"You deserve this. I can't believe I trusted you. I can't believe I was a friend to you. And this is what I get back? Shame on you, you whore," she screams on top of her lungs, her face red from the anger, her eyes red from the tears, her hair messy from the wind.

"Please, I ... You have to believe me ..." I beg out with a loud sob, my voice is filled with desperation and mortification, because there's a big circle of people around us, some even having their phones out and recording all this.

She shakes her head, disappointment and betrayal shining from her eyes, directed at no one else but me. "I don't have to do anything for you anymore. You're nothing to me. You hear it?" She turns from me and addresses all the people around us. "Girls, hide your boyfriends. We have a little whore who spreads her legs for guys that are taken here." She points her hand towards my direction.

My head lowers in shame and tears fall down so hard that my vision is blurry. I'm thankful for that so I can't see people's expressions and I don't see them whispering to each other. "You don't know me!" I want to scream out at everyone. But I keep quiet.

Maybe that's my mistake. That I didn't stand up for myself and prove they're all wrong. But what can I do against these people? They're powerful and I'm powerless.

And then it all starts. My biggest nightmare. The circle of people around us starts screaming hateful and shameful words. They get closer to me, starting to throw things at me. Tears start flowing faster and I don't dare to lift my head up and look at anyone.

They're getting closer and closer, making it impossible for me to escape. Something hard and big hits my stomach and I crunch down. And then something else hits the back of my knees with a force so I fall down forward.

A sob escapes me, a painful, tearing sob that seems to rip a part of my soul out. "I give up," I whisper the words that no one can hear through the loud yelling around me. "I give up."

I awake with a start, sitting up on the bed, feeling disoriented when I don't recognise my surroundings at first but I quickly settle down with a sigh of relief when I realise where I am and that it's already morning. This was the second nightmare I had this night.

I feel like I haven't slept for a week. I'm tired, sleepy and everything aches, especially my chest where I have that familiar tightness present that makes it hard to breathe. I sit up in the bed, pulling my knees to my body and wrap my arms around them, hugging them, and putting my head on them. I found this is the way I can calm myself down the fastest and the easiest. It helps me focus on breathing and my mind clears.

But that tiredness of a rough night doesn't go away, though. I already know it's going to be a long day.

I get myself out of the bed and get ready for the day, not even trying with my looks. I only wrap my hair up in a high ponytail, letting the dark circles and my pale skin show. I don't care if anyone notices, anyway. I gave up a long time ago trying to impress people.

I go downstairs, hearing Rosalyn murmuring in the kitchen and when I come there, I stop in my track. There are only Rosalyn and Alexander in there, Alexander leaning on the counter with his arms crossed, his all-time scowl present while Rosalyn is standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. I can't see her expression since she's turned away from me, but from the way the tension wraps around me the second I step inside the kitchen, I think she's probably not that happy.

Alexander notices me firstly, his eyes sweep to mine, his gaze piercing as he stares at me with all the coldness he can muster.

My look is indifferent.

Thankfully, Rosalyn turns around in that moment and her face clears as she gives me a big, but tight, obviously forced smile. "Oh, Gabby, good morning," she greets me. Her eyes search my face and she frowns. "You don't look that well, sweetheart. Are you feeling alright?"

I force my tongue to unglue from the roof of my mouth and I nod at her hastily. "I'm alright," I say quietly, my voice hoarse, so I clear my throat. It's unnerving when I feel Alexander's hard eyes on me the whole time, watching and waiting for me to make the wrong move so he could attack. And I honestly feel like a prey right now.

We all know who'd win in this game.

"Are you sure?" Rosalyn asks.

"Yes." I don't offer any more than that. Maybe I would if Alexander wasn't here, but no way in hell do I want to satisfy the asshole by letting him know I have problems.

Rosalyn stares at me for a few moments longer and then she finally nods. "Come, take a seat and get yourself something to eat. Rosanna is at the dentist this morning, so you'll have to fix Amelia something to eat. Is that alright?"

"Yes, of course," I say, coming fully into the kitchen, heading to the cabinets.

The problem appears when Alexander is standing directly in front of a cabinet I need to open to get the pan for the fried eggs I want out. "Can you move?" I grit out tightly.

The chills run down my body as if I stood in front of a refrigerator, that's how his look on me feels like. It's chilling me to my bones and his eyes just don't stop sweeping all over my face. I actually regret putting my hair up in a ponytail, because right now, I want to wrap all my hair around my face so it couldn't be seen.

"No, I can't," he retorts back.

My eyes lift to his and my mouth slightly falls open. I want to say something back, but Rosalyn beats me to it.

"Alex!" she hisses. "Move," she orders.

But Alexander doesn't look at her. Oh, no. His eyes stay on me and his face turns murderous. "Make me," he mouths directly at me.

My fists clench at my sides and for a second there, I seriously think about punching him in the stomach. Just for my satisfaction. I've met a lot of jerks in my life, a lot of mean people, but dealing with Alexander takes it to a whole new level. Maybe because those people I could simply ignore, but Alexander makes it hard to ignore him. And when I don't ignore him, he gets pissed.

Because, screw logic, right?

