As the sun started to set bathing the sky in a gorgeous orange and pink glow, a white car raced down an empty road surrounded by tall trees. The lone driver of the car clutched the steering wheel as tears spilled from her eyes but she didn't slow down. She angrily wiped the hot tears as her breathing became shallower. Her phone rang loudly on the passenger seat, she glanced at the phone screen to see the caller ID.
SYLVAN flashed on the screen and she turned away from the phone and focused on the road ahead. She took a few long breaths trying to calm herself but failed miserably. A memory surfaced in her mind.
"Sylvan destroyed you once, do you think he can't do that again? He burns everything he touches, Kaya. He will burn you too. If don't leave him now, he would take everything from you and you would have nothing. Nothing!"
Those words echoed in her mind and she screamed as her throat closed up.
"But he saved me!"
But did he? The question instantly appeared in her mind and maybe to hurt her a little more, her mind recalled Sylvan's last words to her before she left.
"I told you I don't fall, Kaya. I don't love. Then how did you believe that I loved you?"
Kaya's heart twisted at the very recent and fresh memory but she threw her head back and laughed. She laughed at her foolishness, her stupidity, and the fact that she believed her heart and not her brain.
She knew they were trapped in this vicious circle from the beginning. He saved her, then pushed her down into the depths and saved her again to continue the circle. How did she think this time it would be different?
"I . . . shouldn't have . . . loved you . . ." She muttered blinking hard as the wind stung her eyes. "I really shouldn't have . . . fallen for a . . . guy like you."
Her vision completely blurred with tears and she knew she should slow down the car but hearing her still ringing phone she recklessly stepped on the accelerator and sped up. He was still calling her for what?
Kaya was about to wipe her new tears away when suddenly she heard a loud horn ahead and before she could understand what was happening, at a bend of the road a truck appeared from the opposite direction towards her. It was already too close, Kaya tried to swerve out of the truck's path but lost control.
Her car came off the road and its speed carried it faster and faster towards the trees. Kaya tried to hit the breaks but it was too late. She crashed into an enormous tree. The windshield of her car cracked and broke. The impact threw Kaya back and she hit her head hard. Blood soaked her off-white dress until it was dark crimson. The last thing she heard was her still ringing phone before everything went dark.
⁂⁂⁂
[Eleven Months Ago.]
The bustle of the small quaint cafe started to wear down as the morning rolled into noon. Glancing at the clock Kaya Sah finished up her last order and untied her apron.
"Stacy, I'm heading out," Kaya called out to the other barista in the back.
"K, wait up," Stacy, a tall girl with her distinctive short bright pink dyed hair, quickly came rushing out of the kitchen and handed Kaya a packet. "I know you missed breakfast. Take this and please finish it before you start working again."
"Stacy, you don't have to do this every time, you know," Kaya said hesitantly taking the packet but her stomach growled at the smell of freshly made pasty.
"I think your stomach disagrees with you and thanks me for not letting you skip breakfast every day," Stacy gave a smile and Kaya rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
"I don't skip breakfast every day," Kaya shrugged. "Anyway, see you tonight. Bye."
Kaya moved to leave but Stacy caught hold of Kaya's hand.
"Wait, tonight? Again, Kaya?" Stacy grew serious and her face darkened as she took in Kaya's tired eyes and dark circles. "You were here last night too. If you work overtime again, when will you sleep? Kaya, you are overworking yourself again, aren't you?"
Kaya pulled her hand back from Stacy and averting her eyes she picked up her bag.
"I'm fine, Stacy, really. Don't worry. I slept for a few hours yesterday. See you later."
Before Stacy could say anything else Kaya rushed out of the door. She didn't need to turn back to know how angry and worried Stacy looked at that moment.
As Kaya got onto the bus to get to her second job of the day, she pulled out the pasty and sighed biting into it. Her eyes burned slightly from lack of sleep, and her hands shook a little because of the five coffees she had. Needless to say, she lied to Stacy, she did not sleep for a couple of hours, more like she fell asleep for an hour browsing on her phone to see if there were any more jobs she could take so that she could stop working the night shift at the cafe and stop worrying Stacy. And she did find some places that needed people at night but all of them were bars and clubs. Now the problem with this was, though Kaya was desperate for money, clubs and she had a bad history and even now just thinking about clubs gave her panic attacks.
Kaya stared at the last bite of her pasty and smiled bitterly. At least, she had a good breakfast.
Kaya's second job and the highest paying one was at a high-end designer clothing store, thanks to her little bit of fashion sense she impressed some people and got the job. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough at these places.
"Kaya, the manager is looking for you," another employee of the shop said as soon as Kaya entered the changing room to get into her uniform.
"Right now?" Kaya asked surprised.
"Yes, he asked me to send you to his office as soon as you arrive," the employee muttered before getting back to her work.
Kaya looked around at the other employees as a thought struck her, there was a talk about a raise for some of the staff, could she be one of them? Feeling a little brighter at the idea, Kaya walked to the manager's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." The manager's voice came.
"You called me, Sir?"
Kaya peeked inside the manager's office and her stomach sank. The manager, Daniel did not look happy as glanced up at Kaya.
"Yes. You are fired!"
"What?" Panicked, Kaya scrambled inside the office but before she could say anything else Daniel held up a hand to stop her from talking.
"Do you know what happened this morning, Kaya? Miss Clement called and what does she say?" Daniel spat angrily glaring. Miss Clement was never good news. "She screams at me that you packed a wrong-sized dress yesterday and then proceeds to call me names as she doesn't know what to wear on the first day of her sweet sixteen birthday month! Do you know how much trouble I had to go through to deliver her dress on a cruise ship today? ON A CRUISE SHIP, KAYA! A CRUISE SHIP THAT HAD LEFT THE PORT!!"
Daniel looked livid as slammed his hand down on the desk and Kaya shrank back but she still tried to explain herself calmly. It wasn't really her fault.
"But sir, Miss Clement herself —"
"I haven't told you the worst part yet," Daniel interrupted with another glare. "Miss Clement's tantrum got so big that, the owner of the brand Mrs. River got a call from Mr. Clement and they called me and reprimanded me for my ignorance. Because of your moronic behavior, I was about to be fired! I already warned you, Kaya! I get one more complaint from our customers and you are out."
"But, Sir, I really did pack everything she —"
"I don't care about your excuses," Daniel shook her head. "Out! Now!"
"But Miss Clement insisted —"
"Out!" Daniel shouted almost backing her to the door.
Kaya ran out. She didn't stop until she was at the bus stop near the shop. Her hands were cold, her heart hammering, she felt like screaming at the injustice at that moment. She worked her best there every day, even after getting cursed at by rich and entitled brats of customers. She swallowed her pride and was treated like dirt but still didn't say anything because she needed this job more than anything and now, she was fired. Just like that. And for that Miss Clement.
Kaya held her head in her face as tears threatened to spill. What was she supposed to do now? She needed money. The cafe's money wouldn't be enough. . .
Kaya's phone rang and she picked it up without looking. But as soon as the smooth cool voice came from the other side, Kaya froze.
"Miss Sah, you need to come to the hospital right away. Your mother's health had taken a bad turn."