Doomed By Mr. Billionaire's Betrayal

Maya was scared, filled with emotions she couldn't name, her body reacting in ways she couldn't understand. Why did only the mention of the name Gabriel send her heart racing and start a fire in the pit of her stomach, stirring feelings she had never felt before.

Her father had called her a whore when she had looked twice at another teenager when she herself had been a teenager. She had felt angry then and rightfully so, it had given her the self determination to beat her father's white room torture. Now she wasn't so sure, was this what it meant to be a woman of low morals - to want the body of a man on top of her's, doing things to her that no one had done before, a man she barely knew.

In her minds eye, she saw him. The way he had been at the arena the focus in his gaze, the rhythm in his moves. He had obviously not needed to stay focused in other to beat all his opponents, even a dummy could tell he was the better fighter -- yet he had fought with a concentration she had never seen before.

The ringing of an alarm jolted her from her reverie, it was coming from somewhere in Rachel's room. She looked at the clock by her bedside, it was five o'clock.

She had been living in the policewoman's house even though her house had been cleared by the police and she was free to go back yet she didn't want to go home, not yet. She wasn't ready to face her nightmares, to stand in the same house where her mother had been brutally murdered by her own father. There were to many memories, memories she wanted to lock up somewhere in the recess of her mind. Her father had hated birthdays, he had simply ignored her's or he had forgotten her birthday but he hadn't spared her mom and each day that would have been a day of celebration in other families had been a horror in her own house. Her father had always locked himself up with her mother in their room and she had always ended up needing ear plugs and very loud music to block out her mother's screams.

Somehow in the last few days she had felt free, from being herself, from the horror story that was her life. She had felt emotions that she had never felt before, she had even made a friend. Even though she knew Rachel was only putting up with her out of pity, the policewoman was still the closest thing she had ever had to a friend.

She got out of bed and took a shower, she was going to have to face her fears and move back into her house and like her English teacher always said, there was no better time than the present.

"Good morning beautiful." Rachel said as she stepped into the sitting room, she was already in her uniform.

"Good morning Rachel." Maya smiled, trying to be brave. "I'll be going back to my house today."

Rachel looked concerned immediately. "Are you sure you're ready for that, you know you can remain here as long as you want."

Maya sighed. "I know. It's just that I'm going to have to go home one of these days."

"It doesn't have to be today -- you can stay here for a month or two, until we're sure that--"

"Sure that what." She shook her head, a bit confused. "What are you trying to tell me Rachel."

Rachel sat down gently. "He has been granted bail, a thousand dollars but we all believe he can't afford it."

Maya suddenly couldn't breathe, her breath was coming out in whooshes and she couldn't draw in enough air. She tried to concentrate. She had not snitched, her father had no reason to punish her but deep down, she knew he did not need any reason. He had been in jail, he didn't like that and that was reason enough to want to punish her, he could even throw in the fact that she had not come to visit for good measure.

She felt Rachel's reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Breathe." Rachel was saying and gradually, she forced in air into her lungs and forced it out again.

"Like I said earlier, you don’t need to go back there, not today"

Maya shook her head slightly, dread written all over her face. "Yes Rachel, I do have to go back."