Chapter ２

The guard comes outside and says, "I'm sorry, the gentleman says he doesn't know you."

Now I'm furious. I try to push past the guards. "Get away from me! Let me in!"

The guards give me a shove and I fall backwards into a snow drift. Passersby stare at me like I'm some kind of bum.

I scramble to my feet and get back to the Haute Couture. My luggage is gone. I wrap my arms around myself and walk down the street, trembling with cold. I'm hungry now, too. Everyone else is wearing warm winter clothes.

I stop at a bakery and look through the window at the freshly baked bread. A little girl exits the shop and sees me. She stares for a moment before returning inside, then comes back outside with a candy cane breadstick and hands it to me.

"Thank you!" I gasp. "Oh, you sweet angel." I reach out to take the bread.

A tramp sprints between us, grabbing the bread from the little girl. The little girl screams and runs back into the bakery. The tramp takes a bite of the bread and looks at me, then decides to come closer. Closer.

I scream for help and run the other way. I slip on the ice, and everything goes dark.

When I open my eyes again, I'm surrounded by medical equipment. I'm wearing a hospital gown, laying in bed with an IV in my arm. As I struggle to sit up, a nurse enters the room.

"Are you feeling better?" she asks.

"What's wrong with me?"

"You passed out on the street. Do you remember what happened?"

"No, nothing." I fall back and stare at the ceiling. "When can I leave?"

"You're almost recovered, but you or your family needs to pay the bills before you can go."

"I don't have any family."

"What about friends?" she asks.

I shake my head. "No friends, either."

"I'm sorry, but you can't be discharged if that's the case. Maybe you can find a charity to pay your bill."

The nurse takes some folded clothes from a cart and places them on my bed. She takes a note from her pocket with a phone number on it.

"I found this in your pocket."

I take the note and stare at the numbers, remembering what the gentleman had said. Call if you need help with anything. I look at the hospital telephone.

It seems like a long time passes before I decide to dial the number. The phone rings several times before someone picks up.

"Hello." I recognize Sterling's voice.

All I can think to say is, "Hi."

"It's you, isn't it? The girl with the suitcase."

"You remember me?"

"Of course. Not many girls have such a beautiful voice. What can I do for you?"

I bite my lip. "I...I may need your help."

A few hours go by. A nurse knocks on my door and tells me that a friend has come to help me get discharged. A total stranger walks in. I was expecting Sterling.

"Hello, Miss." The man is dressed in an expensive suit and carries a briefcase with him. "My name is Gabriel Mendelson, Mr. Bellegarde's attorney. He sent me here to handle your affairs."

I don't know what to say. "Thank you. I didn't want to bother him, but…"

"I understand. Mr. Bellegarde wanted to come himself, but something came up and he couldn't make it. He did say to me that he'd like to meet with you after this is all settled."

"Of course," I tell him. "I must express my gratitude to him personally."

Gabriel is a handsome man. He looks into my eyes and asks, "Do you need to pack?"

I shake my head. "No. There's nothing except me."

Gabriel takes me from the hospital to a luxury apartment building on the top floor. From the window I can see the entire city. The Christmas spirit is everywhere, blinking in red and green lights in the streets and on the buildings.

Gabriel shows me to a bedroom. A housemaid follows behind. Inside the room is a large bed, with fine clothes, cosmetics, and jewelry sitting on it. I stand nervously in the corner of the room, playing with my fingers in front of me.

"This is Mr. Bellegarde's temporary residence here in New York," Gabriel tells me. "You may stay here for the time being."

"Where is Mr. Bellegarde?" I ask.

"Unfortunately, he has just left for Europe. He told me to offer you this room to stay." He gestures to the housemaid. "This is Becca. She will help you with anything you need. Of course, you're free to leave if you wish, but Mr. Bellegarde hopes you would leave your contact information behind so that he can meet you when he returns."

I have nowhere else to go, but I don't tell Gabriel that. As Gabriel leaves, Becca says something softly that I can't hear. She opens a closet. Inside is a rack of expensive and beautiful clothes.

A few days pass. I'm sitting in the living room, holding a cup of coffee, staring out the window onto the city below me. A fire blazes in the hearth.

There's a knock at the door and I turn to it. Gabriel enters and sits beside me on the couch.

"Are you comfortable staying here?" he asks.

I smile. "Yes, thank you. Do you know when Mr. Bellegarde will be back?"

Gabriel doesn't answer me. He hands me a document. "This is a record of all your previous debts. According to Mr. Bellegarde's instructions, I have cleared them all."

I gape as I grab the document and stare at it. "All my debt? Why would he do that for me?" I read through the document. It seems legitimate, showing everything from the hospital, credit cards, even my student loans. All paid.

"It's nothing to him," Gabriel says.

"But I can't accept this, it's too much. Please ask him to take it back."

Gabriel frowns. "Perhaps you misunderstand. This is not charity. Mr. Bellegarde is, unfortunately, dealing with some problems and needs your help. This is his way of paying for it. Of course, you can refuse to help. Your debts will be paid regardless and he will not ask to be repaid immediately. You may stay here until you find another place to live. Whether or not you choose to help Mr. Bellegarde, there will be no loss on your part."