A Love Worth Fighting For

CHAPTER 003

A Night Without a Name

"Get up, you useless thing! Now!" A voice snapped me awake.

As I blinked my eyes open, I adapted to my room's low lighting. Sofia loomed above me with crossed arms and eyes filled with impatient fury.

"What?" I muttered, groggy.

"I want a diamond pendant. Here's the money. Get it before evening." She flung a bundle of money onto my lap.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Why don't you get it yourself?"

Her laugh was sharp, mocking. "Wow, look at you growing a spine. I need some help because you're free so I'm sending you on this errand. Follow instructions without overthinking. You might hurt yourself." She spun on her heel and left.

I exhaled, collecting the money. I held onto the money with my fingers then pushed it into my bag.

A hot shower helped clear my head. After finishing my preparations and standing ready to leave the house I felt that familiar chest tension subside.

The breakfast table downstairs filled with my family's voices as cutlery clinked in the background. As I reached to exit the room silently my father's voice halted my movement.

"Sit down."

I hesitated. Ricardo Moreira rarely spoke directly to me. I pulled out a chair.

He barely looked up from his plate. "Tonight, an important client is coming over. Stay out of the house until she departs tonight.

I smiled, slow and bitter. What makes you so embarrassed of my existence, Dad?

The table fell silent. My father clenched his jaw while his grip on his fork became firmer.

The tension shattered when Catarina's voice emerged filled with insincere concern. "See? Look at her! First, she asks questions. Next, she'll start arguing. She will start causing trouble before anyone realizes and end up destroying our family’s reputation. Throw her out immediately before she causes more embarrassment.

My father forcefully brought his hand down against the table. "Get out before I lose my patience."

Both Catarina and Sofia let out smirks while I stood up and moved my chair back causing it to scrape.

"Don't forget my pendant, you worthless thing!" Sofia called after me.

I didn’t bother answering. As I exited the building I breathed out a quiet longing for my mother saying "I wish you were here, Mom."

A taxi pulled up at my signal. "Where to, miss?"

"Lisbon Central Mall."

I leaned back, pulling out my phone. As the driver began to operate the vehicle I became absorbed by my phone screen.

The car jerked to a stop.

I frowned. "What happened?"

"Something’s wrong with the taxi, miss. Let me check."

I gave a nod and went back to my phone while he examined the engine.

A minute later, he sighed. "It’s a bigger problem than I thought. You’ll need another ride."

After completing my payment I exited the vehicle and looked around to assess the street. A walk wouldn’t hurt. The atmosphere was fresh and the streets maintained a moderate level of traffic.

I muttered to myself about making the best of it while I shoved my phone into my pocket.

As I took only a few steps, my eyes immediately caught sight of something—someone. In the center of the street a small child remained motionless.

A car was coming. Fast.

My pulse roared in my ears. I lost control of the bag when I took off running.

"Move! Move!" I yelled at him to move but his fear paralyzed him so he could not move.

The tires screeched too late. I lunged forward to save the child and fell onto the pavement as the car stopped abruptly.

A crowd swept toward us while their panicked voices filled the air.

I faced the little boy whose face was covered in tears. "Are you okay?"

With a desperate 'no' he shook his head before wrapping his trembling arms around me.

"It’s okay. "I murmured to him feeling safe now while stroking his back."

How could your child end up standing in the middle of the street? Do you people act like the streets belong to you? A furious voice pierced through the crowd with sharp intensity.

Standing before me was an impeccably dressed man whose luxurious suit announced his wealth. But his eyes—cold and piercing—only screamed arrogance.

"Excuse me?" My voice lacked any emotion while my fingers tightened into fists.

"Don’t act innocent. Was this some scam? Did you instruct your kid to stand before my vehicle then ask for money? Just tell me how much you want. I don’t have time for this nonsense."

