Chapter 3

Georgia woke up in the middle of the night, feeling pains all over her body. She stood up weakly from the bed, put on her clothes, es and slowly left the room.

Last night was a nightmare for her, she was raped by a stranger as he drove in and out of her repeatedly that night. She couldn’t even see his face.

Could her life get any worse? From being rejected to getting raped. She was the perfect definition of bad luck.

Georgia’s body felt heavy, as though each movement took all her strength. She stumbled out of the room, feeling disgusted and irritated. She tried to remember the face of who had raped her, but couldn’t. He left her there like the heartless beast he was after he used her like he wanted.

It was already night almost morning, the party was over. She had no idea where her family was, all she knew was that she had to get out of there, to find somewhere safe.

She made her way down the hall, trying to remain quiet so as not to alert anyone to her presence, slowly and slowly she dragged herself out of the palace and walked all the way home that night.

… .

“Where is she? Jared asked no one in particular the next morning as they both met in an empty room.

“I don’t know..” Caleb replied, looking around the room. The bed was scattered, with blood stains. She was a virgin.

Jared bit his lips in regret, it was all his fault and he felt so horrible at that moment.

“What’s her name?” He turned to Caleb. He was going to try and find her, at least to take responsibility for what happened.

“I don’t know..” Caleb confessed.

“You what!!”

“I picked a ransom woman. I didn’t bother to take a look at her face because of the urgency of things.

Caleb could see the anger on Jared’s face, and he was afraid of what he might do. He tried to explain himself, to make him understand.

“I’m sorry, but I thought everything would have been sorted out by this morning”.

Jared clenched his fists, his body tense with rage. But deep down, he knew that Caleb was just trying to help him, even if he had gone about it in the wrong way.

“Try finding her and tell me if you see anything related to her..” Jared instructed as he left the room. Guilt building up in him.

He should probably have stayed in the room till morning and then talked things through with the woman.

But he left, without even taking a look at her face.

He silently hoped to find her.

… ..

Georgia rushed into the bathroom as she vomited all the food she had just eaten.

She wished it wasn’t what she thought it was.

It’s been two weeks since that incident and she was still trying to move on and heal from the trauma.

Georgia stared at her reflection in the mirror, the reality of what had happened to her still sinking in. She tried to act strong, but this was a lot to handle. She felt violated and dirty like something had been stolen from her.

She wanted to forget, to move on, but it felt impossible. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his face. Every time she heard a man’s voice, she felt a shiver of fear. She just wanted to feel normal again, to be able to move on with her life.

But how could she do that when she felt so broken inside?

“I hope it’s not what I think it is..” she mumbled as she turned on the faucet before rinsing her mouth.

She’s been vomiting for days now, and she just wished it was not pregnancy.

Where was she going to start from?

Georgia took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. It was no use panicking, it would only make things worse. She needed to stay calm, to figure out what to do next.

She went back into her room, got some cash, and ran out of the house to get a pregnancy strip from the pharmacy.

She got the strip and ran back home, and on her way to her room, she bumped into Serefina. She apologized and quickly went away, Serefina suspected something had been off with her sister, so she secretly followed her to find out what.

“Of my gosh!! This can’t be happening..” Georgia muttered in fear as she looked at the results from the strip. She was pregnant!!

Georgia felt like the world was crashing down around her. She was only 18, she wasn’t ready for this. She had so many plans, and so many dreams for her future. How could she raise a child? She didn’t have the means to take care of herself, let alone a baby.

And what would her family say? She could imagine the looks of disappointment and disapproval on their faces. She knew that her sister Serefina would be especially cruel, she had never been supportive of her.

What was she going to do? She didn’t even know who the father was.

She was still lost in her thoughts when someone opened the door of her bathroom.

It was Serefina.

She yelled the moment her eyes landed on the pregnancy strip Georgia was holding.

“I knew it!!” She exclaimed happily.

“You’re pregnant!!”

“Mom, Dad.. come here. I can’t wait to tell Mom and Dad that you’re pregnant.. “ she threatened as she grabbed Georgia’s wrist dragged her out of the room and headed downstairs.

“ Please let go of me... “ Georgia begged as she struggled with Serefina who held her tight.

“You can’t tell them, please!” Georgia pleaded, her voice desperate. “I’m not ready to deal with this, you can’t let them know. Please, you can’t do this to me!”

But Serefina was relentless, determined to punish her sister for being what she saw as a disgrace to the family. She dragged Georgia into the living room, where their parents were sitting.

“Mom, Dad,” Serefina said, a smug look on her face. “I have something to tell you about Georgia,” she announced as she pushed Georgia.

“She’s pregnant!” Serafina announced and both their parents stood up in shock.

“What!!” They exclaimed their eyes traveling to Georgia who was sobbing quietly.

Their father, Zane, approached Georgia.

“Dad I can ex… “ she didn’t get to finish her statement and he slapped her on the face.

“How dare you!” Zane roared, his voice thundering throughout the room.

“How dare you bring shame to our family! How could you be so irresponsible!”

Georgia felt the sting of his hand, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. She had never seen her father so angry, so disgusted with her. She felt like she was a disappointment, that she had failed him.

“Dad, please,” she sobbed, her voice trembling.

“ I’m sorry.. “

“ You’re sorry. You’ve always been a shame, Georgia. Now this is just the height.. “ he pointed out angrily.

“ Who’s the father? “ Zane requested as he was ready to go dump Georgia at his doorsteps.

“ I don’t know... “ Georgia confessed as she broke into another round of fresh tears.

“You don’t know?!” Zane thundered his voice like thunder. “You’re telling me you don’t know who the father is?!”

He turned to Serefina. “Is this true? She doesn’t know who the father is?” he asked, his voice dangerous.

Serefina nodded, a smile playing on her lips. She was enjoying every minute of this, enjoying seeing her sister suffer.

“Tell me who it is!” Zane demanded, his anger increasing with every passing second.

“I don’t know! He forced himself on me..” she sobbed.

“Who forced himself on you?” Zane inquired.

“Can’t you see she is lying, dad..” Serefina chimed in, wanting to make matters worse.

“I’m not lying!” Georgia protested, her voice hoarse from crying. “I swear, I’m not making this up!”

But Zane was no longer listening. He was too angry, too lost in his own emotions. He turned to his wife.

“I think it’s time we send her away,” he said, his voice cold. “I can’t have her here anymore. She’s a disgrace to our family.”

Georgia felt like her heart was being ripped from her chest. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Georgia can’t keep living as my daughter. She’s a disgrace and brought nothing but shame upon us.. “ she gritted his teeth in anger.

“ You cease to be my daughter from today.. “ he said to her coldly.

“No!” Georgia pleaded, her heart breaking. “You can’t do this! I’m your daughter! Don’t do this!” she needed them more. If they threw her out, she would have nowhere to go.

But Zane was unmoved. He turned his back on her and walked away. Georgia sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. She felt like her world was collapsing around her like she was being torn apart.

She looked up at her mother, her eyes pleading for understanding. But her mother simply turned away, leaving her alone in the room.

“Leave my house before I come back here. Take nothing with you..” her father’s heartless voice rang in her ears as they all turned their back on her.

She felt someone grab her hand, it was Serefina. The sister who had always hated her.

“Please Serefina..”

She dragged Georgia to the ground and paid no attention to her pleas.

“Good riddance..” she smiled, throwing Georgia out of the door, and then she slammed the door in her face.