9

Suddenly, Miriam heard someone knock on her door. "Come in," She said without taking her eyes off of her phone. She didn't move at all. She simply sat there on the bed with her face hidden behind the dark curtains that shrouded her vision. There was no need to hide herself now, everything had already been revealed to everyone in the house, but Miriya still felt the need to keep her identity a secret from all of them.

Soon enough, a shadow appeared in the doorway of Miriya's room, causing Miriya's eyes to lighten up in surprise.

"What are you doing here? It's not time for lunch yet," Miriya pointed out in confusion as she glanced up from her phone and met Circe's confused gaze. Miriya suddenly felt uneasy as she stared straight into his golden eyes. She noticed immediately that he was holding a plate in his hands. Circe didn't answer her question immediately, instead he carefully placed the plate on the small table that sat right next to Miriya's bed before seating himself next to her.

"Did you eat? Are you sick or something? You should have called someone first. Why aren't you wearing gloves? Don't tell me that you got hurt. Were you drinking alcohol?"

"Miriam, I know you're mad at me, and I guess I deserved your wrath. However, I have something else that I need to discuss with you," Circe answered with a serious expression etched upon his features. Miriam furrowed her brows as she eyed Circe suspiciously. Miria knew that look well. There was nothing good that could possibly be coming from whatever conversation that Circe was going to try to have. The way he looked at her, it made her feel uncomfortable. It was similar to the way he used to look at her. He used to be filled with love and adoration. Then one day Miria realized just how much he cared for her. He treated her like his daughter, but ever since their break up, he never really smiled at her anymore and he never touched her. His behavior changed drastically once he found out that she was pregnant with Eri. But instead of trying to console her, he avoided her. He stopped showing affection towards her. It was like Miriya had become invisible to him again. It made Miriya feel awful and guilty that he could not even muster up the energy to talk to her anymore.

"Are you gonna tell me why you decided to leave without saying goodbye to me? Is it something that you're not ready to share with me? Because… because I deserve more than this kind of treatment. I know I've done horrible things, and I know I've caused you and Eri so many problems. I know I screwed up big time." Circe finished softly before closing his eyes briefly, breathing slowly in order to collect himself once more. He opened his eyes slowly once he calmed his nerves. They remained locked on Miriya for a second before looking away from her towards the ground.

"I don't think I should be telling you this. I don't think I should be telling anyone anything about this," Circe spoke quietly, keeping his eyes trained on the ground. "Not even Eri knows. It's none of your business."

"I don't think you deserve that kind of silence. Not after I've been nothing but nice to you ever since you started working for us. Now you're avoiding me for weeks on end. I think you deserve to hear what I have to say, at least, if nothing else." Miriya replied coldly while crossing her arms. She narrowed her eyes as she listened to Circe speak.

Circe sighed. "Look, Miriam. I don't think this is what you want to talk about right now. And besides, you're supposed to be resting," Circe tried to reason with his girlfriend, not that she expected any argument from the red haired woman in response.

"Fine, you win. Fine. Whatever. Do what you want. It doesn't matter to me. Let's just skip the pleasantries and get this over with. What are you doing here, Circe?" Miriya demanded, cutting Circe short.

There was another brief pause before Circe spoke again; however this time there was a slight waver in his voice as he said, "I was just about to ask you the same thing. Where have you been, Miriya? I went looking for you last night, and you weren't home. I've spent the entire morning searching for you, Miriya! So where were you?! Why did you abandon me like this!?" Circe's voice had begun rising rapidly in volume and Miriya found herself flinching every few minutes. Her head was throbbing again from where Circe had struck her.

"Calm down Circe. If you continue talking, we'll wake up everyone. I told you last night that there wasn't time for this," Miriya reminded harshly, hoping to snap Circe out of his anger before things could escalate further. It wouldn't help anyone if they continued fighting now.

"You promised! That we wouldn't lie to each other anymore, that we would always tell each other everything. Why are you lying to me now? I thought we had something special, Miriya. This isn't what friends do," Circe cried, sounding frustrated beyond words.

"Friends don't run away without talking to each other. Friends don't leave each other when they're scared. I left and I couldn't come back. I didn't even give you a chance to explain yourself and make sure I was okay. No, I chose to just leave and pretend like everything was fine between us. Like I don't know that it's not. That's not my decision, Circe, and you know that. I'm sorry about the ring. Really, I am. I just can't let go of it. Everytime I see it, it sends a shiver down my spine. I feel trapped and angry and scared. But I can't stop looking for answers. I just can't.