BIG MISTAKE

As soon as Melody heard that name, she stood frozen. It took a moment for her to realize what Lyrical had said and what had happened while she wasn't around. That unbidden lawyer had dared to visit her office... Especially when she was not present in there.

Anything could've happened that day, but Lyrical had failed to inform her about such an important incident. Melody's head was anyway exploding, but after hearing what Lyrical had said, she completely freaked out.

"What did you just say?" Melody barked and Lyrical involuntarily stiffened. Although she had expected this reaction, but when she heard Melody's sharp voice, she couldn't help but feel dread wash over her. A chill ran down her spin and her heart pounded chaotically in her chest. Lyrical knew she had made a mistake and had not done her job properly. Yet, something in Melody's voice alarmed her, and goosebumps spread across her skin.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Melody flounced towards her, pinned her to the couch behind them. Melody's fingers encircled Lyrical's neck, choking her, as she glowered down at her like she wanted to kill Lyrical right at that moment. "Why didn't you tell me? How could you miss out telling me about such an important thing?" she roared, infuriated.

Lyrical was perplexed by the sudden change in Melody's attitude. Just a few minutes ago Melody was smiling so gently and flirting with her. And now she was trying to kill her. Not that Lyrical did not expect any reaction, but this was beyond her wild imaginations. She knew a lawyer's visit, must be important, but had no idea it would result to this.

On her way to Melody's apartment, Lyrical had known Melody would be upset, she would yell at her and even scold her. Melody may even dismiss her from the job, or something less dramatic. But she couldn't ever had imagined that the matter was so serious that Melody would strangle her like this, and would have no qualms about killing her.

By the looks of it, Lyrical could figure this was way more serious than she had anticipated, and she had made a huge mistake by not informing Melody about the visit of that lawyer sooner and right now her life was in grave danger. She had no way to escape her death today. But, somehow, Lyrical was filled with dread and adhreline at the same time.

"You!" Melody barked again, "..how could you be so careless? Why didn't you call me right away?" Melody bellowed in rage. "Let-tt g-gho auf muf neck-kk, i-it's hu-h-rting. P-please." She managed to voice, while squirming in pain, tears filled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, but Melody was far from letting her go, so Lyrical continued between gasping for breath and talking. "I-ah wa-ss angry and-and up-pset. I'm- I'm s-sorry, I forgot to call you right away." Lyrical barely breathed out. 

"Does that justify what you did, you useless woman? For a week you kept quiet about this." Melody growled at her. Not only her eyes but also her face had turned red in anger and Melody spat insults at Lyrical. Melody wrapped her hands around Lyrical's neck very tightly. She hadn't realize what she was doing in a fit of her anger and her grip only kept increasing while Lyrical was struggling to breath.

"Honestly, it really skipped my mind, Melody. I swear I didn't do it on purpose." Lyrical somehow managed to whisper, as she could hardly speak, and barely even breathe. 

"How am supposed to know if it's true?" Melody snarled. "What if he offered you a better job, more money, anything better than what I can offer? Isn't it true that you hate me? But you still work for me, because you need money. Am I wrong?" she scoffed sardonically, "What if they offered you a better deal and you caved in." She rained accusations at Lyrical.

After a few dreadful minutes, Melody finally realized what she was doing, when Lyrical did not reply anymore. She let go of Lyrical's neck, then stormed her feet, kicked the bottles that were scattered on the floor, and walked towards her bedroom.

"I would never do that." Lyrical cried out, still sitting on the couch and rubbing her neck, she knew it would leave a mark. But Lyrical did not care about it anymore. Lyrical took a few deep breaths, before she managed to speak, despite still feeling breathlessness. "Trust me, Melody. That man suddenly came to the office and told me that I should pass on the message to you, and whatever he wants to say is good for your sake. I was confused because he did not reveal anything about himself." she coughed.

"However, when he said that you should shut shop and leave. How do you think I felt?", Lyrical sniffled. "I was very upset. Anyone in my place would have been. I was angry and annoyed and.. and I don't know how to describe what I felt at that moment. But I remember being furious, so much so that I could only sit alone-- for god knows how long, before I could calm myself down." she truthfully confessed. 

