Punch… It's always depressing, no matter how much I look at it, Elara sighed heavily. 

Elara Caba was walking home after work on a cold winter day, staring at her meager paycheck while calculating her expenses for the next two weeks. 

The result was just as disappointing as the previous pay period… 

"Well, whatever, I guess. I'll just have to make do as always…" she thought, pulling her Bluetooth earbuds from her pocket. 

They were the only valuable thing she owned, and she had saved for months just to buy them. 

Placing the earbuds in her ears, she continued her walk home while listening to a new album that had dropped earlier that morning. 

On the way, she passed by several young couples, and the bitterness she already felt about her miserable salary only grew stronger with these constant reminders of her eternal loneliness. 

Elara wasn't particularly attractive to most people. 

She was about 5'4" (1.65 meters), an African-American girl with a bit of extra weight and her hair tied up in a messy bun. 

The glasses on her round face seemed to stay in place with nothing but tape and sheer faith. 

Her only standout feature was her bright almond-colored eyes, which, under the sun, looked like they were bathed in gold. But even that wasn't enough to save her from life's constant beatings. 

Bang! 

Elara, distracted by thoughts of games and other things, accidentally bumped into a young couple. The girl, about her age, fell to the ground and spilled her drink all over her boyfriend's pristine white sneakers. 

—"Shit! I'm so sorry, are you okay?"— Elara asked, panic in her voice. 

—"No, I'm not okay, you fat bitch! You knocked me down!"— the girl shouted with obvious disgust. 

—"I know, I know, I'm really sorr—" 

POW! 

Elara couldn't finish her apology before a punch landed on her jaw, sending her straight to the ground. 

The girl's boyfriend, Daniel, was still in shock over what had happened, but his anger exploded when he saw his ruined sneakers. He had saved up for weeks to buy them just to impress his girlfriend on their date, and now some nobody had ruined everything. 

He wasn't going to let it slide. 

—"You piece of shit! How are you going to make up for this, huh?"— Daniel growled, taking two quick steps forward and pressing his foot down onto Elara's chest. She was still struggling to stay conscious after the sudden blow. 

By then, a crowd had already gathered around. 

No one helped Elara. 

Instead, people pulled out their phones to record and laughed at the scene, throwing out insults while she lay on the ground with Daniel's foot on her chest. 

—"I'm sorr—" 

Crack! 

Elara tried to apologize again, but pain interrupted her as she felt her sternum give way under the brutal pressure. 

—"AGHHHH!" 

—"Oh, sorry, woman, my bad! With all that fat on your chest, I didn't think I'd actually break anything,"— Daniel said with a cruel smile. 

For Elara, none of that mattered. 

Her world was spinning. 

The pain was so intense that she could barely remember where she was. Breathing was getting harder with each passing second. 

—"Daniel, can we go? The vibe is ruined, and I'm cold,"— the girl, Sophie, complained. 

But she wasn't asking out of pity for Elara. 

She was cheating on Daniel with another guy, and with so many cameras recording, she was worried that her other boyfriend might see the videos and find out. 

—"Huh? Oh, sure, Sophie." 

The aggressive and dominant Daniel from a moment ago vanished instantly. He removed his foot from Elara's chest to walk away with his girlfriend. 

But before leaving, he bent down and rummaged through Elara's pockets, pulling out the little money she had. 

—"Tsk, what a broke bitch. This isn't even enough to buy me another pair of sneakers,"— he scoffed, showing the money to Sophie as they walked away. 

—"What did you expect, babe? Look at her shitty clothes. It was obvious she didn't have real money,"— she responded, laughing maliciously as she clung to Daniel's arm and rested her head on his shoulder. 

—"Though, I have to say, you looked really sexy just now… Let's go back to your place, and I'll give you a nice reward for defending me." 

Daniel grinned from ear to ear. 

If useless nobodies like Elara kept showing up every day, he wouldn't complain… As long as they kept bringing him blessings like this.