Divorced And Married To The Wrong Twin

Chapter 13 - Face The Past

MIRA

As soon as I walked out of the meeting room, I bumped into the enemy I’d freely acquired in the company, Clarissa. Thankfully, I was able to control myself and recoil at the same time, or else the hot coffee in her hand would have spilled on my body instead of the floor.

“Oops! Sorry. My vision blurred for a second,” she muttered in a tiny tone, twitching her lips dramatically. From her reaction, I could tell my earlier assumption was wrong. I didn’t bump into her; she bumped into me instead, and funnily enough, she wasn’t apologetic about it. Her eyes darted over me disgustedly before she hissed and strolled past me, intentionally brushing her shoulder against mine.

I staggered slightly, but it wasn’t enough to make me fall. I just stood there, watching as she sashayed back to her desk. One thing I loved about her was her unapologetic behavior. She didn’t like me, and she didn’t hide it. And me? I didn’t care.

I just wanted to live and survive.

Ignoring her, I strolled to my seat. As soon as I settled down, my office friend, Scarlet, shifted her chair closer to mine.

“What’s up with Clarissa? Is she trying to cause trouble just because her team lost to yours again?” she whispered.

I chuckled and shook my head. “Nah. Her vision blurred for a moment, so she bumped into me,” I repeated the same excuse Clarissa had given earlier.

Scarlet gritted her teeth. “That bastard. Her vision didn’t make her slip or pour the hot coffee on herself, but it made her bump into you?” She hissed. “She’s just a jealous wench.”

I nodded. “I know, right?”

“So, what are you going to do about her?”

I shot Scarlet an inquisitive look and shrugged. “What else? Ignore her like usual.”

“What?” Her voice rose, attracting stares from others. She immediately lowered her head and mouthed, “Sorry,” to everyone before leaning closer again. “When will you stop letting that b***h step on you? She’s this way because you allow her to be. If you had reciprocated the energy she threw at you the first time, she wouldn’t have repeated it. Now it’s become a habit.” Anger and frustration laced Scarlet’s tone.

I remembered the first time. It was during my third month working here. I had won a project for the company, and Alex, in his excessive excitement, compared me to Clarissa, who had been here three years before me. What Alex casually uttered had become my nemesis for months, and with the look of things, the enmity between Clarissa and me wouldn’t be ending anytime soon.

“It’s fine, Scarlet. I understand Clarissa’s pain. Let’s give her some more time.” I smiled. “I’m sure she’ll come around soon.”

She lowered her head and smacked her forehead. “Oh, Jesus! You’re so benevolent, Mira. Give her more time? After how man—”

The remaining words caught in her throat when she noticed the paper I had just removed from my pocket and placed on the table.

“What’s this?” she asked, picking it up. “Daniel Smith. Thirty-seven years old. A banker. Five-point-seven feet tall…” She turned to me. “Speak up, Mira. What’s this about?” She raised the paper.

My shoulders dropped as I scoffed. It was terrible timing to reveal the paper now. Scarlet wouldn’t let me breathe after this.

“My blind date,” I replied with a sigh.

“What?” She gasped, covering her mouth. “What the f**k! You’re going on a blind date? How on earth is that possible?”

“Alex wouldn’t mind his business. He set up a blind date without informing me, then instructed me not to miss it,” I explained, rolling my eyes.

“So, are you going?”

I shot her a sharp glare instantly. “No f*****g way.”

She clapped her hands. “I knew you’d say that, Mira. But hell no. Not this time. You have to go on the blind date.”

“But—”

“No buts, girl. You just have to go,” she interrupted. “Give love a chance. Although I don’t know what your past is, you can’t keep clinging to it.”

Maybe Scarlet was right. The past might be dark, but I didn’t need to keep holding onto it.

What if I had been the one delaying my healing by isolating myself and building a wall around my heart? What would happen if I opened up again? Would I finally move on from the past that kept pounding against the walls of my defenses? What would it feel like to love again?

She snaked her arm around my shoulder and patted me softly. “Don’t think too much about it. We only live once,” she whispered. “Just give it a chance. There’s no harm in that.”

At the same moment, my phone beeped and lit up with a message from Manager Alex. I clicked on it, revealing the address. At the bottom, he added:

Don’t even dream of bailing out on me.

Subconsciously, my lips curled into a smile. I guessed Alex could read my thoughts. He knew I was going to find an excuse at the last minute.

A deep breath escaped my lungs. It seemed my plan to bail out wouldn’t work anymore.

Maybe… just maybe this was a sign that it was finally time to move on from the past and embrace the present.