Chapter 41: The gift
Neil scowled at the ntion of a childhood best friend. For so reason, he didn’t like the fact that she had forgotten about their childhood relationship and had moved on to form another close bond with another man, who seed overly protective for a friend. He didn’t like the other guy at all, even though he hadn’t seen his face. And he found himself asking before he could stop himself,
"How old were you when you first beca friends with him?"
Mia didn’t see anything wrong with his question, she replied, "I think i was about seven years old when I first t Owen, he used to be so protective of
when we were still children." She smiled fondly at the mories of their childhood unaware that the man before her wasn’t amazed at all.
Even though Neil had changed, he would never forget his friendship with Mimi, but she seed to have no recollection of him or their friendship. She had beco friends with Owen, or whatever his na was only a year after they’d been separated, but how co she still rembered her eting with the guy while forgetting him completely? Neil thought to himself, but then he told himself why should he care if she recalled the past or not? After all the past should be in the past, and even if she rembered, it wasn’t going to change anything so why should he care?
Because he didn’t like Owen! Neil thought, and because he hated it when he was easily replaced by soone else. And no matter what, he wanted to know what happened to make her forget about her life in Mirage sa.
Neil recalled the guitar he had gotten for her yesterday and then looked towards it, "Harrison, take out the guitar and play that song you sang at the bar that night." He said, with his eyes sweeping back towards her on the sofa.
Mia was taken aback by his request. How dare she touch sothing as expensive as the guitar he’d brought along with him yesterday? She wasn’t ready to pay for another debt if anything should happen to the guitar, hence, she smiled and politely say, "I’m sorry, Mr. Bennett, but I no longer have a guitar to play you a song. You rember it was ruined by those lechers, right?"
Neil raised a brow, "You have one now, take it out and play
the song." He remarked nonchalantly as he gestured towards the brand new guitar case in the corner, "It’s yours."
Mia couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, she looked from the guitar to the man on the bed who looked too serious to be joking with her. She was too stunned to even move to approach the guitar. He had bought a Harmony Luxe Virtuoso guitar for her? Did she perhaps hear him wrong? Even if she sold everything inside the house along with herself, she would never be able to afford such guitar, but here was Mr. Ice cube casually saying it was hers?!
Mia smiled nervously as she managed to speak after her montary shock, "I...I can’t accept such a guitar, Mr. Bennett." She said honestly.
Neil’s eyes narrowed at her. Didn’t she like the guitar? Or perhaps she didn’t want to accept it because he had bought it for her and not Owen?
"Why can’t you accept it?" He found himself asking again. Normally he wouldn’t give a hook if soone accepted sothing he’d bought or not. When was the last ti he’d even bothered to buy sothing for soone? He couldn’t even rember giving anybody a present, but now that he was giving, the person wasn’t taking it from him. He should just take back the guitar and break it like he usually did to any musical instrunts, but then how could he do that knowing the only person who knew how to sing his mother’s song had no guitar to sing it again?
"I can’t accept it because it’s too expensive for
to keep, Mr. Bennett, besides, if I accept such a thing, I won’t be able to pay you back in this lifeti." Mia explained. She would be out of her mind to keep such a guitar with her, but then Mr. Ice cube’s next words left her with no choice.
"I broke your other guitar, so it’s either you take this one or I break it into pieces as well."
He talked about breaking the expensive guitar so casually it made Mia overlook the fact that he had broken her previous guitar. However, despite that, she still couldn’t accept the guitar. "I..."
"If you’re going to refuse the guitar again, think twice because I won’t force it on you and I break it in your presence right now." He warned calmly as he locked her in place with his sliver eyes. Neil had thought he would never appreciate music again in this lifeti, but when he heard her sing his mother’s song at the bar that night, he realized how much he had missed the song and the warmth that ca from listening to it. And in this world, apart from his mother, only he and Mimi knew how to play that song, no one else. And since he would no longer lay his hand on a guitar again, he wouldn’t want the other person to forget the beauty of it and keep his mother’s only treasured song alive.
