(Mia's Pov)
I had never imagined that my birthday would turn out to be the worst day of my life. Getting dumped in public was a nightmare.
I hadn't even tasted the birthday cake Ben got for me. Or should I say a heartbreak cake.
With the eyes staring at me, I knew I would become the next hot topic on the internet for a couple of days, if not weeks. I stood there hoping this scandal wouldn't get to my father.
Samuel, seeing how messy things had gone, turned to Ben and said, "We're out ofhere..
I just followed Samuel's lead till we got out of the restaurant. His driver quickly pulled over and opened the backseat for us.
While we were in the car, I could feel Samuel taking glances at me. Suddenly he said;
"Sorry about what happened earlier"
"No," I replied. Thank you for saving me out there"
He just gave a little smile.
That was all. We didn't speak till we got to his family house.
Immediately we dropped by the doorway, Shanaiah rushed to my side. I knew Samuel must have texted her to come meet me. I followed her to her room.
"What happened?" Shanaiah asked immediately she shut the door,
"I got dumped today, hahaha."
"Isn't it funny," I continued, "that out of all the days to receive a heartbreak, it gets to be on my birthday?"
Shanaiah didn't speak; she just came to my side and rubbed her hands on my back.
"It's okay, don't think much about it," she said, placing a kiss on my head.
That night, Shanaiah and I slept side by side.
*
The following morning, after I had showered and had some breakfast, I took my phone to make a call.
I stared hard, it was my father. I hadn't spoken with him in the past three years after running away. I had been betrothed to someone at the age of four, when I barely knew a thing and when I turned twenty-two, my father said it was time to settle the agreement with the other family by getting married to their son.
I was dumbfounded. Am I some kind of plaything you could toss around anyhow? I remember asking my dad. Because of that, I refused to return home after my graduation. I moved to Seattle and applied as an intern at a law firm. Luckily, I got accepted, and a year later, I got full employment.
Without wasting any more seconds, I dialed his number.
" Mia," I heard him say at the other end.
"Dad, I think I'm ready now to go through with the engagement, sorry for holding out this long,"
I heard him breathe a sigh of relief.
"Okay, when will you be returning to New York?"
"After I'm done clearing things here, maybe three days or a week.
"Alright," with that he hung up.
Fear overwhelmed me at the thought of not knowing who I was getting engaged to. What if it was an old man with grey hair? Or a blind crippled man?
I quickly brushed off the thoughts and went to find Shanaiah. We had planned to go pack my things from Ben's place that afternoon.
When we arrived at Ben's place, there was no one around, which was lucky for us. Without wasting time, we headed for the room and began packing. Shanaiah helped arrange my trousers and shirts, while I focused on arranging my underwear, shoes, and every other item I had in that house. I didn't want to leave any traces behind, so I thoroughly racked the house to make sure nothing of mine was left. Once we were done, we left in Shanaiah's car.
*
The next morning, I was woken up by the ringing of my phone. Without taking a look at who the caller was, I answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Mia," Jayla's voice rang at the other end of the line.
"My birthday is tomorrow, don't forget to come to my party.
"Okay, send me the location.
"Alright, bye."
I sat on the bed trying to stretch my body after a long night. Then a text came in on my phone. It was the location for Jayla's birthday.
Out of everyone in Ben's social circle, me and Jayla got along well. The others looked at me like a riff-raff, a low-level human holding onto Ben for survival. I never cared much for how they saw me then.
With that, I stood up from the bed, freshened up, and went out with Shanaiah to get a gift for Jayla.
We stopped by a jewelry shop. I had always known Jayla to be a lover of beautiful jewelry. My eyes settled on one. I had seen it while browsing through the internet the day before and I knew this definitely suited Jayla's style. It was the latest design made by a popular brand.
I made the payment for it, and soon after, I and Shanaiah headed back home.