I stepped forward. "First of all, he’s not my kid. Second, do you even hear yourself? You almost killed a child! An apology would be appropriate here instead of making those accusations.

His laughter cut me off. "Apologize? To some middle-class nobody? Do you even know who I am?"

I folded my arms. "Oh, let me guess. Abraham Lincoln? No? Barack Obama? Maybe Joe Biden? No again? Your wallet size outstrips your intelligence so you're nothing more than an arrogant jerk.

His smirk faded. "You—"

"You what? Mannerless, spoiled, entitled? I can go on." I began to walk away when he seized my wrist.

His grip was firm, almost punishing. "No one talks to me like that. You’ll regret it."

Anger flared like gasoline to a flame. I struck him before my mind registered the action as my hand delivered a sharp slap that produced an echoing sound.

He stilled. His fingers moved slowly to touch the exact spot where I had slapped him. "You’ll pay for that."

"Try me." My voice was steel.

I gathered the boy in my arms before turning my direction away.

His parting words drifted over the air. "I’ll make sure we meet again."

They all share the same traits," I said with a head shake.

The child sniffled against my shoulder. I glanced down. "Where's your mom, baby?"

He pointed toward a shop. Relief flooded me.

"Come on, let’s find her."

Inside, a woman spotted us instantly. "Mateus! My baby!" She sprinted toward us with open arms and pulled him into a tight embrace. Her tear-filled eyes met mine. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

I told her to exercise more caution in the future and she responded by nodding eagerly.

As I exited the shop I released a breath I hadn’t been aware of holding.

When I finished my errands I collected Sofia’s pendant before walking to my home. She was already outside, waiting. I gave her the bag silently.

She gave me a quick look before going inside again.

I looked away and started walking toward the park that was close by.

It was nearly empty. I took a seat on the bench while my gaze lifted toward the sky.

The night sky featured one bright star that twinkled alone. The Estrela da Tarde.

Even alone, it still shone.

Unlike me. I wasn’t shining. I was breaking.

And no one noticed.

A Night Without a Name

"Get up, you useless thing! Now!" A voice snapped me awake.

My eyes adjusted to the faint illumination of my bedroom. Sofia towered above me with her arms folded while her eyes showed clear signs of annoyance.

"What?" I muttered, groggy.

"I want a diamond pendant. Here's the money. Get it before evening." She flung a bundle of money down onto my lap.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Why don't you get it yourself?"

Her laugh was sharp, mocking. "Wow, look at you growing a spine. I know you don't have anything else to do so I'm assigning you this task. Follow my instructions without overthinking. You might hurt yourself." She spun on her heel and left.

I exhaled, collecting the money. I tightly gripped the cash and placed it into my bag.

A hot shower helped clear my head. After I left the house fully dressed and prepared the usual tension I felt in my chest returned to normal.

My family gathered downstairs for breakfast while their voices blended with the sound of cutlery clattering. I tried to leave without making a sound but my father's voice halted my movement.

"Sit down."

I hesitated. Ricardo Moreira rarely spoke directly to me. I pulled out a chair.

He barely looked up from his plate. "Tonight, an important client is coming over. I need you to leave before she arrives tonight.

I smiled, slow and bitter. Why do you feel embarrassed by my presence, Dad?

The table fell silent. His jaw tightened while his fork became gripped harder between fingers.

Catarina's voice broke through the tension with an insincere tone of concern. "See? Look at her! First, she asks questions. Next, she'll start arguing. She will start running around and ruining our family’s reputation and you won’t have time to react. Kick her to the curb now and prevent any more humiliation.

My father forcefully hit the table with his hand. "Get out before I lose my patience."

Standing up and scraping my chair back I could see Catarina and Sofia sharing a smirk.

"Don't forget my pendant, you worthless thing!" Sofia called after me.

I didn’t bother answering. I stepped out into the open space while quietly saying to myself, "I wish you were here, Mom."

A taxi pulled up at my signal. "Where to, miss?"

