When her parents died in a car crash, Mia took care of her then 12-year-old brother Jared. They both knew things were going to be hard, but they were both determined not to quit and be able to fend for themselves.
The landlord where Mia and her family lived for quite some time let Mia and Jared stay at their tiniest apartment free of charge.
However, as much as Mia appreciated the landlord’s kindness, she wanted to pay them back for letting them live in their apartment for free. The landlord, a nice elderly woman named Vera, told Mia that if she wanted, she could help them cleaning their home once or twice a week. Mia was more than willing to help with that since both Vera and her husband, Charles, were quite old.
Cleaning became Mia’s part-time job between taking care of her brother and her school commitments.
Over time, she found more and more clients, some pretty wealthy, who paid her double the money.
One evening, Vera and Charles invited Mia and Jared to dinner. As they talked, Vera said, “We’re so proud of you, Mia. But you’ve got to start thinking about what’s next. You can’t be a cleaner for the rest of your life.”
Eventually, Mia decided to take a psychology course at the community college — just to build on her education, and that’s she met Martin. He seemed like the perfect man for her, and soon after, she found herself to be head over heals for him.
Martin assured her that their life together would be a perfect one. He got to love Jared as well.
What’s most, Martin’s family, especially his mother, Brenda, adored Mia. The two became extremely close and spent plenty of time together.
When Mia moved in with Martin, he told her she didn’t need to work anything until she figured out what she wanted to either study or do. He also seemed like he didn’t have issues with Mia working as a cleaner in the past.
One day, however, as she and Brenda were baking something in the kitchen, Brenda asked Mia if she had any interesting stories from the time she cleaned people’s houses. Mia shared some unusual encounters, and the two started laughing when Martin entered the kitchen.
“What are you two laughing about?” he asked, picking at the bowl of grapes on the countertop.
“Mia’s old life,” Brenda said. “She’s seen some strange things.”
“Enough,” Martin said firmly. “That’s in the past. I’m going to shower.”
This was the first time Martin expressing his thoughts about Mia’s old job. It was as though he was embarrassed because of it. Mia felt bad, but she convinced herself that Martin probably didn’t mean anything, she just misunderstood him.
Days passed by, and Mia and Brenda were getting ready for Martin’s birthday party. He invited his friends and some of his family.
There was the lively chatter and the tinkling of glasses as they gathered to celebrate Martin’s special day. Mia had long been aware of the eclectic nature of Martin’s friends, but the presence of Antonio never failed to irk her.
Nevertheless, I put a forced smile, resolute in her determination to salvage the evening.
As the chatter and the laughter intensified, Antonio’s voice cut through the din. “Man, Martin! Your home is great. Such a perfect place.”
He looked around the house before adding, “You’re lucky, Martin. All this and a wife to keep things tidy. Hey, maybe Mia can come and clean my place for a birthday. It’s a complete disaster zone without a woman’s touch.”
Everyone erupted into laughter, with Martin and his father being the loudest ones.
Mia felt chills running down her spine. She was sure Martin would stand up for her, but instead, he chuckled and made things even worse when he turned to Antonio and said, “Well, how much are you willing to pay?”
“I think $5 should cover it,” Antonio said, snorting.
As more laughter followed, Mia felt it directed at her.
Her mother-in-law became aware of Mia’s anger so she passed her a note which read to follow her to the bathroom.
Mia went there, and was out of her mind.
Brenda said she was sorry because of her son’s and her husband’s behavior, adding that she didn’t raise Martin to act like that and be unable to protect his wife.
Mia wasn’t embarrassed of her past, she simply did what she needed to in order to provide for her and her brother.
There was dignity in honest work, a lesson Martin had imparted upon her in the early days of their relationship. Yet, as time wore on, Martin’s true nature began to emerge.
Brenda’s comforting hand on Mia’s shoulder brought a sense of solidarity. “We’ll teach them a lesson,” she said. “Pack your bags tonight. We’re going on vacation. Just the two of us. Let’s see how they would do without us.”
The two women did exactly as planned.
The following morning, while Martin and his dad were sound asleep because of the alcohol they had the previous night, Brenda and Mia headed to the airport.
They left a note which read, See you in two weeks. This should be enough for you to keep the house clean, and attached a $5 to it.
Some hours later, their phones got bombarded with calls and text messages.
When they arrived at their destination, Mia called Martin back. He was out of his mind.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “Mia, I truly am. I didn’t realize how hurtful I was being. My father, too. We’re so sorry.”
“We’ll talk when we get back,” Mia said, and hadn’t called Martin in the days to come.
Upon their return, the sight that greeted Mia and Brenda was what they expected, utter chaos.
But Martin and his dad were both holding bouquets of flowers. They offered their apologies and kept repeating how sorry they were.
“I spoke to Jared,” Martin said to Mia.
“Yeah?” she asked, knowing that Martin would check with Jared first when he realized she wasn’t home.
“He said that I have one more chance to make things right with you, or he’ll come and get you himself.”
“That sounds about right,” Mia said.
Mia forgave Martin for what he did, but she admitted that she couldn’t see him as her Prince Charming any longer. At the end of the day, he was just a regular man who could hurt her.
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