MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: VALZER D'INVERNO, ANDREA VANZO.
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The hot sun burned her skin, but it was nothing compared to the sting of humiliation clawing at her. Slowly, as if in a daze, she began to walk down the long, winding drive.
She tried to ignore the mocking laughter from George, Lia, and Claudia. Indeed she had nothing. She had no money, no house, no family, she was all alone with money. Harlow didn't even know where to start from with her baby. She held her stomach as she walked.
With every step, the weight of shame grew heavier. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, each beat reminding her of how low she had fallen, how little she had left. And then, from the shadows, she heard the laughter, the cruel, heartless laughter of servants who delighted in her suffering all the same.
Some pointed, others whispered to one another, their voices carrying on the cool night air. She has done nothing to these people, she barely even knew them.
"Look at her," one of them snickered, eyes glinting with malice.
"She's nothing but a disgrace," another murmured, not even bothering to hide the smirk on her lips.
The whispers sliced through her, each one like a fresh wound. She kept her head down, her vision blurring as tears gathered in her eyes, her cheeks burning with shame. Every time she dared glance up, she saw faces of servants twisted in mocking smiles, eyes alight with satisfaction at her misery. Not one looked away. Not one showed her the slightest trace of compassion.
She was alone, utterly and completely alone, surrounded by strangers who would remember this sight of her forever.
All Harlow wanted was to leave the Hamilton estate for good. She couldn't walk on the public road, so she used the private road, meant just for family members only. These parts would save her a little from the humiliation that has decided to plague her day.
She would figure out a way. All she needed was where to stay for tonight and she would figure the rest out. She will make them pay for everything they have done to her.
As Harlow moved slowly down the empty road, a sudden screech cut through the stillness. She barely had time to register the sound before a blinding set of headlights bore down on her, too fast, too close.
She tried to turn, but the impact came before she could react—a brutal force slamming into her and throwing her body through the air. For a brief moment, she felt weightless, suspended in a haze of pain and shock. Then, in an instant, it was over as she crashed against the hard, unyielding trunk of a tree, the force knocking the air from her lungs.
Pain exploded through her body, every nerve flaring with agony as she lay crumpled at the tree's base. Her vision blurred, the afternoon breeze swirling her in and out of focus. Somewhere in the distance, she heard muffled voices, someone shouting, but it felt far away, like a fading echo. She tried to move, but her body refused to respond, each attempt only adding to the searing pain radiating through her limbs.
Her baby...
Is her baby okay?
She couldn't afford to lose another child...