"It had indeed messed up my mind, and I am not justifying myself, Melody. I'm extremely sorry, I did not tell you earlier. It honestly slipped my mind. Please, Melody." she earnestly pleaded. She needed Melody to believe her. Lyrical tried to explain herself, but Melody was in no ṁood to understand. Melody managed to patiently hear her out, but replied with just one sentence, "Get lost and never let me see you again." And that was the end of their discussion.

Lyrical's heart was beating painfully in her chest, her body still shivered from being horrified by Melody's actions, as she returned home that day. But more than that, this time the pain and the fear were not because she might end up losing her job, because Lyrical knew she made a huge mistake and she deserved this. Lyrical was afraid that it was too late for Melody to take actions against the lawyer and she might end up losing everything she had built.

Lyrical was sad because Melody looked betrayed and hurt. She was not upset at Melody at all, instead, her heart went out to her. Lyrical couldn't stay still. She was constantly worried for Melody. She kept calling Melody on her cellphone., but it went unanswered every single time. Lyrical did not call her brother or her father that weekend, just to make sure her phone does not remain engaged -- just in case Melody called back. 

Most of the time, Lyrical stayed in her room and even avoided her aunt. To start with, Lyrical did not want Aunt Marissa to notice the mark on her neck. She'd be worried unnecessarily. Furthermore, Lyrical was aware she wouldn't be able to focus on anything else, as her mind was busy worrying about what would happen next. Which is why Lyrical thought it was better to keep to herself and avoid her family for this weekend.

She left countless texts, voicemail for Melody, apologizing.. but received no response from the other end. Lyrical was relieved because Monday morning came rather quickly. Well!! Not so quickly either, but she just wanted to focus on today. When she called Melody for the nth time, a lady answered her phone. The voice that Lyrical did not recognize.

"She's sleeping. I'll tell her to call back." Is all that female' arrogant voice spoke, before abrubtly disconnecting the call. 

By now, Lyrical felt exhausted and couldn't think straight, so she finally called Gisselle. However, Gisselle was in such a good mood, she was laughing and joking. Lyrical did not have the heart to just spoil Gisselle' mood by telling about what she had done. Also, that she was unable to reach Melody for past two days-- almost. So Lyrical ended up not telling her anything about the weekend near fatal meet up with Melody.

Though, Lyrical casually did mention Melody and asked her if Gisselle had spoken to her. To which Gisselle simply replied, "Boss called me on Friday and said she's been too busy and couldn't even go to the office. That's all I know."

Melody had said that she did not want to see her face, so Lyrical wasn't sure if she should was allowed to the office, but she went anyway. 'What if someone visits the office again, while Melody was not arround?' This was the thought that constantly bothered Lyrical and she couldn't stay at home. 

When Lyrical reached the office, as always, she was greeted with the familiar face smiling at her, as soon as she entered. "Good Morning, Leia?" Lyrical's smile went wide on seeing the beautiful face with her gorgeous smile. Leia was back from her leave today. "So you are back, huh? What happened? I hope everything is fine," Lyrical bombarded her with questions.

"I am fine now, ma'am. Just a small accident, but luckily Melody happened to be nearby.." Leia blurted out and bit her tongue, "..Please don't tell her, I told you about this." Leia gave an awkward smile. "So that explains the uncalled emergency." Lyrical inquired and Leia nodded in affirmation. "Don't worry, I won't tell her anything. But how did you get into an accident." Lyrical seemed concerned. 

Leia went on to explain what happened with her last week, "I don't have anyone from my family living with me here. I am all alone.. Last week I had a headache and was down with fever. Despite that, I thought of coming to the office. Being around people at the office helps me feel relaxed, you know? Takes my mind off my stupid head and health." Leia shrugged her shoulder. "But, I had no idea I would feel dizzy in the middle of the road and a car will almost kill me. The driver did pull the break on time, however still, its tires hurt my left leg." she narrated the incident. 

Lyrical nodded her head but said nothing, so Leia continued, "I was lucky that Melody saw the accident happen and rushed to help me. She took me to the hospital, and because she knew I lived alone, she volunteered to stay with me the whole time." Leia was almost on the verge of crying as she recalled the incident. Her tears did not roll down, but her nose turned red.

"Is that so?" Lyrical nudged her, "Guess you have a nice boss, isn't it?" she smiled and winked at Leia, to lighten up her mood. Lyrical didn't like seeing Leia crying. And she was barely managing to keep herself from crying. Until, she does not sort things out with Melody it will keep bothering her.

