Viktor raised the corner of his mouth.
“What?
You would rather pay me back or marry me than put down your signature?”
He also leaned back on his chair.
“The choice is yours, but note that if we eventually get married I’ll keep you at home…”
“I don’t want people mocking me for marrying someone on a wheelchair.”
Zora’s back stiffened slightly.
She looked into his eyes searching for a sign of mischief or anything that could hint that he was kidding, but nothing showed.
“You can go through the contract if you don’t trust me.”
Zora looked at the contract but did not read it.
She wanted to know if Viktor would flinch, but when she looked up at him he was calm.
Zora looked back at the contract.
The long paragraphs already made her lose interest, but she still did not want to sign it.
Believe it or not, call her a fool if you want, but deep inside her heart there was still a place alive for Viktor.
Although she hated the fact that she had been betrayed, what about the times he was good to her?
Should she just forget them like they meant nothing?
If Viktor could, she could not.
Although she had removed the ring long ago she had not thrown it away, because deep down she hoped that Viktor would apologize, or blame someone for threatening him the way she had read in novels.
She bit the inside of her lip.
“Why do you suddenly agree to end things… and also forget about the money?”
Viktor sat up straight.
“Do you still want to marry a man who cheated on you?
So take it that I’m letting you go.
I’m not asking you to pay me back either.”
Zora’s eyes fell.
She was hiding the tears that had formed in her eyes.
So he would rather let her go than ask for her forgiveness.
“Why do I have to sign a contract?
You can just leave and forget about the money and the marriage.”
He smiled.
“Are you sure you want that?
Like you said you can’t trust what I say, so the only way you can be at peace is if it is legally agreed that I’ll not come back asking you to marry me or pay me back.”
He pointed at a part in the document.
“Look here, it’s stated clearly.”
Zora’s eyes went to the part.
Indeed it was stated.
“Will you be okay if I sign this paper?”
Viktor was becoming slightly impatient.
“Just sign it already.”
Zora nodded.
“Mhm.” That was all she could say.
Then her signature went down on both copies of the document.
Viktor took one copy and Zora took the other.
Zora wheeled herself out without saying another word.
As she was about to leave the canteen she cut the necklace from around her neck.
The pendant was the ring she had removed.
Both the ring and necklace had been bought by Viktor.
She threw them into the bin and wheeled out of the canteen.
Viktor looked at the signatures on the papers.
A proud smile appeared on his lips.
“You’re more than a fool, Zora.”
He knew Zora wouldn’t read the full details in the document because she hated reading long boring things.
That was why he did not flinch when he saw her looking down at it.
Later that afternoon Zora was given crutches and taught how to use them.
When no one was around Zora would get down from her bed and practice with the crutches because she wanted her legs to heal fast so she could go back to work and distract herself from the heartbreak she was in.
For three days Zora focused on her legs.
She went to her physiotherapist on time, practiced with the crutches day and night, and on the third day she had a scan and the doctor confirmed that she could walk properly.
Zora was the happiest she had been in a long time.
She also became grateful for her legs and felt empathy for those who could never walk again.
Later that evening Zora went back to work.
When the customers Miller was attending to saw Zora they wanted to order more drinks and wanted Zora to serve them.
Miller clenched her fist as she watched Zora moving around serving customers.
But suddenly something came to her mind and the corner of her lips raised slightly.
Zora took the order of a family table.
The wife did not really like the way Zora was smiling brightly.
Both her husband and her son were also focused on Zora.
Zora brought their drinks and placed the tray on the table.
Because the woman said they would serve themselves, Zora smiled and moved to the next table to take their order.
As she was about to turn, a loud slap landed on her face.
Zora looked at the person who had slapped her.
It was the woman from the family table she had just served.
“You shameless slut!”
Zora’s cheek stung from the slap.
Her hand flew up to cover her left cheek where it had landed.
“Excuse me?”
The woman raised the paper she was holding.
“Everyone look at how this slut tried to seduce my husband.”
That brought the attention of those who had not been watching.
“We ordered a drink, only for me to see this!”
Her eyes became sharp as she glared at Zora.
“Are you going to deny it?”
Zora stood her ground.
“Madam, I served the drinks, that is true.
But I never wrote whatever is on that paper.”
The woman laughed dryly.
“Oh, so who did?”
Zora’s eyes swept across her colleagues who were watching the scene.
None of them looked suspicious except for Miller who had a smug smile playing on her lips.
The woman followed Zora’s gaze.
“What?
Are you planning to blame it on your colleagues?”
Zora tilted her head to look back at the woman.
