And Then It Rained (Sequel to Rain Again; Stand Alone Book) (Completed)

Chapter Two: The Evil One

After all, there was so much a soul could take in the span of one single day.

--

After some sprinkling of water on her face, she returned to her senses. People who rescued her tried to send her to a hospital by calling an ambulance. She firmly refused and stopped such a thing from happening. There was insufficient money in her hand, and she didn't want to be indebted to more people. She was already indebted to Victor. And the scary thing was she didn't know how she would retrieve her money from her father's hand. 

But surely she could ask to borrow another thing. "Could you lend me your phone for a minute, please?"

Alex seemed to turn speechless for a second. He even looked a bit uncomfortable. Weird. 

"I can't," he said.

"Oh," she blinked and looked away. 

"It's dead," he explained further. "Got soaked in the rain."

If it were the old version of Alex, who was filthy rich and ruthless, it would have been a normal thing for him to buy a new phone. But this Alex perhaps had understood the meaning of scarcity of money.

Anyway, she was now back to square one of hopelessness. No money and no way to communicate with anyone. 

"What are you doing in this motel?" Victoria asked Alex, attempting to push away her worries for the time being. She groaned from her leaned-back position in front of the bed's headboard with a pillow behind her. It hurt to talk loud even. Moving was a completely different thing altogether, which made her head spin.

"I could ask you the same thing," Alex shrugged. "I'm in the room next to you—heard some shrieks and arguments. These cheap walls are not soundproof. Others downstairs heard, too. Also, they kept an eye on the suspicious girl from what I heard while entering the room. Who were those a**holes?"

"A demon cousin and a freshly made ex-fiance who were trying to change my decision." 

After muttering some choice words, he advised her, "Go to the police and file a complaint."

"I will," she whispered, her lips pressed into a thin line as she tried to gulp down another bout of pain that spread throughout her mid-region from her ribs where she was hit. She didn't explain to Alex that asking for legal help wouldn't be of much help since her own father, who had connections in incredible places, was siding with Adi. Besides, Alex seemed to be struggling in his own mess, too—a mess he didn't want to discuss.

So she said instead, "By the way, you look like an addict. I guess they're keeping an on you, too." She stared at his swollen eyes, stubble-covered cheeks, and tornado-swept hair.  

And all the light from his soul seemed to have gone missing by the way he sighed and looked away before starting to leave.

"Are you alright?" she asked out of worry. 

He was not a friend or a relative. Alex was just a past client of Chimera—the company she worked for. As far as she could remember, he was a ruthless businessman who was dead serious about his own get-up and the time and money he invested in anything and everything. He was not quite friendly or welcoming back then. He and Victoria saw each other only because of her friendship with his wife.

Ah—she sighed—correcting her thought—now ex-wife. 

"As much as you are," was his dry reply before he left.

Victoria left the motel before dawn, fearing that Adi and Ricky would return for her again. They knew where she was. And she wasn't sure how what they would do next time.