Maxwell Peary had arranged matters and was about to go upstairs to call Rabina Mitchell for lunch when the doorbell rang.
"Young Master, the Sir asks you to return at once."
Opening the Grand Gate, he was surprised to find someone from the old residence.
"Young Master, you know the Sir’s temper better than anyone. Even if it’s for the sake of the young lady upstairs, you should go back."
Maxwell Peary thought for a long time, then turned and went upstairs to knock on the Guest Room door. Nia Mitchell was still in bed, curled up in her blanket.
"I need to go out for a bit. I’ll grab lunch for you on my way back, alright?"
Nia Mitchell lifted her head, looking at the closed door. "Okay," she replied in a muffled voice.
"Okay," Maxwell Peary said. "I’ll be back in about thirty minutes."
Nia Mitchell perked up her ears, listening to the sounds outside. He was going downstairs. She heard him getting dressed and grabbing his keys. He was changing his shoes, and then he closed the door.
Slowly sitting up in bed, Nia Mitchell tiptoed barefoot to the door and carefully opened it a crack.
She stepped out and went downstairs. The empty Living Room met her eyes, confirming that Maxwell Peary had already left.
Biting her lip, Nia Mitchell sank onto the sofa. Whew, Uncle Peary sure is busy, she thought, taking a deep breath. It felt so good to finally breathe freely.
Just then, a pleasant ringtone from her cell phone interrupted Nia Mitchell’s moment of relaxation. It was Mellisa Moreland.
"Nia Mitchell! Where the hell are you? Why didn’t you tell me about this whole damn mess? I’ve told you a million times, I’m your other go-to guy! If that damn Hendry Hampton doesn’t want you, you still have—"
Nia Mitchell winced, holding the phone as far from her ear as possible. The volume was so high it was like Mellisa was on a megaphone; she could probably be heard ten blocks away.
"Hey, Mellisa, my beautiful, ladylike friend..."
"Oh, please! If I were all prim and proper, how could I possibly watch your back?"
Nia Mitchell gave a dry laugh. "Mellisa, my dear beauty, I’m fine. Really."
On the other end of the line, the expression on Mellisa Moreland’s face slowly faded. She was stunned for a long moment before finally speaking, her voice low and hoarse.
"Nia, come back. We’re all here for you."
Those few words almost brought tears to Nia Mitchell’s eyes.
"Mellisa, my friend, since when did you get so sentimental? Are you possessed or something?"
Mellisa Moreland had been her roommate during their University days. In four years of friendship, they had laughed, cried, partied, and gone wild together, but Mellisa had never once been sentimental.
Before her engagement to Hendry Hampton, she’d had a huge fight with Mellisa. That was precisely why, even when she had nowhere else to go that night, she hadn’t returned to the Dormitory.
"Nia, let me apologize, okay? You’re flat broke right now, for crying out loud! How on earth can you be doing well? Are you trying to worry me to death?"
She’d rushed to him with her household registration, practically throwing herself at him, and he’d rejected her. Was she now supposed to be homeless, wandering the streets?
"No, no, it’s not like that! Don’t apologize. I was the one who was wrong. The facts have proven it; you were all right."
Nia Mitchell curled up on the sofa, crying. In four years, this was the first time she had ever heard Mellisa say *she* was wrong, the first time she had heard an apology from her.
"I’m waiting for you at the Dormitory. Let’s make up."
Nia Mitchell bolted out as if possessed. She wasn’t destitute in this city; even without a man, she still had friendship! Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚·𝔫𝔢𝔱
Scenes from the past four years flashed through her mind. She cried the entire way, but when she stood at the Dormitory door, her face was wreathed in smiles.
Mellisa Moreland shot up from her chair, rushed over to Nia Mitchell, and gave her a light smack on the shoulder.
"Are you trying to worry me to death? Are you? You really are trying to... Oh, stop smiling, you look awful like that."
Before she could finish, she was already choked with sobs.
"I was wrong... but I’m okay now, Mellisa. I admit, at first, I couldn’t accept it. But later, I actually felt a bit relieved. Relieved that I didn’t end up marrying him."
A man who would grab her by the throat, wanting to kill her... How could he possibly be someone worthy of entrusting her life to?
"Mellisa, I don’t know how to explain everything that’s happened in the last 24 hours. My engagement to Hendry Hampton didn’t happen... but I married someone else."