SINFULLY YOURS

Chapter 2: Chapter 2. A Friend Indeed

Chapter 2. A Friend Indeed

Rosa Lin’s POV

"Are you kidding me? That’s absolutely preposterous! Oh my God, I can’t believe this! Who the hell does he think he is? Why did he do that to you?" Mia’s voice was loud, echoing in the opulent, exquisite, large living room of her luxurious mansion right outside of campus.

I couldn’t say anything. I didn’t even think I had the strength to do so. I just sat on one of her plush, luxurious sofas with a throw pillow on my lap, lacing my fingers together, countless thoughts running through my mind.

I noticed the moment she kept quiet, and I felt her staring at my face. She brushed her fingers through my hair. "Baby girl, I’m so sorry," she said.

I didn’t reply.

"I can’t believe you had to go through all of this. I feel so hurt for your sake," she said calmly.

I smiled, barely, turning to look at her. "It’s fine. You don’t have to keep acting like a mother every time."

She scoffed. "Obviously, I’m your mother. Don’t be so proud," she said jokingly.

A small smile tugged the corners of my lips. She has always acted like a mother to me ever since I came to campus—the only one I could rely on and call a friend, the only one who still believed in me, who still supported me. She is two years my senior and almost graduating. I’m really going to miss her when she does.

We remained quiet for a while. I just stared ahead of me as the images of the messages flooded my mind.

"I can’t believe he would actually do that to you," Mia said calmly beside me. "I had always observed at your obsession towards him, but I never really thought how he would react if he found out you liked him so much. I always assumed he was just, you know, a normal player. I didn’t think he would realize and take advantage of your softness. I never knew he was this heartless."

I didn’t reply.

She finally turned to look at me. "So, what are your plans? What do you want to do about this, since you have decided not to stay with the Lees anymore?"

I closed my eyes and breathed out. "I don’t know," I said calmly. "I just want to do something for my life for once. All this while, I’ve always kept my focus on him. Always did everything I wanted motivated and based on him. I want to do something new for a start."

She nodded her head calmly. "I can see you’re finally growing up."

I gave her a joking glare, and she smirked at me.

"I just want to find a job over the summer break, you know? And the money should sustain me and be able to provide accommodation for me. I think it would be better that way so I can use the opportunity to prepare for the next semester and not have to worry about affording anything or taking care of myself," I said.

She looked aside for a while, squinting her eyelids like she was deep in thought. "I may have a way to figure things out for you. I just remembered something. It will be of big help. I will just need to confirm it, but be patient, okay? I’ve got you," she said.

I turned to her with a smile. "Thank you so much. I really, really appreciate it. I don’t know what I’d do without you."

She scoffed. "Come on, girl, don’t get so emotional on me now. Be cool, okay? Don’t cry over him. He has done his worst. You’re going to get back at him, but not in a violent way—in a way that is going to make him regret he ever tried to destroy a precious diamond such as you," she said.

I smiled slightly and nodded my head.

"Do you want to eat anything? I have a lot, just ask."

I smiled. "Anything will be nice. As long as it’s food," I said.

She chuckled. "Oh my, dear Rosa, always so modest." She winked at me and then walked off.

As soon as she was gone, I was left alone in the living room. I relaxed my back against the plush sofa, still resting my arms against the throw pillow, tightening my fingers together and picking at my fingernails, lost in thought.

Her earlier sentence echoed in my mind. Am I really someone that’s really precious and clean? I mean, I was really desperate. I was a naive idiot. Just because I really loved someone didn’t mean I should have tried to press myself on him too much. I didn’t care about the fact he had many girls around him. I ignored the lifestyle and the kind of person he was because of how heavy the emotion I felt for him was. I gave myself to him stupidly, foolishly. Am I really that pure?

I closed my eyes and shook my head, pressing my hand against my forehead. I was exhausted from the heaviness, the weight of tears, and the insults I’ve seen and suffered for him.

My phone vibrated beside me. I tilted my head to the side to see it beside my luggage, which I hadn’t taken upstairs yet. I frowned and picked it up. I swiped the phone open to see it was a message from Mac.

