Mom's POV

"I'm sorry I was too harsh to you.Your real father and I had a very happy life but the happiness was pretty short lived. Your father's company underwent a huge financial loss. He took a lot of money from people thinking he could build it again but nothing worked. The people working with him backstabbed him. He was indebted to many people. They took away our house we had no money and a huge debt which we could not repay.

I was doing several odd jobs. Cleaning duties, selling papers, and at night waitress at bars but it wasn't enough to even pay the rent of the little one room flat we moved to.

I felt sick while doing the cleaning chores but I thought it was due to over working and not eating well but then one day I went to the doctor to find out I was already 3 months pregnant with you. I was so happy I thought of telling your father after finishing my job at the bar. But I came home to witness the worst night of my life. Your father had committed suicide and left me alone with debt and a baby. I was devastated. I was lost. The bar manager saw me everyday and maybe felt pity for me. He offered me to serve a client who would pay me double the amount I was getting. No matter how shattered I was, the truth was I was pregnant and had no money and a huge debt. I needed money."

She paused, wiped her tears from the sleeve of her loose fitted T-shirt.

She sat quietly gazing at the moon with sad teary eyes. I saw her biting her lip, trying to hide her emotions and struggling to speak. I couldn't say anything reassuring to her. I felt pathetic. I always misjudged her. I scooped in closer to her and lied down beside her, curled up, resting my head on her lap. I felt a tear drop fall on my cheek. She quickly wiped off the tears off her face and mustered up the courage to begin again.

I agreed to him and served the man for the night. He had many clients with him. I served them drinks the entire night. He was happy with the service. He said he would lend me 1 million to start a fresh life and I would have to return him 100k in 2 years time if I agreed to marry his younger brother.

I thought I could repay the debts, pay the rent, save up some to take care of you and move to a better place and could use the company.

I was desperate. I agreed.

I met his brother in a cafe and he looked pretty decent. He seemed to be just 2-3 years older than me. He spoke well and we talked alot. He told me he worked in a software development company and how his older brother was a rich company CEO and would always look out for him.

Everything seemed fine to me.

It was our first meeting so I couldn't tell him I was pregnant. I told him about my ex-husband who died not very long ago and how I was struggling with finances.

He seemed very understanding and I found solace in his arms. I thought maybe I could start fresh and live a better life.

The old man insisted the marriage was done as soon as possible. I did not refuse.

I was married to this man who was your step father. The man we left and came here.

Turned out he was only good in front of me for show. I was stupid enough to not realise why would someone marry in such haste and why such a big company CEO would marry his brother to a bar worker who he only saw once.

My life became hellish.

It was all a lie. The man was old man's drug dealer. He had just been released from prison for theft and dealing of illegal drugs. He now worked as a mechanic and was a chronic alcoholic. He would go to bars and openly cheat on me with several women. He would beat me whenever he wanted to like I was some object to take out his anger on.

Everything I liked he would take it away from me. He would throw away my belongings. It wasn't long when he realised I was pregnant. He stopped beating me but would verbally abuse me. Soon you were born and I learned to become defensive.

I fought back.

I showed him that I didn't care about you so that he didn't take you to be my weakness.

I didn't want him to take you away from me like he did with the things I liked.

He often brought his friends over and they recognised you as his own daughter.

I repayed my ex husbands debt.

Time passed and you were 5. The money I had exhausted and work wasn't paying me well. I had no money to send you school. I begged him to just send you to school for society's sake. What would people say if they saw our child didn't go to school like others. He was furious but agreed.

But even after all those years of living with him. He was never good to me.

Finally he kicked me out of his home.

The old man were living with now is the man who offered me money at the club and made me marry his drug dealer.

He increased the borrowed money amount to 2 million. I had no choice but to come to him.

I ran away towards my room, maybe trying to run away from the truth. But it ain't that simple, is it?

My mom became too weak to do anything and was bed ridden but she looked at me with a smile. That was enough for me for all the lost years of love.

I studied every subject rigorously and diligently.

I knew this is the only weapon I could use against the world. I thought if I performed well in school, my mom would be happy.

If I study well I could earn and get mom treated and live with her peacefully in a place far away from here.

A few months later,  I came home to find the pain that was worst of all I had been through.

My mother was lying dead on the ground and that man was busy smoking pot like some rat died.

I was mortified. My world shattered right before mt eyes. Only when I became close to my mom she left me. I fell on the floor weeping and bawling and that man just turned to look at me with high red eyes and yelled,"Shut up, you disgraceful bitch!

This slut you're crying for died before repaying the debt. You have to pay me now. Go to your room and start working tomorrow onwards or else I won't even bury this useless mother of yours."

Oh how I wanted to be born deaf that day.

I can never get over the ghastly, inhuman childhood I had and all I learned from that was, 'injustice'.

I wanted to become someone who brought justice. I wanted to be a police officer.

So I worked hard, stayed out almost all day. He didn't care. He just wanted his money no matter how I brought it.

I worked 4 shifts. And collected money to pay him and bury my mother's remains he had locked in his house.

I ran from his house that very day and studied to fulfill my dream and today I'm an American police inspector and first thing I did when I was handed that gun was, shoot that old pig who had made my life a living hell.

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