Chapter 3
705 Words
I pulled out an alcohol wipe and scrubbed every spot he had touched, over and over carefully.
Only then did I speak in a cold, flat tone.
"You don't agree? Fine. See you in court," I said.
A flicker of hurt crossed Ethan's eyes as he watched my movements.
"Mia, I only messed up one time," he asked. "Do you really hate me this much?"
"Can't we just sit down and talk this through properly?" he continued.
I let out a sharp, cold laugh.
"One time? Did you forget every room in our house had security cameras?" I demanded.
"If you really don't remember, that's fine. I can send you every single clip to jog your memory!" I added.
His face drained of all color, and he stammered, unable to get a single word out.
Right that second, a commotion erupted from the private dining room.
Aria came sprinting out, skidded to a stop right at my feet and dropped straight to her knees.
"Mia, I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I never meant to break up your family!"
"I'll stick to my role as nanny and behave myself from now on," she sobbed. "I swear I'll never have any inappropriate thoughts again!"
"Please, please don't..." she begged.
Tears streamed down her face, making her look utterly pitiful.
I simply stepped back two silent steps, slipping out of reach of the grasping hand she stretched toward me.
Ethan's parents came chasing out after her, and the second they saw her pitiful state, they dropped everything and fussed over her, tripping over themselves to rush to her comfort.
Arthur roared at me.
"Mia! Is this how you treat Aria when you're at home?"
Sophia stared at me too, her face twisted with disappointment.
"Mia, a doctor's heart is supposed to be kind. How did you become so cold?"
I stared at the two elders who had once treated me like their own daughter, now twisting right and wrong just to protect Aria. All of a sudden, I lost all desire to explain myself. I turned on my heel and walked out.
I had just reached the bottom of the stairs when urgent, pounding footsteps sounded behind me.
I glanced back, and who should come chasing after me but Aria.
"Mia! I ..." she called out.
I frowned and cut her off mid-sentence.
"There's no one else around here. You can drop the act," I said.
My sharp words left her stunned, and tears immediately welled back up in her eyes.
"Mia, how can you say that?" she whimpered. "I really came here to apologize from the bottom of my heart ..."
"Cut it out," I snapped.
I stared at her, a dry, amused smirk playing on my lips.
"Aria, you really don't remember me, do you?" I asked.
She froze solid.
"Looks like your AIDS has been under really good control these past three years, huh?" I said.
I let my gaze drag slowly up and down her body as I spoke.
"Y-you... how do you..." she stammered.
She locked eyes with me, and her pupils blew wide in an instant.
"Wait a second, you were the doctor back then!" she gasped.
Three years earlier, I was still working as a doctor with Doctors Without Borders. That was when I met Aria, gravely ill, in Yveria.
I knew full well her illness was a result of her messy, reckless personal life, but to me, she was still just a patient.
I still poured every ounce of effort into her care and pulled her right back from the brink of death.
Looking at things now, though? Some people just don't deserve to be saved.
When Aria saw the mocking sneer on my face, she drew a slow, steadying breath.
"What's your price?" she asked.
I smiled coolly.
"Quit your job and get the hell out of my villa with Ethan," I said.
Ethan had been living in this house far too long, I thought.
So long that he had completely forgotten it was my premarital property left to me by my parents.
Aria stared daggers at me for a long moment, then suddenly broke into a smile.
"I get it. Mia, I'll do whatever you say," she said.
- Writer