"Lisbon Central Mall."

I leaned back, pulling out my phone. I became absorbed in my phone screen after the driver started the vehicle.

The car jerked to a stop.

I frowned. "What happened?"

"Something’s wrong with the taxi, miss. Let me check."

As he checked the engine I gave a nod before immersing myself in my phone.

A minute later, he sighed. "It’s a bigger problem than I thought. You’ll need another ride."

After making the payment I exited and began to look around at the street. A walk wouldn’t hurt. The roads carried only a moderate amount of traffic while the air maintained a fresh crispness.

I muttered to myself, "Let's enjoy this moment," while I shoved my phone into my pocket.

After walking only a short distance my gaze stopped on something—someone. In the center of the road a young child was frozen in place.

A car was coming. Fast.

My pulse roared in my ears. My fingers released their grip on the bag while I sprinted.

"Move! Move!" I raised my voice in alarm but the child remained paralyzed by fear.

The tires screeched too late. I propelled myself forward to snatch the child from danger and fell alongside him onto the pavement when the car abruptly stopped.

A crowd ran to us as panicked voices clashed together.

I looked toward the small boy who had tears running down his face. "Are you okay?"

The boy's small head moved left and right in a frantic denial before he wrapped his trembling arms around me.

"It’s okay. "You're safe now," I whispered as my fingers moved gently along his spine.

Why did your child run into the middle of the road? Do you people believe you have the right to control the streets? A furious voice suddenly broke through the crowd with its sharp tone.

Standing before me was a man dressed in a flawless suit that radiated wealth. But his eyes—cold and piercing—only screamed arrogance.

"Excuse me?" My voice sounded monotonic while my fingers tightened into a fist.

"Don’t act innocent. Was this some scam? You made your kid position themselves in front of my vehicle and when I stopped you tried to extract payment? Just tell me how much you want. I don’t have time for this nonsense."

I stepped forward. "First of all, he’s not my kid. Second, do you even hear yourself? You almost killed a child! You should be saying sorry instead of making baseless accusations against me.

His laughter cut me off. "Apologize? To some middle-class nobody? Do you even know who I am?"

I folded my arms. "Oh, let me guess. Abraham Lincoln? No? Barack Obama? Maybe Joe Biden? No again? You’re simply an arrogant fool whose brain size can’t compete with his wallet.

His smirk faded. "You—"

"You what? Mannerless, spoiled, entitled? I can go on." I started to walk away but he caught my arm firmly.

His grip was firm, almost punishing. "No one talks to me like that. You’ll regret it."

Anger flared like gasoline to a flame. My hand slapped across his face before I could think producing a sound so sharp it echoed.

He stilled. His fingertips moved slowly across the exact area where my hand had hit him. "You’ll pay for that."

"Try me." My voice was steel.

In a swift motion I lifted the boy and then turned my back.

His parting words drifted over the air. "I’ll make sure we meet again."

Rich men share the same traits, I thought to myself while shaking my head.

The child sniffled against my shoulder. I glanced down. "Where's your mom, baby?"

He pointed toward a shop. Relief flooded me.

"Come on, let’s find her."

Inside, a woman spotted us instantly. "Mateus! My baby!" The woman spotted us at once and ran toward us with a crushing hug for him. Her tear-filled eyes met mine. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

I advised her to pay closer attention in the future and she nodded with great enthusiasm.

I exhaled deeply as I walked away from the shop without realizing I had been holding my breath.

I retrieved Sofia’s pendant from my errands and started walking back home. She was already outside, waiting. I silently gave her the bag.

She walked back inside without looking at me even once.

I faced away and began walking towards the park close by.

It was nearly empty. I took a seat on the bench and my eyes began to wander upwards.

One bright star flashed its light across the dark sky. The Estrela da Tarde.

Even alone, it still shone.

Unlike me. I wasn’t shining. I was breaking.

And no one noticed.