[Words Count: 2097]

"Was the daughter named, Laura Lewis?" He grinned.

"She was!" I chuckled softly.

"And then?" He arched up his eyebrows as he questioned.

"When I was born, their luck changed. They soon got good jobs and managed to build a cozy yet beautiful house for themselves. They were all happy and enjoying their lives. My father opened his own company and was earning the same as my grandfather. Until, one day I heard my parents arguing. I couldn't understand why they were fighting as I was only four years old at that time. Every night, I saw them fighting for a few months. I used to sit against the door of their room and try to listen to them. One night, I found that my father was having an affair with her secretary. My mother was upset with him and my father was trying to make her understand that he made a mistake and would never repeat it. My mother said once a cheater will always be a cheater and she continues to fight with him. My mother soon fell into a depression and was later diagnosed with the last stage of stomach cancer. She died that year and after twelve days, my father married her secretary because she was already pregnant. My stepmother, Katie Lewis gave birth to her daughter Katherine Lewis." I sighed in regret.

"Then how did your father die?" He asked as he sighed in disbelief.

"After Katherine was born my father became unwell. He was paralyzed. My stepmother used to bicker with my father as our company started to fall behind. And soon in a year he also died. I couldn't understand how it happened too suddenly. He was alright until Katherine was born and everything changed suddenly. Later, after a year my stepmother married, Shawn, who is now my stepfather. And, they both had a boy, Oliver Lewis." I licked my dry lips.

"Wait a second." He leans as he rests his hands on the table.

"How come these relationships are so complicated?" He widens his eyes in disbelief.

"I don't know when these relationships got complicated." I shrug in sadness.

"The way you met your stepfather, for a moment, I thought he was your real father." He licks his dry lips in disbelief.

"But he is not. I wish he was my real father. He has loved me the way any father would have loved his daughter. He has given me the fatherly love, that my real father couldn't have given me." I sighed in disappointment as I clicked my tongue softly.

"If he is your stepfather, why does he carry your father's surname?" He furrows his eyebrows in anticipation.

"My stepmother forced him to take my father's surname." I blink.

"But Why?" He sounded worried.

"Because by that he and Oliver can get his shares in my father's company." I got agitated.

"After my father died, my stepmother married my stepfather and gave him ten percent of her shares. The board of directors was unhappy with that because earlier my stepfather used to work with our enemy company so they disagreed with my mother giving him shares. But Katie Lewis being Katie Lewis, forced my stepfather to change his surname to Lewis. And, by that, my father became one of the shareholders in the company." I sighed softly as I avoided eye contact with him.

"So, does Oliver also hold some shares in the company?" He curls up his lips in anticipation.

"Oliver is still young but in the future, he definitely will hold some shares." I blinked.

"Who runs the company now?

"My stepmother is the president of the company and my stepfather is the vice president."

"How come he is the Vice President with ten percent shares?" He inquired as he widened his eyes in surprise.

"He has forty percent shares in the company including mine," I replied awkwardly.

"How much is yours?" He asked hesitantly.

"None!" I chuckled softly.

"What?" He curls up his lips from the corner as he swallows his saliva.

"My mother's shares were transferred to me after she died which was forty-nine percent but later when my father died my stepmother took his shares as she was his wife i.e., fifty-one percent of the company."

I placed the fork on the table, leaning back to sit straight as he asked so many questions.

"Forty-nine percent shares to none. Are you in some sort of gambling? How did you lose the shares?" He scoffed in shock.

"I didn't lose, I was forced to give the shares. I gave thirty percent to my stepfather and nineteen percent to Katherine when she turned 18." I blabbered out as he was getting rude with his questions.

"But, Why?" He snaps in anger.

"I don't have answers for that. I can tell you this much only, that I was forced." I fumed as I was irritated.

"Isn't your father cheating you? He took thirty percent of your shares and became Vice President of the company. How the hell did you let this happen?" He scoffs sarcastically yet in worry.

"I said I don't have any answers." I shrugged rudely.

"Bullshit! Did you buy the fatherly love from your stepfather against the thirty percent shares of your own company?" He snaps his palm on the table angrily.

Everyone in the restaurant was staring at us, as Ace splashed his palm on the table.

"And, you are saying that you don't have any answers, Are you for real?" He leans forward in anger.

I ignored it as I averted my eyes from the food and grabbed the fork back to start eating.

"Earlier, I heard you and Mr. Shawn talking, where he was saying that he will help you to convince your mother to give your company back. What does that mean?" He questions in anger as I ignore him while he places his cross-hands to rest above his chest.

