The uninvited visitors

Myra groaned inwardly as she rolled out of bed, hating and loving the comfort of bed at the same time, reaching blindly for her phone. The cool touch of the screen on her palm sent her a small jolt through her, but it was nothing compared to the shock that awaited her when she saw the notifications. 

50 missed calls from Sarah - the timestamps were between 3:15 AM and the last one was at 7:45AM. 

Another 30 missed calls from Gracie. Hers were timestamped at 4:00AM and ending at 8:11AM. 

Myra wasn't usually a late sleeper but her time on her phone clearly displayed 10:30AM. 

And their group chat? A war zone. Hundreds of messages flooded her notifications, all of them variations of : 

'Where are you?' 

'Why aren't you answering?' 

'CanT you TEXT. Whats wrong with your fingers!!!' 

'WHAT THE HELL, MYRA?!!!' 

'CALL. US. NOW.'

'WE NEED TO TALK.' 

Myra's stomach was twisted into knots as she went through each of her text. Her best friends weren't ones to panic easily, so for them to go into a full blown meltdown via text must have meant they had heard something. Myra hadn't mentioned her union with Xavier Westwood to either of them. How could she? She married him the same day she met him. He had come prepared with his lawyer and the marriage certificate to sign, seal and deliver. 

But how did they know? How much did they know? Who else knew? Xavier would have kept it a secret. It didn't seem like Xavier was loosely lipped. Usually the Westwoods only made announcement in a large scale settings and from what she heard from the grapevine, sometimes it took months to a full year to plan the announcement. Even the last wedding announcement that took place for Christina Rothschild and Robert Westwood took almost a full year to plan. And before the announcement went out, everything was tightly sealed and no word got out till the announcement itself. Surely they would have asked her input and would have told her when they would make the announcement, wouldn't they? Myra didn't know what the answer to that was. 

She inhaled deeply, pushing back the anxiety bubbling inside her. Before she was ready to deal with both Gracie and Sarah, she needed to at least get some food in her. Her stomach growled in agreement. The dinner party yesterday made her nauseous and she could barely eat. Now, her stomach did a somersault within her. 

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Myra took a moment to steady herself. The extravagant room she had slept in still felt foreign, despite the restful sleep. It was easy to get lost in the soft sheets and plush pillows, but she knew better than to get comfortable. This wasn't her world, and Xavier's absence was a stark reminder of that. He had called it their Matrimony room, yet he was nowhere to be found. Typical. 

As she made her way downstairs after getting dressed, she stood still for a moment, taking in the grandness of the estate. Everything was pristine, elegant, and cold - much like person who lived here. 

She just realized why she stood still, she actually didn't know the place at all, and her stomach was starting to grumble. Thankfully, a maid was passing by and stopped, bowing slightly. "Good Morning, ma'am. Is there anything you need?" 

"Good Morning. Do you think I could have some breakfast?" Myra asked, her voice hoarse. "Just ... anything, really." 

The maid had a weird expression on her face but it was gone in a blink of her eye, which made Myra think that she was imagining things. The maid nodded and hurried away, as Myra followed her blindly. 

The maid showed her to a door that was intricately carved. And she was seated in an equally beautiful dining table, where she was a little exasperated by the number of spoons, forks and knives of different sizes set up neatly. Myra was not one for etiquette, her father tried to send her to etiquette class but she always felt like her classmates and her teacher was super snobby. 'Oh great, I'm going to look like a slob and an idiot when I eat.', Myra internally despaired. 

A group of maids came in and laid out a delicious spread of brioche and scones, a platter of various fresh fruits, and an assortments of beverages. 

Myra helped herself to some coffee where she splashed it with a generous amount of sugar and cream and she took some fresh toast to start. As she was about to take her first bite, an interruption arrived in the form of two unwelcome guests. 

Vanessa and Ridley. 

The Westwood cousins strolled into the dining room as if they owned the place. Vanessa was clad in designer from head to toe, she was a walking billboard of loud prints of designers brand obnoxiously splatted around her clothing, she had an air of superiority that made Myra's skin crawl. Ridley, though less outwardly hostile, didn't exactly look thrilled to be here either. 

