ELENI'S POV

I entered the station again with Jonathan, this time, less panicked, and we headed to where Jonathan had been seated earlier. The officer behind the desk flinched as he saw us. I glanced at Jonathan to see if he had noticed, but since there was nothing on his face to show that, I shoved it away. I was probably just imagining things.

We got to the desk and Jonathan pulled a nearby chair closer to the desk and gestured for me to sit where he had been sitting earlier, right in front of the officer. I stared at him in desperation, my eyes wide. Was I going to do this myself?

The officer just kept staring at us, and Jonathan kept on staring at me, prompting me to talk. Had he forgotten I had a fear of police stations? I had entered this place again because he said I could trust him.

When neither of us spoke, the officer cleared his throat. "I can assume this is the person being stalked right?" He asked and Jonathan nodded.

He put his hands underneath his chin. "What's your relationship? Is she your wife? She looks a little different from the woman that was on the news that you married."

I glanced at Jonathan, whose eyes were on the officer, "Did he need to know that?" and opened my mouth to respond, but Jonathan beat me to it. "You obviously know the answer to that, so the question wasn't necessary. And it's really none of your business, just know she's someone very important to me."

I glanced at Jonathan. Was I really? His actions were confusing me.

The officer nodded and turned his attention to me, opening a notepad. "Can I have your name, ma'am?"

I swallowed. I didn't want to introduce myself with his surname, but my maiden name had sounded very strange in my mouth when I tested it earlier at home. "Eleni Georgiou"

He glanced at me in the middle of writing. "That's a unique name." He said in a strange voice, and I held his eyes. "I'm Greek. Is there a problem?"

He shook his head with a slight smile. "Of course not. Do you have a valid ID on you right now?"

I nodded and brought out my ID card and handed it to him. He looked at it for a few seconds and turned back to me. "Since you have a Greek ID, I can assume you stayed there up till recently. Is your stalker Greek as well?" He asked while looking at the card.

"Yes." I responded plainly, and he handed my ID back to me.

"I'm going to ask you some questions, and I'll need everything you can say. Don't keep anything to yourself. Is that okay?" He asked and I nodded.

"Great. You're here to file a restraining order, right? Who are you filing it against? Is it a stranger or someone you know before?" He asked and I nodded.

"My ex is stalking me." I said with a shaky voice.

"And where is he right now?" He asked, spinning his pen in his hands.

"I don't know. I think he's here in New York."

He frowned. "So what do you mean by him stalking you." He leaned forward. "Or didn't you hear the question?" He sneered.

I could feel the shaking start from my insides. "I know he's watching me. I can feel it. Every time I go out, I can feel someone looking at me."

He glanced at Jonathan and said in a softer tone. "How exactly? When last did you see him?"

"I last saw him in Greece before I came here. About a month ago." Against my better judgment, I glanced at Jonathan to see him glaring at the officer. I really didn't want to look weak and wanted the officer to hear me and believe me, not like the officers back at home.

"Was he also stalking you in Greece?"

I nodded. "Since we got married, there are always…"

He raised his hands. "Did you say married? I thought you said he was your ex?"

I nodded, looking down in shame. "Yes. He's my husband."

"Ex." Jonathan added, but I didn't bother looking at him. What was the officer going to think now? Back at home, they had always blamed me. If I was obedient and respectful, and honored my husband, gave him whatever he wanted, even at my expense, I would not be going through it.

The officer glanced at Jonathan and the looked at me. I could feel him staring at the top of my head. "Tell me everything." He said, and I looked at him, relieved.

I told him the basics of everything, getting married, the abuse, getting pregnant, the beating until I lost it, and finally running away and coming here.

He stopped writing when I finished and stared at me. "If all these happened, why didn't you say anything back home. I'm sure the law would have been on your side."

"How about…" Jonathan started saying, but the ringing of his phone cut him off. He glanced at it and cut the call, but it started ringing again. He sighed and moved close to the officer and whispered something to him.

I saw the face the officer made as Jonathan left the station, and the shaking that had started inside me got worse. He did not look like he had liked what Jonathan had told him.

The officer closed his book and stared at me. "You can talk to me now, Mrs. Georgiou."

I looked at him. "I've told you everything. After I got here, every time I go out, I always feel like someone is staring at me." I shuddered. "It's very scary." I whispered.

He smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "You know things don't work that way, right? I'll ask again, why didn't you report it back in Greece?

And why will such a powerful person be here, stalking you. It doesn't make much sense, does it?"

The shaking stopped and I stared at him. It was always going to be the same way.

"You're not responding." He said loudly, and I felt moisture gather in my eyes. I was never going to win this battle, was I?

"Because nobody believed me." I continued in a stronger voice. "Nobody was willing to believe me. I was always the one at fault. After all, I wasn't the only one going through something like that. All I needed to do was to endure. Men are working hard for our benefits, how about we stop complaining and whining and giving them a reason to punish us. Punish? Is beating a fellow human until bones are broken considered good punishment?". I shouted.

He was staring at me strangely. I snuffed and stared at him back defiantly.

"I don't understand you." He said, and I stared, the defiance gone from my posture. I'd just yelled my entire litany in Greek.

I stopped laughing. "He sent me a text message." I brought out my phone and slid it across the table. "Can that serve as enough evidence?"

He glanced at me. "Do you have a medical report?"

I smiled. "You know no one would have been able to give me one? Will the text not be enough? Even if he does end up taking me, I owe it to myself to try to protect myself."

He turned, and I saw him roll his eyes, but I didn't say anything. I had told the truth to myself, and that was why I was going to stay here until the order was filed.

He sighed and slid my phone back to me. "It has no sender. There's no proof that you are being stalked. In cases like this, the judge may not approve it."

I shrugged and thankfully Jonathan entered. "What's the problem?" He asked.

I wasn't silly enough not to know if I needed the restraining order, Jonathan needed to know where the officer stood, and so I rushed out. "He says the text is not enough to get one, and I need a hospital report."

The officer glared at me and turned to Jonathan. "There's no proof to show that she is being stalked and since the text was from a disposable phone, one that will be difficult to track, it's impossible to know. The judges are tired of cases like this."

Jonathan sat down. "He is a powerful and influential person, but that doesn't mean he is above the law. She's not lying, and she deserves to be protected by the law."

The officer stood up. "I don't care about how influential her husband is. It's just not possible. The law is meant to protect, sure, but I can't just file something that could possibly be a lie."

Jonathan narrowed his eyes at the officer. He didn't look so nice now. "Of course it's not about the power he carries but isn't it your job to investigate whether she's telling the truth or not, since you believe she's lying."

The officer sighed. "This isn't the first time we're seeing something like this. Wives run away from their husbands every day. If we filed restraining orders on all of their husbands, there will be no basic human communication. If this is a lovers spat, they will need to settle it among themselves, not involve the police. We are not superheroes."

Jonathan stood up. "I was the one that flew her out here when she almost died. She was covered in bruises when she came here and her entire face was swollen. I'm a witness, my wife is also a witness. Is there anything else you may need?"

The officer sighed. "Fine. I'll file it, but there's no assurance it will be approved by the judge. I'll need both of your statements as well."

I stared at Jonathan. "Thank you."

He nodded and sat back down. "As long as there is no interference. I don't see a reason why not."

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