Fallen for, my surrogate baby mama.

Serena's P.O.V

"Hey! Catch her! Don't let her escape!" The men continued to chase after me.

I didn't even know where I was running to!

These loan sharks never let me off; I didn't borrow from them.

My dad did!

I ran through the lonely street, and my only source of light was the barely lit street lights.

I ran as fast as my feet could handle, gasping for breath.

A few people passed by, but none cared to help! They were probably used to them chasing me like this.

"You better stop, little girl, or else we won't spare you," the middle-aged red-haired man chasing after me shouted.

Ha!

If I stop, will you guys spare me?

What an interesting joke!

My destination now was Alessandro's cafe. Only he could help me.

I felt like my feet were tearing open; I wanted to stop, but I couldn't.

"Brother Alessandro! Brother!" I called out to him as he was closing the doors of his cafe.

"Brother, help me." I ran and hugged him at full speed.

"They're... they're after me again. Help... help me, please," I said as I quickly hid behind him, catching my breath.

"Quickly, get in," he opened the cafe, swiftly and gently pushing me in before closing the doors again.

I immediately heard the men's voices hurling at Alessandro.

"Hey! Mr. Hero, you better give that girl to us right away!" the man in green shorts shouted through the glass wall.

"You'd better listen to us and hand over the girl, or we'll cause trouble, no matter who you are," the red-haired man threatened.

Yeah, yeah, Alessandro's father could be considered the leader of loan sharks in this area, so he, the son, was held in high regard.

"Oh, so you even remember that I'm not someone you can mess with," Alessandro said with a slight smirk.

"You just give us the girl, and we'll leave!" the red-haired man said.

"I'll advise that you go back the same way you came, 'cause your request cannot be granted," Alessandro said.

"Don't go too far, Alessandro; we're being lenient," the red-haired man said, raising his voice.

"Please don't make me repeat myself. Leave already!" Alessandro said, his voice becoming stern and cold.

"Alessandro Ezekiel, give us the girl!" the man ordered in a very loud tone that I was sure could attract onlookers.

Why were they requesting me like I was an object?

I was already very agitated, scared, and angry, and this banter of theirs shot up my anger to its peak!

"What right do you have to ask for me like that?! Haven't you already taken our house?! What else do you want from me?!" I said, anger evident in my voice.

"Oh! Don't think that just because you're hiding in there, we can't get to you," the red-haired man retorted.

I don't know where the courage came from, but I said immediately, "Oh, you can try!"

I knew very well that they couldn't get to me if Alessandro was there; probably that's where the courage came from.

This wasn't the first time he helped me deal with these loan sharks; he has always been doing so, coming to my rescue like a knight in shining armor.

Oh, sorry, 'prince' instead.

"Did you have a memory wipe? You seem to have forgotten who I really am," Alessandro's cold voice rang out.

Hehe!

I'm sure they'll run away with their tails behind their backs soon.

"You even called my full name, the audacity!" he said as a devilish grin appeared on his face. He took a step towards the three middle-aged men, and they took three steps backward.

Yes! Show them what you're made of!

"We're so... sorry, we didn't mean to be disrespectful, but she owes us a huge debt!" they replied, looking sorry.

"Didn't she already give you her house?" Alessandro asked, still maintaining his cold face.

"It wasn't enough. Her father was a gambler; he borrowed money from us to gamble, too. We've already told her the total amount he borrowed, and her house wasn't worth much of it," the red-haired man said.

My father borrowed money, but I had to pay?!

So unfair!

"She'll pay when she has the money to. Leave now!" he commanded, and they scurried away immediately.

"Come out," his voice sounded much gentler.

I poked my head out of the slightly opened door and peeped to see if they were gone for real.

"They're gone now; you can come out," he gently stroked my hair, and I walked out of the cafe, closing the door gently behind me.

"Haven't I told you not to walk around their den? What were you doing there today?" he asked, concern written all over his face.

"I didn't go to their den. I just went to get my mom's drugs from the pharmacy opposite Dante's house. I didn't expect to see them there," I pouted.

'How could I not listen to you?' I asked him in my mind.

"Now that you know they visit Dante's area, I don't want you to have anything to do there, ok?" he said, his eyes radiating with gentleness.

I felt like fainting.

He was so handsome!

"Have you had anything to eat?" his question brought me out of my daydream.

"No, I haven't. I was about...." he cut me off before I could complete my sentence.

"Come with me; I'll make you something delicious," he took my hand as we walked out of the cafe's entrance, walking in the street.

"Huh? To your house?" I asked as I abruptly stopped.

"Yeah, what's the problem?" he asked, a touch of confusion on his handsome face.

"I... umm, my mum and sister must be waiting for me. I didn't even get the medicines I came out for," I looked at him in anticipation, waiting to hear how he'd respond.

He brought out his phone from his pocket, looked at the screen, and then looked at me.

"It's not too late, just 8 p.m. I'm sure there'll be an open pharmacy nearby."

He took me to a nearby pharmacy, and we bought the medicines. He then brought me to a little restaurant and bought food that I suppose was for me, my mum, and sister.

We hailed a taxi and drove straight to the hospital.

We got to the hospital, paid the driver, and walked into the hospital.

I looked down at our entwined hands and then stared at his face. I could clearly hear my heart beating rapidly.

I liked him so much, ever since we were kids.

There was something on my mind, and I didn't know if I should tell him.

He turned to look at me. "You've been staring. Is anything the problem?"

"No... no, there's no problem." I really hated how I stammered. I couldn't hide anything from him.

"You're stammering. Tell me, what's wrong?" he asked, placing his hands on my shoulders, shaking them slowly.

What's the point of hiding it?

"I'll tell you; there's a problem," I said.

"Speak," he commanded in a not commanding tone.

"My mother is...." I stopped, stared at his expression, and continued speaking.