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Chapter 30

She walked into the apartment after midnight. Everything was quiet. She sneaked into her room and went to sleep happy. The next morning she woke up being hit. "Ow, mom! What's going on?" She asked as her mother kept hitting her.

"That is for yesterday. How dare you? How can you be so disrespectful?"

"Mom, stop." She said getting up.

"I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm an adult, and you have to accept I'm in a relationship."

"What type of man picks you up late at night and brings you home after midnight? Don't think I didn't notice. I didn't say anything about last night because I didn't want to rile up your father."

"The one apparently I have to hide from you guys because you don't know how to behave. I understand that after what happened with Amanda, you guys became overprotective, but you have to let it go already! I love him and he loves me."

Her mom walked up to her and slapped her. "How dare you bring up Amanda? She's nothing like you, she was always such a good girl. She would've never disrespected us like that. I wish it was you that had been kidnapped, not her."

"Nice, mom. I'm out of here!"

"Where are you going now?"

"Somewhere where I'm not told I should've died!" Alice put some jeans on and a shirt and left.

She took the bus to Mike's neighborhood. She went to his door and knocked. An elegant woman opened the door. "Yes, can I help you?" She asked, looking at her from head to toe.

"I'm sorry, is Mike here?" Alice asked, confused.

"No, he's not. May I ask why are you looking for my husband?" The woman asked, intrigued and upset.

"Your husband? I'm sorry... I didn't know he was married. I'm sorry to bother you." Alice said, running away from the building while the woman called after her.

He was married! Everything was a lie. He used her. Patrice was right all along about him. She needed Patrice. She couldn't call her now. She couldn't admit to her best friend that she had been wrong about Mike. The I love you the night before, all lies. How could she have been so stupid? He was a stranger after all, she didn't know anything about him. She had given herself completely to him.

He must have laughed every time. This naïve inexperienced girl falling for him. And that's exactly what happened, she had fallen completely for his lies. What was she going to do now? She was humiliated. She ran home again, embarrassed. She saw her mother sitting on the couch and ran to her. "What happened?" Julia asked when she saw her crying.

"I'm so sorry, mom. For everything I've put you guys through." She put her head on her lap and cried while her mother stroked her head.

"There there. You're safe with mom. And I'm sorry for what I said earlier. You know we love you."

"I know, mom." At that moment her phone buzzed and she saw it was Mike calling. She threw her phone across the room.

"That's right, sweetie. You don't need anyone. You just need us."