"She is like my daughter and she has nowhere else to go. There is nothing you can stay to stop her from staying here." Nitzan hear Lu Hua's voice.
"She is like your daughter but look at where we live, in this pigsty. If she cared about you as much as you care about her our lives would be better." He said and Nitzan's heart pinged with guilt.
"She is not responsible for paying me, moreover I am paid very well. We would be better off if you were not a lazy, jobless alcoholic who took all of my wages and spent it on drink."
"I don't care what you have to say, I am not going to let some formerly rich brat live with me." He roared and the next thing she heard was a door slamming shut then silence.
Nitzan took a deep breath and waited a few minutes before knocking on the door.
The door opened and Lu Hua stood there with a huge smile. "You are back Miss, come in."
Nitzan entered and smiled back at her.
"So tell me, how did it go?" She asked eagerly.
"The Cheng Family have asked me to move into their house." Nitzan lord as convincingly as she could and Lu Hua embraced her.
"I am so glad for you my sweet girl."
"Thank you so much for looking out for me and taking care of me but I am going to have to leave now." Nitzan said and the smile on Lu Hua's face dimmed.
"So soon? Won't you even eat something?" Lu Hua asked and Nitzan shook her head even though she could feel the hunger gnawing at her belly.
She had not eaten the whole day and at this rate she would not find food but she could not stay here any longer and cause further problems for Lu Hua.
"I already ate at the Cheng house, I could not eat any more." Nitzan said.
"Alright then, let me go get your things." Lu Hua said and went into the room.
Nitzan could hear voices lowered in argument and a little bit after, Lu Hua came out holding the boxes and smiling like nothing was amiss.
"Why don't we go and get you a taxi." She said and led Nitzan out of the house.
They got a taxi and Nitzan hugged her and got into the taxi. As the cab drove away, tears ran down her cheeks. Lu Hua was the only one who seemed to care about her and even that had been taken away from her.
She was twenty years old and this was the first time she was on her own, she had no life skill and had never worked so how was she supposed to cope now?
The only things she had of any worth was her father's wristwatch which she wore all the time and had mother's wedding ring. She was reluctant to part with these things but she knew that if she was going to survive then she would probably have to sell them.
She directed the cab to take her to cheap motel and he pulled up in front of a dingy building that looked like it was about to crumble to dust. With no other choice she entered the lobby. She would sleep here tonight and tomorrow go to a pawnshop and sell off her parents jewelry then find somewhere better to stay.
"Can I get a room please?" She asked the girl behind the counter who was glued to the television.
Without looking away from the screen she reached into a drawer and pulled out a key and pushed it across the table then mumbled, "the key tag has the room number, go and find it."
"Could you call the bell hop to help me carry my box to my room?" Nitzan asked timidly and the girl's eyes left the screen and landed on Nitzan then she started to laugh loudly.
"What do you think this is? Some five star hotel? Lady, the only services provided here are a room. If you want more then you are going to have to do it yourself or go to a more expensive hotel." She guffawed loudly and turned back to the soap opera playing on tv.
With a sigh Nitzan took the box herself even though she was bone tired and weak. After an arduous search, she found the room with the corresponding numbers on the key.
She let herself in and after she switched on the light, she crinkled her nose at the state of the room. The receptionist downstairs had not been mincing words when she said they did not offer any hotel services.
The only furniture in the room was a bed, a bedside table and a chipped lamp. The sheets looked like they had never been washed and the blanket was threadbare. Nitzan's skin crawled at the thought of laying on the bed and her stomach growled and reminded her that she had not eaten all day so she decided to dea with that problem first before coming back to face this one.
She went back to the lobby where she stood in front of the receptionist and asked, "Please could you direct me to where i could get some food to eat?"
"Down the street there are some street food vendors." She said again without looking away from the screen.
Nitzan had never had street food before and she feared that she would get food poisoning but there was no other alternative so she walked out of the hotel and started to walk down the street aimlessly, wishing that she had asked the receptionist for a better description but that lady had looked like she did not want to be bothered.
As she walked she ended up at a dark alley are realized had had definitely gone the wrong way so she turned back and was startled to see two men standing in front of her.
Alarm bells went ringing in her head as her gaze darted between the two men then nervously went to the ground and she started to walk away when one of the men slid in front of her, stopping her from going any further.
"Why are you leaving so soon sweetheart." He asked.
"Sorry, i just got a little lost. Let me not bother you." She said timidly and tried to step away from them but they both came before her again.
"Bother? Oh no pretty lady, we can help you." They insisted and Nitzan felt true fear. She could easily tell that these men were out to do some mischief and it was two against one, how was she going to get out of this? She glanced around, looking for some way to escape and hoping that someone would pass by and help her.
"Don't worry, we can take care of such a pretty lady as yourself." The other man said and Nitzan shivered with revulsion when she saw his yellowed teeth as he grinned.
"No no, you don't need to bother." Nitzan said as she took a step back and they followed her, their eyes greedily staring at her.
One of the men's hands shot up and Nitzan ducked just in time and ran through their middle, escaping them.
"Where do you think you are going you little bitch." One of the men snarled and Nitzan felt her hair being yanked back painfully and she felt arms wrapped around her.