No Going Back

9 - 2

Samara

Two weeks of relentless searching had finally ended with me in an apartment, but at a steep cost. A significant chunk of my savings was now gone, spent on rent, hospital bills, and medication. I couldn't afford the luxury of hiring a nurse to help me recover, a constant stinging of the financial strain I was under. Hendrix had made good on his promise to abandon me, neither offering financial support nor visiting me again after that one brief phone call with Floria.

Hendrix's decision to have Antonio arrested left me stunned and fuming. He could have easily defended himself and put an end to the situation, but instead, he chose to take it to the authorities. I was struggling to wrap my head around his actions, and what really baffled me was Floria's calm demeanor. How could she be so serene in the face of all this chaos?

The news of Antonio's arrest fuelled a firestorm of rage within me, a snap I'd never known before. Lying in that hospital bed, feeling helpless and vulnerable, I couldn't believe their sheer cruelty.

Floria and Hendrix's actions seemed determined to destroy us, to rip away everything we'd worked for. We'd made our mistakes, yes, but did they have to be so brutally ruthless? It was as if they'd declared war on us, hell-bent to leave us with nothing.

And then, Floria had served Antonio with divorce papers, demanding a whopping fifty percent of his assets. I couldn't help but think that's way too bitchy coming from someone naively kind like her.

The timing was particularly vicious, considering our bars were still struggling to get off the ground and we owed Hendrix a fortune. It was a clever move, really - with Antonio behind bars and our business on shaky ground, we were in no position to fight back. Floria had always been kindly calm, so this was a new level of cold-bloodedness coming from both of them.

I felt so heartbroken as the conversation with Antonio replayed in my mind relentlessly. I had been trying to be supportive and understanding, offering him comfort. But instead of appreciation, he had lashed out at me, his words cruel. I couldn't believe he had yelled at me, and the pain of it brought me to the brink of tears right there.

What hurt even more was that he had reminded me that he would never leave Floria. It was a harsh reality that I had been trying to ignore, but now it stared me in the eyes mockingly. Floria didn't want him, yet he was willing to waste his time holding onto something that was clearly not meant to be. Meanwhile, I was here, loving him with all my heart, and he couldn't see that.

And Antonio's lawyer, That arrogant, condescending man had no help at all. Instead of offering us any real support or guidance, he had lecture us on the importance of "cooperating" with Hendrix and Floria. Cooperating? Was he kidding me? It was clear that he was more interested in protecting his own interests and reputation than in actually helping us. His snobbish attitude and patronizing tone had only added boiled my blood further.

Another two weeks were a blur of frantic attempts to keep everything from unraveling, my head seemed like it was tied to a fucking Ferris wheel, that wouldn't stop plummeting up and down despite the doctor's orders to rest, I was on a saving spree.

It seemed like the universe itself was conspiring against us. Every step forward was met with two steps back, and I couldn't shake the feeling that some malignant force was reveling in our misfortune, like we were tumbling down a never ending dark well.

And To make matters worse, our crown, our pride, our most luxurious bar from all eight bars - in Las Vegas had been forced to temporarily shut down. A brutal brawl between rival biker gangs had erupted there, leaving a trail of destruction and tragically destructing everything we worked day and night for. The aftermath was horrifying when I flew there, the police couldn't find those seven men. The most devastating blow was that our insurance policy had lapsed, leaving us to the enormous bill for repairs and damages. It was a financial gut punch that seemed likely to sink our entire business.