The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Monica parked her car in the lot outside her apartment building, cut the engine, grabbed her purse, and headed toward her building. The streetlights cast long shadows on the pavement, stretching her silhouette-until she noticed another figure, just at the edge of the light. Instinctively, she glanced back and nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Whoa! You scared me!" she blurted out.

It was Alisa.

Alisa was wrapped up in a tracksuit, hood pulled low over her face, hands shoved deep in her pockets. She looked wrecked, like she hadn't slept in days.

Desperation had finally pushed Alisa here-debt collectors were at her door, and she didn't know where else to turn.

Monica stared, surprised. "Alisa? What are you doing here?"

Trying to sound bold, Alisa said, "I came to talk about Jason. Give me two hundred thousand, and I'll let him go. He's yours."

Monica blinked, then broke into a laugh. "Did I hear you right? Alisa, you can't be serious."

She was honestly amused. She'd had men try to scam her for money before, but a woman? This was a first.noveldrama

"Two hundred thousand," Alisa insisted, her voice trembling. "That's nothing to you. Jason is worth way more than that, right? I'm being fair. Next time, I'll ask for more."

Monica rolled her eyes. "Get out of here before I lose my patience. Who do you think you are, trying to blackmail me? There are only two women in this world I'd ever spend money on my mom and Ana. You really thought you'd get cash out of me? You must be out of your mind."

She started toward her building, but Alisa grabbed her arm, eyes desperate.

"You're really not going to pay? Don't you love Jason? Don't you want to be with him?"

"That's between me and Jason, not you." Monica yanked her arm free. "I don't owe you anything. Jason isn't some piece of property you can sell. If there's going to be any talk of dowries, it'll be Jason's mon talking to me. And if she wanted two million, I'd pay it without blinking. But you? Who are you to ask me for money?"

Monica had once thought Alisa was sweet and gentle-the perfect homemaker type. That changed the moment she learned about Alisa's schemes to split her and Jason up. Monica figured she was already being generous not confronting Alisa about it.

Alisa ignored Monica's scorn, clinging to one fact: Monica could easily pay millions, and if she did, Alisa's debts would disappear.

She grabbed Monica's arm tighter. "I've changed my mind. I want five hundred thousand. If you don't pay I'll make sure Jason can't show his face atthe police station. He'll never get promoted. My husband died saving Jason. If you hadn't shown up, Jason would still be looking after us and I wouldn't owe all this money. This is your fault. You should pay."

The twisted logic stunned Monica. She just stared at Alisa, then said coldly, "The first time I met you, you came out of the kitchen with a casserole, looking all sweet and quiet. Once I caught on to your games, I kept my distance. I'm not the type to chase after someone else's man. But now? You're just using Jason. That's not love-it's pathetic. If you actually cared about him, you wouldn't want to ruin his life.”

Alisa's composure cracked; she started yelling, "Easy for you to say! You're rich, young, pretty-you can have whatever you want! I've spent years being Jason's maid, cooking, cleaning, taking care of his parents and their kid. Is it wrong if I want to look nice for once? Is it my fault I'm not you? Why should I suffer?"

Monica cut her off, her voice icy. "You want to compare yourself to me? Here's some reality: I can buy whatever I want, whenever I want. If you can't, maybe stop trying to keep up. No one's going to bail you out for your own mistakes."

Alisa stood there, speechless, as Monica delivered the final blow. "If I were you, I'd walk the path I chose, no matter how hard it gets."

With that, Monica walked away, her phone ringing in her pocket. It was Anastasia. Monica answered, sighing. "You won't believe who I just ran into downstairs- Alisa. She's completely lost it, tried to hit me up for half a million..."

Left alone in the parking lot, Alisa stood frozen, Monica's words echoing in her mind, the truth hitting harder than the cold air.

Suddenly, something sharp pressed into her side. A rough voice hissed, "Don't move."