Alexander had been looking for Elizabeth for a month.
Just when he thought he might have been wrong and that Elizabeth wasn't as notorious as his investigation suggested, she showed up as a waitress outside his private booth.
He had really underestimated her.
"Mr. Windsor, what's going on?" the restaurant manager accompanying Alexander looked at him and asked fearfully.
"How long has she been here?" Alexander asked coldly, staring at the manager.
"A month," the manager replied in a small voice.
Alexander thought, 'A month!That was exactly when she had escaped from The Windsor Manor.She wasn't trying to escape; she was just raising the stakes.Damn it!'
Elizabeth looked at Alexander with a mix of anger and grievance.
She thought in her heart, 'How could the world be so small?'
Elizabeth demanded, "I don't understand what you're implying. Let go of me! Or I'll call the police." She struggled to break free from Alexander's grip but couldn't move an inch.
Elizabeth's forehead broke out in a thin layer of sweat from the pain.
The manager, terrified, scolded Elizabeth, "Victoria, you're being too presumptuous!"
"Victoria?" Alexander sneered, "You even hid your identity and changed your name to Victoria after getting out of prison?"
At this moment, the head waiter and the female server who had asked Elizabeth to cover her shift earlier arrived but were too scared to speak.
Elizabeth felt utterly hopeless.
She was just two days away from getting her month's salary!
But now everything was ruined.
"Why do you keep bothering me? Why!" Elizabeth's eyes turned red with grievance and anger. She raised her wrist and bit Alexander's arm. Alexander, in pain, let go of Elizabeth.
Elizabeth turned and ran since she wasn't capable of fighting anyone.
By the time Alexander realized what had happened, Elizabeth had already run out of the restaurant and quickly boarded a bus. She got off after a few stops.
Walking along the street, Elizabeth suddenly burst into tears.
She had taken Clara's place in prison, lost her most precious innocence to a dead man, and after finally getting out, she could no longer see her mother.
Wasn't she unlucky enough?
Who exactly was this Alexander, and why did he keep bothering her?
Why?!
Was it because he saw that she had just gotten out of prison and was easy to bully with no one to rely on?
Elizabeth cried until she felt nauseous. Eventually, she squatted by the roadside, vomiting uncontrollably. Having not eaten, she only threw up green bile.
A passing woman patted Elizabeth's back, trying to comfort her, then asked,"Miss, are you experiencing early pregnancy symptoms?"
'Early pregnancy?' Elizabeth shuddered at the thought.
She had been feeling nauseous lately but had never considered the possibility of being pregnant. The woman's words reminded her that it had been over a month since that fateful night.
Elizabeth, in a panic, went to the hospital, clutching the few dollars she had, which wasn't enough for any tests.
The doctor gave Elizabeth a test strip for a urine test.
Ten minutes later, the result came out. And the doctor confirmed. "You're pregnant."
Elizabeth staggered in denial. She muttered, "No, I can't be pregnant."
"You can terminate the pregnancy," the doctor said coldly, then looked outside, "Next."
Elizabeth walked out and sat alone on a hospital bench, feeling lost and helpless.
"Don't cry, don't cry, wipe your tears," a child's innocent voice appeared in front of Elizabeth. She looked up to see a little girl still in diapers.
The girl raised her chubby hand to wipe Elizabeth's tears but couldn't reach, so she patted Elizabeth's leg to comfort her.
Elizabeth's heart melted instantly.
"Sorry, my baby is very affectionate," the little girl's young mother stood opposite Elizabeth, smiling.
"Your baby is so cute," Elizabeth replied politely.
Watching the mother and daughter walk away enviously, Elizabeth couldn't help but touch her belly. She had no family left; the baby in her belly was her only family.
A sense of joy and anticipation of becoming a mother filled her heart.
But how could she support the baby?
She couldn't even afford the cost of an abortion.
The next morning, Elizabeth went to the prison gate with a glimmer of hope and pleaded with the guard, "Can I see Esme Garcia?"
Back when Elizabeth had just entered prison, Esme had already been serving time for several years. Esme took good care of her, helping her avoid many hardships. Elizabeth didn't know Esme's background but could tell she was from a wealthy family.
Every month, someone from outside would send Esme a generous amount of allowance for food.
The few hundred dollars Elizabeth had when she got out of prison were given to her by Esme.
"Esme was released over a month ago," the guard replied after he calculated the time that had passed.
"What?" Elizabeth was very surprised.
"Are you Elizabeth?" the guard suddenly asked.
Elizabeth nodded in response. She answered, "I am."
"Esme left a phone number for you when she was released. You were picked up by a luxury car the day you got out, and you didn't respond when I called you," the guard explained as he handed Elizabeth the phone number.
Elizabeth said gratefully, "Thank you."
Two hours later, Elizabeth found herself in a VIP room at the most exclusive private hospital in Sunwillow City, meeting her former cellmate, Esme.
Esme lay on the bed, looking sickly, with her eyes half-closed. Her white hair still exuded an air of elegance and nobility.
Elizabeth could tell that Esme must have been a beauty in her youth, but she didn't know why she had been imprisoned.
"Aunt Esme?" Elizabeth called softly.
Esme slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Elizabeth, she coughed excitedly for a while before calming down and saying, "Elizabeth, I finally get to see you. I instructed that boy to bring you here. Yet, he kept telling me you had gone back to your hometown. Today, you are finally back. It's good to have you back."
"I really just got back from my hometown, Aunt Esme." Elizabeth helped cover the lie.
She knew that the boy Esme mentioned must be Esme's son.
Elizabeth finally understood that her early release was due to Esme's son pulling strings to get her out.
It was already kind of him to save her. In such a wealthy family, how could he allow Esme to have a friend like her?
So lying to Esme that she had gone back to her hometown wasn't a big deal for Elizabeth to handle.
"I never forgot how you took care of me in prison. Without you, I wouldn't be alive now, nor would I have seen my son," Esme said, moved to tears.
Elizabeth shook her head dismissively. She urged, "Let's not talk about that, Aunt Esme. I didn't take care of you expecting anything in return."
She was thinking about how to ask the sick Esme for money.
Biting her lip, Elizabeth made up her mind. She said hesitantly, "Aunt Esme, I know I shouldn't ask you at this time, but I really have no other choice. I..."
"What is it? Now that you're here, tell me what's troubling you," Esme asked.
"Aunt Esme, could you lend me some money?" Elizabeth asked as she hung her head low, not daring to look at Esme.
"How much do you need? I'll give it to you," a gentle voice said from behind.
Elizabeth turned around abruptly, so startled that she couldn't speak coherently, "Why is it you?"