(good song to listen to while reading- Princess of China by Coldplay feat. Rihanna. oldie but a goodie.)
ps- this is my third update in a week (!!!!)
Mia's P.O.V
I spent the next forty five minutes walking along unfamiliar roads until I found a cab. My face was red and puffy and I looked like I hadn't gotten any sleep and the look the cab driver gave me when I stepped into the vehicle wasn't pretty. In fact, it was enough to make me burst into tears once again. When he asked where I wanted to go, I told him the nearest airport.
The plan was to catch a plane to anywhere along the East coast and then drive the rest of the way home. Even though Harry had left me with a big wad of cash, it still shocked me that he dumped me on the side of the road like that. Protective, caring Harry would have at least made sure I got a taxi safely. The Harry that I knew would never leave me if my safety wasn't guaranteed.
The taxi drive was a half an hour to the nearest airport. When the taxi driver asked for money, I threw it his way and hopped out of the car with my suitcase and purse. Truthfully, I was beyond terrified. Being all alone in an unfamiliar place was completely new to me and I had no clue what I was going to do. There were people rushing around me everywhere I turned and nobody looked friendly enough to help me.
With shaking hands, I approached a woman at a front desk and offered her most of my money for a ticket to the Philadelphia airport. This would land me not very far from home, which meant that I would just have to take another cab once I got to Philly. The woman spent close to fifteen minutes trying to figure something out, and then I bought my ticket flying on American Airlines first class at four thirty. She asked me if I was okay and if I needed to make a phone call, but I declined. The pity in her eyes was too unbearable to continue to look at, so I left quickly.
Having three and a half hours to kill by yourself in an airport after you just had a messy ending with someone you were in love with was rough. In addition to all of that, I was also sealing my fate by going to my father. As soon as I arrived, the marriage papers would be signed and there wasn't a thing that I could do about it. I didn't want to think about what was waiting for me back home, but there wasn't exactly a whole lot of things that I could use to occupy my mind.
I wondered what Harry was doing. Most likely, he was still on the yacht. I hoped that he would feel bad for not letting me explain myself, because everything he heard was taken completely out of context. It was my fault for not being up front with him, but I felt ashamed of the treatment my family was giving me and I didn't want to lay all of my problems on him. The only thing I wanted to do on that trip was forget about my family and Matthew, not bring it back up.
The plane ride was miserable. Four hours of tossing and turning, fumbling with my neck pillow, and crying. Luckily, since I was first class, there was nobody beside me to judge how much of a mess I was. The flight attendant offered to get me some tissues and I declined, my face completely bright red. Being vulnerable in front of people was not my most favorite thing, to say the least.
What hurt the most was how much I was in love with Harry. What would become of us? Surely there was no future there. The way he yelled at me and didn't let me speak told me that he was never going to hear out what I had to say. My life would end being miserably bound to Matthew by a contract and he would move on from me. I cried harder just thinking of it.
The flight wasn't too long, but it felt like forever. The sunset was pretty to watch from up above, and being so up with the horizon was somehow comforting. Last night, Harry and I were laying on the dock watching a sunset just as beautiful as this one. Was he watching this one, too? Was he thinking of me? Even stupid things like sunsets reminded me of him.
My luggage took a while to be processed. Afterward, it was easy to pick up a taxi in the middle of Philly. The city of Philadelphia was one of my favorite places to be, but not at night. With all of the dangerous activity occurring on the corners of dark streets, it surely was not a place for a young girl like me to be wandering- especially since I was carrying luggage with me.
My cab driver was much more kind this time, assuring me that it would take just as much time as I expected to get there. We hadn't even driven away yet and he kept looking back at me like he was searching my face for something.
"Are you Mia Roden by any chance or do you just look like her?" He asked as we started to drive off. I chuckled and scratched my tangled hair. Being back in the heart of Philadelphia meant that I was back to being the talk of the city, especially with my recent scandal.
"Uh, yeah, that's me." I awkwardly replied.
"Heard a lot about you recently." The man said. "You doing good?"
This was one of the many times that I had been asked today, and it made me want to scream. His intentions were probably nothing bad, but being asked over and over if you are fine when you aren't is not the most fun thing in the world.
"Yep, I'm good." I smiled politely.
The rest of the ride was silent. Driving through Philadelphia actually wasn't all that bad. People watching had always been something I enjoyed and seeing all the people out on the streets enjoying their summer night was nice. The city lights seemed to be welcoming me home, but I didn't exactly want to be back. For some reason I felt a lot more calm than I had earlier. Maybe it was because I was finally accepting my fate and the fact that Harry would never, ever go for me ever again. Admitting that to myself was painful.
We crossed a bridge and I looked back at the city that was getting smaller and smaller. I remembered the time that Harry and I ventured to New York City and climbed up to the very top of the Statue of Liberty. Then we got pizza and hid out in a parking garage because we didn't want to be noticed. I still remember buying a new sim card and the conversation that I had with Silvia, the woman who had been planning my wedding. She told me that the right man would come to me someday- and now he had. But he was gone.
