Chapter 11

~ Stephenie Coran ~

Rebecca was greeted by the stench of rust wafting across the riverbanks, the din of buzzing cars atop the bridge above her, and the filthy children running around with savage words coming out of their mouths as she slowly dragged herself back to her apartment building.

"Stephenie?!" Upon noticing his daughter walking into their apartment, her father immediately inquired, "Where the hell have you been?"

After catching a whiff of liquor on his breath, Rebecca's eyes squint at him. In spite of the filthy sofa in front of him, it didn't appear to bother her father as he sat on it. With all of the unwashed dishes in the sink, leftover pizza boxes on the table, and a flies-infested trash bin, their home appeared unkempt. In the days following her departure, she could not believe that the trash had not been emptied for several days.

Rebecca was apprehensive when she finally arrived home and saw the state of the house. She was still a little weak to move, not to mention how sore she felt down below, so she didn't want to do any strenuous work, such as cleaning the house, while she was recovering.

"Stephenie! Aren't you paying attention to what I'm saying? Don't tell me you've forgotten what your real name is?" her father yelled yet again.

"I heard you!" Rebecca responded with a heavy sigh out of her frustration.

Of course, she is well aware that Stephenie was indeed her real name. Rebecca was simply one of the pseudonyms she used when her father sold her off to some random wealthy man to pay off his debts. Stephenie was always able to get herself out of trouble before things got out of hand, which seemed like her frequent luck. And her most recent encounter was with a drug dealer, to whom his father owed a huge sum of money as a debt.

Stephenie was relieved that she had been able to flee yet again before that filthy old man could lay his dirty hands on her once more. However, when she met Hades, things took a completely different turn.

'Hades'

It was impossible for Stephenie to keep her mouth shut as she mumbled the name of the man who had completely turned her world upside down in an unforgettable evening.

She questioned whether Hades was even aware that she had left his manor. She made the decision to let him go and move on with her life. Stephenie was convinced that she was not good enough for him, especially after what happened last night. That perhaps explained why he suddenly changed his behavior toward her after what they did.

For her, the experience of being with a man like him is nothing short of a dream. She couldn't get the image of Hades' sweaty body crawling against hers from her mind. And the scent of his masculine body was still lingering at the tip of her nose. However, just like any dream, she would need to wake up to the reality that a man like him would never look at her in the same way that she does at him.

It was simply too good to be true.

As she was about to drift off into a dream, her father interrupted and ordered, "I'm hungry, Steph, go get me something to eat," She was startled out of her daydream.

Stephenie sighed and rolled her eyes as she endured the discomfort she was experiencing. She had a strong desire to bind her body to the bed, but her good-for-nothing father would not allow her to do so for certain, at least not until he got what he wanted. And because she didn't have much of a choice, she simply rummaged through the cupboards, where she discovered an expired supply of pasta.

She muttered, "Shit." as she was at a loss for what she should do next now that they had run out of food to cook and she had no money left to buy anything.

So, in front of her father, Stephenie summoned up the courage to speak out loud. "There's nothing left to cook," she said, her voice was breaking.

Her father just glared at her, clearly annoyed by her actions. "What do you expect me to do? Go and find me something to eat for dinner. I told you I'm hungry!" he exclaimed at her.

"I-I don't have any money," she replied with a stroking motion on her arm as she explained that she did not have any money. A tinge of dread pervaded her words, but she worked hard to gather herself and tell him what she really thought anyway.

What she said, however, seemed to irritate his father. Unexpectedly, Stephenie was hit hard in the forehead by the empty beer can that her father threw at her. She was unable to avoid it, and as a result, it left a large red mark on the center of her temple. And as she stroked her forehead to relieve the discomfort, her father sternly told her, "You useless cunt! You dare to tell me that you are broke? So where did you keep the money Mr. Johnson gave you then?"

Stephenie had become so enraged that she was no longer able to keep her words to herself. "I already told you that I don't have any money. Why do you have to be this violent? I wasn't paid by Mr. Johnson!" She told him.

His father's eyes widened as he became enraged by what he had just heard. "What do you mean you weren't paid?!" he screamed, splatters of saliva covered the floor as he vented his anger and frustration. Afterward, he grabbed Stephenie's neck and pressed his thick hands into her skin so deeply that she nearly choked to death.

"Fa-father I ca...can't breathe," Stephenie begged him to take his hands off her neck as she struggled to free herself. She was both in pain and terrified, knowing that her father had tightly clasped her between his two palms, indicating that he was determined to snap her neck. The madness in his eyes confirmed that he was indeed enraged to the point where he would not hesitate to take Stephenie's life if necessary.

Stephenie had no choice but to put forth greater effort to survive. She slid her knees between his legs, slamming them against his balls. Her father squirmed in pain as he slouched like a curveball, oozing the pain he had just acquired.

Stephenie had been coughing uncontrollably since she had been freed from her father's grasp. She stroked her neck to caress it from the swelling. When she attempted to rise and flee, her father was able to recover from what she had done earlier and immediately restrained her from where she stood by holding on to her ankle. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. The sound of her father crawling to get above her made her scream in terror. In fear of her father's next violent action, Stephenie kicked his face hard enough to release her.

The moment she realized she had the opportunity to flee, she didn't waste any time taking it. Stephenie leaped to her feet as she stormed out the door of their apartment. She was desperate to get away from his father, but she didn't have a specific location in mind at the time. All she was concerned about at the time was getting as far and as quickly away from her abusive father as she possibly could.

Stephenie wished she had never returned to this place again. The only reason she returned was because she intended to move some of her personal belongings with her when she decided to embark on a new life away from her father. However, she felt unlucky to have come across his hideous father once more, and then everything happened.

She sobbed as she struggled to get across the road by herself. It is unlikely that she would be proud of her upbringing if she were to tell anyone about it. Born without any knowledge of her mother and only raised under the care of a father who thought so little of her, even to the point of selling her to random men, was the worst kind of hell she could have imagined for her.

Stephenie would often stay up all night, deep in thought about why life had been so cruel to her, until she could eventually fall asleep. In fact, she couldn't think of any crime she had committed that would have earned her such a fate. If she had only been given the opportunity to choose, she would have chosen a better life than the one she has now. But, despite all of her thoughts and hopes, she was well aware that she was already trapped in a life along with people like her father.

The coal-tinted clouds above her caught her attention, and she sighed and raised her chin to look at it. An impending heavy rainstorm appeared to be brewing in the vicinity. Everyone in her close surroundings was hustling their steps to get home or find a place to take shelter from the downpour so they wouldn't get soaked by the rain.

Everyone, with the exception of Stephenie.

She was completely absorbed in her own thoughts about where she would go now that she had been attempting to outrun and ultimately escape her father.