The Ex-Convict and The Magnate

“Get up Grant you’re getting out!”

The southern accent of the police officer called out as Ellery Grant’s cell was being opened.

At exactly 9:17 one cold morning in December. Ellery had finally stepped foot outside prison after 5 long years of waiting. She was wearing the clothes she was wearing 5 years ago with only her cellphone and a $20 bill in her pocket.

She breathed in the cold air and basked in the sun. After almost 1813 days in her dark prison cell, she finally felt the light and the smell of the trees.

She had waited years for this to happen and she was finally going to start her life again. The prison didn’t arrange for any return program for her nor endorse her to any charity groups that helps ex-convicts ease back into society. So with no family nor friends to contact and with only $20 she bought a ticket back to the city she never thought she’d be able to step in again.

X City.

The sound of it sends shivers down her spine. The memories she had there were too painful to remember. It was beautiful the fact that it was all just a lie made it unbearable to even remember.

After almost a 3-hour bus ride she finally stepped down and admired the city. It had changed a lot. The people were wearing different styles and colors now. Their phones were different, even the buildings were different.

As she was starving bought herself a sandwich and started walking back to her old residence.

The city was so different from what she remembered. The buildings were taller, the cars were faster and the prices were higher. The city center had billboards of Forbes's youngest billionaire, as well as the man of the year. “Zachary Bianchi”

His name was everywhere, the newspapers on televisions and even on the led screens.

Ellery paused in her tracks for a while as she stared into the deep blue eyes of the young man named Zachary Bianchi. He was smiling radiantly but his eyes didn’t sparkle the way they used to 5 years ago. Next to him clung a beautiful woman who was the same age as he was.

‘Inside the latest updates about Bianchi Corporations young CEO Zachary Bianchi and mining heiress, Elizabeth Cohen’s upcoming wedding next weekend!”

The people stopped and looked at the power couple with envy.

While she only looked in disgust, ‘At least one of us had moved on,” she sighed and said to herself.

A surge of mixed emotions engulfed her as the smooth voice of the man she once knew hurt her ears. She was angry but she couldn’t deny the fact that she missed him.

Feeling restless and tired she continued walking and after a 2-hour walk, she finally reached her condominium building. She didn’t want to return here as it held memories she wished to forget but it was the only place she has at the moment. She didn’t have anyone to run to and with the cold winter air, she refused to stay in the streets.

“Only for a while. Only till I get a job. Only till you’re back in my arms,” Ellery mumbled to herself as she entered the building. The guards were still the same as before and instantly recognized her and allowed her to come up.

Upon unlocking the door with her fingerprint, she was surprised to see everything clean and in order. Not like how she left it 5 years ago.

Her clothes were still in her walk-in closet and the beddings were the same as she used five years ago. It even has the sensual scent lingering in it tickling her nose a bit.

There wasn’t any food in the fridge but there was a can of pork and beans in the cupboards that she quickly devoured.

The food in prison was horrible and the canned goods were a stand out to her taste buds.

She then looked at herself in her full-body mirror. She used to have a long and strong physique but now she was tiny and all boned. Her cheekbones were about to break through her skin and she could see her ribs as she took her parka and cap off.

The next thing she did was take a shower. She scrubbed off the remnants of prison in her body. She inhaled the sweet scent of strawberries and cream coming from her bath gel, the same brand she used 5 years ago. Still here in her bathroom. Unlike the unscented state soap they use to wash their bodies and even the floors with. She didn’t even have money to buy those in the commissary as there wasn’t anyone from outside who sent her money. She did try her best to hustle inside.

After her shower, she replaced the sheets on her king-size bed with fresh new ones. And before going to sleep she checked her safe and heaved a sigh of relief to see that the money she saved up from her modeling career back then was still in its place.

She turned on her heater. Hang her towel on the rack and got under the quilt. Her body relaxed upon feeling the smooth mattress under her soft skin.

Her phone wasn’t on for the past five years and the battery deteriorated over time so the first thing she wanted to do in the morning was to buy a new phone and look for a new job.

It was all going to be worth it and she will do everything in her power to bring him back. The boy they took away from her. She slept soundly as this was the most comfortable she had slept in 5 whole years. She missed this, her bedroom that she designed years ago. The bed she slept in after long hours of the photoshoot, where she gets back massages from her ex.

She started looking for a job the following day.

Who would hire an ex-convict? She asked herself but she could only hope. She went to 5 job interviews that day, all of which turned her down. Just like the few ones she went to yesterday and the day before that.

She got up early and prepared for today but was walking home with a broken heart and barely enough to buy a bus ticket.

Her savings will run dry if she doesn’t get a job fast.