It's been seven days since Mila left the clubhouse with marks on her breast and finger traces on her butt. Slowly, with the passing days, the soreness in her core had started to ease, but the cold remained. She kept sneezing and had a series of night fevers. This was as a result of being exposed to a lot of stress and the cold rain all at the same time.
And speaking of heartbreak, Mila was yet to move on from her boyfriend... to be more truthful, fiancé. Ken gave her a ring and promised they'd get married once he could afford a house in San Destro. But now he was having a child with another woman.
"Achoo!" Mila sneezed loudly as she cuddled herself with the fluffy duvet that made her look like a burrito.
"You really need to get better before you resume work," Ashley said, turning on the heater to warm up the room. "It's been almost a week now."
Mila raised her face, trying to stop her runny nose. "I told you I'm better," she said with a distorted voice.
"Like this?" Ashley pointed at the girl and sighed. "I'm not letting you go out to get yourself killed."
Mila shook her head. As much as she wanted to accept help and rest until she was feeling much better, she knew it wasn't possible. Her sister's friend was just being kind for the time being, and who is to say she won't decide to cut her off or have her new job taken away?
Mila pulled herself up. She needed to have a stable job and get herself together before going back to meet Ken. Right now, she had no money, nothing on her. Her last salary was used to get utensils for Ken's house. She had hoped to use the next salary for herself, but now she was laid off without a salary. If she needed to fight for her man, Mila knew she needed to be stable and not a liability.
Ken always told her he hated liabilities. That was why Mila struggled to meet up to his standards. Despite not having good grades or a smart brain like him, she tried to at least be the woman she thought Ken deserved, supportive and hardworking. But turns out, to Ken, she was being childish.
"I'm better; I know my body," Mila said, trying to sound strong. "If I stay here for too long, wrapped like this, I won't be able to get anything done."
Ashley hesitated, staring at the girl worriedly. "Are you sure?"
"Very sure," Mila nodded. She could feel her body shaking, but this wasn't the time. She had to be strong for Ken, for herself, and their future family together. This would be a tale she would tell their future children. There was no glory without pain. Mila nodded to herself.
Ashley twitched her lips and sighed. "I'd have really not asked you to do something tedious because I owe Lacie, but darling," she sat down on the bed and touched Mila's hair, "life here in San Destro is too harsh... I can barely survive alone. You understand, right?"
Mila nodded. She was grateful to the young woman. So far, she had been good to her, feeding and nursing her back to health.
"Good. I already had a room above mine cleaned out for you. This is the cheapest apartment your starting salary can afford, but seeing how tenacious you are, I'm sure you'll climb the ladder soon."
Mila begged to differ. If that was true, why wasn't she ever promoted at work? To the reception, maybe, then she would look even more attractive to Ken. Well, it wasn't Ashley's problem. It was her ill luck.
"Um... so what will be my job exactly?"
Ashley smiled. "Well, you, my darling, will be working with the marketing team. Since you graduated from an unknown college in Pergoliva, and your grades are crying...but....your marketing skills are top notch! you'll be the newbie in the marketing team. Montclair baby."
Mila drew her brows together. She felt her cheeks turn red.
"I'm joking," Ashley nudged her playfully, then shrugged. "Not," she remarked with a serious tone.
"Actually, your file and everything about you were sent to the director, so I got to meet with your team leader, and this was what she said to me. Also you resume work next week, don't worry, the office is not same as the club."
Mila nodded. She felt a mild contraction in her lower stomach, and she adjusted. It was a feeling she got only when on her period, which wasn't due until the last week of the month.
"So, love, you'll be trained for a month, and then you have your own company card... I mean, other necessary things will be sent out to you."
Mila felt it again, the contraction, and this time it came with a discharge. She stood up, crawling out of the duvet.
"I need to pee," she said with a small voice, then ran into the toilet.
When she pulled down her panties, Mila noticed a tiny spot of blood, and she groaned.
"No, not now..." she cried out loud enough for Ashley to hear her.
Ashley knocked on the door. "What is it, honey?"
"My period!" Mila whined, feeling exhausted already. "It's out."
"You're fucked, girl," Ashley cursed. "Sit tight; I'll go get you sanitary pads."
Mila nodded, rubbing her stomach. She didn't need this distraction right now. And she always ended up having serious cramps during her periods! Mila didn't want to look like she was lazy and slacking first day at work, but if this was her period, she was doomed for real.
Another moment that made her think of Ken. During her period, he would speak to her on the phone all night and even sing for her. It made the pain mild, or so she thought. But now Ken wasn't there, and she didn't know what to do.
"I can do it," Mila rubbed her stomach. She wasn't going to let any stupid period cramp stop her from going to work. As Ashley had said, she'd already used up a week trying to recover. Now she was going to use the other days to prove to Ken that she was still the woman he loved, and that would be by working hard.
Mila sat there on the toilet seat, wondering what would be in store for her in the days to come and especially at her new place of work, where she would be resuming the following week. What the young woman missed was the implantation that had just occurred inside of her.