The sedatives are wearing off and I think I'm noticing some subtle responses.. Oh yeah, she's stirring..”

I heard a masculine voice say as my eyes stirred repeatedly before finally opening.

The first thing my eyes caught was an unfamiliar ceiling and then.. a tall man who was standing right infront of the bed I was laid on, with a lady by his side.

“Oh well..” I watched the man's lips move and curve into a smile while I struggled with my thoughts to understand what was going on..

“Where am I?.." my words came in a whisper as I attempted to remember how I ended up in the room.

“I'm doctor Edwards and you're currently in Jivers psychiatric hospital” he released a blow and as if a strong force kicked me out of the bed, I sat up immediately.

“Psychiatric what?!” I exclaimed and questioned at the same time to be sure I didn't hear him wrongly.

“A psychiatric hospital ma'am” he confidently repeated.

At that moment, glimpses of significant memories like a movie trailer began making their way into my head and I found myself trying to put the pieces together.

The brutal betrayal..

Thrown out..

And then!

Everything became clear in less than ten seconds and my gaze expanded in shock..

“The injection!! They made me go unconscious with that!” I screamed inwardly.

“No..” I suddenly voiced out.

“You have to!” The lady beside him tried speaking but I cut her short immediately.

“In what way do I look like someone who belongs here, huh!” I raised my voice while my heart made me feel like it was on fire.

“Madam–”.

“I am not mentally ill!” I interrupted the lady again and I heard her heave a deep breath.

“Please, remain calm. You were brought to our facility at noon by good Samaritans who found you unresponsive on the street. Witnesses reported that you were behaving erratically and had torn your wedding attire, leading us to suspect that you may be experiencing symptoms of a neurological condition” the male doctor explained and for a second, I wondered how I managed to listen to him without interrupting or even yelling..

Maybe the pains from the betrayal and disappointment made me even too weak to stop his words..

Is replacing me at the altar and throwing me out not enough?..

Why make me land in the home of mad people?!..

Oh LOVE, damn you million times!

With heavy breaths, my eyes landed on what I was cladded in and I realized I was no longer in the tattered wedding gown, I was wearing a green gown and I could feel the elastic band of the cap on my head.

My breathlessness intensified and I screamed loudly, letting out tears that felt so hot on my cheeks.

“I need to get out of here. I don't belong here” I said amidst my tears, forcefully disconnecting all the wires connected to my body.

“Stop her, Claire!” the man instructed but before the lady could get to me, I grabbed a metal tool from the tray of tools beside me.

“Come near me and I will injure you!” I said in tears, pointing the sharp edge towards them both.

“Damn it, a stressful patient” the doctor worsened my mood with those words.

Without hesitation, I got off from the bed, taking steps backwards as the lady approached me.

“Don't you dare come close” it took me a lot to speak so coldly because the heartbreak had really cracked and weakened all of me.

“Where the hell did you get your medical license from? Aren't you supposed to be able to differentiate between a sane and insane person?!” I said bluntly, forgetting anything called respectful courtesy.

To hell with respect anyways!..

Where was that right when I was rejected and treated like trash?..

And now, I'm left to remain in a psychiatric home while everyone enjoys peace?..

To hell with everything and everyone!!

I was determined though..

“There's no way I'm staying here, never!..” I freely said the words on my mind aloud.

“You need to recover from your trauma.. We can't let psychopaths out to the public. It's risky.." the doctor insisted…

“I'm not interested!” I replied immediately as more tears poured out freely.

“Code 2!” he suddenly said and I instantly became alert.

That order meant something I was sure of. It was definitely a way of telling his worker to collaborate with him in having me unable to escape..

I smirked as my bitter tears entered my mouth through the space between my lips.

“Don't try coming closer!” I gave them a final warning, taking a step backwards but it seemed like they weren't ready to let me go.

“Distract and run” that was literally the only thing I could think of at that moment while they kept coming closer, trying to cage me.

I didn't have to think twice since it was an urgent situation and so I swallowed hard, piercing the sharp tool into my hand instantly

It was painful but the pain was nothing compared to my heartache.

“Oh my..!” they gasped, getting distracted just as I'd planned and that only made me swing into action..

I immediately took advantage of their momentary shock and ran towards the door, clutching my injured hand.

“Shit!” I heard one of them say as I ran out but not for once did I look back or turn.

They rushed out of the room also, chasing after me while I ran faster despite being barefooted.

“Stop her!..” I heard them yell and soon, several workers began chasing me

I felt so dizzy and weak as I ran in the unfamiliar building but I managed to keep running.

Suddenly, my gaze landed on a sign that read ‘Emergency Exit’ and with a racing heart, I made a beeline for it while the footsteps grew louder.

Fortunately, I was able to get out of the building and since I was used to jumping over hurdles in my teenage life, escaping through the fence wasn't a big deal.

“Oh no..” I cried as I fell and hurt my foot.

This time, I wasn't just chased by the hospital workers who managed to still catch up with me, I was also chased by the random men on the road.

It was a dark night but the street lights made everywhere quite bright.

“Gawd..” I cried, getting weak already but the number of people after me wasn't a motivation to stop running at all.

The country was really strict in ensuring that no psychiatric patient is out without being healed but how was I supposed to explain to the world that I wasn't insane?!..

I ran till I found myself in front of a building and without bothering to know which building it was, I ran in immediately.

“Take him to Room 302 please” those were the words I heard a young lady say as i rushed in

I didn't have to be told..

I knew I was in a hotel just by that statement.

“Hey, miss!” I heard a yell as I rushed towards the stairs but that didn't stop me from running.

I managed to climb the stairs without stumbling and use some elevators till I was on the third floor but then, I became so weak and tired that I couldn't run anymore..

And so, I had to do it..

I had to run towards the first room my eyes landed on and thankfully, it wasn't locked, so I successfully ran in…

But then, I met a different thing.

The occupant was stark naked!!..