The Man She Betrayed

36. In Sickness And Health

Clara

Six years ago

Somewhere along the night, I lost the will to stay awake. When I woke up next morning, the sun was at its peak and people of different ages were jogging in front of the bench I was sleeping at.

Few kids were pointing at me, giggling. Realising that I probably looked like hell because of all the crying, I ran fingers through my hair and stood up to leave.

This park was close to the restaurant where I worked and my shift there started at 10 am. Ignoring all the glances towards me, I walked forwards. Each part of my body hurt due to sleeping in such an uncomfortable position on a hard bench but it was far better than staying with that pervert.

Once I reached the restaurant, I looked at my reflection on the glass door. My hair was flying in every direction and my eyes had huge eyebags under them.

Sighing, I went inside and when Robert, the restaurant's owner watched me, his eyes widened like saucers.

"Are you ill?" he asked in his grumpy voice, which now I know is his usual voice.

I couldn't tell him that I was homeless because he would fire me. He didn't like any unnecessary tension around him. "Yeah. But I'm better now. I'll freshen up in the staff's bathroom." I said, keeping my voice as straight as possible.

"Make sure your illness doesn't ruin my business. Or else.." he glared at me and then walked away.

Thankfully, I have kept two extra outfits at work because I ruined a lot of clothes in the beginning while handling the food. Changing into fresh clothes, I tied my hair in a bun and asked my coworker to lend me her concealer to hide my eye bags. I began working, trying my best not to think about the fact that I don't have any place to live.

I told Robert that I would work full time. He was already short of workers so he conceded easily. Plus, he also gave me the keys of restaurant and told me that I would be the one closing it at night and opening it the next day as Flora, who used to do this before had left the job.

Throughout the day, I kept myself busy because everytime I think about those videos, I couldn't help but feel nauseous. It was probably because of the same nausea that before the ending of the shift, I ended up vomiting in the bathroom.

By the time I walked out of the restaurant, everybody had left already. With heaviness in my stomach and bile rising in my throat, I cleaned all the shelves and made sure all the eatable leftovers were dispatched to the orphanage nearby.

Where would I go now?

Sitting on a small sofa in the seating section, I stared at the keys in my hands. My eyes switched to the empty, deserted street through the window and I contemplated adding another bad thing to the already filled bucket.

It was wrong but I needed a place to crash. I had the keys and I was the one supposed to open it next morning. If I wake up early in the morning and act like I just came here, would anybody be able to tell that I was lying?

At the end, the evil in me triumphed and I locked the door from the inside. Turning the lights off, I lay down on the sofa and looked through the glass door.

The moon had cast its dim light all inside the small dining hall, illuminating the place. Last night, at this time, I was running through the streets for my dignity because once again, a man betrayed me.

But can I complain?

I closed my eyes and light brown, more like hazel eyes appeared in front of my eyes. Eyes of the person I betrayed. I knew this was karma, my karma for cheating on the sweetest man on the planet.

I knew I won't be given an easy way out after what I did.

And I better prepare myself for it.

...

I have been sleeping in the restaurant for two weeks now. Every night, I would wait for everyone to leave so that I can close the restaurant. Sometimes, I would actually close it and come back later on. In the morning, I wake up with the first ray of light. I don't have my mobile to use as an alarm but gratefully, my internal clock is regulated now so I wake up way before the opening time of restaurant.

As for clothes, I alternate between the two clothes I have kept in my locker. Mostly I am in my waitress' uniform so it's not a big issue.

The major issue was actually my sickness. I haven't been feeling well for quite some days now. The constant nausea was causing some turbulence in my work but I have been successful in pretending to be fine. Once I get my paycheck, I'll go see a doctor.

I try my best to keep my focus at work but whenever I am not doing anything, my mind goes back to my family, my past life and everything I left behind. I did everything for one man and he left me to struggle alone in this strange world. Many a times, I came close to calling my parents and begging them for apology but I couldn't do this after abandoning them.

I am not the same snobby person anymore because there is no one here to look after me. One mistake and I am off to streets, which I can't afford. I didn't know living in real world was so difficult. Working day and night made me realise how lucky I was, for being served everything on a silver platter.

Here, nobody really cares about me, as if my presence doesn't mean anything to anyone. No matter how much time I spend in bathroom spilling my guts out, nobody notices my absence. No matter how many holes are there in the only two shirts I have, nobody gives a damn about it.

Today was just another day. After waking up, I felt a strong wave of nausea hit me. I was going to get my paycheck later on so I booked an appointment to a doctor through the landline.

With this thought in mind, I walked towards the kitchen to steal a teabag of green tea. While I was mixing it, my vision started to turn blurry. I wobbled towards the sink to splash some water over my face.

My head was getting dizzy and the world around me had started to rotate. It was probably because of all the stress and hunger.

After some five minutes, It got a little better. Sighing in relief, I trudged forwards but suddenly, my muscles felt too exhausted to move and another wave of nausea hit me. I tried to balance myself by gripping the wall but before I could reach it, everything blacked out.

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Any idea what happened to Clara?

If you love Clara and Aaron and their miserable lovestory, do vote for me.. The instructions are posted on my profile.

And if you're too sad about them, congratulations. NOAH and SOPHIA's romcom is just two months away :) I haven't figured out the name yet but I have the story in mind.