I jerked upright with a frown. The idiot still had the guts to send me a second message. I bit against my bottom lip with raised eyebrows, my hands shaking. The rage boiling at the pit of my stomach was like molten lava. I had so many things to say to him. I was going to pour out my fucking heart to him.

I swiped straight to the message, ready to give him a piece of my mind. But the message I saw from him instantly made me freeze. I frowned.

The message read:

"Thank you so much. I can see you have left out home. Feeling like some diva, an independent queen? Do you really think you can survive without our help? Do you think you can actually make it in life? You have no one around you, Rosa. You are alone. Who do you think will be willing to carry the weight my family has carried for you all these years? Look at you. Unappreciative, so selfish. Anyways, you’re actually doing me a lot of a favor. It’s good that I don’t get to see your disgusting, desperate self in this wonderful abode of mine. So good luck. Farewell. Let’s see how you survive in the future to come."

I looked at the message and read it a second time. My hand shook. I scoffed and looked up.

We shall see, Mark, I thought to myself. We shall see. This is the end.

I didn’t even bother to reply. I swiped straight to the settings of our chat, and then I instantly blocked him, deleting our chats, wiping him away from my life. Done and dusted. No longer going back.

The morning shifted rapidly into evening.

Mia had already gone out with the promise to return with good news about my proposal. I had made the request to go along with her to make the work easy, but she had told me to relax and have a good time away from all the pressure I had gone through just this morning. I guess I later agreed to stay back because I had too much confidence in her. With her connections, it wouldn’t be that hard.

Mia’s family were literally the top kings and queens of the institute. Her father was one of the university’s sponsors, and I was glad she was not one of those stylish diva girls who allowed the riches of her family to get to her head. She was a good friend—kind, humble, respectful, and so cheerful in ways I couldn’t even imagine, in ways I never expected from someone of her status.

I was seated in her living room now, munching on popcorn and watching a Netflix show—anything just to take my mind away from the pressure.

The entrance to the house suddenly swung open, forcing me to sit up quickly and drop the popcorn beside me. I shot upright as Mia walked in through the lounge, smiling and grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey, baby girl," she said calmly, dropping her bag against the sofa and crashing into it with a wide smile, blowing out a breath. "Whew! I am so exhausted," she said.

I leaned in closer to her with anticipation as she turned to look at me. A snicker escaped her when she saw the way I was looking at her.

"Yo, yo, what the hell is going on? You look like you’re about to swallow me," she said.

I kept on giving her that look, twisting my lips into a pout. She scoffed.

"Oh my God, you look so cute right now," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"I’m serious," I said, tapping my fingers against her hand.

She watched me for a while with amusement on her lips and then sat up. "Okay, so there is good news," she said.

My smile instantly brightened.

" I was able to find work as a live-in housekeeper in a luxurious villa right outside of campus. And surprisingly, when I mentioned your name, they said that they’ll give you the job—that you are the right person they were looking for. Which was weird. They acted like they knew you."

My eyes widened. "Really?" I asked.

"Yes. And the pay is $50,000 per month."

My jaw dropped. "I’m sorry, what?" I asked.

She grinned. "Yep. Shocking, isn’t it?"

I couldn’t say anything; I could feel my jaw straining. She placed her hand underneath my jaw and closed my mouth. I allowed it to drop back. She closed it back again, and I allowed it to drop back again.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"This is a joke, right?" I asked.

"No, I’m serious."

"For real?"

"I was stunned as well."

"Yo, are you sure this is not a prank?" I said. "That’s way too much for a live-in housekeeping job."

"Well, it is what it is," she said, smiling and keeping her arms folded. "Just to be sure, I went to verify the facts and, um, it’s actually legit. The person who owns the villa is a billionaire. Nobody knows about his true identity because he keeps himself, you know, anonymous, and he is not around in the city, so he needs someone who can watch over his villa while he is away. So yeah, it’s actually worthy. $50,000 must be a little amount of money to give to someone who is staying over at his villa and actually watching it to ensure its neat. So, what do you think?" she asked, smiling at me.

I turned around and relaxed back against the sofa, lacing my fingers together. I couldn’t help the smile that expanded across my lips.

