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Chapter 3 "I am sorry"

"Are you just going to let them get away with this?" Lisa's nose flared, as she spoke to her mother, once they were in a cab.

She watched as her mother flung her face to the other side, her head resting on the taxi's window.

She had not uttered a word since they left the mansion. Her head hung low.

"Seriously, mom!"

Lisa called, stunned at her mom's behaviour.

"Mom!" She called again when she got no reply from her.

Lisa, irritated, charged her mom into facing her.

Then, she noticed it.

streams of tears on her mother's face. One after the other, they dropped onto her lap.

Then, quiet sobs escaped her lips, before they turned wild.

At that moment, Lisa felt bad, and guilt settled in her stomach.

How could she have questioned a woman who had just lost everything in a day?

Her eyes stung, and she could already feel a tear racing down her left cheek.

"I am sorry." She choked as she apologised. Her voice was barely audible due to how hard she was struggling to keep herself from crying out.

She heard the faint sniffling coming from her mom.

" It's okay, honey. It is not your fault I am like this? Please, stop crying, or you are going to make me sad further."

Lisa's body trembled, as she cried harder and harder, unable to stop her tears.

"You are making me awful, Lisa." Mary choked out, her face covered in tears and snot.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stop it." Lisa cried out, hugging her mom as tight as she could.

"It's not your fault, baby. It isn't. There are explanations for my tears, and they were not incited by you. " Her mother cupped her face with her hands, wiping away her (Lisa's ) tears.

"But I made you cry, not even thinking about what you were suffering. I was so mad and selfish that I failed to see how I hurt you. "

Lisa's face was red; her eyes, swollen and puffy.

Mary placed gentle kisses on her daughter's eyelids. She watched her daughter affectionately, her eyes full of love.

"You can never hurt me, Lisa, and you know why?" She asked, lingering briefly.

She never waited to get a reply from Lisa, before she replied.

"That is because you are my world, and I would give my everything to please you." She said, looking at Lisa fondly.

She placed her head gently on Lisa's and connected their foreheads.

She gazed into her daughter's eyes, and Lisa felt all the love her mother had for her.

More sobs escaped from her lips, and for once, she cried out of happiness.

"I love you, mom. I love you so much. "

Lisa cried as she pulled her mom into a bone-crushing hug.

"I love you too, honey, and never forget that. I will always be here for you, no matter what." She promised.

***Flashback concludes

That day, after the whole episode that went on in the cab, they found a place to stay, using the extra money her mother had always saved.

The rest of her cards had been blocked, leaving them with only a handful of cash.

When her mother fell ill, they had to give up that money, which was barely enough for them.

Due to that, they had to find the cheapest apartment in New York, which is why they ended up in this dump of a flat.

She had to do multiple jobs, just to ensure food was on the list.

The blasting of her ringtone brought her back to reality.

She blinked multiple times, as drops of tears fell on the floor.

She brought out her phone, which was in her pants, and she stared at her phone's screen before she answered.

"Hey, Chloe!" It was her friend calling from the cafe.

"Where are you, Lisa?" Chloe screamed over the phone. "I have been trying to reach you."

"I am sorry, I kept my phone in the kitchen." She said, wiping stray tears from her face using the back of her palm.

"Oh please, Lisa. We both know how small your apartment is. You could have heard your phone ringing in the bathroom, so don't give me that shit of a bull story. "

Lisa imagined her rolling her eyes at her. She knew Chloe only said it for her well-being, and not out of mockery. Yet it still stings to portray her apartment as small.

All her life, she had been brought up with influence and wealth.

She had been surrounded by people, who had always boasted about how big their houses were.

"Then I have no explanation to give you, Chloe." She tried to sound cheerful, but she knew she failed when Chole asked.

"Were you crying, Lisa?" Chloe sounds astonished.

"N–no?" She answered unsurely, as her thoughts ran a thousand miles a second.

"No?!" Chloe roared. "What happened?" She barked.

"I... it's nothing, you don't need to worry about it."

"Cut the shit out, Lisa." Chloe was livid. "You can't lie to me, and you can't say it's nothing when it does make you fuss."

Lisa stared blankly at the wall. Her expression was grave, her face red with how much she held her tears in.

"You know what?" Chole spoke when she heard nothing from Lisa, exhaling from her mouth, to dampen her anger.

"We can not discuss this, while on the phone. Get over here, so we can discuss it personally. I called to tell you that Mr Marcus was in, I would do my best to stall him. Simply hurry up."

Lisa held a faint smile. "I will."

"You better." Chole's stern voice rang through.

Lisa ended the call, before walking over to the sink to wash her face.

She didn't want anyone else to find out that she had been sobbing. Especially not her mother, since she was to visit her today.

She snatched her coat from the racket and took out her keys from her purse, and locked the door.

She walked down the creaky stairs, as fast as she could, running once she was out, to hail a cab.

"Martinez diner," she told the cab driver once she was in.

He nodded without a response and drove off.

Without even asking, the cab driver brought her to her workplace, rather quickly.

"Here." She handed him a handful of bills and rushed out, heading towards the restaurant.

She went in through the back entrance meant only for staff.

Once she ran in, she spotted Chloe, who was standing in a corner, with a scowl on her face.

"I am here," Lisa said, holding her knees, and breathing through her lips.

"You are late." Chloe deadpanned.

"I made it, didn't I? It's all that matters. " Lisa retorted.

"Not quite." A voice interjected, and it brought chills down her spine.

The scowl on Chloe's face deepened.

"M—Mr. Martinez." Lisa stammered as she stared wide-eyed at the old, potbellied man, as he walked toward them.

Something in her gut told her to run, as what would happen next, would not end well.

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