"Just tell me one thing, is Ryan having a secret fling with her?" Natalie asked him. She had just listened to Alex spilling everything he did for Ryan.

     "It's not a fling. He wants to get serious with her," He corrected Natalie. "According to him, he loves her."

    "What?! He's only known her for a month and he loves her?! She's just gonna be a rebound, what's wrong with Ryan! And you, I can't believe you connived with him. And Layla? Did you both think of Layla before you planned all your nonsense." Natalie was upset. "Can you see Mia's with David?"

     "I'm surprised too. I'm sure Ryan has plans to tell Layla everything. You do know he and Layla aren't really in a relationship right?"

    "You both are crazy. You should know that Mia isn't... Sophie. Whatever you guys are doing, people are gonna get hurt really bad."

     "Mia is Sophie's sister." Alex told her.

    "What?!" Natalie frowned.

     "She is Sophie's older sister. Apparently their mom had given Mia up for adoption, Mia was later adopted by some Italian guy. But you know what's more surprising? Mia claims to have been raised here by her mom, and that she was never adopted by anyone, although, they moved to Italy later."

     "Was it possible Sophie's mom kept Mia far away from Sophie?" Natalie asked him.

     "I don't know... There are still so many mysteries about Mia that I can't explain." Andrew shrugged.

      Natalie sighed.. "Don't you think he's just chasing shadows. Forgive me, but I know what you both went through after Sophie's death, and now you still don't want to move on." Natalie wasn't happy.

     "Maybe he doesn't want to move on. You know how Ryan is, he does what he feels like. He doesn't like being controlled. Let him be, we don't want to push him to the wall. We both know what happened the last time we tried helping him forget." Alex reminded her.

     Ryan almost went insane after Sophie's death, it wasn't easy for him to cope. Especially the first year of her death, he didn't sleep, he didn't eat, he was always violent and angry and so Alex always kept him on sedatives. Alex and Natalie had tried to help him by burning most of Sophie's memorabilia, they couldn't think of any other way for Ryan to move on.

    Ryan was deranged when he found out. He went as far as drowning himself in the ocean but luckily, Alex had saved him just on time. Ryan flat lined and it took a miracle to revive him. Alex decided that instead of forcing Ryan into forgetting, he allowed Ryan adapt.

     "Maybe this is another way of him consoling himself, another way of coping?" Alex said to Natalie. "Have you seen him recently? He's the happiest I've seen him in years. Believe it or not, it's because of Mia." Alex said to Natalie.

     "Does he know Mia's with David?" She asked.

   "If you ask me, I don't believe Mia's with David. I might not know Mia that well, but what I have heard from Ryan is she dislikes perverts and flirts. David is both. Ryan really had a hard time convincing her that he wasn't a pervert. Can you imagine that dude got slapped, kicked, beaten, insulted?" Alex scoffed.

    "She did that to him?" Natalie gasped.

    "Chick's a black belt in karate. Well our buddy Ryan keeps crawling back to her, but I think they are good now. Ryan called me up yesterday, he said he wants to talk to me." Alex informed Natalie.

    "I wanna come with you when you meet him." She said.

     "Natalie... You're not gonna cause trouble are you?" Alex eyed her.

     "No. But we both also need to talk." Natalie said to him.

     The day went well, Mia was glad that David actually took her out.
......................................................

     "So did you have fun?" David asked her as he drove her back home.

     "It was my first car race ever! I loved it." Mia smiled.

    "Thank God, I was thinking maybe you'll feel bored. What do you think about my friends, Layla and Natalie." He asked her.

    "Very accommodating, they are both lively and nice! I don't know if it was just me, but Natalie was very curious about me. She asked a lot about my growing up, things like that."

    "She's always like that. Always asking questions." David nodded.

   "She invited me for a shoot, for her next make-up collection."

    "That's great! You'll make a good model." He smiled.

     There was suddenly a long silence between them....

     "Mia. About today, I hope I didn't... Um... Move too fast." David said as he was nervous.

    "Move too fast?" Mia furrowed her brows.

    "Yeah. I called you my girlfriend in front of my friends." David said to her.

   "Oh that?" Mia tucked her hair behind her ear. "It was only a joke right?" Mia shook her head. "I need to tell you something."

     "About what?"

   "About Italy." She looked at him. "My mom wants me back in Italy, so I'm leaving."

     "Leaving?! When?"

   "Soon. I'm only here because there's a little problem I need to take care of, after that, I'll leave." Mia said to him.

    "How soon?" He asked.

  "I was supposed to leave in two days... I got delayed."

   "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He had a hint of hurt in his voice.

     "I would have. I wasn't sure how I was gonna tell you." Mia said to him.

    "Why are you leaving?"

    "This isn't my home David, I'm still gonna have to leave later if not now." Mia said.

    "And us? You still don't think we have a chance together?"

    Mia sighed... "David, you're always gonna be my friend okay? It doesn't matter if you're near or far. The worst thing I could do, is give you high hopes."

   David nodded slowly... "I understand."
✴✴✴✴✴

   Mia opened the door to her apartment. Entering, she heard noises coming from the kitchen. Was Andrew still at home?

