The woman looked haggard with a wrinkled face and black eye bags. Her hair that used to look shiny and well-groomed no longer looked the same.

She looked much more like a seventy-year-old woman than a fifty-five years one.

Yes, she was now fifty-five years old.

The time she had spent in prison for these twenty years had completely drained all of her energy. She had ruined her life, her name and the honor of her family and ended up with nothing.

Regret was no longer a word to her, but it was a lifestyle she had to adopt to now.

Shame was no longer in her, because she didn't need to feel that way as no one knew her now.

No one would recognize her anymore even though she walked in a crowd and without a bodyguard. There would no longer be mass media swarming around her just to hear a word or two from her.

Or a group of elite people who ownee shares in various well-known companies who would listen to her business ideas.

Because all that was in the past and now the woman was no longer able to work on even a simple business project. Everything had been forgotten, as if everything that had happened twenty-five years ago was just a long dream she had lived without knowing any details.

Twenty five years…

Twenty-five years of time that she wasted without getting any meaningful results… twenty-five years was a very long time for Giana to be freed from the iron bars that have bound her all this time.

And twenty-five years was also the time she wasted all her brilliant youth.

But now, Giana couldn't think about it, because she had other things to deal with now.

The outside world…

Twenty-five years was not a short time and everything had changed now. There were a lot of changing things out there.

Giana no longer owned her mansion, nor her wealth, nor her family, or whoever it is… she no longer owned anything.

As Giana was serving her third year in prison, Giana had to face the harsh reality that her father died and she couldn't even see him for one last time. Likewise with her mother, who followed after several months later.

This fact had to be faced by Giana alone without anyone ever coming to see her.

During these twenty years, she never had anyone come back, be it from her family or friends.

They had all thought she was no more. People didn't even remember her name anymore.

And as Giana walked through the administration block corridors, before she was led to the place where her belongings would be handed over, Giana began to realize that this place, the filthy place she used to be afraid of, felt much more like home than what she would face outside there.

Ramon really used all his strength to destroy her, leaving her with nothing.

The man ruthlessly took everything she had. A man who was once in her past, once Giana loved with all her soul. But, he was also the one who destroyed everything.

"Can't I just stay here a little longer?" Giana asked a female officer who had treated her very well and was now leading her to walk to the store room and get her things.

The female officer named Betty laughed softly, she smiled, but from her eyes Giana could see that she sympathized with her and understood what kind of fears Giana was feeling right now.

"You'll be fine out there. You still have a family, don't you? They will definitely take you back," Betty said in a soft voice, then she rubbed the frail back of the middle aged woman who was limping beside her.

"You mean the family that never came to see me while I was here?" The people in this prison actually seemed more like family to Giana.

If there was one thing that was still not missing from Giana's behavior, it was the sharpness of her words. However, even those words were not as powerful as before now.

On the other hand, Betty couldn't help but grimace and gently caress Giana's back. She understood why the middle aged woman was angry and could understand it.

After taking care of some documents, Betty then led Giana out to the store room for the items she had last used.

Giana still remembered the last things she wore twenty-five years ago. She only wore a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt and a denim jacket of the same color.

"I'll leave you to change," Betty said, who then left Giana alone and closed the door behind her to give Giana the privacy she needed.

With one heavy sigh, Giana then rubbed the dull brown box, looking at it with sad eyes that no longer radiated the desire to live, but at the same time, she also felt the life she was living now or she would live in the future would have no meaning anymore.

Then slowly, and with shaking hands, Giana opened the lid of the box, as tears immediately flooded her eyes and clouded her vision when she saw the clothes she wore while she was very young. It was the same shirt she'd last worn twenty-five years ago.

The black shirt looked shabby as did her pants and jacket. Some of the jewelry and valuables that she had brought with her during the arrest were still there.

Two gold rings, an expensive watch, a necklace and bracelet and a pair of earrings, all of these things she would certainly sell to make a living. After all, there was nothing she could do with her family anymore.

And it was impossible for Giana to return to the Dawson family, to meet her uncle or her siblings to ask for help and accommodate her old self… no. Giana wouldn't do it.

She would choose to die on the streets instead of having to do that.

Giana roughly rubbed her face which felt soft against her sagging old skin. Then slowly, she took off her prison clothes and put the black shirt and jeans back on.

Apparently, Giana's body had become much thinner than it used to be, because she had to roll up the waist of the pants to keep them from falling, while her clothes felt very loose against her body.

The jacket she was wearing didn't fit anymore.

After putting on all her clothes, Giana folded her prison clothes and placed the clothes next to the box. She then took the jewelry she had and put it in her trouser pockets.

There was no way she could wear those things. The jewels felt foreign to her fingers, as if they did not belong to her, including the clothes she was now wearing.

Giana then took a deep breath and turned her body, facing the wall where, not far from her, was a mirror as tall as her body.

Giana didn't really like looking in the mirror, watching her face and skin that aged wasn't really pleasant anymore. She was afraid to face her own reflection, but this time, Giana wanted to see who she had turned into.

Therefore, with unsteady steps, Giana walked toward the glass and noticed her reflection there.

=================

THIS STORY WILL BE ON HIATUS UNTIL 5 JANUARY 2022.

Read my new book for the meantime; UNTAMED; THE ALPHA.

Happy new year everyone!

Hope next year will be better for all of us!

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like