"I am asking you something?" He snaps rudely as I again ignore him while taking a bite to eat.

"let me eat." I scoffed as I blinked in fear.

The fear of him being agitated towards my replies. I know I have fucked up my life but I cannot change what already has been done. Fate has already decided to punish me in this life so be it. I will survive this sooner or later.

"Are you not gonna tell me?" He scoffs irritatingly.

I took a bite to eat, still looking down at my food. I blinked a few times as my eyelids were filled with tears. My heart sank in pits to my stomach. I was afraid to let Ace know about my past but there was a bit of satisfaction as I replied to his questions that someone was there to listen to me, someone was there to worry about me. I was feeling good seeing him being tense for me. There was a different feeling arousing my stomach as he started to worry about me. I know I am wrong, I shouldn't be feeling this for him as he is my kidnapper but what should I do about my heart? Which has already started to have a soft corner for him, from the time when I saw him worrying about me and when he took my side in front of my parents. I can't help it but there was something good and different I was feeling about him. Although he was angry at me and I was irritated with his questions I felt blessed to have him by my side. Was I wrong, to feel this?

"Okay, I will find it out on my own." He kicked his chair with his right leg as he stood up from the chair and started to walk forward passing through me in anger.

"She kicked me out of the house." I snapped the fork on the table loudly in anger.

I pushed my chair backward and stood up in anger to face him.

"My stepmother, Katie Lewis, threatened to kick me out of the house." I turned towards him, and and faced him angrily without breaking any eye contact. I shed my tears from the corner of my eyes as I face him.

"She let me sleep on the footpath for two days. For the fucking two days she abandoned me like I never existed in her life. I didn't even have money to buy water for myself let alone food. I slept on the road, outside the house for two days in the same clothes with which I had left the house. After that, my stepfather took pity on me and brought me back home. He gave me food to eat and the clothes to change. He also said that he would convince my stepmother to let me stay in the house. My stepmother was angry with my stepfather and in reflex, she locked me up in the room for one week. The room was all dark and dusty. It was filled with spiders and the stray rat she found and left it with me in the room. The rat and I both were hungry but the rat still had his option to bite my toes but what about me? I starved for one week. After that, one day when my stepmother was not home, Oliver gave me food and I managed an extra two days in that shabby room. Later, when my mother realized that I was not giving up she opened the room and came inside with a knife in her hand." I pant as I struggle to breathe.

"She stabbed me here." I placed a finger at my heart.

"Half an inch away from my heart." I sobbed while crying as I swallowed a thick lump of saliva down my throat.

He swallows hard as he exhales in anxiety. He blinked as his eyes were filled with tears. He was struggling to say something when I cut him, "Do you know what it means when that knife would have pierced me in the heart?" I sighed as I averted my eyes to look outside.

"I wouldn't have been standing here in front of you as I would have been dead long back." I scoffed as I wiped my tears.

I squeezed the tip of my finger to his chest, being agitated I whispered, "There is no difference between you and my stepmother."

"You both are the same, both of you. You are those people who show their strength to the one who is weaker than you, because you know that the person in front of you is weak, how will she be able to fight? That is why, you use your strength and get your point accepted forcefully." I snapped rudely.

I pushed him slightly with the tip of the finger placed on his chest. I swallowed the saliva down my dry throat. I sobbed walking close to him.

He soon placed both hands on my shoulders as he shook his head denying. That one tear, I saw falling from the edge of my eyes was proof that he could understand and feel, what I said.

"What harm have I done to you both? What?" I stumbled on my feet as I shrug my shoulders removing his hands.

"She wanted to have the bloody shares so she tried to kill me and you wanted to save your father so you forced me to marry you. You both are the same, no difference." I cried as I sobbed.

"No difference!" I cried as I took a few steps back.

He shook his head denying the words I said as he was anxious. He was struggling to say something to calm me but he was out of his words.

I took another step back to turn and run from there while I didn't notice that the waitress was standing behind me I was about to bump into her when Ace held my hand to pull me towards him. Soon, one of his hands held mine and the other grabbed my waist as he pulled me towards him. His eyes met mine as I was about to fall and he grabbed me in his arms. I could feel his breath touching my forehead as he shed one more tear. I sighed heavily as I also shed a few tears which later touched the corner of my lips. I instantly pushed him further and released myself from his touch. I ran outside of the restaurant breaking eye contact.

To be continued...