When We Meet Again
Chapter 44

Charlotte was surprised to see Melvin's call; she had not expected him to call her. She kept the phone on the table, ignoring his call; she wasn't ready to talk to him yet. Maybe he wanted to confirm if she had signed the papers and sent them to the lawyer. She thought. Or maybe the lawyer told him about the change she made.

She had a lot going on in her mind; she rested on the bed, her mind drifting back to how everything had begun. Her life has always been miserable; she knew that. Because no matter how much she tried to make her life better, it always turned out worse.

When she got married to Melvin, despite it being a contract, she had thought things would be different. Not only did she get to live in a big house, she also got to show the world her talent. When Alexia refused to show up during the last two years and Melvin began to show a sign that he might be interested in her, she thought she could finally be happy.

She knew she was being selfish, wanting Melvin for herself and hoping Alexia would never come back; who would not have wished that considering what she had passed through while growing up?

She sighed. Truth be told, her life had not always been a great one. She has always been discarded whenever she was not needed anymore; this wasn't the first time. The first to discard her was her father. He had gotten married to her mother's friend who already had a child with another man; sending her and her mother away. She remembered her mother had told her that she was two when they divorced and the court allowed her to take her with her because she was little. During her stay with her mom, her father never visited. He also did not call and all she knew until she met with him was that he sent her upkeep money at the right time without any form of absence or delay.

Charlotte was just fifteen when her mother died and her mother's sister had brought her to her dad. For the first time, she met with her father, she could tell she wasn't welcome. Her stepmother and her daughter could not hide their disappointment at her presence and as much as her father wants her aunt to take her back, she wouldn't budge.

She should have insisted she wanted to leave. Charlotte thought. If she had done that, would her life have turned out differently? She wondered. Or would she have been dead?

She could remember her aunt telling her not to be intimidated by them and that she should call whenever she needed something. Charlotte never had that opportunity to call her aunt because she died on her way back home the very day she brought her to her father; Charlotte did not stop blaming herself for her death.

Her aunt's death wasn't the beginning of her suffering; she only had to do all the house chores, while she went to school. Everything ended the moment her father died; he never showed her love or welcomed her but he did not stop her from going to school. Her stepmother stopped her from going to college so that her stepsister could go to music school.

They also would not stop blaming her for her father's death; he had died three years after she started staying with them. Every day, they reminded her of how she killed her mother, her aunt, and then her father.

Charlotte's life was miserable and her hope of ever going to school was shattered. That was not all. She also found out that everything her mother had told her about her father was all lies. They weren't divorced; he had sent them packing. All the upkeep money she had thought came from her father was all lies; it was her mother's way of preventing her from disliking him as her father.

She had also kept some money for her schooling which was handed over to her father; that was the reason she could go to school while he was alive and now that he had died without handing over the money to her, the money was handled by her stepmother who used it for her daughter. That wasn't all; she had to work her ass out to cater for the needs of her stepmother and stepsister, preventing her from focusing on her life.

Charlotte did a lot of menial jobs to make ends meet and also save for her school; saving for school wasn't working. Things changed when she got a scholarship to study. She kept it away from her stepmother and was able to manage until she was done. Charlotte's hard work paid off when she got a job at Miller Empire as Melvin's father's secretary. She was with him for a while until he offered to sponsor her if she would marry his son.

It was just like yesterday when everything happened and now she is no longer a married woman but a divorcee with no plan for the future.

She sighed. This wasn't the time to think about her past but to think about her future; a future she doesn't know what it holds for her.

**

The ringing of Charlotte's phone was what woke her up; she had fallen asleep while trying to think of the next step to take. She picked up her phone to see who was calling. It was Mia.

"Hi, Charlotte. I am outside your room," Mia said the moment Charlotte picked up her call.

"I am coming to open the door," Charlotte replied standing up. Mia ended the call and Charlotte kept her phone on the table before heading to the door to open it. She opened the door and Mia walked in. "How..." "Shh..." Mia said, pulling her into a hug.

Mia knew how much Charlotte needed that at the moment. Charlotte rested herself slightly on Mia's body feeling better than she felt a few hours ago. Charlotte was happy she had not kept her location away from Mia; her presence made her feel better.

It took a while before Mia pulled away from the hug.

"Thank you, Mia. You sure know what I need right now."

Mia smiled. "I am glad I could help."

"Please sit, is there anything you need?"

Mia shook her head. "No. I am here to make you feel better."

"You still need to take something." Charlotte insisted.

"Maybe a bottle of alcohol," Mia suggested with a smile. "I heard it helps to forget about your sorrow. We can get drunk and..."

Charlotte shook her head. "No, I can't let you get drunk. You..."

"I do not want you to see me as your ex-husband's... I mean Melvin's sister but as a friend who had come to make you feel better."

Charlotte sighed. A bottle of alcohol would not be bad. Would it?

"Fine. I will order a bottle... No, I will order two bottles. We can order more later. I will just drink away my sorrow."

"Yay!" Mia shrieked happily. "Orders some meats too. It will go well with alcohol."

Charlotte nodded. "I will do that."

Mia stretched her card to her. "You can use my card."

"No, I am not doing that. I will make use of mine and not..."

"This is not the time for you to spend your money on things like alcohol. You have a lot of things to think about. A lot of expenses to pay for now that you are not living with Melvin anymore."

Charlotte sighed. Mia was right. There are going to be a lot of expenses for her, ranging from getting an apartment, electricity bills, water bills, and many more including feeding. She would need to spend less until she gets a stable job to pay her bills. But despite knowing all this, Charlotte still thinks that spending Mia's money isn't a good idea.

"I know but that does not mean I should..."

Mia held Charlotte's hands. "I know you do not like getting help from people but this is the least I can do for you. I hope you won't reject me this time."

Charlotte nodded. "Fine, I won't reject you. I will take the card from you."

Mia smiled. "Thank you."

Charlotte went ahead to order some bottles of alcohol and also some meat. As they drank themselves into a stupor, Mia urged Charlotte to talk about how unfair life had been to her. Mia was willing to listen to everything Charlotte had to say and Charlotte on the other hand was willing to share her story with Mia.

At some point, Mia cried. She was sorry that Charlotte had to pass through all these. She was also sorry that despite everything Charlotte had gone through, she still had to get divorced from her brother.

"I am so sorry," Mia said. "I am so sorry you had to pass through all these. I..."

"But it's not your fault. You do not have to be sorry."

Mia smiled. "I hope you will stop thinking about others and think about yourself. I hope you can live a happy life, Charlotte." Charlotte nodded. "I will try my best."