Chapter 209: Cold Heart
After chowing down, Mia felt way better.
Yancy jumped on the chance and was like, "Hey, let's hit up the movies. There's this new thriller that's supposed to be lit."
But I dipped out, leaving those two to their own devices.
I wandered back to the hood, and there was Benjamin, leaning against the doorpost, puffing on a cig.
In just over an hour, dude looked like he'd aged a decade, face all pale and eyes dead.
When he spotted me, his eyes lit up for a sec, but then dimmed when he saw I was solo.
I didn't wanna deal with him, but after all these years, I couldn't just ghost him.
"Why you still hanging around?" I asked.
He looked up at the gloomy sky, eyes full of loneliness. "She's dead set on leaving me."
I couldn't hold back my anger anymore.
Even now, Benjamin still didn't get that it was his own damn fault things got this bad? Was he too full of himself, or did he just not give a damn about Mia?
"Benjamin, Mia's my friend, but this time I'm siding with what's right, not feelings. Think about it, all these years, besides throwing cash around, what else have you done for her? She stuck by you for five years, no complaints, just waiting.
But you, you went and had a kid, and let the baby mama roll up to the company and cause drama, trashing her rep. Even then, if you'd just had her back, she wouldn't have wasted all those years loving you. But nah, you didn't even glance her way, just bailed with the troublemaker.
I don't know what was going through your head, but when I picture that scene, it makes me wanna scream. Five years, thousands of days and nights, only to get hit with your cold shoulder. Anyone would be crushed.
The worst part? You didn't even call or say a word to Mia after you left. Do you know how she got through those days? You don't. Or maybe you do, but you just didn't care. In your mind, she was always your property, someone who couldn't live without you. Am I right?"
Benjamin hung his head in shame, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "Jane, would you believe me if I said I didn't do it on purpose?"
I shook my head. "Nah, I don't buy that someone could get so wasted they don't know anything, but still manage to hook up. Benjamin, think hard, did you really not know who you were with that night? Or did you just figure a mistake's a mistake, and you couldn't dodge the family's plans anyway. Since you had to marry Sydney, it didn't matter if it was sooner or later. As for Mia, you thought you could smooth things over later, that she'd love you enough to forgive you. After all, it's just a mistake all guys make, right?"
Benjamin lit another cig and smoked in silence.
"Go back, Sydney's the one you gotta be responsible for now, she's carrying your kid. Let Mia go, don't mess her up anymore, she doesn't owe you anything."
"I love her, I can't let her go," he said, leaning his head back on the bench, covering his eyes with his hand, tears slipping through his fingers.
What's the point of trying to fix things when it's already too late?
"She's been hurt too deep. If you really love her, let her go. Sometimes, love means knowing when to walk away. With your status and power, you can't give her a happy ending. End it now before you two turn into enemies. At least you loved each other once, show some mercy."
"What about me? How do I live without her? How do you expect me to live?" Benjamin wailed, sounding like a wounded animal.
I couldn't help but laugh, bitter and angry. "Mia hasn't been by your side for nearly two months. How have you been living? You haven't kicked the bucket, have you? You're still here, aren't you?"
"No, Jane, you don't get it. Sydney had to be hospitalized back then, my mom was on my case every single day, and she took my phone away. I couldn't go find Mia. After Sydney got out, I promised I'd marry her, and my mom finally let me out, but by then, Mia was gone.
Our place was empty, everything I gave her was still there, untouched. The money I gave her was all in a card on the table, but she was gone. Seeing all those things that used to be for both of us, now just for me, it hurt so bad I wanted to die. But who could I talk to? Yeah, I messed up, I was confused for a moment, I never meant to hurt her. The pregnancy was an accident, really just an accident.
I did everything to find her, but my parents and Sydney's parents blocked all the airports, stations, and info channels. I could only drive from city to city looking for her, I called all her friends, no one knew where she was, everyone said they hadn't seen her.
Jane, you can't understand how helpless I felt. Many times I wanted to end it all, it would've been better than losing her. But..."
I cut him off coldly, "But you still have your parents, your kid, and a bunch of other things and people you can't let go of. Your world isn't just Mia, so you held on and didn't die, right? I wanna ask you, Benjamin, you know how close Mia and I are, did you ever ask me? Don't use Brad as an excuse, did you really believe Brad, or did you just think Mia couldn't live without you, that even if you didn't look for her, she'd come back on her own. Am I right?
You say your parents controlled you, but are you really the type to let your parents run your life? Even you wouldn't buy that. You say the pregnancy was an accident, but if Sydney hadn't gotten pregnant, how many more times would you have hooked up with her? How long would you have kept lying to Mia? Benjamin, what did you take Mia for, a toy to play with when you're bored, or a puppet you can control whenever you want? You recklessly wasted Mia's youth and love, did you ever think that she's a person, she has feelings, she can hurt and get tired? At this point, all I can say is you brought this on yourself. Face reality, you can't go back."
I didn't wanna say anything more to him, so I got up and left.
I really wanted to deck him, but it wasn't worth it.
Mia moving on was more important than anything. Who was right or wrong didn't matter.
"Benjamin, just go, don't come back. Your story with her in this life is over. Not disturbing her anymore is your last act of love for her, let her go."
Benjamin didn't answer me. When I reached the apartment entrance and looked back, he was no longer on the bench.
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