Deceived By Her Billionaire

Chapter 11

Sophia took the girl’s rain jacket, hung it at the back, and got a towel for her. She started drying her hair... showing motherly love. Thea’s eyes misted, remembering her own mother… her parents and how they used to dote on her. She was once the apple of their eye, but they can’t even bear to look at her today. 

She wiped her tears quickly… not wanting anyone to see. The others were waiting for her to settle and came forward one by one to introduce themselves and showed concern for her well-being. She introduced herself as Thea. It was a friendly group of girls and boys her age, and she gelled well with them… enjoying their teasing and friendly banter. She, too, was full of life once… vibrating with energy, but Liam had broken her spirit and killed her enthusiasm… He had even taken away her safe haven. Her face lost its colour, remembering what he was forcing her to do. Seeing her lifeless face, Sophia thought that the poor girl must be tired and sent her to the back to rest.

Cynthia gladly went back... wanting to be alone... to think about how to deal with her life. The sudden ringing of her phone... jolted her… she looked at the phone eagerly… thinking it could be her mom calling but seeing that it was Liam... her hands started shaking uncontrollably… It was as if thinking about him had conjured him up… She quickly silenced the phone. A few minutes later, it vibrated again… this time, it was a text message from him “I’ll find you... no matter where you are… after all, I have to keep my promise to you.” The phone fell from her hands… she picked it up with shaky hands and switched it off, and kept it inside her bag. The very next moment, she took it out again, and this time she removed the battery from the phone before keeping it back in her bag. She then sat hugging her knees tightly… trying to keep her body from shivering… 

At that moment, she realized that she would have to leave everything behind… the way Liam was hounding her, she won’t be able to use her identity… her cards. She had to get rid of this phone, too. She would delete him… his memories… everything related to him so that she was not reminded of him… his promise or the events of that unfortunate day… she kept repeating that to herself.

After a steady drive of about 2 hours… they took their first stop and parked the shuttle in a rest area. Everyone got down to stretch their limbs and use the washroom. The girls wanted to buy some snacks for their journey ahead, so they went to a convenience store, tagging Cynthia along. This was an opportunity for Cynthia to get rid of her phone and other things. She saw Ziploc storage bags on the shelf, and an idea stuck her… she knew what she had to do. She was too proud to ask for money from anybody, so she rummaged through her bag to look for some change. She found some coins, which were just about enough for her to buy the bags. The girls were busy selecting snacks, so she told them that she needed to use the washroom and excused herself… picking the bags from the shelf... She paid for them at the counter and headed towards the restroom.

Once inside... she locked herself in one of the stalls. She closed the toilet lid and sat down on the covered seat, closing her eyes… trying to gather the courage to do what she was about to do… praying for some strength, for she was not just about to put a few items in the bag… She was putting her identity… her life’s precious moments. One by one, she dropped the things into the Ziploc bag. Her cellphone, which was a gift from her parents on her eighteenth birthday… her driver’s licence - how proud she’d felt when she cleared her test on the very first attempt and earned it.... she’d been saving for a car for the longest time. Now that she finally got her permit, she had to leave it behind… next came the branded leather wallet her mother had bought for her during college days… She wanted to put the watch her parents had gifted when she had graduated from high school into the pouch too, but she didn’t have the heart to leave it behind, so she kept on wearing it for it was a connection… a link between her and her parents… She would think of it as their blessing… a tear fell on her hand… and then another... she wiped them with the back of her hand… these were her memories… Her precious moments with her family that she was sealing… 

She took out all the air from the bag and put it in another bag for double protection. She repeated the same for this one, too, to make it as compact as possible. With a heavy heart, she got up and lifted the tank top. She dropped the pouch inside it, hiding it and praying that no one could find it till the time she came back to retrieve it. With her hand on the doorknob, she turned around to glance at the tank top one last time, promising herself that once she was back on her feet... she would be back to reclaim her life... her identity and live a full and happy life as her revenge on those who wanted to break her... crush her spirit. 

Once everyone was back in the shuttle, they left and reached their destination in the wee hours. Sophia had already booked a hotel online and requested an additional bed for Cynthia. After completing the formalities, they all went to their respective rooms... Cynthia was tired both physically and emotionally… her head was throbbing, her entire body was in pain… she took a couple of painkillers from her roommates and went to bed to sleep peacefully… 

But her sleep became nightmarish… for Liam found her…