I looked at the clock and shook my head. How was I going to achieve this? The one good thing was that since my tenancy hadn't expired, I still had my apartment. The bad things were a lot more and a lot worse than just still having the apartment. I needed to clean it since it hadn't been lived in for a while. While my things were still there. Some personal keepsakes that my mom could recognize were here. My car was still parked in the garage, still not repaired since I had gotten my way about paying for the repairs, but I still didn't have the money the technician had required.

I groaned and bent over the table. What was I going to do? What was I going to tell Jonathan? How dirty was the apartment going to be? How much time would I have to try to make it livable before my mom arrived?

Jonathan entered the kitchen and glanced at me. "What's going on? Does your head still hurt?"

Ah yes, my head. I shook my head and straightened up. "Nothing." I organized my lie in my head, and when I knew I wouldn't sound like a stuttering mess, I opened my mouth. "I will have to take a half day today. I just received a call, and I need to see one of my old friends. I'll probably also be home late. Or if it's too late, I'll sleep over at her place, and we'll meet in the office tomorrow."

Jonathan stared at me like he was dissecting me. "Really? Hope there's no problem?"

I smiled. "Of course not. It's just like a girls' night. My friends are free today, and it's been a while since we've seen each other. I just think it's going to take a while." I said, unable to meet his eyes. Hopefully he hadn't noticed the inconsistency in my plural friends.

"Alright. Did Eleni tell you anything?"

I shook my head, confused. "No. Was she meant to?"

He shook his head. "No." His phone started ringing from the living room, and he left the kitchen. I didn't have the time to think about what he had meant. Now that I'd gotten permission to leave work early along with my plausible excuse, I now just had my mom to worry about. Maybe I should borrow some things from my neighbor to replace the things I had taken out? I shook my head. That nosy old woman would probably just report it to Lucas. Or should I collect some things from Lillian? They lived not too far from my apartment. It's also been a while since I spoke with her, so it would be nice to catch up, even if I was unable to ask, or she wasn't going to be available.

LILLIAN'S POV

I stood in front of the mirror, studying my black eye and bruised face. My body hadn't been left out of the pain battlefield. Lucas had gone into his usual fit of anger the night before and, as usual, had used me as a stress relief. At least he was out of the house now. I sighed and went into the bathroom. A hot shower would soothe my pains for now, and I'll take some pain relief when I'm done.

I came out of the bathroom feeling just a little refreshed. After all, how refreshed could one feel when they had bruises throughout their body? I winced when I tried to tie my towel around me and instead chose to stand in front of the fan until the water on my body dried. As I was about to go nearer to the fan, my phone started ringing. My heart started fluttering. Maybe that was Lucas, and he was finally going to apologize for losing his shit on me. I glared at the phone and glared when I saw who was calling. What did she want from me now? Danielle was the main cause of everything that had gone wrong in my life. And to think I had once regarded her as a friend?

I let the phone ring until it stopped and started going back to the fan when the phone began ringing again. I rolled my eyes and picked it up, swiping on the answer button.

"Hey, Lillian." Danielle greeted in her usual annoying, bubbly voice. I put the phone on speaker and threw it on the bed.

"Hey." I responded, trying my best to sound happy.

"It's been a while. How are you doing?" Oh, did I mention that her random calls to check up on me pissed me off? Like, wasn't it enough that I had to see her whenever my boyfriend thought it fit to go out? She still had to call me to remind me of her existence.

"Good. How about you?"

She laughed a little. "I'm fine. I'm preparing to go to work, and I'm sure you are too, so I'll try not make this phone call any longer than necessary."

The water was already drying from my body, so I went to get the ointment I used on my bruises in the bathroom. When I came back, I realized I'd missed whatever Danielle had said last. "What did you say?" I asked, wincing as I applied the ointment to my bruises.

"I asked if you were already at work and if I was disturbing you or something like that." That had also been her fault. Because of how frequently Lucas lost his temper, basically regularly, my makeup was no longer able to hide my bruises and black eyes. I'd had to quit and was now just staying at home. Another thing that pissed Lucas off. Which was her fault as well. Why did she have to be so perfect and good at everything?

