From Stranger's Bed To Billionaire's Bride: Carrying His Last Heir

BACK TO THE LIFE I HATE

Aria’s POV

I woke up before my alarm.

Not because I was well-rested but because my body had gotten used to it and it doesn't seem like I have any iota of peace in my life. The room I lived in didn't look like it belonged to anyone who was trying to survive with dignity.

For a moment, I didn't move from my bed. I just stared at the cracked ceiling above me, listening to the noise that seemed normal in the life I found myself.

The big,fat guy in the house,Rob was shouting at the new occupant. “Get on it,you slug"

Such a poor girl! . I experienced the same also when I got here but now,I have gotten used to the bullying,not having a little bit of privacy,getting my stuff stolen and getting picked on for no reason.

I really need to get out of here …and fast before my dream gets shattered again. I have been saving and very soon,I will have enough to get myself out of here,write the entrance examination and be back in college.

I jilted up when I realized I was going to be late for my first work of the day,if I lay down there much longer. I picked up my towel that I usually spread over my baggage,took my sponge case and headed towards the bathroom. I dreaded the long queue that awaited me but smiled immediately I saw Lily. She always kept a slot on my behalf. It's all thanks to her that I didn't get late to work on several occasions and avoided my boss' threat of firing me.

“Good morning,sleepy head", she greeted me.

“Good morning,madam", I answered jokingly.

“You are lucky this morning,that big fat bully is busy with someone else and isn't here to pick on you" .

I sighed and faced the direction of the room. “I really pity that young girl"

“It's our turn",she tapped my shoulder.

Life really had to be unfair to so many of us. Lily is an orphan,just like me. We met on a rainy night. I was sitting at the corner of the street where I used to pass the night and she offered me an umbrella to shield me from the rain. She seemed curious about me.

"What is a young girl like you doing out here,all by yourself?” "It's not safe”.

"I have no place to stay. When I lost my mom,the landlord decided staying at his apartment was risky as I do not have a stable income", I replied with a voice that sounded like I was almost laughing.

“I work 2- 3 jobs and still, can't afford a place. Even when I did,no one would let out apartment to a girl that has no rental history"

"That's sad.I lost my parents too a long time ago”

“If you don't mind,I stay at a place that operates on cash rent agreements,it doesn't have formal lease and it's kinda overcrowded” ,she quickly added just to be sure I got what she meant.

"You can crash there till you get back on your feet”.

And that was how I ended up in this informal and toxic living situation.

The transit to T&D’s wasn't so smooth and by the time I got there, my feet already hurt.

"You are late again”, my supervisor said without even looking at me.

“I'm not late”,I replied automatically. "My shift starts in five minutes”.

That earned me one of those slow, disrespectful glances.

"Just get to work”.

The morning passed in pieces with orders,complaints,voices raised at me for something I didn't control. The worst part is the cold treatment I get from other co-workers. One even brushed past me like I was invisible.

At one point,a customer snapped their fingers at me.

"Are you deaf or just slow?”

I apologized. Not because I was wrong but because I needed this job to survive.

That was the part no one ever understood about people like me. We weren't weak,we were just trapped.

By mid-day,my body was already weak from exhaustion. My head felt heavy and my stomach was empty in a way that made it rumble loudly.

I made a note to grab something to eat on my way out.

I leaned against the wall for a short break and closed my eyes for a few seconds.

And there he was again.

A hand holding my waist, carrying me gently like I was something fragile. A voice telling me to breathe. I remembered that strange feeling of being looked at like I mattered.

My eyes opened immediately.

“What is wrong with you?”, I muttered under my breath.

I pushed myself off the wall to sign out for the day. I didn't have time to think about decisions I shouldn't have made.

_ _ _

The second job was worse. I was a casual worker for a construction company.

Someone bumped into me so hard that I almost dropped the bundle of cable ties I was carrying.

“Hey,watch it" , I shouted angrily.

"Or what? You’ll cry about it?” ,she responded with a smirk on her face.

I didn't bother to respond. Responding required energy and I didn't have it.

By the time I got to the third job,my body already felt detached from me.

I stood infront of the mirror in the restroom before starting my shift and starred properly at myself.

Nothing about me looked like someone whose life was supposed to change.

“Get it together”, I said to my reflection.

Time moved too slow. The rest of my day was filled with work noise,pressure and pain in my feet that spread slowly to my leg.

It was the same job description like the first one,just a different place and a very nice co-worker who always got my back. Jason was like the big brother I never had,he stood up against bullies for my sake and made sure I was always okay at work.

When my shift finally ended,the sun had already started to set.

I stepped out like I had been released from a place I didn't want to be.

“You look really tired today”, Jason said on our way to catch a bus back home. He lived in the neighborhood where I stayed so it was normal for us to always walk home together.

"I always look tired”, I said, rolling my eyes.

"I don't know how to explain it,but something about you seems different. You probably need to go for a check up”. He looked at me with this serious look on his face.

"Alright, alright…I will".

By the time we alighted,my phone was almost dead and my body felt like it was going to collapse anytime soon.

But I still had to go back to the place l stayed,back to the room that was never mine.

The argument started the moment I opened the door.

“You think you can just disappear all day and come back like nothing happened, disturbing my sleep?” ,one of them said.

I didn't respond at first.

"I was working”.

"Everyone works..you are not special”, another snapped at me.

Of course,I wasn't special,I was just tired.

“I paid my part of the rent",I answered quietly.

“And act like you own the place?",they shot back at me.

I walked past them and shut myself in my corner of the room.

For a long time,I just sat there, waiting for my body to stop shaking from exhaustion and my thoughts to quiet down.

But they drifted back to that night.

I pressed my finger against my forehead.

“No”,I whispered to myself. “Stop it”

I didn't have time for memories like that,when I was trying to survive.

I forced myself up. I needed water to calm my body.

I walked into the small shared bathroom and turned on the tap.

I splashed water on my face and looked up at the mirror.

I felt a faint heaviness that I couldn't explain. It had to be the stress and lack of proper sleep.

“I'm just tired",I told myself loudly. Like saying it would make any difference.

That night,I didn't sleep well. Every time I closed my eyes,my mind went back to the events that occurred that night. And everytime,I forced it back.

I told myself it meant nothing.

_ _ _

The next morning,I woke up with a strange feeling in my chest.

I sat up slowly. My body was feeling different again.

I placed my one hand on my chest and the other,on my stomach. I stayed like that a little longer than I should have.

"What's happening to me?”, I whispered.

I lowered my hand slowly,got up to face the usual morning routine.

I got dressed,picked up my bag and stepped out into another day that I didn't have the luxury of stopping.

As I stepped out,one quiet thought refused to leave me alone. Something inside me was changing and I didn't know it yet.

I told myself it was just exhaustion but my body felt like it was remembering something I hadn't accepted yet.