'Oh great. What a great way to start the morning.' Myra thought to herself. 

'Whatever you do, just don't react to them. You are just in a contract marriage. In less than a year, we will all go back to being strangers.', Myra internally prepared herself. 

Myra face was anything but pleasant and it must have showed, for Vanessa' sharp gazes swept over Myra's with a disdain before she spoke. "Oh, what a sight. The little commoner, sitting at our table." 

Myra didn't want to give in to temptations of starting something, she placed her fork down calmly. "If you have something to say, just say it." 

Vanessa smirked. "Our family, The Westwood have an annual evening soiree tonight, where we host world leaders and global elites. We want to make sure you do not show your ugly face there." 

Ridley shifted uncomfortably. "Vanessa -" 

"No," she cut him off. "She needs to understand that none of the Westwoods want her there. Especially the elder Westwoods." 

Vanessa turned toward Myra while seething and added "Some people just aren't meant for our world. You may be Xavier's wife on paper, but let's not pretend that means anything. Do yourself a favor and don't embarrass the family or yourself, for that matter, by showing up."

 Myra held Vanessa's gaze steadily. "I appreciate the warning," she said, her voice steady despite the storm inside her. "Now get out." 

Vanessa scoffed but turned on her heel, striding out of the room. Ridley hesitated for a moment, it seemed there was something he wanted to say, but followed Vanessa out. As both of them walked down the hallway, Ridley stopped Vanessa and asked, "Are you sure about this? Xavier's mother, Olivia and the rest of the elder Westwood sent us here to invite Myra to the soiree later tonight. " 

Vanessa shot him a glare. "Keep your mouth shut, Ridley. You want her gone just as much as I do." 

Ridley refuted. "That's not true. I know we have no clue who she is and why Xavier married her. But she did marry Xavier. And Xavier knows what he's doing. Besides you heard the elder Westwoods, they are planning to make an announcement of their marriage soon." 

"Ridley, I'm warning you. Just keep this between us. And make sure she doesn't show up." Vanessa spoke with conviction. 

"I'm staying out of this. But think about what I said." With that, Ridley walked out of Xavier and Myra's place, as Vanessa followed along, irritation rising in her face. 

Myra watched the cousins go, anger simmering beneath the surface. She didn't care about their approval, but she did care about being underestimated. 'Ugh, all this luxury but no peace to enjoy it.' Myra thought as she looked at her plate of food. Her appetite was long gone. 

Finally, she picked up her phone and called Gracie. 

"Meet me at Sarah's. Now." 

************* 

Sarah's apartment was nestled in one of the finer parts of the city, but despite its elegance, it always carried an air of loneliness. Sarah, the illegitimate daughter of the powerful Steinberg family, had never truly been accepted into their world. Her grandfather, Willard Steinberg, had insisted she be acknowledged as she was a Steinberg by blood, but it was clear to everyone that she was merely tolerated. 

Sarah was not allowed to live in the Steinberg mansion, for her stepmother, Scarlett Steinberg loathed her presence. It was a stark reminder of her husband's infidelity whereas her father, Wyatt Steinberg paid no attention to her. Her biological mother, Sylvia was no longer present and in fact, not having a mother was how Sarah and Myra bonded. 

As Myra walked into the apartment, as she had an extra set of keys to Sarah's place, and so did Gracie, she was greeted with Sarah and Gracie always waiting, their faces a mixture of anger and worry. 

"Oh my god, Myra!" Gracie was the first to speak, pulling her into a tight hug. "You scared the hell out of us." 

Sarah crossed her arms, looking pissed off. "You better have a damn good reason for vanishing." 

Myra exhaled, her voice low. "Guys, I'm so sorry for being out of touch. I had so much going on. I didn't want to worry you." 

Myra paused. 

Sarah pressed on for more info. "Where in the world were you? We were looking for you." Sarah's voice was rising as she started to think the worse of the situation when she couldn't get in touch with Myra. 

"Guys, I got married." Myra added. 

Silence. 

"To Xavier Westwood." Myra continued. 

Silence. 

"I got married a couple of days ago." Myra didn't know how else to say it so she just babbled on the information in the room of awkward silence.