"Not yet. I'm preparing for work now, but I still have time. Do you need something?" I asked, lying.

I closed the cap of the ointment and put on my only silky nightwear, not bothering with any underwear. I was going to be home alone throughout the day anyway, and anything apart from the nightwear was going to chafe on my bruises. I was in enough pain already.

"Alright. I wanted to check up on you as well as ask for a favor." She said, and I narrowed my eyes. She hadn't asked me for too many favors since I'd known her. Another thing I also found annoying. Why did she have to be so strong and confident that she rarely needed help from people?

"A favor?" I confirmed, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Yes. But if you're unable to do it, there's no need. It's not that urgent. I was wondering if you close work early or will be home around, say, late afternoon. My mom is coming over to my place, and I know she'll be disappointed at the state. I was wondering if I could come and borrow some things that could give my house a bit more life, since you're an interior decorator." She asked, and I stared at the phone in confusion, trying to gather my thoughts.

"Don't you live with your rich husband now? Why will you want to borrow anything from your guy friend's house? And why am I being concerned in your personal business? Are we this close?" I could hear the jealousy in my voice, but any logical person would agree with me. With someone of her husband's caliber, why did she have to come over to Lucas' house? Wasn't it enough that he had a girlfriend, and she was married?

She paused. "I didn't mean to offend you. There's actually a situation I can't really explain, but my mom won't be meeting me in my husband's house. I actually have an apartment close to your place, but if you're unable to help me, there's no problem." She said hesitatingly.

I scoffed. "Sorry, babe. I have more things to worry about than someone that is enjoying and is in a greater place than I could dare to be." I replied sarcastically.

"I don't understand." She responded, and I could feel the can that had been holding my anger, both caused by Lucas' obsession with her and the conversation that was currently going on, boiling over.

"Is there much you do? Even if it's so obvious, you won't be able to understand. Even when there are signs and people tell you. You refuse what you can see and insist that you're correct." I still didn't understand how oblivious she could be.

"I'm sorry. Is this Lillian?" She asked, and I burst out laughing. "Unfortunately, I can't help you. I'm not as jobless as you think. Perhaps you should ask your friend. After all, he doesn't hesitate to drop whatever he's doing for you. Something he doesn't do for his girlfriend." I finished in a whisper.

I could feel Danielle's confusion from the phone, but I didn't feel remorse about it at all. I'd gotten tired of keeping up the pretense that I liked her when I actually hated her, and her disappearance would be the best thing to happen after ice cream.

"Alright." She said, and I heard her pacing. "If I did something that upset you, I'm so sorry. Can I come and see you in person?" She asked, and I hung up the call. The stupid girl couldn't even take a hint. How had she managed to find a billionaire husband?

Why did she have so many good things? A husband that was very influential and had even had a physical fight for her on his wedding day, regardless of the high profile of the guests that had been there. As if that wasn't enough for an ordinary woman, another woman's boyfriend was even obsessed with her. The worst part was Lucas' obsession had gotten worse after her wedding, and I was the one getting the brunt of the anger. But I couldn't blame Lucas for that. If the girl had taken the hints from the beginning rather than stringing him along for the ride while she bettered her position with her boss, things would have been far better. I had known him before she had, for fuck's sake.

I screamed into my pillow, trying to shed my frustration. When that didn't work, I threw my phone to the corner wall and climbed into the bed, wallowing in my fury and self-pity.

DANIELLE'S POV

I dropped my phone on the table, confused, my hangover long forgotten. What had that been? As I was still trying to understand it, Jonathan came into the kitchen, fully dressed and holding his briefcase.

"I have to go to the office early. You can rest a while at home and come to the office later." He said, and I stood up.

"There's no point in taking two cars to work. I'm ready as well. Let's just go together." He could be expecting me to take his car along to meet my mother. I shuddered. Even though we rarely saw each other physically, she knew my financial situation and that most of my earnings were in savings, and I had just a little I used to take care of myself, so there was no way I would have been able to afford a car like that. The questions that would come from that alone, I didn't want to imagine.

"Alright." He said, and I went inside to get my shoes and bag. I'll continue thinking about what to do on the way to work.

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