It was when we reached the street that I lived on that my heart began to race. The familiar big, fancy houses looked cold and dark. When we stopped in front of the family residence, I handed the man the rest of the money that I had and thanked him. He drove away, leaving me all alone to face my family. I clutched nervously onto my bag and gulped loudly. I wanted to cry again, but after crying all day long there were literally no more tears to cry. This was happening to me and there wasn't anything I could do about it. Even though Harry spent the night shouting at me, I had to do this or my dad would leak those pictures.
I rang the doorbell. Almost immediately, our maid opened the door. She shouted for my father, who emerged from a door a few moments later. He was wearing his business suit like usual, with his hair sleeked back to perfection. He was wearing the same smug grin that I imagined was on his face when he made the phone call to me last night.
"It's about time." Father said. "Come in, we have papers to sign. Matthew is here already."
Hearing that Matthew was here made me panic. I wanted to run back to Texas, back to Harry and Cat, back to people that I truly called my home. Shaking my head, I turned for the door- but it was closed and locked. There was nothing in my power that I could do.
I followed my father to his study, where Matthew was sitting. He smirked when he saw me and I saw him look me up and down. I felt uncomfortable under his gaze and immediately wanted to throw up; preferably all over him and my father. He stood beside me and wrapped his arm around me, kissing my cheek as his nails dug into my side. He was angry, definitely angry.
"Matthew has already signed the papers, all we need is your signature. There is no time for another wedding." My father said. "Remember, if you do not sign these papers, it will ruin Harry Styles."
Blinking away the tears, I nodded meekly. My father's study seemed dark and gloomy as I reached across the desk to grab one of my father's ball-point pens. I glanced down at the marriage license and the spot where I was supposed to sign. Once I did, my fate would be sealed. Sniffling, I shakily began to write my name. A tear dripped onto the paper and as soon as I finished writing my name I began to sob like I had done earlier at the airport.
"Took you long enough." My father chuckled. Matthew laughed along with him and I glanced between the two of them, wondering how someone could be so evil. Matthew's hands were around my hips in an instant; he was still just as touchy as I remembered him. "I will release a statement about the marriage and I expect the both of you to update your social media accounts with the news. This will clear any bad press between the companies and the Harry Styles rumors will be put to bed. Mia, you can go up to your room and begin packing."
"Packing?" I croaked.
"Of course." My father said, as if I was stupid. "You will be living with Matthew. You are Mrs. Miles now."
"How can you do this to me?" I demanded. "I'm your daughter! I shouldn't be afraid of someone who is supposed to love and protect me!" Quickly I realized that I was directly quoting something that Harry had told me. Everything was reminding me of him.
"Someday you will learn that with money comes power." My father said seriously. "And to uphold that power, sometimes you have to break ties. This is just another minor milestone in my way to the top of the ladder."
He was disgusting. My father, someone who I had looked up to ask a child, was hardhearted and selfish. Over the course of time that I had spent with Harry, I learned something that my father had failed to learn in his fifty years of life; no matter how large the sum of money, it will never ultimately fulfill you like love does. Suddenly, I realized how much smarter I was than my father, who was supposed to be a genius businessman.
"You win." I shrugged. "I'm just another rung on the ladder on your way to the top."
Shock was written on his face. All my life, I had been told not to talk back to him. It was disrespectful and something that he did not stand for. Seeing him completely appalled at my words made me feel much more powerful than him; even if I had just signed myself off to marrying someone for his benefit. He could try his best to sabotage Harry and I, but I would never let him truly hurt me. He had all the riches in the world except for the most important one- love.
"Go to your room and pack." He said firmly.
I turned on my heel and walked straight toward my bedroom.
Within an hour, I was ready to go. My mother was nowhere to be found, but she could have been anywhere in the giant estate. Matthew had watched me packing up all of my things, not saying a single word. It scared me a bit because I did not know what he would do when we were alone. I only prayed that he would show me a little more respect than my father had.
My things were loaded into the large trunk of the Mercedes that Matthew drove. There to greet me at the door on the way out was my father and the maid that had let me in the house. She remained emotionless as she stared at me and I wondered how you could ever keep your mouth shut like she did. She must've been getting paid extremely well.
"Where is mother?" I asked my father as I turned one last time toward him. He stood in between the two grand staircases, just under our golden chandelier. I wished that it would fall on him and crush him.
"She's away for a while." He said plainly.
I knew exactly what this meant. My mother had left him. This had happened only a few times in my childhood, but it always happened after something really bad had happened. My father wasn't one to apologize, so my mother would leave until he would be begging for her forgiveness.
"Good." I said. "You're a bastard."
"You will not speak to him that way." Matthew said sternly.
"And who are you to tell me that? I might be married to you, but I don't love you and I surely won't listen to you." I spat. With one swift motion, Matthew's hand came across my face.
"You are Mrs. Miles now." Matthew reminded me.
I wanted Harry to save me.
a/n:
ahh on no! no more mia roden :-(((((
how do you think harry will react to the news about the marriage?
what do you think the marriage will be like?
thanks for reading, happy tuesday x
- delilah