"Yeah," Leia admitted shyly. "But Melody told me not to talk about this with anybody, especially not to tell anything about Melody. I hope you will keep this a secret too, ma'am." she pleaded and jutted her lips.

'But why?' Lyrical wondered. But instead of asking Leia about it, she decided to change the subject to what she did last week. Lyrical told her about how last week she made friends with other team members and they had also gone out for dinner on Friday. "You were missed, Leia. I don't know about others, but I did." Lyrical nudged her shoulders. "And by the way, everyone calls me, Lyrical. You should too." She ordered sternly.

"I will." Leia giggled. "And next time, I'll come with you too," she confirmed with a thumbs up.

Melody came later that afternoon, very discreetly, and avoided Lyrical. In fact, Lyrical did not even notice when Melody came in. Because she quietly entered the office and went straight to her cabin.

"Hi, Lyrical! C'mon now, hurry up. We need to talk. Let's have lunch together." Mia shrieked and waved her hand to Lyrical from her desk. "What is it?" Carol asked in a tone that was a mixture of jest and tease. "What makes you so happy today, my darling?" she asked.

Mia showed her lunchbox and pointed towards the area. "Come for lunch, gals. Before I faint right here." She walked towards the cafeteria, halted in her step, turned around and shrugged, "Also, if you want to know what is making me happy."

The 'Knack club', as they'd started calling themselves, gathered at their meeting place. Lyrical showed all her ten fingers, to inform Mia, that she needs ten more minutes, and then she'll join them.

She was still on a call when Jenny and Mia barged into her cabin and dragged her towards the lunch break meeting place. Mia called Leia on her desk phone for the third time, before she finally appeared in front of them.

They were all seated when Mia announced. "I am.." she sighed. "I… am…getting married next month." She shrieked, and cried at the same time.

Everybody gawked at her in complete silence. Lyrical was the first to speak, "So suddenly?" she frowned.

"Yes.. It was a sudden decision." She smiled with happy tears. 

All the girls hollered simultaneously and rejoiced the moment. Everyone talking on over each other, making it feel chaotic.

Suddenly, Leia banged her fist on the table. "Will you lower your volume, please? Melody is in office, she can hear us."

Complete silence settled in between them.

Nobody in the office had any idea when Melody came in and for how long she's been there.

Lyrical wondered how is it possible that she had no idea that Melody was in the office, that's when she noticed her car parked outside. Indeed Melody did not want Lyrical around, which is why she kept ignoring her.

'Oh right. Melody never answered her call, nor did she call back.' she remembered how she had been trying her phone this entire weekend.

Lyrical went back to her cabin and carried on with her work, but she couldn't concentrate. Lyrical knew the exact reason she was this much distracted, but there was nothing she could do.

"Come to see me. Please." She called Mia on her intercom. When Mia came and sat in front of her, she was giggling all the while. However, Lyrical sat watching her incredulously. "Is there something that I need to know or maybe you want to discuss about?" Lyrical asked directly, without a hint of frustration.

She was, no doubt, worried about this sudden development in Mia's life. She had a hunch that something was amiss, but the reason she called Mia in her cabin right now, was because she wanted to divert her mind from Melody. Lyrical was angry at her for not answering the calls, no callback, and not informing her when she came in to the office.

Lyrical knew she did not have the right to be upset, but-- she was upset, anyway.

"Can I come in?" Melody was the one to knock at Lyrical's cabin door. They both turn to look at the person standing at the door. The moment Lyrical's eyes landed on Melody, her anger vanished, just like that. With a blink of her eyes, Lyrical found herself no longer angry, as if it never was there in the first place. But, she was definitely nervous. What happened at Melody's apartment still bothered her.

Mia tried to excuse herself, but Melody stopped her from leaving the cabin. "Sorry Mia, but I overheard what happened during the lunch I mean the announcement you made. Also the question that Lyrical just asked you. I wonder why you still haven't given her an answer... or maybe I know why. So, either you tell her or I would have to."

Lyrical was puzzled, she looked at both of them, hoping either one of them would tell her what exactly was happening right now. Lyrical had a bad feeling about what Mia had said, but she was surprised that Melody knew something about it. Melody closed the door of Lyrical cabin and Mia averted her eyes. She quietly remained seated and Melody waited for her to say something.

