The skies open up above me and the first flash of lightning and crack of thunder goes through just as I'm angrily crossing the median divider of Park Avenue as I head west.
I notice that the skies have darkened. They're a whole lot darker now than they were just five minutes ago when I stormed out of the Four Seasons.
There's another flash and crack.
And within seconds, just as I get to the sidewalk, the first heavy drops of rain start to fall from the sky.
I don't have an umbrella, unlike everyone around me who seems to pull theirs out.
So I'm just walking down Park Avenue as the rain starts coming down.
I'm getting drenched. But you know what?
Fuck it.
I'm pregnant. Lonely.
The woman I thought was my mother actually has no relation to me. The only connection I truly have with her is that she caused my biological father to kill himself years ago.
The man that I thought of as my stepfather and who I thought I was falling in love with happens to have betrayed me worse than I've ever thought possible—trading in love and happiness for the chance to save his company by joining forces with the Devil.
Oh, and I'm also carrying his baby.
And if Mason is out of my life, then it's probably a good bet that I'm out of a job. I mean, either Lorna will come for me, or he will.
My "mother" has already kicked me out of her house. She could very easily require Mason to force me out of a job.
Which means that I wouldn't have enough money to even afford the walk-up apartment I have on the Lower East Side without a job.
Do you remember earlier on when you first met me I told you that I never really grew up knowing poverty or want?
I know I may have come across as a bit of a brat, basically saying oh I've been well off.
Well, guess what, hun. I'm broke, single, lonely, betrayed, pregnant, and drenched to the bone as I walk down New York City right about now.
I think if anything this whole experience has me humbled. A lot.
What? You don't believe me?
I mean, hun, I've lost everything I have. I've pretty much had everything either taken or stolen away from me since you met me.
Seriously, there is no way for a happily ever after from here.
There's only one thing that I can do, if I'm looking to survive right now.
I start to run downtown toward the Kane Price offices. I take off my shoes and run barefoot. What the fuck do I care at this point? I'm already soaked to the core in this downpour.
I make it to the 52nd Street and Park Avenue headquarters of Kane Price a few minutes later. The sidewalks have cleared out because of the rain and even the traffic is a lot slower. But I don't pay any attention to that, going into the building.
I can tell the few people in the lobby look at me in a mixture of puzzlement and curiosity but I seriously have no more fucks left to give as I find my ID badge and buzz myself past the security turnstiles and toward the elevator banks.
The security desk can't do anything to stop me if I'm wet as long as I have my security badge that gives me access.
The elevator takes me up to my floor. It's evening and a lot of people have left for the day so not too many people stare at me as I walk to my computer.
Water is literally dripping from my hair, face, and clothes. I'm definitely leaving a trail, but I don't care.
I go to my desk and turn on my computer.