Chapter 7: CHAPTER SEVEN- MICHAEL!

~Mira’s POV~

I had barely settled at my desk when my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen, and my heart jumped.

“Hey princess, how are you doing?”

Michael.

I froze. My stomach tightened, and my mind went blank. After years of not hearing from him, here he was. On the same day I discovered my husband, my brand-new husband is my boss.

I grabbed my phone and rushed out of the office. I didn’t stop until I was outside near the glass doors. My fingers shook as I hit the call button.

“Hello?” His voice was the same. Warm. Familiar. My heart flipped.

“Michael,” I whispered.

He chuckled. “Wow! Thankfully you don't forget my voice.”

“I..of course I would remember. There is no reason to forget.” I tried sounding calm. "Where are you? How did you..?”

“I’m back. New York finally called me home.” he said, cutting my speech halfway.

My throat tightened. “You’re back?”

“Yes. Came in last week. I thought I should reach out, but I wasn’t sure if your number was still the same. Guess I was lucky.”

I pressed my hand against the glass wall, breathing fast. “Michael, I…”

He interrupted softly. “You sound nervous. Is everything okay?”

I bit my lip. “I just didn’t expect to hear from you today.”

“I can imagine. Listen, Mira, I want to see you. It’s been years. Can we meet? Two days from now. Same café we used to go to after school?”

My head spun, the phone almost slipping from my grip. “Michael, I…” The words broke off before they could form. My chest ached, tight and heavy, as if every breath came with a weight I couldn’t shake off. How was I supposed to tell him? How could I explain that I got married just days ago, married without a word to him, the one person who had never turned his back on me?

Michael, my childhood friend. The boy who had walked beside me through every season of my life, who had defended me when no one else cared, who had laughed with me under the rain and cried with me in silence. He wasn’t just a memory; he was a piece of me, someone I thought I would always have.

And now, hearing his voice again after so long, everything came rushing back. The nights we dreamed of the future, the silly promises, the serious ones. His words echoed in me, ‘I’ll marry you when I return.’He had said it with a certainty only he could carry.

But I had forgotten. Forgotten until this very moment, when his voice reopened doors I thought were shut forever.

“You’ll come, right?” His voice carried hope.

I closed my eyes. “Yes. I’ll come.”

“Good. Two days then. Don’t be late.”

He ended the call before I could say more.

I stared at the phone, my hands trembling. Married. I was married. To Grey. And Michael didn’t know.

I paced in the hallway. My thoughts screamed. I needed help. I needed someone to tell me what to do. Lisa. She would know. I quickly dialed her number, but regretted a few seconds later when I realized she wasn't even aware I was married.

“Girl, what’s wrong?” Lisa’s sharp voice answered as it connected immediately.

“Lisa, it’s bad. It’s really bad.”

“Tell me.”

“You remember Michael? My childhood friend?”

“Michael? The one you used to call your shadow? The one who carried your books every day?”

“Yes, him.”

“Oh my God. Don’t tell me…”

“He texted me. He’s back in New York. I called him. He wants to meet in two days.”

Lisa gasped. “Wait. You cannot be serious. My best friend would finally get married”

“No! I am not!”

"Come on, the reason I never really bothered you was because I thought you were really waiting for his return.”

“Lisa, I just got married!” I spilled the word.

"You must be kidding me right?” she asked surprisingly.

“I am not, it was a flash marriage and now I don't know what to do? I didn’t even tell Micheal I was dating someone because I really wasn't, let alone getting married. He’ll hate me.”

“Mira, calm down. Breathe.”

“I can’t. I can’t breathe. What do I say when I see him?”

Lisa’s voice lowered. “You need to be honest. The sooner you tell him, the better. If he finds out some other way…”

“I know. I know. But Lisa, how do I even start? ‘Hey Michael, welcome back, by the way I’m married now, and guess what? My husband is my boss.’”

Lisa groaned. “Oh girl, that’s a bomb. But you can’t avoid it. Tell him before it gets messy.”

“I don’t think I can face him. Not yet. I need time.”

“Mira, you don’t have time. Two days isn’t far.”

“I thought about cancelling, but he sounded so happy. Lisa, I can’t break his heart.”

Lisa sighed. “And what about your husband? Does he know about Michael?”

“No,” I whispered. “He doesn’t.”

“Mira!” Lisa almost shouted. “You’re going to blow up everything. You need to…”

Before she could finish, I heard someone calling me.

“Mira!”

I turned. Laura stood by the office door, waving.

“Mira, we need you. Now. Something urgent.”

I covered the phone. “I’ll be right there!”

Turning back, I whispered, “Lisa, I have to go. Work.”

“Mira, don’t you dare disappear on me. Call me back as soon as you can. You have a lot to tell me because you got married behind my back”

“I will. I Promise.”

I hung up and stuffed the phone in my pocket. My chest still felt heavy, but I had no choice. I walked quickly back into the office, forcing my face into something neutral.

Laura gave me a stack of files. “Boss wants this revised by the end of the day. Can you handle it?”

I nodded, even though my mind was still with Michael. Still replaying his voice. Still torn between the two men who had unknowingly collided in my life.

Inside, I whispered to myself, What have you done, Mira?