Lyrical couldn't stand the silence anymore, "What exactly is happening here? What is it that Melody knows and I don't?" she quizzed.

"She is pregnant and that guy who is responsible for this, simply abandoned her. So she is marrying someone who is way older than her. Ah.. Also, he is heavy on pocket, but can't guarentee the same when it comes to 'below the belt' . You know what I mean, right?" Melody looked at Lyrical, who was baffled. "The person she is so excited to get married to is nearly ten years older than her."

Lyrical had no words to describe how she felt at that moment. Was it anger, pity, or disgust? She couldn't describe. But, she was stunned to hear what Melody said, and so she slowly shook her head in disbelief.

"Don't get me wrong, Melody. But not everybody is lucky to have a loving husband like Gisselle has," Mia spoke in a hoarse voice. Her body trembled and the tears she had been holding in, burst out of her eyes, rushing down her cheeks like heavy rainfall. Before Lyrical could react, Melody lurged forward and hugged Mia. She did not counter her apprehensions, just held her.

"One of the thing that you just said is absolutely true. Madam Gisselle is sure, one lucky woman. Her husband does love her very much. I wonder how did she manage to hunt and cage that poor man down? " Melody shrugged her shoulders, and smiled. It was the truth after all. Mia snorted and then laughed at the way Melody acknowledged the fact.

Melody squatted down to her, "But, so are you, Mia. You just need to wait, until you find the one meant for you. This baby that you're carrying is yours and you don't need to depend on the father.. or any man for that matter. Believe in yourself, you can take care of the baby on your own. Don't they say, Mothers can be the best in everything?" Melody was very gentle and yet profound. Both Lyrical and Mia were shocked about the way Melody spoke. It was soft, full of affection and respect towards Mia.

"Now, go wash your face and come back after you've given it a serious thought. If anything goes wrong with your decision or something happens to you along the way, you'll regret this your whole life." Lyrical scolded lovingly.

Mia hugged Lyrical before she stepped out of the cabin.

As soon as the cabin door closed she glared at Melody in anger and frustration, "Where have you been? Do you know how worried I've been and I called so many times." Lyrical spat with her gritted teeth. Lyrical realized she had no right to question Melody, and was clearly overreacting, so she lowered her tone.

Lyrical let out a breath, "Sorry. I know.. I'm sure you hate me right now. If you want I can leave, but just know one thing, Melody. I would never sell you out, no matter how much money they offer me." Lyrical once again felt a pain in her chest, "..which they did not, by the way. Nor do I care." she quickly added. "Even if I hate someone.. I would do such things to hurt them. Especially not you, the one who I respect."

Melody raised her eyebrows questioningly. She had her doubts but was also equally surprised. Lyrical could see those feelings displaying on Melody's face and so she clarified her statement.

"Gisselle had told me, that you both built this together right from a scratch, without any monetary support. This place is your baby, your blood and soul. And I work for you, Melody. I will never…" Lyrical could not complete her sentence, because her boss decided to speak.

Melody promptly interjected, "I'm sorry. I overreacted that day." She scoffed, "That bloody lawyer... you know, he--he really gets on my nerves, so I took it out on you. Also, I should apologize because I was also very rude and harsh on you. I was angry and frustrated, but didn't mean to kill you literally. The truth is... I trust you."

Lyrical gave her a look that showed she doubted her statement. So Melody chuckled, "OK, just for the sake of it, let's say I don't trust you, but I trust Gisselle. I know, she will never appoint someone who has such low morality. I was wrong to accuse you. But, I did what I did because I was angry-- at him. Believe me, I honestly did not mean it when I said those rude words to you."

"Thanks!" Lyrical chirped. "I'm relieved to know you trust me. I was really worried. But, you should've at least answered my calls." She whined, sighed and dropped herself on her chair. Now that Melody said she trusted her, it felt like a weight has beem lifted.

Melody smiled but before leaving her cabin she turned around, "Anyways, please cancel today's meetings. I'm exhausted." "Wait. You staying or leaving?" Lyrical followed her boss to Melody's cabin.

Melody and Lyrical reached her cabin and Melody dropped her body on the burgundy couch, "Too tired to drive. I'll be right here in my cabin if you need me." She winked, then yawned.

