Crystal looked at her reflection in the mirror; of course, she looked great, but her heart wasn't feeling great. Today's her birthday party, of course not really a birthday party; Patricia was showing her off and would get someone to pay her to have his dirty ways with her.

  She reminded herself that she could not allow tears to fall down her face so as not to ruin her makeup.

  She feels today would dictate her tomorrow and her forever; she could hear the sound of the music and of the guests; Emilia would be showing herself off; that she is sure of.

  She had been at the event for over an hour. Now she just made an excuse that she wants to freshen her makeup.

  She wasn't comfortable there; she just felt everyone was staring at her as if it were written on her forehead that she was a virgin.

  The party had been under the guise of a birthday party and welcome party for the both of them, but of course she knows better.

  She heard the MC saying it's time to cut the cake; she knows this is her time to go out, and she did.

  Immediately they cut the cake; she excused herself again and went to the garden to clear her head.

  Edward couldn't take his eyes off the birthday girl; he stood still as he caught a glimpse of Crystal for the first time. Her beauty shone like a bright star, but what really captured His heart was her sad eyes. They seemed to tell a story of struggles and dreams that went unachieved.

  There's just something attractive about her that he couldn't put his hands on; he felt it's more of her sad smile.

  He had been looking at her, and it was like he couldn't get enough of her. When she disappeared and reappeared, he was aware of it.

  After she cut the cake, it was as if he saw a drop of tear fall down her cheek, and she immediately left the place.

  He thought to follow her, and he did; she went straight to the garden, and he kept on her trail.

  Her walking steps were filled with sadness, that he was sure of, but what could make her this sad at her own party?

  He saw his friend Michael approach her, and he felt instant jealousy; Michael was trying to talk to her, but she wasn't really having it, and the next thing, he saw Michael holding her arm. He was boiling inside of him.

  "Let go of me," he heard her say, but Michael wasn't budging.

  "How much do you want?" Michael asked her.

  "Let go of me, I said; "she replied calmly .

  He decided to interfere. "Why don't you get your filthy hands off her? She's mine." He gave his friend a smiley look.

  "Look who's here," Michael replied, walking up to Edward.

  "Yeah, it's me, and I’ve just asked you to get your filthy hands off my woman."

  Crystal was dumb; the new guy was looking so cute that she couldn't get her eyes off him. His warm smile and bright eyes caught her attention, pulling her from her gloomy thoughts, but why is he claiming me?

  Oh yes, of course, just to get the other man away, she replied herself .

  "You now have a woman..." the guy harassing her before said, "... of course she is a whore too." Me a whore? She couldn't complete her thoughts when she heard the new guy give the other guy a resounding blow.

  "Remember I did not give you a blow the last time we encountered, and now I am giving you this: the next time you put your filthy hands on my woman, I am afraid I don't know what will happen then. This is just a fair warning."

  Micheal was filled with fury. "I promise to pay you back; this is not the end of me, and you won’t see it coming," he said while departing. Edward laughed, "That's all you know how to do..." Then he turned to the damsel in distress, "...hey."

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She wasn't there; she had walked away.

  When Edward saw her earlier, he couldn't help but notice her sad eyes and her stunning beauty. There was something special about her that made his heart feel different, almost like it was reaching out to him. Her eyes, soft and filled with a hint of sorrow, seemed to tell a story of their own, making him want to know what had made her feel that way. As he stared at her retreating figure, he felt a connection that was hard to explain. He just knew that he wanted to be in her life.

  Crystal would have liked to thank the man, but unfortunately she doesn't have a minute to spare.

  She quickly walked to her room, hoping that everything would be fine as planned.

  Entering her room, she saw Marie already waiting for her. She had built a bond with Marie the few times she had stayed with her, and Marie had been like a mother to her.

  Thank heaven.

  She had told Marie what Emilia had told her .

  "So?" Marie asked.

  "I do not want it, of course; they did not tell me about it when we were in Nigeria, and now she raised it up. No, I am not interested…" She held Marie's hand. "...Help me, please."

