VALENTINA POV

I sighed holding my head. Rita gave me herbal tea to calm me. We sat on the stool near the kitchen. She sat beside me with worry all over her face.

This is crazy, I thought. Why such a dirty way to make my life miserable. This is why I never got a job. He... no, they spread rumors all around the city about how bad of a wife I was.

They had money, yeah. They had power, yeah. But.. Were they not satisfied that I was divorced by Dean, their successor?

I rubbed my face. Took a deep breath and prayed not to burst out in tears.

"What should I do, Rita? " I asked her with a shaky voice, trying to contain my emotions.

"Oh, darling. I'm so sorry this is happening to you, " she rubbed my back and gave me a side hug. She's such a hugger and I loved it.

My third problem was bigger than the first two. I was divorced, and I was still fine. But when I lost my baby that broke my heart. My life was not that lucky. But this.. This was too much. I felt like I was a fugitive living in my own city.

"If.. If you need a job, Valentina, I can help you a little, " Rita asked me with doubt in her words.

"You're already helping me, Rita. Thank you is not enough to say, " I held her hand that squeezed gently on my arm.

"It's okay, darling. I love to help people," she smiled at me. "Here.. My friend is looking for someone to make an order in the kitchen. The diner is just 4 to 5 blocks to the right turn from here. I can ask her, hmm? "

"But... "

"Hush! You are a sweet woman helping me with house chores. You deserve better. "

"It's like I'm taking you for granted, Rita, " my voice was a little bit shaky but I kept my composure.

"No, darling. You can pay me later if you think like that. But first, " she held my face and like a mother, she gave me a gentle smile as she wiped my lone tear with her thumb. "Let's get you a job. People will never know that some billionaire's ex-wife is in the back room. It's okay. "

"Thank you, " I mused, grateful for everything she had done for me. Returning the hug she had given.

She's such a sweet old woman and I was sad she's living here all alone while her children live across the country. Well yeah, one time her children visited her, but that's all. And I didn't want to assume or judge her family. I never met them.

*

It's been 6 months since I started working in the diner. It's not small or big either but it's just enough for me to save and pay Rita back. It's the least I could do.

I loved my boss. They were a sweet old couple. They were like second parents to me. The first time they gave me a job was not because of pity. Their reaction was unpredictable seeing my face damaged and in need of a job. They didn't have any children so they loved me like their own. And my paycheck was good. Don't forget the tips.

My job was easy besides cooking. I wore a mask to prevent my coworkers from seeing my ugly face and the main reason was I couldn't stand the smell of food too much because I would sneeze unrelentingly. Really, after everything happened to me and the pregnancy hormone changed me.

I still remember the time. That's when she helped me when I was being discharged from the hospital. She helped me to pick my suitcase up in the Trump hotel. She gave me a roof to live in. She let me do the chores around the house and even did the gardening. And when I have time I would like to find a job.

It's been years since I had a job. I was single from the start when I had it. It took me working hard and saving to buy my luxury apartment and fancy car. But those all were gone when I was divorced. I didn't know why but it was written in the prenup that I never knew.

WOW. Just wow. That's all my hard work and it's gone like that. And I couldn't take it back. They had power and money. Nobody wanted to have a problem with them, not even a trial.

And one night when I was on my way home, I didn't feel like being stalked or spied on. But when I closed the front door, someone threw stones and something like gasoline in the bottles. They did blow like fireworks but those caused damage pretty badly.

Me being the only one in the house was freaking out, screaming then hurried to make my way out. I called 911 and they didn't have a solution. They just told me to be careful and they would track them down.

Thank GOD, Rita was on her night shift. But I would face her tomorrow and I didn't want to see her sad to see her lovely house had broken windows and some properties inside.

And this morning we had a heart to heart conversation.

"It's okay, really. It's not the first time this has happened to me. Don't worry, " she said, sipping her cup.

But I couldn't buy her words. It's all over her face that showed she was again worried and what was it? Sad?

My brain started to work. It's not the teenagers who did it but I knew they wanted me. And the only way I could save her was to move out. But I couldn't say that to her. It will only give her more headache.

A few weeks had passed. We pretended it never really happened. But it became worse. In a week, they did it 2 or 3 times. And after 4 weeks they came to my work place.

I already brought trouble to Rita. We fixed this and I paid the bill. But it's too much. They liked doing this just like they did sport.

And the worst thing, I didn't want anything like this to happen. I prayed for them not to follow me at work but of course to my luck, they did.

I didn't want to cause bad things to everyone. I made up my mind and I had to move out.

The last thing that motivated me was when Rita's house was damaged worse than before.

She had already reached her retirement age and I convinced her to sell the house and move to her children's place.

At first it was hard to have an argument with a hard headed person like her. I didn't want to cause any more damage. Because they didn't like me and it didn't mean to destroy people's property that cared for me.

And me being the hard headed too, I called all her children and explained to them. They agreed to my decision and they eventually called their mother to offer their house to make her stay. And they're sweet children. Really.

She couldn't refuse her children's offer so she made her final decision. She would move to her first child to see the situation because her other children wanted her to live with them as well. She loves to stay with them and they don't mind at all.

See, that's why I said they're so sweet.

The house was sold and the money was going to her. She wanted to give me some but I refused. Even me wanting to pay the damages and everything.

She refused too but I didn't lose any idea. I transferred it to her bank account and she didn't notice. At least I didn't take her for granted. I gave her half of my savings. Almost everything I meant.

The day arrives for her flight. And us being dramatic, we cried to our heart's content.

In the short moment we stayed together as a family of two but I never denied our connection as a mother and daughter even though she's not my real parent but I did think of her like my own.

"Be careful, darling. Stay away from the bad people," she said to me after she hugged me.

This was it. Our goodbye. I never thought this moment would come.

"I will, Rita, " I held my tears but they were already falling. "Can I call you Mom for the last time? "

"Of course. I am always waiting for it and it's coming now when we have to say goodbyes. Really, Valentina? "

I chuckled at her joke. She still does it after all this time. She was so nice. And I cried hard.

"Don't cry, my child. It's okay, " she cooed at me and giving me a hug again.

" I will miss you, Mom, " I finally said. " It's been a long time since I have called someone by that name. "

" It's okay. They are already in a better place. The person who hit your parents car is still in prison. They are paying for what they did, darling. "

"But it doesn't make my parents alive, " I somehow said it frustratedly.

"You have me, " she was still hugging me.

"But you will fly at any moment now, " I said stubbornly.

"We will stay in touch, darling. "

And her flight was calling. She gave me one last hug and kissed me on the cheeks. I did the same.

We waved at each other until I couldn't see her.

And now I had to resign from my workplace and find a new one. I hope I can survive. I did it for them.

_____

Edited by maekavely