   She entered the kitchen. Standing with her back turned to Mia, the brunette woman was cooking something. The woman was dressed in a midi long sleeve, black bodysuit with platform heels and her hair packed into a messy bun.

    It wasn't possible!!!

Mia widened her eyes in shock... "Ma-mama?"

   The slender woman turned to her,  "Sweetie!!" She sqeauled happily, going to hug Mia.

     Mia hugged her back, regardless of the shock. "Mom!"

     "My baby I missed you." Karen showered her daughter with kisses all over the face, leaving red lip marks on Mia's face due to her red painted lips.

   "When did you get here? Wh-what are you doing here?" Mia asked her mom.

    "What do you mean by that?" Karen chuckled. "I'm your mother and I said I missed you. I arrived twenty minutes ago and I met Andrew."

Mia smiled... "You should have told me you were coming." Mia said, leading her mom to the living room.

     "I wanted to surprise you my dear." Karen looked around the house. "You should have gotten a bigger apartment, the ventilation here is limited. Up until now, I wonder why you're roommates with Andrew when you could have gotten a place at a penthouse in Manhattan." Karen told Mia.

     "Mom, here's fine. It's small but it feels more like home." Mia smiled. "You're more than welcomed to stay here, Andrew won't mind."

   "I already have a room reservation at a hotel, since I won't be staying for a long time." Karen said to her. "I spoke to Mrs Van earlier and she told me that you're free to leave, so... I've come to get you. We leave for Italy in two days." Karen grinned.

    "What?! Two days?!" Mia frowned.

     "Excited aren't we?" Karen chuckled.

    "Mama two days? I still have a lot of things I wanna clarify. I'm not ready to leave America yet." Mia scratched her head. 

     "Don't worry. We'll sort everything out. If we can't, we'll have someone sent over here to finish the rest." She assured Mia.

      "I don't want to leave America." Mia bit her lip nervously.

    "Why not? You don't have anything keeping you."

     "I do." Mia chewed her fingernails. She wasn't sure to tell her mom the truth.

   "What? Why wouldn't you want to go back to Italy?" Karen stared at her daughter.

    "Well because..." Mia licked her lips. "I have an unfinished business here."

    "Go on and tell me."

     "You see I... I... I... I don't know how to tell you this, but um..." Mia cleared her throat. "I am... I..." Her mom was really gonna freak out.

     Karen gasped at Mia's hesitance... "Mia don't tell me you found a boyfriend."

     "What?" Mia batted her lashes, she was baffled.

     "Is it a man that's keeping you here?" Karen narrowed her eyes at Mia. "Say something..."

     "I-I-I-I... Yeees!" Mia said under pressure. "Well yes! It's a man alright." She said truthfully.

  "Is he your boyfriend?" Karen raised a questioning brow.

   "Boyfriend? Well he is not..." Mia paused looking at her mom who was giving her a very scary look. "A stranger? He's my boy-boyfriend." She stammered.

     "You have a boyfriend and you didn't tell me." Karen said before a smile appeared on her face. "Why didn't you tell me?! Tell me, who is he? I want to know everything about him!" Karen seemed happy and curious about Mia's boyfriend.

     "I don't want to talk about him. Next time. I'm exhausted and I need to sleep." Mia cringed back when he mom tried hugging her. 

     "What's with you?" Karen frowned at her.

     "Mama I'm all sticky, at least let me have a shower." Mia said to her mom before leaving.

    "When you're done, we'd eat and then talk. Okay?" Karen said watching Mia leave. 

     "Okay." She said, slamming her door shut.

     Mia took a quick shower and dressed in pink shorts and a loose spagetti strap tank top, leaving her hair down. She dialed Ryan's number but he wasn't answering then she sent him a text.

   To pervert dude: Ryan pick your damn phone, we need to talk about our annulment. I wanna speak to your lawyer asap, I don't have time for games. Got it? Can you at least set up a meeting for he and I too?"

   Mia sent the message before leaving her room.

     "Come on, let's eat." Karen said as soon as she saw her daughter approaching.

    "Mom," Mia stared at the banquet before her. "Isn't this a bit too much? Who's gonna eat all these?" Mia frowned. "Whole turkey? Where on earth did you get that?!"

    Karen was already seated on the dinning, eating. "I had gone grocery shopping for you guys, everything needed a refill."

     "You didn't have to, but thank you." Mia sat down across the table, facing her mom. "Although, I still think this is way too much for us."

    "Don't tell me you haven't had a meal like this since you left?" Karen looked up at her daughter. "You're losing your glow dear, you're starting to look old. Is it because of stress? I should really talk to Mrs Van, I don't like that you're looking stressed-out."

     "Please please please, don't embarrass me in front of my boss. I'm not some spoilt brat and besides, I'm old aren't I? What nonsense are you talking about?" Mia eyed her mom while cutting her steak. 

     "I'm only stating facts here." Karen chewed on her chicken tots and omelette. "Mhm. This is delicious." She cleared her throat before speaking again. "What's the name of your new boyfriend again?"