Mia nervously approached the guitar case. She would have continued to refuse him if she hadn’t seen how serious he was about breaking a beautiful expensive guitar. How rich was he to break sothing as expensive as a Harmony Luxe Virtuoso brand? Who was this man? That question would be a mystery until she would investigate his true identity. However, the thought that he cared enough to buy her such a guitar, surprisingly made her heart surge with warmth. She felt tiny little butterflies fluttering in the pit of her stomach as she picked up the shiny guitar case from the floor.
Mia ran her fingers across the surface of the guitar case with her eyes gleaming with tears. She didn’t know why she was crying out of her mixed feelings. She opened the case and brought out the guitar that glead under the light, it’s strings and soundboard were made of the highest quality of material she’d ever seen or touched. And when she ran her fingers across the strings, she felt her heart softened from the familar lodic tone.
Neil watched from the bed as the girl was surveying and handling the guitar like it was gold. And for so reason he felt imnsely pleased that she seed to like it. But when he noticed the tears roll down her cheeks as she held the guitar, he frowned deeply. Was she crying because he forced the instrunt on her? Didn’t she like it?
"If you don’t like the guitar, you don’t have to keep it. I will_"
"No, I like it!" Mia cut him off before he’d suggest to take it back and break such a beautiful thing. She liked the guitar so much so she swore to treasure it for life. Even though the thought of selling it to pay off the bank loan and also get a beautiful dress for the school event crossed her mind, she would never do such a thing. Because she suddenly felt so unknown attachnt to the instrunt, not for any reason, but because it was her gray eyed idol who got it for her.
Normal people might find her crazy, but Mia had always fantasized about being gifted a guitar from a man with gray eyes, the eyes that gave her inspiration to sing a song. A song that had been craved into her very soul without knowing how she’d ca to know it or even sing it. It was like a lody that would forever be in her heart and soul...
Longing for love.
Mia sat down in a more comfortable way and placed the guitar on her lap, she closed her eyes and began to play the song. The smooth tender sound of the guitar mixed with her voice, was like the voice of an angle sent from the sky. It was so beautiful and soothing that even Neil was lost in the mont. He gazed at her without blinking, the background window light that shone into the room and fell on her figure, gave her an angelic aura that would make the demons lt at the sight of her and the sound of her voice.
Her brown hair poured down her shoulders in luscious curls, and her graceful fingers moving on the strings were so beautiful and satisfying to watch. Once an adorable little girl, she had blossod into an angelic and alluring woman. Her lips were plump and rosy, moving in sync with the guitar’s lody. Her petite nose had a touch of pink at the tip, and every ti she opened her mouth to sing, her cute dimples appeared. Neil suddenly found himself captivated by her presence.
He rembered the last ti he had seen her before his life in Mirage sa took a turn for the worse. It had been a dreary day, because rain had poured throughout the night. When she approached him that morning with a somber expression, he had wanted to uplift her spirits with the sa song she was singing now. He had taken her to the backyard of their house and placed her on the white swing he’d requested his father to make for his Mimi, and she had been happy to be on it.
Young Neil settled on a mat beside the swing and strumd the guitar for her. Regardless of her mood, the sound of the guitar always brought a smile to her face. Just like before, her dimples appeared as she smiled at him. However, her radiant smile faded quickly, and when he inquired about her sadness, she confessed,
’My mama is sad, so I’m sad too. Can you take
to get ice cream in Mr. Charlie’s shop?’
Though Neil had never seen her mother’s face up close, he always spent his ti with Mimi in his father’s estate. And without hesitation, he had nodded, but due to the gloomy weather that threatened rain, he had told her to wait while he went to buy the ice cream. She had insisted on accompanying him, but he urged her to be a good girl and stay ho. She watched him pedal away on his bicycle, waving her chubby hands at him. But who would have thought that day would change the course of his life?
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