I level him with my stare, my lips tightening. "Move out of my way, Alexander," I repeat calmly with a sweet, honey-laced voice, intentionally pointing out his name.

His eyes darken and his face looks stormy and ready to kill someone.

His face leans closer to me. "Careful how you speak to me, Little one. You got enough warnings already. I'm a generous guy," he says lowly so only I can hear him.

"You can shove your warnings up your ass, for all I care," I hiss back, equally as silently.

Alexander scowls at me before he moves from the counter, bumping into my shoulder as he walks out.

I stare at the counter for a few more moments, blinking hard and trying to get what the hell just happened.

"Gabby, dear, I am so terribly sorry for his behaviour." Rosalyn's voice registers in my brain, getting me back from the trance I fell in.

I look at her over my shoulder and force a small smile. "It's okay, Rosalyn. Don't apologize on his behalf. I'm kind of getting used to him, anyway," I tell her the lie, sounding pretty convincing I must say.

Rosalyn presses her lips together and hangs her head down as if in shame. I quickly look forward and open the cabinet to look for that pan I need.

A few minutes later I hear the front door slam and then a few moments later I hear the loud rumble of a motorcycle driving away with a high speed. I don't dare to see Rosalyn's reaction to this.

It takes a few minutes for my breakfast to finish and as I sit down with my plate in front of me, Rosalyn moves a bit so she's closer to me and facing me. "I was thinking about Amelia learning how to drive a bike," she starts.

I stop chewing and lift my eyes to hers. She's not looking at me, she's staring down at the floor with an intense concentration. It seems like she's battling something inside of her, so I silently watch her, not wanting to break that concentration.

"Someone's going to bring the bike for her today and then you can start ... teaching her, I guess." She sounds quiet, distant and really uncertain.

I swallow down my food and let myself speak, equally quietly, "It doesn't have to be me if for some reason you don't trust me to do it ..."

Her eyes snap on me. "Who else is going to be, Gabby? My husband and I aren't home enough to do it. Alex ..." She shrugs helplessly. "Well, he's Alex." She says it like that explains it all. It's like they've all accepted him the way he is and they're not willing to try and change him. Even his parents gave up on him.

At least that's how I see it and they don't try to offer the world a different picture.

I look away from her and down on the plate. "I'll try to do my best then," I murmur, not really knowing what else to say. I know some children can start riding their bikes at two or three, so it's no surprise that they support Amelia's idea.

Thankfully, Alfred comes down with little Amelia just then when things are turning out super awkward between us. "Hello, Gabby!" Amelia greets me with a toothy smile.

"Good morning, Amelia," I greet her. She raises her arms up as she comes towards me and climbs up on my lap, hugging me. I'm completely touched by it and it brings a smile on my face.

"She likes to cuddle when she wakes up," Alfred informs me, making himself a cup of coffee. I see him lean down and kiss Rosalyn on the forehead out of the corner of my eyes and I get a weird feeling inside of me. Warmth spreads inside me, but also embarrassment. I can't really explain why.

Rosalyn and Alfred don't have the perfect relationship, they don't see each other a lot, but what Rosanna said about them and seeing small, familiar gestures like that made me think it might not be perfect, but it's real.

Rosalyn drinks her coffee and puts the cup on the counter, then comes closer and sweeps Amelia's hair back and then kisses her forehead. "Be good today, okay?"

Amelia is staring at her with big, round eyes, nodding against my chest.

Alfred kisses her on the cheek and ruffles her hair, too, making Amelia giggle. "See you tonight, pumpkin," he says, making a silly face at her.

I have to look away from this, because as much as it makes me happy to see this, it also fills my chest with unbearable pain, because I know that's what I missed in my life as a kid.

"Will you come home before I sleep, daddy?" Amelia asks with a pleading voice.

"I will try to," he says and clears his throat. He looks uncomfortable.

Amelia's smile falters on her face. "You gotta come!" she demands, tears welling in her eyes. I fear she's going to start crying and I don't know what to do.

Alfred's face gets all serious with traces of softness for his daughter. "I'll try to, Amelia. Your mum and I have a surprise for you today if you'll be good, alright?" he quickly changes the subject.

Amelia's face instantly brightens, the tears in her eyes already dry. "Really?" She bounces on my lap, making all the breath leave my lungs.

Alfred sends her a smile. "Only if you'll be good."

Amelia giggles and puts her palms flat on her cheeks, her soft curls bouncing on her head. "I will! I promise!"

Rosalyn and Alfred both chuckle. "Okay. We have to go. Bye, darling," Rosalyn says.

Alfred waves at Amelia before he follows his wife until he's beside her and he puts his arm around her shoulders, bringing her to his body. I have to smile at this affection of love, even though they might act calm and collected most of the time, you can't miss the love radiating from them.

"Alright, princess. Let's make you something to eat before we go play."

"Are we going out today?" Amelia asks as she jumps down on the floor and I stand up.

I look out of the window. "Sure. It's nice weather, so why not."

That makes her grin hugely. She runs to the baby she has left on the kitchen table before. "You hear that? We are going out again!" she tells the baby as if it's the living creature.

I shake my head and chuckle.