   Mia sighed, eating a small chunk of her scrambled eggs. "Can we drop that topic?"

    "No. As a matter of fact, I wanna know who he is and everything about him. Do you love him? If you didn't, you would leave with me." Karen told her.

    Mia looked at her mom and then exhaled. "Okay, I lied about having a boyfriend."

   Karen frowned... "Why'd you lie?"

    "I didn't exactly lie because there is still a guy."

     "Unrequited love?" Karen asked her.

     "Not really. I like him, a whole lot. He likes me too." Mia said slowly.

     "Where does but come in?"

    "The but here is... He has a girlfriend." Mia bit her lips.

     "Hold on. He likes you but he's got a girlfriend?" She asked to clarify. Mia nodded. "Don't you think it's not right, I mean, if he's got a girlfriend you should back out."

    "I know right?" Mia raked her fingers through her hair. "Mama I'm trying to forget about him because I know I'll hurt myself. The worse part, his girlfriend is extra nice to me." She said sadly.

     "Mia, you're not both having a secret affair right?" Karen asked.

   Mia frowned, remembering what happened in Seattle and she stayed silent.

    "You're sleeping with him?! Mia that is so wrong!" Karen was upset with Mia. "What happens when his girlfriend finds out?"

    "I didn't sleep with him mama. We might have done other things but we didn't cross the line." She said to her mom.

     "Sweetheart you deserve to be more than the second woman. Don't you want a man of your own? And why is he still with his girlfriend if he likes you?" Karen shook her head. "I bet he's a player and only trying to use you."

    "I don't know. I don't even know what I'm doing, why I feel like this." Mia buried her face in her palms.

    "If you really wanna forget about him, then let's leave already."

     "Even if I want to, I can't." Mia looked at her mom.

    "Why? Is he promising you he'd be with you? Mia don't listen to him, they are empty promises."

    "He's not promising anything. I just can't leave yet."

     "What is keeping you?" Karen could sense that Mia wasn't telling her everything.

     "I did something, it was so stupid and foolish of me and I know you're gonna be so mad and upset with me. I promise I'm gonna try all I can to fix everything." Mia said to her mom.

    "Fix what?" Karen frowned at her daughter.

   "Promise, promise you won't freak out even though what I'm about to say is crazy."

    "You're keeping me in suspense, don't give me high blood pressure. Tell me already." Karen didn't take her gaze off Mia.

    "The thing is... Iwassodrunkthisonetimeandweendedupmarryingourselves." Mia said quickly, all in one breath.

   Karen couldn't grasp everything she said. "There were only two words I heard correctly... Marrying and ourselves." She narrowed her eyes. "Mia... What did you do?"

    "I'm so so sorry. I... I... I mistakenly got... Married?" Mia closed her eyes, waiting for Karen's angry voice.

     "You did what?! I don't think I heard correctly. Did you just say mar-married?" Karen accidentally knocked down a glass of water on the table.

   Mia opened her eyes... "I'm so so so sorry mama! It was a stupid mistake and I'm trying to rectify it."

   "What? Wait what?! Mia!" Karen pushed her food aside. "What's going on here? What happened?!" Karen was now upset.

    "Mom I'm sorry. I'm an idiot I know! Forgive me, I acted careless." Mia begged. She could see her mom was definitely not happy with the news.

    "You acted irresponsibly! Don't tell me it's the same guy you're head over heels for?" Karen stood up.

      "I'm sorry." Mia apologized sadly.

     "It's the unfinished business you talked about right? What's his name, I wanna talk to him this instant and end the ties between you two." Karen said.

   Mia's throat bobbed, as she swallowed. Her mom was gonna hunt Ryan for sure if she found out Ryan's name.

     "I can't tell you his name, I don't want you doing something rash. Let me handle it, okay?"

    "Four days, four days is all you got to figure out everything. After that, I'm stepping in." Karen walked out.

    "Dammit." Mia placed a hand over her forehead.
......................................................

    "Hey," Layla said, hugging Ryan's neck and placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.

     He was seated in the living room, watching TV.

    "You're home late." Ryan said to her, without looking at her.

     "Yeah. Alie needed my help at the store, I couldn't say no. You're home early." Layla smiled at him.

     "I wasn't feeling too well so I had Olivia take care of everything while I'm gone." Ryan said.

    "What's wrong? Is it something I should be worried about?" Layla sat beside him with a worried face.

     "No. It's only a headache, it will subside eventually." He told her. "So how's Natalie?"

   Layla nodded... "She's good. We all went to the racing track together, Alex, Alie, David and Mia." Layla nodded... "Speaking of Mia, you didn't tell me she was David's girlfriend?"

     Ryan turned to her... "Who told you that?"

   "David said so." She shrugged.

    "I don't believe David. You know how he is, he never settles for one girl."

    "But Mia didn't exactly deny it. Anyway, they look great together. It's nice to see David putting all his effort to make their relationship work out and—" Layla is cut off.

     "I'm going to bed, get some rest." Ryan said standing up.

    "O-okay." Layla nodded, unsure of why he just cut her off. She watched Ryan walk out on her.

    Layla noticed he seemed bothered about something.