Mia knew Beatrice. And she knew she wouldn't let this pass her by, so she spilled the milk.
"He wants me to sign a contract."
"What contract?"
"It's a marriage contract."
"Wait! What? A what?" Beatrice's voice rose in disbelief.
"Yeah...a marriage contract. He said he'd pay me fully."
"Are you kidding? Oh my Gosh! It sounds like a scene from a romance novel and he's so handsome too, although rude! Ha! I wish I were you."
"B!" Mia exclaimed.
"What? Isn't that true?" She huffed.
"Yeah... but—"
"I know. I was just kidding." Beatrice interrupted, as her voice grew serious.
"But look, Sis. We need this money. You know it. I want to be honest with you. We really need it for Lucio, even if not for yourself. Just think about it, Mia."
"Think about how far this would go to treat Lucio before it gets worse. Our family is not in a state where anyone would call average. You and I had to drop out in college and I really don't want that for Lucio."
"Remember the reason you went to San Diego. I need to send some amount to my parents by next week and I totally understand it's not so good with you there...but Sis, remember I love you so much and we'd get through this. Okay?" Beatrice said, slowly pacing her words with a sense of understanding.
"Okay." Mia heaved. "I know it's that self-esteem of yours. It's okay to let it get dragged in the mud sometimes!"
"Yep. I got it."
"We are going to be alright someday. We are going to get back together someday and distance would not separate us, never!"
"So how's Mum and Dad?" Mia asked.
B knew she meant her parents. "They are doing awesome. Mum told me she went on a vacation to Florida last week. They are doing fine. The oldies don't even need to get all stressed up. The little they earn from the bookstall feeds her and Dad pretty well."
"That's nice to know."
"Time for girlies gossip! Guess what?" Beatrice asked, enthusiastically.
"What?" "I was on my way back from a restaurant yesterday when I ran into one of our high school classmates."
"Which?"
"Leigh-Ann. She looks so beautiful now. Who knew people could glow overnight?"
"Do you mean the bully's paint brush?"
"Oh yeah! And you better drop that high school ID you know about her appearance. Anne is slaying HOT right now!" She placed emphasis on the "hot".
"Wow! You mean Leigh-Ann Roberts?" Mia asked in disbelief.
"You know what's more shocking?"
"She's getting married!" Beatrice screamed.
"OMG!! I'm so happy for her!" Mia said, a soft smile tearing her lips apart.
"Same here!" Joy danced and flipped all over her voice.
She spoke like it was her wedding coming up, before the doorbell chimed and announced.
"Boss, someone is at the door!"
"Coming!" Mia yelped.
"Yeah...B, I will call you back later. I need to get the door."
"Alright, Bye Sis! Good luck with Prince charming!" Beatrice said and ended the call.
Mia headed for the door and looked into the door cam to see who it was. It was Rey's secretary, Andrews.
"Mr. Andrews! How are you?" Mia smiled as he walked in.
"I'm fine, thank you! It seemed you locked the door from the inside. It wasn't opening as I decided to use the doorbell."
"Oh...sorry about that." "Nah... it's fine." He smiled.
"Okay. I came to get some files for Rey. He forgot to pick them this morning, which is very rare. Rey rarely forgets things like that." His brows furrowed as they walked into the hallway of the building.
"You think so?"
"Yes... he looks a little upset about something. It's unlike him. I mean, it's different from his normal rigid expression."
"But he always looks upset." Mia rolled her eyeballs and shrugged.
"I know he always seems cold but I know Rey well. Longer than any of his friends has. He wasn't always like this. He used to be so carefree. He used to laugh so hard. He used to be so happy. Until Vanessa happened."
Mia stared at him. He looked sad. His eyes looked like pain, something in between nostalgia and sadness.
"I miss the old Rey." He smiled.
"Well... it's okay to miss seeing the old version of people. It's more like missing a dead family member. The version of them that you wish you could keep."
The melancholy in his voice was air-borne and it had caught Mia. It reminded Mia of her parents. Andrews turned towards a door at the end of the hallway, which was Rey's study. He opened it using his pass card while Mia waited outside for him to get the files.
"You got it?" Mia asked when he stepped out.
"Yeah...I did." He said, pointing at the pile on his hands.
"Nevertheless, Rey would be good I guess. I just thought something may have happened yesterday or today that could have upset him. Maybe pressure from his Dad or Mum." He added.
She thought deep, scrolling the pages of her mind to guess what could have been putting Rey off. He'd looked fine that morning, nothing different from the flirty Rey.
Last night!
Last night couldn't have bothered him, right? Rey was way thicker than that.
"He would not possibly be in a bad mood because of her refusal. There are many girls out there for crying out loud! He could've chosen from any of them! The ones he fucked at Flux bar and the ones who tried to seduce him."
All these words were stuck in Mia's head but they never got to her lips.
"Mia." Andrews nudged her arm and she snapped out of her thoughts.
"Huh?"
"What were you thinking about? It feels like you zoned out a minute back there."
"Oh! No. I just...I was just a little out of it. Sorry about that." Her smile flickered.
They were climbing down the stairs, their footsteps thudding and echoing through the voices of the marble floors.
"I was just wondering, though, no offense. But did something happen between you and Rey yesterday?" He asked, slowing down his pace.
What was his deal? Was he a genius that could read minds or something? If Rey hadn't told him, she definitely didn't want to inform Andrews of the contract before Rey did.
"Definitely not!" She snapped, surprising Andrews, who just smirked.
"Chill! It was just asking, Mia." He said.
"Now I'm sure something happened." He teased.
"No! Nothing happened!" Her pupils dilated.
"I see! It's all good. Goodbye, Mia. See you some other time." He said, stepping out into the late morning sun.
"Alright, Mr. Andrews." She said, waving.