Bear | ✔

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Maybe moving to another state wasn't really the best available option.

After all, she had to be all by herself. And she had to admit it, as much as she despised being around someone so confusing, at least there was a person. At least there was someone she could talk to, eat with, and fight with. But living this way was hard, no matter how much trouble she had been through.

Every day, it was the same routine. Nothing ever changed. There were no surprises or shocking news or terrorizing action. Just nothing. Her life was blank, and she was beginning to regret her decision. She was beginning to regret ever slipping and saying Susannah's name in front of him. She regretted always saying the wrong thing without previously thinking of the consequences. She must have hurt him then. She was stupid.

But there was no place for remorse anymore. She needed to fix the mess she had made of her life, and the best place to start was herself. As intense as that sounded, she needed much of a change to her character and habits. She was no longer Daddy's spoiled child anymore. She needed to be more responsible.

Although double online cooking courses didn't seem to help as much. Leila consumed a lot of time and energy and the kitchen, and always came out with either a burnt utensil or burnt ... well, skin. Every time she thought of ever giving up, she thought of her mother. She needed to make her mother proud. She needed to fulfill her duties. And despite Samar's weird behavior, she was still her mother. It was her job to obey her.

Being torn between full time work and college, Leila had only little time to think of the future. That only happened during the lunch break or before she went to sleep at night. In addition to David signing her up for class 017, Leila had needed to find work. She couldn't rely on him through every step of her life. She needed to build a backbone to be able to live like a normal adult.

Searching for a work was definitely not an easy task, especially with her short CV and the only degree she had owned - which turned out not to be equivalent to the US High School Diploma, sadly -. Luckily though, she was able to find a last chance at a local hospital looking for interns. She needed to attend four days a week, from nine to five, which also meant transferring to the night college classes. His life had been hectic ever since, and her social bar was slowly going south. People had barely contacted her since she had left. Samar would call her once a week to check on her and fill in with the details about her dad. Other than that, her phone was silent.

Sometimes she wished that maybe David could ever think of giving her a call, but she quickly shook the thought away. She didn't want to have high hopes. They were always doomed from the start. Having false hope was a bad sign, especially if it were only one-sided.

She wondered about his last question in her mind over and over again. What was going to happen after labor?

For one, she would have to return where she came from. That is, of course, if David didn't change his mind out of a sudden. But the point of confusion fell under the child category. Did she really want to have that child?

Definitely.

Is she even capable of raising a child at all?

Not even slightly.

Besides, who would take a divorcée with a child where she lived? Because that's all what her mother had been thinking about. Where she came from, the only option for women was to get married. It was not college, or work, or achievements. It was all about the damned marriage.

Marriage is half of your religion.

First the man, then you can think of the future.

Sanctuary is in your husband's house.