Dear Laura 2

Chapter 9

As I exit Mug and Bean two hours later, I bumped into Thabang. The SOB was walking with a girl. And judging by the ring on her finger, I presumed it was the fiancé.

"Hi." I greeted Thabang and he greeted me back with a small smirk painted on his lips. He still looked ravishing as ever. The girl was pretty-ish.

"Hi, I'm Wendy. You must be?" The girl introduced herself, bringing a hand forth for me to shake. Ew.

"Mia." I did not shake her hand and neither did my gaze move from her fiancé. His gaze on the other hand was shifting around uncomfortably. It was clear that he wanted to leave the awkward situation.

"Oh. Is she the girl that thought she could take Abdul from Hope? How does it feel to know that you failed? The two are still as happy as ever, may their child rest in peace. You brought nothing but problems."

Excuse me? Did she just say they were still as happy as ever?

I wanted to tell her that her fiancé was all up on me when she was not around, but my brain had shut down after hearing what she had just told me. I stormed out of there and made my way to my car. The air felt thick and poisonous, I felt like I was suffocating. Tears had already stained my face. I felt like the car was closing up on me, trapping me inside. My brain was spinning, causing me to lose my mind.

"This cannot be happening." I whispered, losing my breath as I spoke.

My heart thumped in my chest and hammered my temples. I dug my nails into my skin, crying and gasping. I could hear Wendy's words echoing in my mind. The hammering of my fragile heart caused the cracks in my heart to form again. My chest and throat tightened as I winced in pain. In the midst of it all, I lost my breath and voice. I tried to take a steadying breath, but it resulted in a tighter chest, squeezing my heart until it was in pieces.

"Calm down Mia." I panted out the words. "Calm down."

I calmed myself enough to drive out of that place. I drove and drove and drove. With the speed I was using, I probably left skid marks on every road. I drove without a specific destination in mind. I drove until I felt like I had gotten my closure. I drove until my heart felt like it was in the right place again. I drove the anxiety attack away. I drove until I made the decision to fight for my family. I would not back out of this one without a fight. I was not going to let Hope win. I drove until all was right with the world.

When I got home, I dropped my clothes on my bed then went to shower. I washed it all away. I washed all the pain and anxiety away. I let my hair drench under the water.

"You're okay." I told myself multiple times until I genuinely believed it.

When I got out of the shower, I heard the door open, and a devastated Abdul walked through it. His face was stained with tears and his shoulders had dropped low. Panic surged through me and erased the anger and disappointment I felt towards him. All I felt was deep concern for the man in front of me. He looked quite shaken up. He leaned against the wall and slid down. His knees came up and he rested his elbows on them.

A sob escaped his throat, followed by another, then another until he was a full-on sobbing mess. His cry was so heart-wrenching, I felt his pain just by being in proximity. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but I doubted he would be able to speak. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, but he stopped me and just held my hand instead.

"There's blood on your shirt. Why is there blood on your shirt?" I was so focused on his feelings that I did not realise that there were red stains on his black shirt.

"Are you okay? Are you bleeding?" Panic shot through my spine as I looked for any indication of injury on his body.

"It's not my blood." He managed to say with a coarse voice.