I didn’t cheat on her, he told himself, and I’m only breaking her heart.
Only breaking her heart. His heart had never been broken. He was used to breaking hearts, but breaking Mikaela’s heart made him feel remorse, something that had never happened before, too. Was it right to stick by his pride? It was what drove him to survive, it was what drove him to be successful.
Yet, here he was, feeling like a fool. A blundering idiot, feeling like he had made the worst mistake in the world. No matter how much he tried to rationalize, it still left him feeling jumbled up. There was only one way to appease his thoughts.
Moments later, he drove out, set on seeing her.
***
He walked into the coffee shop, telling himself everything was going to be all right, that she was going to see him, in fact he had prepared a spiel in his head. He walked with his head held high, with purpose in his stride.
“Is Mikaela here?”
“Mikaela? Who is that?” the barista began, looking blan
k.
Someone overheard him. Mary Ann came rushing to the counter. “You’re looking for Mikaela?” she began. She had to get a good look at this man whom Mikaela was so giddy about. He was very handsome.
‘Yes, Mikaela Johnson.”
“She already left.”
“You mean her shift ended?”
“No, she resigned. It was abrupt. A few days ago.”
“Where is she?”
Mary Ann shrugged. “She didn’t say much. But it looked like she had personal problems.”
He should have called first. How stupid was he? He didn’t even bother to ask if she was at the café. Such wasted time! He nodded and said his thanks, quickly dialing her number as soon as he got out of the coffee shop.
It rang and his heart pounded, wanting to hear her voice. It just kept ringing and ringing. Answer. Answer. Come on. Please. He dialed fifteen times, until an automated voice told him the line was out of coverage area. She could still be at the apartment. He raced to the apartment, glad he had the spare key with him.
He knocked first, breathless. There was no answer. He flung the door open and saw the apartment still intact with his furniture, all except hers. He ran to the bedroom, wishing against hope that she would be there. He had imagined this wrongly earlier. He had imagined she would go hysterical upon seeing him, and she would cry and ask why they couldn’t be together, and he would forgive her for acting like every other woman he dated…
Her clothes were gone, there was no sign of her. The apartment had been stripped clean of her memory. He looked around wildly, wondering where she went. She couldn’t have gone back to her old apartment, right? He was ready to reach for his phone, call the private investigator, when he heard a noise.
There was a small gasp and he spun around, seeing the one person that made his heart skip a beat. She was wearing a plain white shirt and jeans and sandals. The very look he used to dislike. Used to.
“What are you doing here?” Mikaela stammered, her eyes wide open, surprised he was here. Never had she thought she would see him again, that the last time she’d see him would be on a tabloid newspaper.
“I own this apartment,” he stammered back. “I thought you left.” Damn, that was a stupid thing to say.
“I forgot something,” she replied, regaining her composure and walking past him without as much as a glance.
Justin saw her walk into the bedroom, rummaging for something in a cabinet. Moments later she walked out, and he was still rooted in the same spot. What was she looking for? He couldn’t see it in her hands.
“I didn’t tell you to leave the apartment yet,” he uttered, not wanting her to leave his sight.
She spun around, moments before she could hold the door handle. There was a fire in her eyes he had never seen before. She was livid, and yet what made him uneasy was that she was quiet. She turned around again, determined to leave him.
“Did you hear what I said?” he said in a louder tone.
She faced him, walking up to him in slow, calculated steps. “I’m not part of your contract anymore. So you can foam at the mouth and command and demand all you want, but I’m not bound by you anymore. I’m glad you cheated on me. It showed me how much I was going to lose in the first place.”
He looked confused. “What?”