouldn't be caught running away?"

She pulled me upright. My clothes were like a piece of paper when Chontel tore them.

I couldn't hold back anymore so I calmed down. I pushed her, that's why she got angrier.

"You're fighting back now?! Really, wench?!"

She is like a volcano that will explode in a few minutes due to anger. She stepped closer to me and she immediately pulled my hair.

"Chontel, please! Enough!"

"No way! You are planning to escape from us! You are bullshit!"

I grabbed her arms and immediately shook her.

"When I say it's enough, Chontel! It's enough!"

Chontel's eyes widened as she stared at me. It was obvious that she didn't think I would fight back.

"Your face is too thick to fight back with me, Veronne!"

I was suddenly scared again when Chontel pushed me until I was leaning against the wall.

She suddenly choked me. I was in tears because of her choking me. I'm coughing. I patted her hands that were choking me but she still didn't do anything. She tightened her grip on me even more.

"Ch-Cho—"

"Remember that you have no right to fight back with me! Got it? You can't fight me, Veronne! You are nothing compared to me! You have no right to hurt me! Are we clear?!"

I nodded because I was afraid that she might kill me completely.

I'm almost out of breath.

"You're a useless shit!"

She let go of me so I fell to my knees on the floor. I'm beating my chest and catching my breath while coughing.

"Now that you know you shouldn't be fighting me, Veronne, you should learn your lesson!"

She pulled my hair and that made me look up at her face. Her eyes were full of anger and resentments.

"Are you going to repeat what you did earlier?"

"N-Never, Chontel. I won't do that again," I said.

"Good dog!"

She kicked me in my stomach so I fell to the floor.

When she he left me alone, I immediately burst into tears. The ugly things that are happening to me in this house were planted in my heart and rooted in my mind. This all caused me to think about ending my own life.

They always make me feel like I don't belong to their family. They treat me like a rag.

My fingers crawled until they reached my chest. I hugged myself tightly as tears flowed unceasingly from my eyes.

They are my family. They shouldn't be insulting me, instead they should be helping me get up again. But they chose to be evil to me. They prefer to cause me suffering and always get hurt whether it's physical or emotional. They are cruel to me. It's just too fast for them to lay hands on me and insult me wherever and whenever they want.

My phone rang so I immediately woke up. I'm still on the floor. I fell asleep while my heart was breaking. I realized that it was really hard to sleep with a heavy heart. And how could other people sleep, giving burden to someone's heart?

Even though my body hurt, I went up to answer the call. It's rare for this to happen. I didn't expect you to call me at this time. My eyes hurt and I was dazzled by the light on my phone screen but I fought it to answer the call.

"Hello?" I said.

"It's Marcov. You suddenly ended the call last night even though we were still talking."

I blushed because of what that oldy said. I thought he wouldn't call me. But he did, at this time. I was annoyed because he was the reason why Aunt Milie entered my room last night and screamed that I talked with someone.

"What's wrong? I'm fine. Let me go."

This is my fault. I was the one who called him so he is here now, he called me and it's like he still has it on his conscience that something bad might have happened to me.

"You are the one who called me and now you want me to let you go. You introduced me to your problem. You also let me hear how your aunt hurt you and then you want me to let you go? Come on, Miss Sterling. It's hard to follow what you want to happen." He was serious as he said these words.

I woke up because he called. And now he was causing me nausea. I pressed my thumb to the side of my head because it hurts.

"Just forget what you heard, Mister Greyford."

He laughed full of sarcasm.

"You know what? You're funny. How can I forget everything just like that? It's a burden on my conscience if your family continues to hurt you. I heard everything so I'll help you. Where is your address?"

"You old crap, let me face my own battle!"

"You're welcome," he said.

"I don't want everything to get more complicated. Just let me manage everything here," I said again.

"How? How will you manage everything? Accepting all the physical harms and vulgar words and face tomorrow like nothing bad happened yesterday? That's nonsense. Let's meet. Tomorrow ten in the morning. If you don't want me to call 911 amd I will ask for help to rescue you," he said, full of dedication.

Shit! Oldy has an amazing stubbornness! Why is he so determined to help me? He does not know me personally and he is not my relative.

I breathed deeply. My head hurt more because he said he was going to call 911. It's just that the old man is stubborn. He doesn't listen to someone younger than him. Well, old people believed they knew better. Annoying!

"Don't you ever call 911 or any police station. If the police really come here and make trouble, I will kill you with my own hands."

"Oh, really? What you said suddenly scared me, Miss Sterling. As long as you don't meet with me, I'm going to be forced to call 911 so they can rescue you and get your aunt in jail. I'm trying to help you out of that. What's the matter why you were refusing?"

I sighed.

"Fine! I'll meet you as long as you follow my orders. Do not make other people get involved with my own struggle." I know that it was disrespectful to ask favours from adults but I have to because this one is quite uncontrollable.

"Okay, continue your beautiful rest," he told me.

It took a few seconds but I didn't hear the line end. Maybe he wants me to end the call?

"Are you still there?" I asked.

"Of course. I'm just waiting for you to end the call." I knew it. The call can end embarrassingly when you are not the first to call.

"W-Wait, Mister Greyford. Why do you really want to help me?"

"I want you to get out of that hellish life so you can show people who look down on you that you can achieve something good in life," he replied. "A beautiful angel like you doesn't deserve a life like hell but a paradise like nirvana, Miss Sterling."

I can't express my feelings. I was horrified by what he said but that line had a tickling effect on my heart.