MIRABELLA

John sat at the dining, paying no attention to the women discussing. Instead, he stuffed his mouth with the delicious food in front of him and thought of how to do away with Diva.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" His mom asked as she ran her fingers through his head, just how she used to do it when he was young.

"I don't think feel I necessarily need to say anything, you ladies seem to be having fun."

"You haven't changed one bit." Diva commented. "You still have the habit of stuffing your mouth while eating."

John didn't say anything nor look at her or try to reply with any kind of gesture. He just focused on his food.

"John?" His mom called.

"Mrs Mirabella Williams." John called with an average tone, not too strict, not too calm. "Can you please allow me have my food in peace? I didn't even get to go to work today, at least I should be allowed to eat in peace."

"Do you find me being around me uncomfortable?" Diva asked getting uncomfortable by his actions as well.

"Diva, can you please enjoy your food in peace and let this boy be." Mirabella said with a bit of sarcasm in her voice as she pronounced the word 'boy'.

"I would consider that a nice and beautiful compliment." John said and walked back to the room in annoyance. He heard Diva asking his mom about his strange attitude but he didn't turn back, he just banged the door and laid on his bed, with his face up. He stared into the beautiful lights above him, it was a round huge object that held many beautiful bulbs in it. "No one is understanding how lonely I am."

Mirabella opened the door without knocking, she held the handle and stood by the door looking at her son annoyingly. "Will you get up now?" She asked raising her brows.

"I don't want to." He whispered and turned his back at her.

"Do you know what I went through to bring this girl here and make her parents agree to your marriage?"

John jumped off his bed and sat facing his mom again. "You went through all of that so she could strengthen the company with her family's asset and not my marriage." His tone was firm.

She entered his room and banged the door just as he did some minutes ago. "John, what is your problem? Marriage or company, isn't it both to your own advantage?"

John closed his eyes holding his temper and breathes deeply after a second or two. "Mom, I will pick who I want to marry myself." He said with his teeth put together. "Again, stop bringing in different ladies to check if I am impotent or not. Just because you haven't been seeing me with ladies doesn't mean I haven't been fucking."

Mirabella sighed and sat beside her son, maintaining eye contact. "Are you still mad at me? Even after ten years?" She didn't wait for any replies. "I have tried my best to make up for it, but you still keep showing me your cold side." She was already holding back tears in her eyes.

"Come on mom." He embraced her and kissed her forehead. "I am not mad at you, I just don't want to be forced to do anything anymore, I think I have outgrown that already."

"I thought Diva would be the best person to heal your pains." She paused for a while. "Since it all started from her-"

John stopped his mom with a tighter embrace. "It is fine mom, you can send her back home."

Mirabella gently withdrew from him and smiled, "I am your mother, I know what is right and wrong for you. Do you think I will ever allow you go astray?"

John shakes his head gently. "No."

She held his hands. "So please, have faith in me and let's make everything work out, give Diva a chance. I am sure she won't disappoint you."

She was doing it again, he could sense it, and now he dares not refuse, before she starts hurting those people he called his friends just to teach him a lesson. "Okay." He nodded gently.

"That's good." She touched his cheeks playfully. "Does that mean you will start sleeping at home now?"

John closed his eyes in disappointment, he had tried his best to make sure she didn't get to find out, but at the end it wasn't successful. "Yes." He nodded with a smile, he was happy his mom didn't look for Julie and made her pay terribly for coming in contact with him or punished Neo for driving him there.

"Wherever it is you were going those nights." She lowered her voice. "Don't ever go there again."

"Yes." He nodded.

She stood and headed toward the door and said. "Diva will be spending the night, make sure you are nice to her." She exited his room.

He watched her until she disappeared, she hasn't changed at all. She always had her way of making him do all she wanted, and the naive him ended up doing all she asked.

**************

Thanks to Daniel for making his cheating side very obvious, she didn't get to give him the money she got from the contract with models six months ago. She made her biggest pay ever after she worked with the models and was able to get her new apartment with that money and still had a reasonable amount left with her. She was a bit nervous when the hair stylist asked her to look at the mirror, but left with no choice she gently and slowly turned to the mirror to look at herself. She was the direct opposite of what she was a while ago, her skin was glowing and the new hair style was looking so good on her. She even changed her clothes into one of her master pieces.

"Here are the skin care products." The spa lady handed it to get with a lot of smiles. "Thanks for your patronage ma'am."

"Thank you." Julie murmured as she collected the bag containing some recommend skin care products. She looked at the wall clock, it was almost nine, and quickly wished her ex boyfriend and ex best friend and John could see how pretty she was looking at the moment. "Should I go to the bar? Maybe he will come." She said in her mind but turned down the idea almost immediately. If she planned on starting a new life, John shouldn't be distracting her anymore.

So, Julie returned back to her new apartment. As soon as she got home, the first thing she did was to call Monica and confirm if John came by. "Did you see him today at all?"

"No, he didn't even come for a drink as a matter of fact." Monica said bluntly over the phone.

"Alright, I will talk to you some other time." Julie replied reluctantly. She regretted her actions after the call, why on earth should she have fucked a total stranger just for pleasure? Why should she have accepted his offer that night? And why did she keep on having the pleasure like that for good two weeks?! "I must have been crazy." She murmured as she dropped her phone on the center table. "Why should I even be calling to check if he came by." She stood and walked to the kitchen, she opened the kitchen cabinets and it was empty, the only thing she did was to furnish the apartment, she forgot to get any food stuff. "I guess I will be going to bed hungry then." She closed the cabinets and headed to her room.

She had never for once lived in such apartment, right from birth. Julie was born and brought up in the slumps, she had never dreamed of having a kitchen, sitting room, bathroom and toilet, and a bedroom to herself. "It's crazy to think I own this apartment." she said to herself with a soft laugh and laid on the bed and covered herself with the duvet. She sighed heavily and stared into the light's above her. "I will live healthy from now on, I will live a perfect and wonderful life by making myself happy." She affirmed and closed her eyes to sleep without turning the lights off.

Ever since the ten years ago case happened, she hasn't for once tried to sleep with the lights out.