Lyrical could see how tired Melody was. Her face looked drained of color and her walk was listless-- sort of. So she quietly left Melody alone and walked out.

The day came to an end and before she could leave, Lyrical peeped inside Melody's cabin to see if her boss was awake, only to find her sound asleep, snoring a little. She wanted to leave but waited in her cabin instead. Everyone in the office had already left, but she waited for Melody to wake up. Just in case, she was needed.

Before Mia could leave, Lyrical once again hugged and reminded, "I can't say on behalf of anyone else, but I'm right here whenever you need me, Mia. One wrong decision can destroy your life."

The sun that was shining brightly outside until this moment, went into his hideout and the moon welcomed Lyrical with its softness. She came back and looked inside Melody's cabin again, but her boss was still asleep. Lyrical stepped inside the cabin and crouched down to her face level. She put her hand on her forehead to check if Melody is sick. Thankfully, that was not the case.

But, Melody was frowning and sweating profusely. It seemed like she was having a nightmare. No sooner had her soft hand touched Melody's forehead, she jerked awake and opened her eyes.

"Oh, you're awake?" Lyrical fell backwards. "Sleep some more, you must be really tired."

"No. I think I'll leave." Melody sat up and straightened herself, washed her face, and came back. "I'll drop you home." she said. "Thanks," Lyrical whispered. "For?" Melody looked puzzled. Why, instead of arguing was Lyrical being thankful. That was something new and happened for the first time or perhaps it happened so rarely that Melody must've not even noticed it before.

"Mmm.. for taking care of Leia. A-aand.. for not kicking me out. Also, for being the first to clear out the misunderstanding." Lyrical smiled at her boss. ".. I wouldn't have had the courage to come see you."

She was genuinely thankful this time. "And last, but not the least. I liked how you handled Mia's issue. She must've not expected, that out of everyone, Melody would understand her situation. Instead of pitying, you sympathized with her. So a big thank-you for supporting her."

Melody could not stop laughing, "It's not that I'm not human, okay. I can see, I know everything that is happening around me, and understand. Now, having said that, you should be thanking Gisselle. She was the one to notice that Mia wasn't doing well. To be honestly, we were just waiting for Mia to come talk to us."

"Uh!! I guess in such a situation, we should have approached her first, isn't it?" Melody sighed.

"Nevertheless!! It's good that you noticed something was wrong and tried talking to her and now she must feel safe and free to hve found someone to pour her heart out." Melody said dramatically and then chuckled.

Lyrical chose to ignore the dramatic part. "Wow! I'm amazed. You're not that heartless, as people think of you. Wonder why do you have to give out that wrong impression?"

"I see.. you've gained a lot of friends, while I was away. Gisselle never managed to do so." Melody chuckled. "So it doesn't matter what they think of me. They can hate me as much as they want. As long as you are there to support them." Melody raised both her eyebrows. "Correct?"

"Yeah right. Well! To be honest, most of the time you are not even in the office." Lyrical smirked and smiled mischievously. Melody was smart enough to understand the meaning behind the smirk, she frowned, "You.. I am clearly not liking that smile on your face. So.."

"So what?" Lyrical interjected and shrugged.

"Well. Ms. Assistant. Treat this as an order from your boss. But.. you will have to accompany me to wherever I go, from tomorrow onwards." Melody crossed her arms around her chest and smirked.

"No… way" she squawked in dismay. "Listen, Melody. Ah," Lyrical racked her brains to come up with a valid excuse so that she does not have to accompany her boss. She scolded and cursed herself mentally and fought a battle inside her head.

Lyrical1: 'Why did I have to show my happiness on my face?'

Lyrical2: 'But it can't be helped. How can I not be happy about the fact that I am privileged enough to have NO BOSS DAY, almost every day'

Lyrical1: 'Now what? You've lost your privileges. Suffer now, you FOOL'

"Will you stop sighing and making all those funny faces. For God's sake." Melody's voice brought Lyrical back to reality. She had not realized until that moment, while mentally cursing and fighting with herself, she had been making faces and as always blurted out a few words here and there, a little louder than necessary that gave away the fact that she is cursing herself.

Truth be told, for Melody it was amusing. "Let's go, I'll drop you home or.. are you secretly planning to stay at mine, Ms. Assistant?" Melody whispered teasingly. "No Way…." Lyrical protested and huffed.