  "Okay."

  So that was how they planned for Marie to ask for a day off on the day of the party, and she would have secretly parked all her stuff while Marie would help her run away the night of the party, and she would stay with Marie for a while.

  Marie had really been a mother figure to her.

  Crystal held Marie's hands in hers. "Marie, thanks for helping me out. This really means a lot to me," and then she hugged her.

  "This is not the time for this; let's get away first, and there will be plenty of hugs later on," she said, and they went away through the route they had planned, knowing fully well that they wouldn't meet anyone there and it's usually dark there, so the chance of getting caught is zero.

  Edward and his sister, Diana, were both quiet in the car until they got home. "Diana, what's wrong?" He asked his sister, knowing full well that she is not someone who would keep quiet throughout a forty-five-minute drive.

  "I wasn't ready to see him at all; I thought I wouldn't mind seeing him. I guess I haven't gotten over the pain," she replied sadly.

  He hugged her to his side after parking his car. "Very soon, my love, you will get over it," he said to her soothingly.

  "I will be fine; do not worry," she said, freeing herself from his tight hug. "Knowing you well, I know something is disturbing you, so what is that, brother?" She asked as they both got out of the car to walk to the entrance of the house.

  Edward smiled in reply, "I met someone at the party. I wouldn't say met per se, but I saw her."

  "Who is that?" Diana asked

  "The Celebrant"

  "Oh, her? What about her?"

  "I guess I like her," he smiled again.

  Diana laughed hysterically and went to her room.

  Edward got himself a bottle of beer and drank to his fill just to get her out of his mind.

  Emilia and Patricia were obviously furious; Patricia had just gotten a great deal in exchange for a night with Crystal only for her to get to Crystal's room and find she wasn't there and her things were not there either. She went to get Emilia, and they searched the whole surrounding area, but she was nowhere to be found.

  "This is absolutely your fault," Patricia said accusingly at Emilia. "...You should have told her before you took her out of the country. Do you know how much I am losing right now?" she concluded, obviously furious.

  "I know, I know, I wasn't expecting things to get to this extent. I mean, what's there? But I believe we will soon find her since she's new to this place. Where would she run to? She will come back. Don't stress about it."

  "She would better, because I wouldn't like to lose more money at all," Patricia replied; they both felt betrayed.

  Crystal sat on Marie's bed, feeling grateful to her. "I am so happy you could take me in, Marie. I promise I will be of help to you and will not make you regret helping me."

  Marie looked at her and smiled. Marie is a 45-year-old woman who had lost her only child, who was 13 years old then. This had happened to her about 11 years ago, and the pain has always been fresh in her heart.

  She had given birth to her daughter Felicity at the age of 21, although it was out of wedlock and through rape.

  She had accepted her rape story because it birthed her beautiful daughter; she had refused to abort the pregnancy even when advised to. She had started bonding with a child when she had barely known the gender. She had decided to live for her daughter, although she dated on and off in between caring for her daughter and working different part-time jobs, but none of the relationships had worked. So she had decided to stick to housekeeping.

  Crystal makes her remember her daughter, and she knew if her daughter had been alive and not dead due to her sickness, she could have been in the same age bracket as Crystal. So, she has decided to care for Crystal like her own. "What do you plan to do now?" She asked Crystal.

  "Look for a job first; that is the first thing on my mind. Also, I would prefer a job that is far from this vicinity so we wouldn't run into each other."

  "Okay, love, I will help you ask around so we can also work on your permit, alright?"

  Crystal smiled in reply, and then she looked around the apartment. It is a room apartment with a small kitchen and bathroom. No pictures hung on the wall except for a piece of artwork and a wall clock; if not, the wall would have been blank. A small television set stood at the corner, and there was a small wardrobe, a laundry basket, one double-seater sofa, and a small bed.

  She wondered what kind of life Ms. Marie had been living before now; she had never heard her spoken about herself or her children before, and she would like to know a lot about her benefactor, but when the time comes, she knows Marie herself would let her in on everything, and she would tell Marie about her life too.