Chapter 11

"Hey, Jules." A voice she knew too well echoed in her ears, making her turn to look at her unexpected guest. "I heard what happened."

Still, she gasped in surprise upon seeing her warm and delightful face that finally brought a much-needed smile to her sorry state.

She supposed she should be glad to have a friend in her time of need and a shoulder to lean on, even if it was just for a brief moment.

"Thalia, what are you doing here?" She did not intentionally inform her friend about the situation because she did not want her to worry about her and Oliver.

They met a year ago in the hotel where she last worked at. She was the assistant supervisor in the housekeeping department, while Thalia was a sous chef.

Then, half a year later, Thalia moved to this place, deciding to open up her small restaurant. But somehow, they had kept in touch.

And when she heard about a job opening at the resort, she immediately contacted her and recommended her to the owner.

Thalia was the reason she got the job. Then, her friend helped her move into her tiny apartment, even buying some of their things.

"You should have told me." Thalia moved closer, holding the still-unconscious Oliver by the hand. "You should not be dealing with this alone."

"I am not alone." She hastily answered, but clearly, she was not thinking straight as she lied to her friend. But it was not a complete lie, knowing someone did help her with the bill.

But truthfully, she did not want to bother her friend, knowing Thalia would do anything to help her, even if her friend already had her plate full of problems herself.

In addition, she already had a long list of things her friend had done for her. She already abused her generosity. She could not add more.

"Who are you talking about?" Her friend suddenly glanced at her, seemingly concerned. "Don't tell me you reached out to your family."

Of course, her friend was aware of her past and how her family had turned their back on her when she did not go through with the wedding.

Her father would not even see her when she had her son. Therefore, she faced her situation alone, forcing her to survive and care for her son until she met Thalia.

"No. I did not." She admitted, knowing they would never lift a finger to help her even if she was already on the brink of death. To her family, she was already dead.

She could still remember how her stepmother faced her at the door with contempt. She did not even allow her to step foot inside the house.

"Your father almost died because of the scandal you brought to this family. Now you want to parade your bastard and humiliate your father again before the entire family."

She only came to greet her father since it was his birthday and to introduce her son to him. But her stepmother's words stopped her, making her realize she had not forgiven her.

Sadly, she and her stepmother never saw things eye to eye. She tried to get close to her, but she had always been aloof.

She only pretended they were close when her father was around, but once alone again, she could not care about her well-being.

"I am sorry. I just thought..." But the words died on her lips when her stepsister stepped out of the house, looking both worried and irritated.

Still, it gave her hope since she knew her stepsister would step up and come to her rescue against her mother, just like when they were young.

"Mom, Dad is looking for you. They are about to blow the cake," Kaely stepped forward to usher her mother to return inside.

"Hi, Jules." She greeted her when her mother reluctantly left them outside. "I am sorry about Mom, but she is just concerned about Dad."

She knew Eugene was just her stepfather, but he was the father she had learned to love. She grew up learning everything she knew about life from him.

"I just want to see him, Kaely." She begged her stepsister to let her inside. "I don't plan to stay long."

When she heard that he had a heart attack, she blamed herself for it. She knew she was the reason for it.

But now that he had slowly recovered, she wished to see him, and hopefully, she could finally ask for his forgiveness.

"I know, but now is not a good time. Mom is throwing a party for him. The house is full of our family and friends." Kaely, also her bestfriend, tried to reason with her.

"And as your friend and sister, I beg you not to ruin this day for Dad. He had been through enough." Her stepsister added.

She knew Kaely meant well, but her words were like a knife repeatedly piercing into her already broken heart.

"You know I did not mean any of those things to happen." She could not say she was innocent. Nonetheless, she was confident she did not intentionally try to ruin her life.

She was marrying the most incredible guy ever. Why would she try to sabotage that? But she could not also deny that she slept with another man.

And unfortunately, she could not remember being forced to do it. Nevertheless, the event was still hazy. Her vague memories were not enough for her to remember the details.

"Please let me see Dad." She tried to get passed her bestfriend, hoping she would understand and let her through.

"No. I can't let you do that." But, Kaely stopped her before she could even reach the door. "You almost destroyed this family. I will never let you do that again."

Her stepsister's face suddenly changed. Gone was her friendly smile. All that was left was her disdain for her that her stepsister did not try to hide anymore.

"Please." She begged her again.

"No. I can't keep pretending that you are innocent in all of this. I can't keep protecting you, knowing you brought this to yourself when you decided to whore yourself and have another man's child."

She could not help but step back, feeling like her sister had slapped her hard across her cheeks. She always thought Kaely would always have her back and that she believed her. But she was wrong.

Still, could she blame her? She did put her stepsister in a terrible position. Kaely probably had to put up with a lot of crap because of what she did.

"I am sorry, Kaely." But she felt words were not enough as she stared into the only friend she had. She guessed she had lost her too.

"Just leave, Jules." Her stepsister looked at her with an expression she could not read.

"As much as it pains me to say this, because you know I love you. But please don't try to come back. Dad is already doing so much better without you."

"Our family is doing much better since you left." With that said, her stepsister turned around and entered the massive doors, leaving her alone to face her misery.

With no other recourse, she ran and left without turning back.

Her sister was right. She did not belong in that place anymore. She had exhausted her welcome. She guessed they were better off without her in their lives.

Her father would have looked for her if he wanted to be with her. But she guessed he could not bear to see her again after what she had done.

She was a disgrace with a bastard on the way.

Therefore, her family was out of the question.

"If not your family..." Thalia narrowed her eyes at her.

"Then, who else is helping you?"