“I’m not going to blame anyone.”
The woman pushed her.
“Is this why you work in this bar?
Do you work here just to look for ways to climb up the social ladder?”
Zora took a step back.
The woman continued her voice sharp.
“You’re shameless, I wonder who the person who raised you could be?
Slut!”
Zora clenched her fist.
“I do not appreciate the fact that you are dragging my family into this.”
The lady raised her hand again to slap Zora, but her hand was held by Zora before it could land.
“What now?
Do you want to fight me?”
She looked around.
“Where is the manager of this bar?!
Come out!…”
Zora let go of the woman’s hand.
“I do not intend to fight with you..”
“But there is one thing I must correct you on.
Your husband is not as handsome as you think.”
The woman menaced at Zora.
“You…”
Zora continued
“There are over a hundred men in this bar who have asked for my number and I did not give it to any of them.
And those men are more handsome than your husband over there.”
A lot of women looked over at the woman’s husband and whispers began.
“She’s right.”
“There’s nothing really interesting about his face.”
“I’d rather be single than marry someone so plain looking.”
“I guess she’s just insecure.”
The husband used the menu to try to cover his face.
The woman looked over at him.
Zora continued, her hand covering her cheek.
“What about the women with whom I’ve exchanged numbers?
Should their husbands accuse them too?”
She brought her hand down from her cheek and everyone saw how red and swollen it was.
“You slapped me for supposedly giving your husband my number.
I’d like you to use your phone to call that number.”
“If it’s truly mine I’ll quit from this bar, and if it’s not mine you’ll have to apologize to me.”
The bar went quiet as everyone waited.
“The number you are calling does not exist…”
The automated voice rang out from the phone.
Someone from a distance shouted,
“Apologize to her, you slut!”
It was a man’s voice.
This made a woman also shout in support.
“Yeah!
How do you like being called a slut?!”
And then three, four, five, and everyone in the bar shouted in support.
Some poured drinks on her, others insulted her, and just like that justice was served.
Zora’s shift ended.
She went into the changing room and the girls in there started to clap for her, except for Miller.
Someone then said,
“I wonder how that paper got there.”
A blonde haired girl who had always admired Zora’s beauty said,
“She must have been jealous of your beauty, that’s why she did that.”
For the first time the girls noticed the quiet girl in their midst.
Zora’s eyes also went to the blonde haired girl.
She looked quite young, as if she was about eighteen years of age.
No one had noticed her before because she never spoke with anyone and always wore a mask on her face.
Miller who had been quiet all along then spoke.
“Stop saying rubbish.
If she had done it herself she wouldn’t have called the number knowing it would not go through.”
Everyone noticed how bitter Miller sounded, but no one wanted to waste their time on her.
It was already past midnight.
Zora came out of the bar.
She wanted to cross to the other side of the road when she saw a figure standing there looking straight at her with a bright smile that never reached the eyes.
Zora stopped mid step.
The woman saw that Zora wasn’t going to cross so she went ahead and crossed to meet her.
“That’s very rude, darling.”
The woman said as she stood in front of Zora.
“Is this how you treat your mother after seeing her for the first time in twelve years?”
Zora’s mouth opened slightly.
A single word escaped her lips.
“Valery?”
It came out like a whisper, but Valery heard it.
Zora hardly ever called Valery mother and had always called her by her name.
Valery on the other hand did not care what name Zora used to address her.
Valery’s eyes glowered at Zora’s face and noticed that her left cheek was swollen and red.
She frowned slightly and reached out to touch it, but Zora covered her cheek immediately and took three steps back from Valery.
“What’s wrong?
Why is your cheek swollen?”
Valery did not take offense at her reaction.
It had always been like that between them.
“Answer me.
Who did that to you?”
Zora kept her cheek covered but refused to say a word.
Valery became impatient.
No one was permitted to hit Zora except Valery herself, and seeing that Zora had been hit and was refusing to tell her who did it made Valery want to break something.
As she was about to grab Zora’s hand a car honked and stopped beside them.
“Get in!”
A man’s voice rang out.
Zora, out of impulse and the need to get away from her mother, got into the car without thinking.
Valery’s eyes squinted.
“Apart from height and beauty nothing else had changed about her.”
Her gaze then shifted to the bar, and something flashed in her eyes.
After the car had driven miles away Zora finally turned her head to the side.
It was Alistair.
She said nothing and looked out the window.
She then noticed that the route they were taking was not the one that led to the hospital.
She tilted her head.
“This isn’t the way to the hospital.”
“That’s because we’re not going there.”