Luckily, she only suffered minor injuries. She had a bit of a concussion, a left black eye, and some bruises on her elbows and arms. Grandma Carolina rushed to the clinic where she was and cried as she apologized over and over. She did not press charges against Jake. He eventually sobered and wanted to see her so he could apologize but grandma Carolina told him off. Grandma Grace told her that if Jake ever bothered her again, then all she needed to do was to call and she would make sure that her grandson would help her.
It was her first time experiencing such violence that her mind was still blank the next day. She did not have many things to do that day since the packing ended earlier because of the grannies' help. She decided to just go shopping to take her mind elsewhere. She was riding a bus when the lady next to her started talking to her.
"Oh hi!" The lady cheerfully greeted.
"Uhm… Hi."
"You might not remember me since it has been so long. My daughter couldn't forget you because of your hair. She demanded me to buy a doll with the same hair color."
She finally remembered the lady and her daughter. Just her daughter is not there with her.
"How is she?" She politely asked.
"She is doing wonderful. In fact, today is a special day for us. It's her birthday and I have forgotten to buy a cake so I am going there now."
"I see."
"That is my brother's bakeshop. If you have time then please check it out. It is getting so popular these days."
She loves sweets and she suddenly felt a strong craving upon hearing it.
"Do you mind if I go with you?"
"No, not at all!"
They chatted a lot until they reached the bakeshop. The lady was so cheerful and so easy to talk to. They have been talking for so long and later realized that they did not know each other's names. Her name is Dianne and she and her family just recently moved to the city. They ordered some desserts and coffee and stayed in the bakeshop to chat some more.
"You know what, come over to my house. I prepared so much food and my husband won't be home early anyway. I'm sure Rianne will be happy to see you."
"Oh no, I couldn't possibly…"
"Oh look at the time. Let's go pick up Rianne at her school and then go to my house."
She was swept away by the lively lady and the next thing she knew was that they were in front of Rianne's school gate. Rianne got so excited upon seeing her and began introducing her to her friends. They got to their home and it was in one of those expensive condos in the city. She played dolls with Rianne as Dianne prepared the table. They were eventually called to the table and sang a happy birthday song.
She felt awkward wearing her sunglasses and Dianne noticed it.
"You don't have to remove it if you don't want to. I promise that I won't mind," Dianne said.
She smiled and they started to eat. After a while, Rianne went to watch TV and the two of them were left on the table. She removed her sunglasses and shared what happened.
"Sorry, I just did not want Rianne to see it." She said.
"My daughter is perceptive but it won't be easy to explain further, so thank you for being considerate."
She shook her head.
"I had a long-time boyfriend before I met my husband. He was violent and he often, you know. Anyways, all I could do was just run away from him. I could not even fight back and so I admire you for kicking and elbowing the bastard's face. Cheers to that!"
They finished the desserts and it was already time for her to go. Rianne was already sleeping on the couch, and so she could not say goodbye anymore. Dianne walked her to the door and it opened before she could touch the knob. A tall and slender man appeared with a big smile on his face.
"Hi, honey! Oh, who is this?"
"This is Ena. The lady that Rianne could not stop talking about. I saw her on my way to my brother's bakeshop and so I invited her over. Ena, this is Carl, my husband."
"It's nice to meet you. Sorry for suddenly barging into your home."
"Not at all. We are just new here so I'm happy that my wife can meet some new friends."
She can already tell that Carl is also as nice as his lively wife.
"Dear, you are blocking the way. Ena has to go home now."
"Oh sorry, I was waiting for Aidan. He is carrying a huge box so I was about to hold out the door for him."
She froze at the sound of his name. She just shook the possibility that he was talking about the same guy, but she still felt agitated. She wanted to leave right away but Carl was still blocking the doorway while looking sideways. She could hear the footsteps getting closer and finally, he appeared.
"Hi, Aidan! What a pleasant surprise!" Dianne delightfully said.
She could not take her eyes off him. It was really him. He looked dashing as ever. His eyes were focused on Dianne and she froze when his gaze turned to her.
"Oh, this is Ena. My new friend," Dianne, introduced.
"Is Rianne still awake?" He asked.
"Oh, uh, she is in the living room…"
Dianne was also unnerved by his cold response to her and Aidan just walked inside. She noticed that Ena also did not look well.
"Uh, Ena? Are you alright?"
"Thank you again for inviting me to dinner. I should go now."
She did not know how she got out of that building. She could not explain what she was feeling. He acted as if he did not know her. She thought of that possibility before and even envisioned it before she slept, but experiencing it is a hundred times worse than imagining it. She feels like there is a stake firmly lodged in her heart. She could not move freely and she could only hear her heavy breaths. Her eyes were just wide open and her mind was in complete chaos. For a moment she was blaming herself for screwing it all up, but then she tried to calm herself.
"No, this may be for the best. This is for the best." She told herself.
She sighed heavily and then looked at the moving traffic. A taxi was about to come and she was about to raise her hand when she was stopped by an arm wrapping around her shoulders, trapping her in a warm embrace that she became all too familiar with. Aidan did not say anything. They stayed like that for a moment when she finally turned to face him.
"Aidan, we should talk."