Tonight, I'm having another shift at the restaurant. Thankfully, I've talked to the owner of my apartment to postpone the rent payment due date for a few more days so that I would have gotten my salary first. The only thing I can do now is working hard. Although I still feel tired because of staying up late last night to study for my test today, I have to finish this job well.

I'm washing the dishes when the restaurant manager calls the senior staff, but unfortunately, she isn't here.

"I think she went to the restroom a while ago." I turn off the faucet, wiping my forehead with my upper sleeve while my hands are still full of soap.

The manager nods. "Well, then, can you help me over here, Mia? We've got a VIP customer coming in, and I need you to help me assist him."

"Okay." I quickly wash my hands, dry them, and follow the manager out of the kitchen. Once I step into the main area of the restaurant, I hear our customers whispering frantically at their tables.

"Oh my God, did you see him just now?"

"He's so handsome, and he's taller than I thought."

"Should we just wait here until he steps out of the private lounge? I'm going to eat my dinner really slowly."

My brows furrow. Who is this VIP? It seems that he's popular and well known.

I follow the manager into the private lounge, preparing to take out the notes to jot down their orders that I don't even notice the person sitting at the designated table. Once I halt and look up, my breath catches in my throat.

My heart skips a beat.

My pulse quickens, and I feel like the world around me stops moving.

There, before my very eyes, Cal Jackson is sitting with three other men. I don't know who they are, but one of them, a big guy, seems to be his bodyguard. Cal still hasn't noticed me, his eyes scanning the menu lying on the table. But there's no way that I would mistake him.

He's Cal. With that unruly jet black hair. Those blue eyes. That handsome face that I would never get bored of staring at.

Everything about him is Cal, the very same guy I left in the park two years ago. The only man whom I allowed to take all of me.

Being in the same room with him makes it hard for me to breathe. Tears spring to my eyes because there's nothing else I want to do but run to him, hold him, and break down. Tell him that I cried for months after leaving him, that I've never stopped thinking about him every single day since then. That I dragged my suitcase from my home and waited in the park, feeling nothing but fear and coldness, only to be caught by my parents. That I tried to run to him and almost endangered my life in the process. That I wanted to be with him so badly.

Before I know it, my entire body is shaking with so many emotions I can't control. But then, I'm snapped out of my thoughts when the manager elbows me.

"Mia," he whispers and clears his throat.

I quickly compose myself even though it feels impossible at the moment. The manager must be thinking that I'm starstruck by a celebrity. I have to be professional.

At first, it seems that Cal didn't hear the mentioning of my name. But then, a frown touches his lips. He looks up from the table, and our eyes meet.

My heart feels like exploding, all the memories coming back like a train wreck. Cal freezes, looking just as taken aback as I am.

"What do you want to order, Cal?" the man sitting across Cal asks, and one might guess that he's Cal's manager.

Yet, Cal doesn't answer. His eyes are still wide as they stare at me.

"Cal?" the man repeats, snapping Cal out of his daze.

Cal finally tears his gaze away from me, grabs the menu, and says the name of the dish. The other three men order too, and I'm trying my best to write down all the dishes and drinks although my hand is trembling.

When they're finally done, I almost shut my eyes in frustration because I have to repeat the orders while knowing that I can barely speak right now. But I have to. It's the procedure.

Fortunately, I can still speak even though my voice comes out weak. While doing so, my eyes avoid Cal, because if they didn't, I would ruin everything.

After finishing my task, I rush toward the kitchen and bump into the senior staff who was supposed to assist the VIP tonight.

"Mia?" she echoes. "I'm sorry. I know that your shift is supposed to end. I just had to go to the restroom just now. Did you--"

I gesture the notes in my hand "It's okay." I smile nervously. "I've taken the orders."

She winks at me and pats my upper arm. "We're so lucky to see Cal Jackson tonight, aren't we? Oh, well. I'll finish the rest. Thanks for your help, Mia." She looks giddy, obviously thrilled to assist the VIP customers tonight.

I just nod slightly, enter the kitchen, and hand the order to the staff there. Once I step out, my eyes narrow at the door to the private lounge.

My heart sinks, because I won't have any chance to talk to him tonight. It would look weird, and awkward, with all these people around, especially his manager and his fans waiting to catch a glimpse of him.

Slowly, I trudge toward the changing room, fully aware that my shift has ended. My legs are still wobbling when I open my locker to change my clothes. After wearing my jeans and t-shirt back, I close my locker and rest my head against it, my heart still pounding hard inside my chest.

I can't believe that after so long, Cal and I have finally crossed paths again.

I sling my bag across my shoulder and exit the changing room. Again, my eyes dart on the door to the private lounge, but no matter how powerful my longing is, everything has changed.

We're not together anymore. I've left him. He's a superstar now, and I'm just a nobody. Our world will never match. It's ironic how the tables have turned.

It's over, Mia. It's really over. You've gone through this misery for a long time. You've struggled every single day just to move on. Don't let this moment make it all go to waste. Life must go on. He's not yours anymore.

The pain in my chest strikes with every step I make as I head to the door. I shouldn't hope that Cal would ever speak to me again. He must have despised me.

I left him. I left him in that park.

When I push through the door, the chilly night air blows through my skin, and that's when I finally burst into tears. His last words to me before we parted ring back in my ears, shattering my heart all over again.

"I know that it's not going to be easy to be with me. But if that's what you really want, I promise you, Amy, I promise you, that I will do everything I can to make you happy. All I'm asking is for you to trust me. Don't give up on us."

Is it wrong if I still miss him?

Is it a sin if I still love him?

Tears keep rolling down my cheeks, blurring my vision as I wipe them away. I want to ask him so many questions.

How has he been doing?

Is he really doing well?

Is he happy now?

My sobs break, and while I'm walking down the pavement, I try my best not to collapse onto the cold ground.

***
AN:

Keep scrolling for Chapter 44. It's up too.