"Well, well, well, is that a smile I’m looking at right now?" she murmured and poked my belly.

I jerked and swatted her arm away. She laughed out loud.

I couldn’t help it. "This is good," I said.

"It’s good, it’s good, Rosa," she replied. "You deserve good in your life. Embrace this good news, okay? You can start whenever you’re ready."

I nodded my head slowly, staring at the ground and frowning. This is weird, I thought to myself. I just made a decision to be independent, and everything is suddenly going so good. Didn’t expect it to be this easy? I guess it must be all because of her.

I tilted my head to the side to look at Mia. She turned back to look at me. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said and looked away.

"No, no, no, you wanted to say something." She leaned closer.

"Oh my God." I rolled my eyes.

"There you have it, baby girl," she said, and she began to poke me.

"Okay, stop, stop!"

" You want to say something, and I’m not going to stop until you say it," she said.

"Oh my God," I groaned. "Okay, fine! You are awesome, and I’m so thankful for you in my life," I blurted out.

"Awww," she said, pouting, her lips forming a cute round circle.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Childish," I muttered, and she chuckled, relaxing back against the chair.

"You should be happy you have me in your life. Only God knows what you would be doing right now."

I didn’t say anything for a while. Then she turned to me.

"What are you going to do about your major? You know I promised I’m not going to give up on this topic about your passion and your talent. I also believe you can do a lot with it. This is the right thing in your life, and you should start focusing on your career and not wait for you to have a degree or a certificate in it before actually making a living out of it," she said.

"I understand you, Mia," I said.

"So?" she asked, giving me a raised eyebrow.

I breathed out. "I can’t just start like that, okay? I don’t—I don’t have resources. I don’t have anything. I don’t have instruments, no keyboard, no studio mic, nothing. I’m empty-handed."

"So?" she asked.

I looked at her, blinking. I rolled my eyes. "Okay, fine. Maybe if I work for a month or two and I’m able to raise enough money, I could get a studio and see what I can do," I said.

She smiled at me, then she moved her hand and ruffled up my hair. "Aren’t you such a cute, wise little baby?"

I swatted her arm away. "I’m not a kid," I said, and she chuckled, smiling at me.

"You are to me," she replied.

I scoffed and turned away, folding my arms, a smile on my lips.

"You deserve the best, Rosa," she said, looking at the television. I just watched her. "Just be persistent, okay? Ignore the buzz. Everything is going to work out for you."

Before she could say anything else, my phone vibrated in my hand. I looked at it and then swiped to see it was Mrs. Lee calling. My stomach dropped. I frowned. Great. I haven’t blocked Mac’s parents. I closed my eyes and breathed out.

"Who’s that?" Mia asked.

"It’s Mrs. Lee," I replied.

Her smile died. "Great. So, what could be the reason for her calling?"

"I don’t know."

"Why don’t you find out?"

My heart was pounding. If it was Mr. Lee who had called, I would have probably taken it, but I don’t trust this woman and I do not like her. Nothing positive has ever come out of her mouth from the day I knew her.

I shook my head.

"Just get it over with, Rosa. You are totally done with them. It’s not like you are getting back to that apartment."

I swiped the green icon on the caller ID and then placed the phone against my ear.

"Hello, slut," she snapped at the other end of the call.

I clenched my teeth together. I heard Mia whimper beside me, but I ignored it.

"You forgot something of yours—one of your properties. Don’t you care about your parents’ accessories anymore?"

At the mention of that, my eyes widened. Oh, my God, I thought to myself, beginning to trace my fingers against my forehead. I had been in so much of a hurry that I had totally forgotten to take my parents’ accessories. They are priceless artifacts that they had always kept and treasured with all their hearts. I have to take them; I can’t leave them with them.

Great. I collapsed back against the chair. "Fine. I’m coming over to pick them up."

"Whatever," she replied and ended the call.

I dropped my hand down. Mia stared at me. "So?" she asked.

I turned to look at her. "I have to take them," I said.

She nodded her head slowly. "It’s all right, okay? Just calm down. I will go with you, just in case she causes trouble."

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