chapter 2

Mia tried to peep through the gate but there was nothing much to see. The gates were jammed tightly against the wall. She scanned the gate, looking for an entrance but the whole gate was enclosed. She tried knocking on it but no sound came out which baffled her.

She was about to push through the gate when she heard a voice that made her stop abruptly in her tracks.

"Who are you?"

Mia sought for where the voice came from.

"I said who are you?" The voice came again.

"My..my name is Mia and I'm here to see Mr. Logan."

"Mr. Jason is not in." The voice said.

"No, no I'm here to see his father. I have an important appointment with him."

"I'm sorry madam but he didn't tell me anything about it so I cannot let you in."

Mia grounded her teeth in frustration. She thought of how she was going to get in if the security wouldn't even let her move past the gate.

With anger seething in her veins, she turned around and walked away. She resumed work late and had to lie to her boss that her mother fainted that morning and she had to take her to the hospital.

"Phew," she heaved and wiped an invisible drop of sweat from her forehead when her boss had bought her tale. She rushed to her computer and turned it on. She went straight to Jason's page and nestled there till the next thirty minutes.

"Mia?"

Mia had been so engrossed in what she was doing that she couldn't hear her name being called.

She almost jumped out of her skin when a hand rested on her shoulder. She turned around immediately and saw that it was her co-worker and closest friend, Mary.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Mia said, clutching her chest.

"I've been standing here and calling your name for the past ten minutes, but you couldn't hear me," Mary said. She was a tall and slender woman with brown hair and green eyes. She was dressed in a smart black pantsuit, her long hair pulled back in a neat bun.

Mia's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I didn't hear." She said in a low tone and turned to face her computer.

"You've been acting funny lately. Tell me what the matter is." Mary said.

With Mia's eyes still glued to the computer screen she muffled subconsciously. "nothing,"

"Mia, you have to tell me what going on, I'm hearing rumors about you. You even came in late today, you never come to work late so tell me what the problem is," Mary intoned.

Mia spun her chair around to face Mary.

"What kind of rumor?" She asked, her brows furrowed.

"That you're having some issues and you don't want to share it with anyone," Mary told her.

"I and Jason broke up." She said without hesitation and immediately the words came out, tears threatened to fall down her eyes. When she couldn't hold it back in anymore, she let the tears cascade down her cheeks.

"Oh my..." Mary gasped. "when was that?"

"Last week," Mia choked on her tears as she spoke. She grabbed her bag, opened it, and took out her handkerchief. She wiped her face with it while Mary stared at her with a pitiful look in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry about you two, Mia. What happened, I mean Why'd you two break up?" Mary asked as she crouched to Mia's level in order to console her.

"I caught him cheating and when I confronted him about it, he...he.. admitted to it." As Mia recounted that uneventful day, the urge and resolve to take revenge grew stronger.

"I'm so sorry about that, Mia." Mary's voice came again.

"No, it's not your fault. I was stupid not to realize that Jason had been playing me all along. I'm so going to make him pay."

"Easy now. You just have to let it slide."

Mia snapped her head up immediately. "Did you just say I should let it slide?"

"I was with that bastard for seven years. Seven good years Mary," Mia held up her fingers in front of Mia, indicating the number seven.

"....and this how he repays me for loving him with all my heart. If you've ever been in love, you'll understand me better."

Mary stood from her crouched position. "Hey c'mon don't try to gaslight me just because I'm trying to make you feel better," Mary said. She knew Mia was right. At thirty two, she had had four failed marriages already and was still looking to get married again.

"I'm sorry," Mia sniffed, realizing that she might have been too hard on Mary.

"It's okay. What do you say we chill at my place this evening to relieve you? You look stressed out." Mary said.

Mia pinched the bridge of her nose as she realized that the lack of sleep and too to think about had taken a huge toll on her and was now evident in her appearance.

"Yeah, I guess I need to take a break," Mia said but then her phone buzzed to indicate that she had a notification message. She took her phone and checked the message, after a while of looking at her phone, she looked back up at Mary and said: "On second thought, I have where to be tonight maybe we can reschedule for some other time."

Mary's eyes bulged in shock, "But you just agreed to come over, why the sudden change of mind."

"I'm sorry but where I need to be tonight is very important," Mia responded with an apologetic look on her face.

"If you say so," Mary shrugged. "Just don't try to think about Jason too much." And with that, she walked away.

Mia's attention went back to her phone to return the text message she had received.