Episode 3

Katy

I arrive home at 8:40 PM. Sebastian lives in a "triplex" penthouse apartment in a luxury building in New York City, which also houses the headquarters of his technology company. He is one of the richest and most successful men currently, just like his best friends, Henrico, Dimitre, and Max. They studied together at Harvard and have been friends ever since...

I leave the wine and the charcuterie board in the kitchen on the first floor. I take off my shoes, as my feet are aching badly... From the kitchen, I hear laughter and voices on the second floor where the game room is... The bedrooms are on the third floor... I'll go up to say hello to them before going up to the bedroom to take my relaxing bath…

Just as I'm about to knock on the door and go in, I hear Dimitre's voice...

Dimitre — So now, Seb, since you won the bet, what are you going to do with the waitress? Have you already picked up the key to your yacht? You can even rename it, hahaha.

Max — That's right, Seb. What are you going to do now? Are you going to dump the poor girl now that you got what you wanted, to show you could get any woman and keep her smitten for 6 months, introduce her to society as if she were one of us...

Rico — I think this joke went too far... you could have gone out with her, even taken her to bed, and then dumped her. You didn't need to stay with her all this time, Seb, and now what's going to become of her... and another thing, you didn't even need a new yacht... yours is great, by the way... I don't like these games that involve other people's lives…

Sebastian — Calm down, guys, hahaha. I'm not going to dump her yet; I'm not done with her yet... no one has ever pleased me in bed like she does... I'll only dump her when I get tired of her... and that hasn't happened yet, hahaha.

Max — Could it be my friend is in love? Hahaha.

Dimitre — Soon he'll be proposing to the waitress, hahahahaha.

Sebastian — I'm not going to propose to anyone, no... first, because I don't plan on getting married anytime soon... second, when I do get married, it will have to be to someone of my class. I need a wife who knows how to navigate the society I live in, who knows how to receive my guests at business dinners. And another thing, I want children, and I can't have children with just anyone... especially not a woman so simple and uneducated... what kind of children would they be...

Rico — Snob, hahahahaha.

My ears are ringing; I faintly hear them laughing at what Rico said… When I come to my senses, I'm sitting on the floor, leaning against the door... tears stream down my face; I cover my mouth to keep from making a sound, I don't want them to hear me... With great effort, I get up and go up the stairs to our bedroom... I'm in despair; I can't stop crying and trembling... I've never felt such immense pain inside me... it feels like my heart is being torn apart... how could I have been so stupid... it was right in front of my face all this time... the way he introduced me to others... not caring that I worked as a waitress... I was just a joke to them... My God, what did I do to deserve this humiliation from them...

I look for a backpack in the closet, trying to do things as quietly as possible. I haphazardly stuff into the backpack only the clothes I brought when I came here... I don't want anything of his... not the designer dresses, nor the bags and jewelry, much less the expensive shoes... I gather my few things and my documents... I try to calm myself and go down the stairs very slowly and quietly... they are still in the game room, laughing and talking loudly... I cover my ears, as I don't want to hear anything more that comes from their mouths... I believe they've been drinking for hours, but that doesn't change what they said... 6 months... 6 months being an idiot... a joke to them…

I manage to leave the apartment; once on the sidewalk, I hail a taxi and get in... when I sit in the car, I start breathing again; I hadn't even realized I was holding my breath... And now? Where do I go? I can't stay in this city anymore; I won't be able to... I need to run away; I never want to have to look Sebastian in the face again... how could I love a man so much whom I didn't even know... Lord, this can't be love... this has to pass... it hurts so much... The taxi driver keeps looking at me, waiting for me to tell him where to go... I wipe away my tears, ashamed, and ask him to take me to the airport... I have my savings; I'll buy a ticket to anywhere, and then I'll figure out what to do with my life and my baby's... My God! There's still the baby... for a moment, I forgot I was carrying a life...

My phone beeps, signaling a new message... I check the time: 9:30 PM. Not even an hour has passed since I arrived and heard everything they said... but to me, it feels like hours... I'm exhausted, my body heavy... The message is from Sebastian, asking if I get off work at 11 today and what I want for dinner... he hasn't realized I was there yet, because I left the things I brought in the kitchen... I turn off my phone... On poker nights, they always play until around midnight; after I arrive and take a bath, they leave... This is good because it gives me time to catch my flight, wherever it may be, and disappear…

I arrive at the airport and look for the first flight departing within the United States; I can't go abroad because I don't have a passport... The first flight leaving in 20 minutes is to Dallas... it'll have to be that one... once I get there, I'll see where I go... I buy the ticket, check in, and before I know it, I'm on the plane, taking off...

I cry the entire flight... all of this is too much for me... I've never experienced such a profound disappointment... When I lost my parents, I was only 3 years old. I grew up in an orphanage and have no memories of my parents or the accident that took them... after I turned 18 and left the orphanage, I went to live with Ana, who was also 18 and left with me... We rented a tiny, very simple apartment because it was all we could afford on a waitress's salary... I couldn't go to college because what I earned was only enough for food and rent... but I always had dreams, I always wanted more... however, life hadn't been easy for me, and doors never open for someone who came from an orphanage and has no roots...

We arrive in Dallas, and I still haven't thought about what to do or where to go... The city is very big, just like New York, and I don't want to stay in a city like this... my experience in a city like this wasn't good, and I don't want to raise my child here... but I need to save money... so I take a taxi and ask to be taken to the bus station. Once there, I'll look for a small town right here in Texas to start over, where he can't find me... although he already won his bet, I believe he won't come after me...

I arrive at the bus station, look at the ticket counter for city names, and see when the first bus leaves and where it's going... Dreamsville. I quickly turn on my phone and search for its population... 3,435. This is it... let's try to start over there, and whatever God wills... I buy my ticket with my ID card, just like I did at the airport, and not with my driver's license... I don't want to leave any clues behind in case someone tries to find me... I don't know why my ID card, made at the orphanage, only has my mother's maiden name... On the ID, my name is Katerine Taylor, and on my driver's license, my name has my father's surname, just like on my birth certificate, Katerine Jordan... So, I board the bus, on my way to my new life...

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