You need to come back

    Chapter 3

    Aliya arrived at the hotel where she lodged a room to rest for some time before she decide on what to do with her life.

    As she sat on the edge of the small bed, tears streamed down her cheeks. Her heart aches, especially as she thought of raising her unborn child alone in the future, but that wasn't what hurt the most, but the fact that the baby would probably grow up being lied to that his or her father died. She didn't have any option, since her so-called husband won't ever accept the baby.

    After spending hours, crying her eyes out, she finally gathered the pieces of strength remaining in her, and dragged her feet into the bathroom, where she had a long and relaxing bath, and once she returned to the room, she got dressed and strode out, heading to the hospital where she decided to do a pregnancy test to authenticate the test strip.

    The drive to the hospital didn't take much time, and they arrived in less than twenty minutes. Once she saw the doctor, her blood sample was taken, and she was asked to wait for the test since it'll take only a few hours to get the result. 

    She finally got the result after a few hours, and just as the test strip said earlier, she was really pregnant, and it was already one month. How come she never knew about this all this while? She asked herself as she took a cab home minutes later. She tried hard not to cry, holding on to the happiness of expecting a child, whom she believed would be her source of happiness later.

    "We are here, ma'am," The cabby's voice pulled her out of her train of thought, and that was when she realized that they were already parked in front of the hotel.

    "Thank you," She uttered, once she stepped out of the car and paid him.

    She turned to go inside the hotel but stopped at the sound of her ringing phone. Her heart sank into her stomach when she checked the screen and found out that it was her mom. Did Knox tell her that she filed for divorce? What will be her fate now, knowing her mom would stop at nothing to get her back? She asked herself as she tightened her fingers around the phone, and gulped down the lump that formed in her throat. There was no way she could avoid her forever, so she ended up answering the call.

    "Hey, mom..." She uttered with her heart hammering against her chest.

    "Aliya... How have you been? How is your husband?" Her heart wrenched in pain as a drop of tears slid down her cheeks. 

    "Hmm... I'm fine," She slowly nodded her head, unable to contain her tears.

    "I just want to check up on you. I will drop by this weekend to say hi to you and your husband," Her mom's voice sounded through the phone before the call finally ended. 

    Gathering all the broken pieces of herself together, she walked toward the hotel and headed straight to her room. She slumped on the bed as soon as she walked inside, burying her face between her palms as tears found their way down her cheeks. Even though she knew this was the best decision for her, she still couldn't help but doubt it. What if she really go running to him in the future, just as he had said? She couldn't help the questions that kept running through her mind, and when she thought of her mom, she felt like she would be haunted down by her worst nightmare later.

    After she cried her eyes out all day, it was finally evening, and she decided to finally search her phone. She would need to feed herself later, clothe herself, and find money to rent an apartment, so it wasn't ideal for her to just sit back here and do nothing but just cry, right? The few months she has been with Knox had been her worst nightmare, and now that she was finally free from his bondage, although not entirely free since she was yet to present the divorce papers to him, she had every reason to work on herself and make her dream, which she has always wanted, to come true.

    Searching for jobs online could be tiring, but not that she had an option at this point. After surfing the internet for a while, she finally found a job vacancy ad online. Without hesitation, she picked a pen and a piece of paper and wrote the address of the place, bearing in mind that she would begin her job hunt the next day.

    "Knox..." She whispered as she stared into space. Even though he never treated her right, even if their union wasn't built on love, she couldn't still help but think of her. Maybe this would've worked out if he had given it his best, the same way she has always done then.

    She finally managed to stand up from the bed and walked sluggishly into the bathroom. After she had her bath, she walked back into the room and lay on the bed, drifting to sleep afterward.

    How time flies? It was already morning, but she was yet to wake up, until the banging sound on the door pulled her forcefully out of her deep slumber, and she quickly sat up on the bed, her heart racing fast fearfully.

    "Who...who is there?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

    "Sir, you can't go in there... I'm sorry, you can't..."

    "Open this door, Aliya!" Hearing the cold voice, she felt her heart sink into her stomach as realization dawned on her that Knox was here.

    She felt her body tremble, suddenly scared of opening the door for him, maybe because she didn't want to be dragged out of the hotel, or she was just scared of facing him.

    "Open this door, Aliya!" Came another bang on the door, and she gulped down nothing nervously as she held on tightly to the duvet, wishing she could disappear into thin air, but who said that it was possible to do?

    "You don't want to lose your job, do you? Get me the spare keys to this room, immediately!" She heard him thundering from outside, and she quickly jumped down from the bed. She turned to run into the bathroom, but on second thought, she made up her mind that she was going to be brave and face him.

    Minutes later, the door flung open, revealing Knoxville, looking enraged, but he was not alone. He was with her mom.

    "Mo...mom?" She stuttered as she took a step away, fear gripped her. She knew what would be her fate, now that her mom was here. She would eventually force her to get back together with Knox, and that was the last thing on her mind right now.

    "Wha...what are you..." Her voice trailed off as a hot slap landed across her cheeks, and she felt a spark in her eyes for some seconds. 

    "How dare you think of bringing disgrace to me and your father?" The woman, who has a striking resemblance with Aliya thundered, her eyes burning in rage, while Knox just stood there with his hands crossed on his chest, as he smirked at her. 

    "Mom..." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she gulped down nothing. 

    "Why are you treating me like this? What have I ever done to deserve this from you?" She yelled at the top of her voice this time, unable to take the pain anymore.

    "Are you talking to me like that?" Her mom snapped at her, and she scoffed.

    "What more can you do if not slap me again? Go ahead and do it. Slap me all you want, mom! What kind of a mother are you? Putting your self-interest first before your only child's happiness. Do you deserve to be called a mother?" She sneered at her mom, earning another hot slap from her, but the pain she felt on her cheeks, was nothing, compared to the one in her heart. 

    "If anything happened, you should fix your marriage, and not walk away..."

    "What marriage? The one you forced me into? The one you desperately wanted me in because of your selfish desire?" She scoffed as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

    "It was never his fault that he treated me like a piece of trash... He cheats on me with different women, and it was never his fault... You were the one that caused all these in the first place. If you had added value to your child, nobody would've dared treat me like this!" She sneered angrily.

    "All men cheat, Aliya, and that shouldn't give you the right to think you can walk out of the marriage just because he cheated on you!" She scoffed and nodded at her mom's words.

    "Dad... Has he ever cheated on you and rubbed it on your face?"

    "Aliya!"

    "The first time you suspected him, you were all crazy. You want me to take the pain you couldn't? Are you kidding me? Is your business now important me? What the heck am I even saying? It has always been," She smiled, revealing her perfect dentition, but there was pain, hidden in her smile.

    "Aliya!"

    "I have decided to end this shit of a marriage, and I am not going back to it," She slowly shook her head.

    "Aliya..."

    "Don't try to convince me, mom," She shook her head before she turned to go into the bathroom.

    "Please, help me. Knox is going to take everything away from us. He won't spare us. He...he...he will make our lives miserable. Please help me," She turned to see her mom on her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks, and at that instant, she felt her heart sink into her stomach. Will she still be able to hold on to her decision at this point, knowing what Knox could do to her family? Was it worth it to give up her happiness and freedom?

    She glanced at Knox, who had just been standing there all along, and she knew she was in a deep mess. This was the time to make her decision that will either set her free forever, or set her in bondage...