Loving The Temperame Chapter 15: Commotion at the bar

Chapter 15: Commotion at the bar

Mia was annoyed beyond words as she returned ho, she couldn’t believe Mr. Bennett had forgotten about their appointnt just to have fun with Diane. She had thought he was a responsible man, who wouldn’t ss around with his students unless it had sothing to do with school, but it turned out Mr. Bennett was no gentleman!

She wouldn’t have minded his affairs with Diane if her scholarship wasn’t at stake, if she failed this project, then she would have to say goodbye to Ivy Grove institute and goodbye to her dreams of becoming a well-known journalist. Her na had already been stained after the rumors of her being a thief, everyone knew of the news of her claiming the story Diane presented as her own, because Carlos, the school gossip monger, had published it in the school newspapers.

Mia was so annoyed she felt she could punch Mr. Bennett for ditching her in his office for hours. For years, she’d done nothing but focus on her studies just to get good grades, but now everything seed to be going wrong, all thanks to Diane Foster, who claid to know her in highschool, and was getting revenge for sothing done to her by the delusional Mia she’d made up in her mind.

"What’s wrong, Mia?" Questioned Elizabeth, who was folding the laundries on the couch on noticing her daughter’s gloomy mood tonight.

"Nothing, mother." Said Mia while forcing a smile as to not to worry her mother with the matters in school. "Let

do that, mom," she stood up from the small dinning table in their house, where she’d been going through the project assignnt she was supposed to give to Mr. Bennett to supervise, and took the washed laundries from her mother to fold them herself.

"Mom, you should rest and not stress yourself this much. I have told you I would do the folding later, but you took it upon yourself imdiately you ca back from the Eatery. " Mia scolded as she folded one of her jeans on the couch, and picked up another shirt. She hated to see her mother get this stressed all the ti, but the woman would never listen to her exhausted body and work herself out like there was no tommorow.

Elizabeth smiled warmly as she listened to her daughter’s scolding. "It is my duty to do all the work while you focus on your studies, Mia." She said, but her daughter pouted disapprovingly. Of course, Mia would never understand why Elizabeth didn’t want her to suffer one bit. Elizabeth had already taken it upon herself to give Mia a better life after what she had done years ago.

How could she afford to allow her daughter suffer when she had deprived her of a good life she was supposed to be living in now? It would be selfish if she ever took rest and allowed Mia to shoulder their responsibilities or even do all the work. Elizabeth had been living in guilt for the things she had done years ago, and she would never be able to forgive herself until she had given Mia a better education and a better life.

Elizabeth’s warm smile turned bitter as she gazed at her daughter.

As Mia continued to fold the laundry, a paper slipped down from the couch, she looked down at it with a frown but before she could bend to pick it up, her mother had quickly picked it up but not fast enough because Mia had seen what was written on the paper as the printed words on the paper were bold. It was a loan warning docunt, which would be due in a month.

It was the loan her mother had collected when she was about to start school. But Mia recalled her mother assuring her not to worry because the loan had been repaid, but it turned out it hadn’t been. She glanced at her mother, who had gone to put the docunt away as if not wanting her to know what was written in it. Mia suddenly felt a pang of guilt for being useless at ho.

Ever since she was a little girl, her mother barely allowed her to lift a finger to assist at ho. Even when she turned eighteen and was old enough to find a part-ti job, her mother wouldn’t allow it and would always tell her she needn’t work for anything.

Knowing that her mother was hiding the loan warning, Mia didn’t bring it up nor question why she hadn’t been told that there was a warning from the bank. She finished folding the clothes and packed them back to her room, when she got inside, she closed the door behind her and let the tears of guilt in her eyes slide down her cheeks.

The reason Mia had chosen to be a journalist was because when she was just ten years old, she had witnessed how the daughter of their neighbor, Mrs. Smith, beca a successful journalist after she graduated. The girl had made a na for herself in the news agencies in the country, she had even built a mansion for her parents but Mrs. Smith had refused to move out of this apartnt as she claid it had a lot of mories she couldn’t leave behind.

When little Mia would watch her mother work restlessly all day, she had also sworn to beco a successful journalist just like Auntie Lilly Smith. At the age of ten, Mia abandoned her own dreams of becoming a musician just to embrace journalism, because she wanted to give her mother a better life in the future.

But now, her stupid dreams of going to Ivy Grove institute to be a journalist had only brought more burden to her poor mother.

Mia thought she could no longer continue to do nothing while her mother shoulder the burdens, she decided to do the only thing she was most good at.

She walked across the room, slipped into one of the jackets she’d folded among her clothes, picking up her guitar, she snuck out of the house.

Fifteen minutes later, Mia entered a fancy bar that was located a bit far away from Whispering way street, feeling out of place among the wealthy patrons. She had heard from Owen that bars like this paid musicians to play music for their custors, she had sang at a local bar before but she hadn’t been in a fancy one like this. The noise of laughter and glasses clinking surrounded her as she walked to the counter. The rich n stared at her, curious about why soone like her was there.

She found the bar manager, explained that she could sing for a hundred bucks, and got the manager’s approval after a minute of negotiation and showing her talent in music. She also had to agree on being kind to his custor’s behavior and music request.

Mia, carrying her guitar, walked back toward the performance area. The people in the bar watched her every move. As she walked, a young man, clearly intoxicated, stumbled toward her, his gaze lingering on her with a drunken fascination.

"Hey there, sweetheart, let’s have a little fun over at my table," he slurred, attempting to wrap his arm around her. Mia deftly dodged his advances, jerking her wrist away from his grasp.

"Sorry to burst your bubbles, sir, I am not a prostitute."

"Oh, a tough bitch," he slurred, and when Mia attempted to walk past him, he raised his hand and smacked her butt. She gasped and froze for a second, but rembering her agreent not to disrespect any of the bar custors, she swallowed her anger and the urge to slap the disgusting man in his stupid face.

Mia took a deep breath and reminded herself why she was here and then stepped onto the stage, she started playing her guitar. The tender warm tone of the strings soon filled the atmosphere. She allowed herself to get lost in the music she was playing, forgetting about the place she was and all her problems. She locked away her disappointnt and guilt and got imrsed in the only thing that brought her full joy.

As Mia continued to be lost in her music, she suddenly felt soone’s intense gaze on her from below the platform. Though everyone were looking on and quietly listening to the sad romantic music she was playing, she could feel a different pair of eyes boring holes in her. Even before she looked towards that direction, she felt bumps rise on her skin as a chill ran down her spine from that gaze.

When Mia finally looked towards that particular direction, she was t with frosty gray eyes looking at her. Her heart subconsciously skipped a beat from the intense stare. What was he doing here? She thought in wondernt. Because of her surprise, she almost missed a note in her music but quickly composed herself.

Even though Mia looked away from the man, who she had been so annoyed with for ditching her in his office, she could still feel his gaze on her. However, before she knew it, there was a loud commotion in the bar and when she looked towards the direction, she was surprised to find her professor slamming his clenched fists against the pervert-who had smacked her ass.