The grandpa's next words gave both Mia and Shawn the shock of their lives.
"Come now, we're heading to the marriage license bureau's office."
Wait, what? Shawn was dumbfounded.
Will his grandpa slow down and let him talk? How could he possibly get married to a stranger?
Marriage! A lifetime commitment!
"Grandpa, I-"
The old man waved his hand in the air in dismissal. "You don't have to say anything. Let's go."
Within a twinkle of an eye, a Limousine appeared in front of them.
Mia's mouth was still wide open in shock. She hadn't planned for this to happen.
She only wanted to act like she was in a relationship with the hot man in order to make her boyfriend and bestfriend jealous.
How did it come to this-when did it come to this?
What will she tell her parents? How will she tell them that she's married-to someone waaaay older than her?
She was still in college.
Her mum would mock her. The whole school would mock her too.
She's finished.
The two young people were still deep in their thoughts when the grandpa shoved the both of them into the luxurious car.
Before they knew it, they were already on their way to sign their marriage certificates.
Within a twinkle of an eye, they arrived at the bureau's office. Under grandpa's scrutiny, they both signed the marriage certificates and got it stamped.
And just like that, the two became married couple.
When they stepped outside again, grandpa was beaming with smile.
"You have made me the happiest on earth." He patted Shawn on the shoulder before stepping into the shoulder.
Shawn watched his grandfather and felt warmth in his heart.
It was indeed true. He hadn't seen his grandfather this happy in a very long time. So, he kept quiet.
"Aren't you coming in?" Grandpa beckoned on the young couple, grinning from ear to ear.
"Grandpa, head home first. You know as a newly wedded couple, we need to spend some time together." Shawn faked a smile at Mia before turning back to face his grandpa, "I already contacted Lucas, he'll be here anytime soon."
Grandpa Mandez nodded his head severally, in approval. "Very good. You two, enjoy."
He then flashed his teeth at Mia and ordered the chauffeur to move.
Immediately the limousine was out of sight, Shawn turned and shot the little girl next to him a murdering gaze.
Who the fuck was she anyway?
One, a gold digger.
Two, a fucking gold digger.
And three, definitely a gold digger.
The girl had planned everything out, so perfectly, in advance. And in the end, she got exactly what she wanted. Bravado. he had to give it to her.
But not for long though. She'd be losing it all this very moment, right after she she'd gotten what she wanted.
"I'll have my personal assistant send you the divorce papers." The CEO, who was not a man of many words, blurted out calmly.
Right at this point in time, a black Maybach slowly pulled up in front of them. A fine young man got down from the passenger's side and held open the backseat's door.
Without sparing the girl as little as a second glance, the CEO stepped into the luxurious car. A few seconds later, it soon disappeared out of sight.
Mia was left dumbstruck. What the hell just happened? She quickly glanced around her to be sure she hadn't been hallucinating all along.
She pinched her cheek really hard. Wait, what? She wasn't hallucinating?
What sort of man left a girl standing, all by herself, in the middle of nowhere then? The little girl found herself opening her mouth ajar.
If he wouldn't be considerate of her for anything else, at least, the fact that she'd helped him gain face in front of his old man should be enough for him to be grateful towards her right?
Scumbag.
She blinked her eyes rapidly in frustration. She was stranded and had not even a dime on her. She had absolutely no idea about how to get back to the hospital--she didn't even know where she was right now.
Tears suddenly began to well up in her eyes. Why was she ill-fated with absolutely everything? She had only just lost her boyfriend... and she'd lost her husband too within the space of a few hours apart.
Although, the marraige she had with the man sham, how could she have immediately gotten divorced right after signing the marriage certificates?
Why was life just so unfair to her? She should just end her life.
After several minutes of standing helplessly by the roadside, feeling self pity with a mixture of disgust, Mia finally flagged down a taxi. She gave the driver her parents' home address.
She didn't want to return to the hospital, and she didn't want to go back to the dormitory either. Therefore, her father's house was somewhat the only place for her to hide her shameful face right now.
But then, they might already be on their way to the hospital--her father and his wife...
Anyways, she'd call them with the landline when she's arrived at home.
***
On the contrary, when Mia arrived at her father's mansion, she met her parents at home. In fact, the both of them were in the living room, sitting in a relaxed manner, watching a comedy show on TV. They were laughing hysterically.
The two older people were so engrossed with the TV that they didn't notice when Mia walked in.
Or maybe they did notice but only chose to ignore her presence.
The girl stood in the same position for several seconds but...
Didn't they hear about what had happened to her? Weren't they contacted by the school authorities? She was dumbfounded.
So as to get answers to the question going through her mind, "dad, mum, I'm here." she spoke.
Several seconds later, still no response. Instead, the couple bursted into another round of laughter.
She opened her mouth to speak again, "dad--" but she was interrupted by an agitated voice.
"Are you blind--can't you see we're busy?!" Her father growled in annoyace.
"Should we go pluck fruits from the tree because you're back then?" He asked irritably.
The man despised disturbance.
For the umpteenth time in about twelve hours, Mia was left dumbstruck.
So the man knew when she came in, yet, he chose to completely ignore her and act like she was a ghost that could'nt be seen.
Was this man even her father? Definitely not the one that raised her, was he?
"Darling, take it easy. Don't be harsh on little Mia." Barbara, Mia's stepmother, softly cautioned her husband.
She turned and lifted her face in Mia's direction.
That seductive face... The witch had definitely lured her father into her bed with that face. Mia balled her hands into fists.
"Mia, welcome home." Barbara smiled sweetly at her.
The girl almost spat out blood. The damn witch was at it again... pretending to be caring and loving towards her in the presence of her father. It was what she'd done for years. And she was still doing it.
Barbara's facial expression suddenly changed to that of concern. "Mia, why are you home? Isn't your sister still in school?"
Although her words sounded like she was being concerned about her stepdaughter, Mia knew they held an hidden meaning.
The witch simply meant: 'why aren't you being serious with your studies like your sister?'