Reclaimed by the CEO

Survival

She found a jewelry shop and sold one of her bracelets for money for the fresh start. The man ridiculed her and offered her a low price, claiming the jewelry might not be original since she wasn’t original either.

Mira endured it all, took whatever he offered and left.

She found a spot to change her into a trouser and light tank top after washing up with water from a church across the jewelry shop then packed up her blonde curly hair and put on a face cap as she tried to find something to eat.

The café down the road smelled of bitter coffee and burnt bread, but to Mira, it smelled like survival so she followed it.

She sat in a corner, looking on. Her thumb finger kept scratching the others out of anxiety as she awaited her order. The cashier had eyed her suspiciously when she ordered the cheapest drink on the menu,black coffee with no sugar, thinking she was homeless and was trying to get a free drink but waved it off once she paid.

Mira couldn’t believe that she had become someone who now hides from the public in shame.

She wrapped her hands around the warm paper cup, staring blankly at the people who bustled through the café. They were normal,smiling, working or chatting with friends then she finally relaxed because no one pointed at her here, nobody whispered her name like venom.

She was finally safe and for a fleeting moment she could pretend she was one of them, with no worries in the world.

But the TV mounted on the café wall reminded her of her reality.

“Breaking news,” the reporter’s voice rang out, “yesterday’s grand engagement party of Richard Wilson and Mira Jonathan ended in a shocking scandal…”

Her picture flashed across the screen and she flinched. The video clip played again,the exact moment Richard tore the ring from her finger, the camera zooming in on her betrayed face.

“That’s her, isn’t it?”

“She’s sitting right there, look!!”,a lady pointed in her direction.

Mira’s grip tightened on the cup and the hot liquid spilled over her hand. She stood abruptly, heart racing. The whispers followed her as she grabbed her suitcase and fled the café, her face burning with humiliation.

Out on the street, the hot sun bit into her flawless skin as she pondered on where to sleep before night sets in. Every door she had once opened with her name was now slammed shut.

Across the street, the black Mercedes slowed down again.

Inside, Khalid’s driver saw her. “Sir… it’s her again.”

Khalid leaned slightly forward, his sharp gaze catching Mira’s retreating figure through the glass. Her suitcase kept bumping along the uneven pavement, her hair falling on her pale face. She looked nothing like the glamorous heiress from the night before.

Yet she still walked with her spine straight, chin high, as if daring the world to break her.

“Should I stop?” the driver asked.

Khalid hesitated.

“No. Let’s see how far she gets on her own. Follow closely and find somewhere to park in distance when she stops”

But his eyes lingered, studying her every movement as the car rolled slowly behind her.

Mira wandered until her legs gave out and night came faster than she thought.

Finally, she collapsed onto a bench outside an old, run-down motel. A flickering neon sign buzzed overhead, the “T” in “HOTEL” completely off with no light.

The receptionist inside eyed her when she asked for a room.

“Two thousand for the night. Pay first.”

Her throat tightened as she realized she only had a thousand on her.

She forced a smile. “Can’t I pay half and balance it tomorrow before leaving?”

The man laughed coldly. “What do you think this is, charity?”

She muttered an apology, and turned away.

Outside, she found a corner and sat with folded knees and arms wrapped around them as the night deepened. This time, tears stung her eyes. Alone in the shadows, she let them fall silently, hidden from the world that had stripped her of everything.

But in a car parked a short distance away, someone else was watching.

Khalid rolled down the glass and leaned an arm against the window, he watched her wipe her tears with trembling hands, then lift her chin up once again,taking in all the pain she felt.

“She doesn’t break easily,” he murmured as he sipped his coffee gotten from the same cafe Mira went earlier.

The driver glanced back. “Sir?”

“Nothing. Let’s go home. I’m done for the day.”

The car sped into the night, but Khalid’s thoughts remained.

Mira had been thrown away by everyone—her fiancé, her family, society itself. Yet instead of collapsing completely, she still held on to her pride.

For most, she was finished but for Khalid,she was becoming something else. Something dangerous.

A spark that, if fanned, could turn into a wildfire.

Meanwhile, inside the Wilson’s penthouse in the city, Selina scrolled through the flood of news articles about her stepsister’s disgrace. She was finally spending the night with Richard, something she had always longed for.

“Enjoy the streets, dear sister,” she whispered, sipping from a glass of wine.

“Because that’s where you belong from now on and I’ll make sure it stays that way forever. No one can save you now”.

She was interrupted by the sound of Richard coming into the room and hurriedly faked a smile as she goes to wrap herself in his arms.