Slouching down on the bed with her sweaty palms tightening and loosening themselves, she grabbed her phone again and this time, she placed a call to Beatrice.
Her lips began trembling and she was sure she would cry the moment she started explaining what happened.
On the second ring, Beatrice picked up.
"Hello B?" She called, her voice sounded smaller than it actually was and her eyes began shifty.
"What the hell happened to you and to your phone Mia!?" Beatrice hollered over the phone.
Mia thought for a second that Beatrice's emotions might have stopped her from noticing the frailty in her voice.
"B, I…"
"Suddenly, it's code red and then you are off. Code red? What the hell happened?"
"Now, I hear there is a rumor about your boss and some mystery girl. What's that for? Or are you that girl? Is that why you wouldn't pick up your calls?"
"Heck girl! I spent enough time worrying about your well being that I actually thought I should come over and see if you were still alive at… Mia?"
Beatrice had to stop herself from continuing, Mia's loud sob filled her room, it was loud enough to make Beatrice frantic.
"What's the problem, Mi?" Beatrice asked over the phone, she sounded worried and Mia could feel it.
"Did your boss do something…" She didn't finish her sentence, she left it hanging, it was speculative and at that, Mia broke down again, her tears wrecked her.
"Hey Mia. Talk to me." Beatrice sounded scared this time while Mia continuously tried to bring her loud sob to a stop.
"I shouldn't have B, I shouldn't have."
"You shouldn't have what?" Mia heard some movement, she imagined Beatrice's worried face and her usual way of pacing when she started getting worried.
"Did he? Oh God!" Beatrice's voice got shaky, about to come down with tears.
"Don't tell me he really did…"
"No, no. It isn't that way B. It isn't."
"Then what is it?" Beatrice sounded frustrated and impatient.
"I shouldn't have signed the contract." Mia finally said with a loud and deep sniff after that while Beatrice kept quiet for a while.
"Why?" A single question and Mia could see it dancing before her eyes, Mia could see the word 'why' folding it's arm and staring at her with raised brows and with contempt.
"It's messing with my brain." Mia croaked, she had stopped sobbing heavily but tears still hung on her lashes and she blinked furiously, they slided down her cheeks.
"How?"
"I think my boss has bipolar disorder." Mia whispered this one.
"What!?" Beatrice exploded over the phone and Mia took the phone away from her ears before rubbing her ears.
She heard Beatrice rumble and brought the phone back to her ears. "... is not done."
"Errhh…"
"You don't go around saying this like that and especially not about your boss Mia. He is Reynaldo Davies. You might be sued."
"I know, I know, it's just…"
"Just?" Beatrice asked and with that, Mia went ahead to tell Beatrice the little she could and know Beatrice could handle and with every passing loud curse, she reduced the originality of the actual event and told her the diluted ones.
Mia didn't want Beatrice marching up to the Reynaldo's residence to cause a ruckus.
"And what happened? Did you kiss him?" Mia felt the words stuck to her throat.
"Fuck it Mia, speak!" She wanted to cover it up like she had covered up the rest or say something less angering but Beatrice caught on fast, very fast enough.
"Yes." Her voice disappeared to a whisper when she answered, it wasn't how she had intended to respond but she did.
"What? I didn't get that. Did you kiss him? Did he kiss you? Was it part of the plan?"
"Yes, he did, I did, it wasn't part of the plan!" Mia answered and the tears began to flow again.
"That was your first kiss ever Mia." Now it was Beatrice's turn to whisper.
The reminder made Mia furious. "I know, I know." She touched her lips and got pained that her first real kiss ever was for a fake relationship after all her daydream of getting entangled with her charming prince.
"But that's not the point."
"What do you mean?" Now Beatrice was calm but when Mia proceeded to tell Beatrice how her emotions had gotten the best of her and the irrational words she had said, she was sure Beatrice had fainted at the other end.
"Hello?"
"Hello B?" Mia wiped her eyes again, this time with more force as if wanting to injure herself as the punishment to her foolishness.
"How and where do you expect to get 5 FUCKIN' MILLION FROM?" Beatrice's pitch kept increasing till it was at its maximum.
"I'm sorry." Mia had her head bowed and Beatrice sighed.
"Why are all these happening all at once?"
"All these?" Mia's head jerked up instantly but Beatrice started sniffing, it was as if it was her turn to break down into tears.
"Wait B. How is … how is Lucio?" Her voice trembled but instead of a coherent reply she got a total breakdown from the other ends.
It was Beatrice's turn to cry, a heart wrenching sob that Mia's heart didn't beat loud, it just quaked, it shook like there was a massive destructive earthquake taking effect in her stomach because soon, her entire body joined and she began to assume the worst.
If the assumption wasn't enough, the fact that her foolishness to prove a point to Reynaldo could be a contributing factor to whatever happened to Lucio made her sorrow multiply. She had an instant headache and the urge to throw up.
"Talk to me … B…" Her voice was shaky, she joined her cousin in tears, there was no one to console each other.
"Please…stop. You are scaring me to deal…death." Even the word 'death' became hard to pronounce.
"What happened to Lucio?" She asked again, this time steadying her heart to receive the worst.