"This is the best sleep I have had in forever," she murmured.

The bed was wide enough to fit six girls of her size. Rolling around in the newly found heaven, she smiled and tried to go back to sleep.

Lost in her little found joy, she was startled by the sound of water pouring.

She jumped off the bed so fast and ended up twisting her ankle. It hurt so much that tears brewed in her eyes. She covered her mouth not to alert the other supposed party and tried to catch her breath.

"Where am I? was the only question running through her mind.

Looking around the room, she noticed the difference between it and her own room. "This is not my room," she panicked.

Rummaging around the bed, she tried to find her clothes until she lifted the white bedcovers.

There it was, staring her in the face, evidence of lost innocence. She cried and regretted everything she did yesterday.

"Why did I rebel against them?" She cried.

Finding her clothes, she dressed up and left the room as though someone was on her tail.

As she ran along the corridors, she realized she was in some fancy hotel. She was so scared, wondering if she had been kidnapped. Clipped images of last night started coming back to her, but the whole picture of how she got there was vague.

She had run away from home because her selfish aunt wanted to marry her off to some old creep. The said groom was supposed to come the previous day with his family for the first meet-up.

Due to fear of being married to an older man, she stayed at work till late. Then, she helped others with their shifts and followed them to the club.

She wanted to miss the dinner with her so-called husband-to-be. So she switched off her phone so no one could reach her.

When she got out of the hotel, she realized how big and classy it was. However beautiful, admiring it was the last thing on her mind. She had to find out about the time because the sun was already out.

Looking around, hoping to single out someone to ask, she realized everyone was dressed so fancily. Would any of them stop and talk to her, judging by how she looked? She looked like a whore returning after a booty call. How shameful. None of them looked friendly enough for her to speak to, aside from the guard standing at the door.

She greeted him politely, but he looked at her a certain way, just like everyone else, but she could care less. Time was the only thing on her mind. She asked him about the time and then she realized how late she was for work. She had twenty minutes left before her shift started.

"thank you," she said and tried to walk as fast as possible since she had no extra cash for a cab. Her ankle still hurt, and she still had on Amber's heels. They worsened her situation because they were too high. She had to make it to the cafe before her boss.

With bosses like Mr. Harold, one had to avoid any situation that would put them in trouble. The café was about a forty-minute walk from the Grand Villa hotel. Increasing her pace with a painful ankle was torture, but she had to endure it.

After not returning home yesterday, she could only imagine what her aunt must be cooking up in her head as a form of punishment. But, in her mind, whatever her aunt was planning was enough, and she wouldn't want to add her boss to the list of people who were about to scold her.

Malia had tried with everything in her to be as normal and hardworking as everyone else, but her life seemed stagnant without a way forward. She wanted to leave the couple that raised her, but the constant emotional blackmail from her aunt always drew so much guilt out of her, and she, in turn, erased all the thoughts of possibly running away from them.

"you are needed out at the parking yard," her colleague startled her. Realizing that she had zoned out, Malia adjusted her uniform and headed out. She wondered who was looking for her since her only friend was working with her inside the café and the only people she knew were back at home, or at least she thought so. Her subconscious begged for a different result despite her heart pointing towards her scary aunt and uncle.

However, to her disappointment, parked right in front of her was the shiny black car her uncle drove. That car was his pride; sometimes, it looked like he loved it more than his wife. I mean, look how clean and shiny the car looked. Her heart screamed for her to go back into the café when she remembered that her boss hated drama around his work area, especially one created by the restaurant employees.

Too late, an angry petit woman stormed out of the car after seeing her, and Malia smelled trouble. She reeked of fear with a strong smell, and her heart joined her eyes. Such a tiny-looking woman made her want to pee in her pants on several occasions just by looking at her.

Adjusting her mood, she moved toward them. Mrs. Holand practically fed on her fear. The more fear she sensed coming from her, the more she grew the dark horns of evil.

'be brave, be brave,' she sang the little mantra as she got closer to the couple standing before her. They had to come straight to her workplace seemed severe.

'What are you guys doing here?" she asked, sounding as brave as she made herself look.

After coming closer, the answer she received was a hard slap on her right cheek. She looked up and saw her aunt looking back at her. The hatred was so vivid in her eyes. The slap dag deep to the bones on her left cheek, and her eyes started to brim with tears, but she knew not to let them flow before Mrs. Holand.

'how rude. I remember teaching you how to be polite. Is that how you speak to us?'

'I am sorry. Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Holand'. Malia corrected. She always swallowed the little pride in her to uplift the selfish woman's ego. Malaika had to bow her head and apologize to her as she wanted.

She was so scared of her aunt. Tears were brewing in her eyes, but she could not let them fall. Before her aunt, weakness was a way of inviting more insults and beating.

'Why didn't you come back home yesterday?' her uncle probed

Shoot, Malaika felt her feet almost give up. Where she was was not somewhere the couple should know, and she would be a fool to reveal. Of course, she will not disclose the bar part with her colleagues, and wherever the night had ended will be her little secret to the grave

'where else could she be if not with some men? I told you we shouldn't take her in, but you would not listen' the venom in her aunt's voice could barely go unnoticed. She hated the little 'devil' to the core.

When her aunt mentioned her being with some men, Malia couldn't refute it because she was right, although it was just a single guy as her friend had described earlier. However, guilt lay deep in her eyes, and she knew how her actions had filled her with such regret.

'Are you even listening to me?' She was pulled out of her thoughts after being nudged by her uncle

To her, Malia was a thorn in her skin. Marrying her off was the perfect way to get rid of her, but the girl was unwilling.

'Am sorry, aunt. I was out with my workmates the words trembled out of her.

'I am not your aunt. So do not refer to me like that.'

Mrs. Holand opened the car door, dragged a bag out, and threw it at Malaika's feet. As though cold water had been poured on her body, she felt chills. Then, tears started rolling out of her eyes because she knew she was now homeless.

She wanted to beg them not to throw her out, but something deep inside gripped her lips. It was her saving grace. She always wanted to run away from these two, but there was no chance. Maybe it was better to find her own life, she thought. They provided the opportunity on a platter before her, and she would be a fool not to take it.