CHAPTER THREE

I stumbled down the drenched streets of LA, my clothes clinging to me, heavy and soaked from the rain. Although the downpour had stopped, a bitter chill remained, and each raindrop that lingered felt like an icy needle pressing into my skin.

Wrapping my arms tightly around myself, I shivered as a cold wind sliced through the empty streets. As I dragged my heavy feet forward, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a foggy storefront window and for a moment, I froze, staring at the massive figure staring back at me.

My eyes roamed over my face, my chest, then to my entire body, and a weary, hollow expression grace onto my face. As I looked at my own reflection, for the first time in my life, I hated what I saw. I hated myself. I hated the way I looked and the way I felt, the weight of everything pressing down on me.

Growing up, I’d been teased mercilessly by families and even mates for my plus-size figure, but I’d always found solace in the belief that there were at least three people who didn’t care about how I looked—my parents and my best friend, Kinglsey. But there are times when I do think that they were just trying not to make me feel bad and couldn't bear to tell me the truth. But when I met Lance…everything changed. He also claimed he loved me for who I was and I believed him.

I….I really thought he saw me beyond appearances, that he loved me for who I was, not for some shallow ideal of beauty. But the harsh truth in his words earlier tonight had shattered that illusion. He cared, after all….and he was just like all of them. And hearing him admit it…it hurt more than I could have ever imagined.

I closed my eyes, trying to drown out his voice echoing in my head, but the questions gnawed at me, tearing through the silence like knives.

“What if I were different? What if I looked like Ashley, slender and model-like? Would he have treated me any better? Would he have looked only at me and no one else? Would we have had a different ending and live happily?”

The questions lingered, twisting inside me with answers I didn’t have. Lost in my thoughts, I barely noticed the figure stumbling toward me until he was almost upon me. A foul stench of alcohol filled the air, sharp and nauseating, and I looked up, only to find a man with bloodshot eyes staring down at me, swaying unsteadily. He seemed to be in his mid-fifties, tall, broad-shouldered, with a balding head that gleamed under the city lights.

"Hey there, pretty lady. Would you like to spend some time with me?" he slurred towards my side, his words dripping with sweetness as he swayed on his feet.

“ No, I'm sorry. I think you are mistaken.” I quickly replied and decided to walk away but then, In one staggering motion, he yanked my hand and pulled me closer to him.

A gasp escaped my lip and my heart thudded widely against my chest. I had never felt this kind of terror before, not even when I was asked to sign the divorce papers or when I was thrown out of the house by my in-laws with nothing. But being in the grip of a drunken stranger who reeked of danger and had a crazed glint in his eyes—left me frozen, my breath caught in my throat.

I glanced around, hoping someone would step in, but the few passersby who noticed only spared quick, disinterested glances, probably assuming we were a couple having a heated argument. Frustration boiled within me as I looked back at this leering stranger, furious that I was trapped, furious at him, at myself, at this entire miserable night.

why was he like this to me?

“How dare you! Let go of me right now” I spat, trying to wrench my arm from his grip but he only tightened his hold on me with his arm curling around my waist and his dirty fingers digging into my skin which brought nothing but irritation to me.

“ Aw, don't be like that, sweetie” he mouthed a kiss at me and I could feel his hot and foul breath against my face. “ Just trying to keep your company sweetheart and I promise to give you good rewards for your little time.”

What the heck!

I couldn't believe what exactly was happening. I think I must have unloaded a pack of misfortune boxes today as bad things just keep happening to me and to even make it worse…it.. it's now a drunkard that is trying to harass me now.

My stomach was twisted with fear and even disgust at the sound of his words: “ I will give you a very good rewards for your time.” What did he think of me? A prostitute?

I pulled harder, trying to free myself. "I said let go of me," but he refused to let go.

Panic surged through me like a wild fire and without a second thought, I balled my fist, swung it at him and gave him a very hard punch in his face. I watched him as he let me go Immediately and he began to staggered backwards, clutching his nose as he hit the ground.

“Ow! You crazy…” he writhed in pain and for a second I felt a little bad for him as I saw blood running out of his nose but what brought me back to my senses was when he held his stomach, then his hands moved to another part of his body. He kept screaming in pain as If I had hit him in multiple places.

Wow, this dude was a real actor…..

But I didn't really have much for his drama, so I decided to leave him but my consciousness would not let me. I retracted my steps to ask him if he was alright but the approaching sound of sirens make me stop at me track and before I knew what was happening, two police officers rushed towards us, as they thought something big happened.

"What's going on here?" one of them demanded, looking between me and the drunkard on the ground.

But before I could say any word, that drunkard beat me to it.

"Officer, thank God you’re here! She attacked me!" he whined, still groaning in pain. "She punched me out of nowhere….oh God...I think.. I think she broke my ribs!" He groaned as he pointed a shaky finger at me.

Like seriously….

My eyes widened in disbelief as I could not believe that he could tell such a lie when he was the one that tried to molest me.

“Broke your ribs? What the hell are you saying? I barely touched you, bow could you lie that I broke your ribs when it's not some kind of chicken bone.” Turning back to the officers. “Officers, no that's not true! He’s clearly lying against me. This man here is drunk and tried to harass me. I was just defending myself!"

The officers exchanged glances, clearly skeptical about what I said but there was concern on their face for the man on the ground. "Sir, are you hurt?" one of them asked the drunkard as he approached him and bend to his level.

He nodded, still clutching his stomach. "Yes, she hit me hard. I can't breath, please I need a doctor."

“ He doesn't need any. He's lying!” I was beyond shocked as I watched the live drama that was happening before me as the man kept screaming in pain and before I knew what was happening.

"Ma'am, you're under arrest for assault," the other officer said, stepping towards me and while I retracted my step in fear, but he quickly grabbed my arm.

"But I didn't do anything wrong! He was the one who…….." My protests were cut short as the officer suddenly pulled my arms behind my back and cuffed my wrists.

"You have the right to remain silent," the other one added, his was voice cold and detached.

I felt hot tears streaming down my face as I had been wrongly accused of what I didn't do. This couldn't be happening to me right now again. It was all a terrible mistake. I tried to tell them about what really happened but they didn't even listen to my side of story as they were fixated on the man who claimed to be injured.

One of them led me to the police car while the other one called an ambulance. As I was pushed into the back seat, I looked out at the dark, empty street and remembered how my life had fallen apart in a matter of hours. Now, I was being taken to a place I never imagined I'd be.