Alessia Best had become accustomed to living discreetly, almost unnoticed, amidst the active center of Poland's busy streets. The majority of people passed by her without noticing, which was exactly what she wanted. She had sacrificed a lot for peace, and she protected it strongly, even if it was delicate and always threatened by reality. Her stack of medical bills grew higher on her small kitchen table each day, and every night she went home wondering how she would keep living long enough for her daughter.
Working as a bartender at night wasn't fancy, but it paid enough for them to survive. The sound of glasses, the dark lights, and the loud happiness gave her a strange sense of safety, hiding the constant fear inside her. She disguised her identity with colored hair, big hoodies, and a name tag that said "Ana." She hoped Poland was big enough for her to disappear into. She stayed out of trouble, avoided attention, and mostly avoided the past that once destroyed her life.
But no amount of hiding could get rid of the memories that bothered her. Five years had gone by, but she still remembered the night of the attack in pieces, shadows entering through her window, the sound of glass breaking, and the awful noise as someone hit her against the wall. She remembered the metal smell on the kitchen floor, the feeling of being helpless, and the terror that she felt when she knew her unborn child was in danger. She never lost that fear. It made her more aware and made her hold on tightly to the life she now protected.
Avery kept her steady. Her happiness, her smartness, her poor health, everything about her reminded Alessia of why she left and why she could never go back. Taking care of Avery alone was hard, but it was also the one thing that gave Alessia a reason to live. She would go through anything to keep her daughter safe. So she worked, didn't sleep much, and lived each day with the calm strength of a woman who wanted to protect the most important part of her world.
Tonight was the same as any other night. She left the bar with a sigh after working a long shift with impatient customers and spilled drinks. The cold wind touched her face, waking her tired senses. She pulled her jacket closer around herself and started walking home. Her shoes made a soft clicking sound on the street, and she thought about the early morning ahead, going to the pharmacy, checking in with Celine, and dealing with everything else.
She heard footsteps behind her halfway down the dark street.
At first, it didn't seem important to her. The city never slept, even late at night. But the noise became louder, stronger, and happened more often. Alessia stopped breathing for a moment. She turned her head and noticed some men following her, maybe five or six. They walked without hurry and with confidence, like they knew she couldn't escape.
Her heart started beating faster. She tried to walk more quickly.
They did too.
She felt scared deep inside, cold and like she couldn't breathe. She turned quickly onto a smaller road, hoping they'd lose her, but the men followed while laughing at her. She was angry at herself for taking a faster way. She felt very afraid as she knew she was going toward a place with no way out.
As soon as she turned and saw the wall stopping her, she felt hopeless.
The men moved closer, standing in a circle around her. One moved forward, with a mean smile on his face. "Where are you going in such a hurry, sweetheart?" he said in a teasing way. Another man touched her arm with his hand. She moved back suddenly, pushing herself against the wall, and her legs felt weak.
"Please," she said quietly. She was shaking as she spoke. "I don't want any problems."
"Too bad, problems have found you," one of them said with a sneer.
She quickly thought about Avery. How her daughter smiled. How her daughter was innocent. How her daughter needed her. Alessia squeezed her hands tightly, trying to be strong, but she was very afraid. She secretly wished for something good to happen, anything.
Then something happened, quickly, suddenly, and with force.
A loud noise came from behind the group. One of the men made a noise like he couldn't breathe before falling down, holding his neck. Another one turned around, looking confused, but then was knocked to the ground by someone moving silently. The others were scared, looking all around, unable to see who was attacking them.
Alessia pushed herself harder against the wall, shocked. The road was dark, but she could see that someone hidden in the darkness was taking down the men one by one. A kick, a punch, a fast hit, each move was done well and was scary. Soon, the other men ran away, saying bad words and tripping as they ran into the night.
It became quiet.
Alessia breathed quickly and not steadily. She held onto the wall to try to calm down. She looked closely to see who was coming from the darkness. She thought it would be another threat, another bad person.
But the person moved forward, and she stopped breathing.
Tall. With wide shoulders. Like someone she knew.
Even before the light showed him clearly, she knew who it was.
Dominic Moretti.
The man she once loved. The man she once married. The man she ran away from.
He walked into the light slowly, and she couldn't tell what he was feeling. He stood straight. He looked different, tougher, sharper, and colder than she remembered. He looked at her, and Alessia felt like she couldn't stand up.
"Alessia," he said, his voice quiet and with a hint of danger. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself."
Her heart beat fast in her head. She could not say anything. She attempted to talk, to take a breath, to figure out how life had made him come back to her.
He moved a little bit nearer.
"We have to have a conversation."
And Alessia realized, with a very cold feeling, that the calm s
he struggled to create had just broken apart. It starts.