Chapter 3
After leaving the villa complex, I stood by the roadside waiting for a ride, looking like a wreck—hair a mess, face paper-white, yesterday's dried blood still on my clothes. A black SUV stopped in front of me, and a familiar face appeared behind the lowered window. "Mia?"
I froze. It was Charles Reed—my college senior, my old photography partner, and the man I'd once secretly liked. We hadn't seen each other since I married Edward. I wanted to hide, to make myself small. I looked pathetic.
"What are you doing here? You look awful... what happened?" Charles pushed open the door, got out, and came straight over to me, his eyes full of concern.
He was still the same, wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, carrying that fresh, clean scent of soap. Only now, the old student awkwardness was gone. There was a steadiness around him that hadn't been there before.
"I'm fine." I lowered my head, my voice barely above a whisper.
He went quiet, his gaze dropping to the suitcase at my side, then drifting to the entrance of the villa complex behind me. He'd always been smart. He could probably guess most of it. The air turned awkward.
In the end, he let out a soft sigh and broke the silence. "Where are you headed? I'll take you."
"No need. I'll just call a cab." I turned him down, but he didn't give me another chance to refuse. He took the suitcase from my hand, put it in the trunk, opened the passenger door for me, and said, "Get in." I did.
The car was spotless, with soft instrumental music playing inside. He asked where I was going, and I gave him my best friend Sophie Summers's address. The whole drive, he stayed quiet and didn't ask one extra question. That careful understanding loosened my nerves a little.
Right before we got to the apartment complex, he suddenly asked, "Mia, do you still take pictures?"
My hand tightened around the seat belt. I shook my head. "I haven't touched a camera in a long time."
After I married Edward, he said Mrs. Sinclair didn't need a career and should stay home and behave. For him, I put down the camera I loved most. Looking back, I was a fool.
A trace of regret flashed through Charles's eyes. "That's a shame. Your photos had soul."
"I don't know how anymore," I said. My hands had gone rusty, and my heart had gone cold.
When we reached the complex, I got out, and he brought my suitcase down for me. "Thank you, Charles," I said sincerely. He pulled out his phone and asked to add me on WhatsApp. After a brief hesitation, I scanned his code.
His profile picture was a landscape photo, a lake beneath snowcapped mountains, quiet and wide open. Very him.
After saying goodbye to Charles, I dragged my suitcase upstairs. The second Sophie opened the door and saw me, she blanched. "Mimi! What happened to you? Did you fight with that asshole Edward?" I couldn't get a word out. The moment I saw her, all the composure I'd been clinging to shattered, and I threw myself into her arms, sobbing.