Mira moved some of the overgrown branches of a tree that had been obstructing the entrance of the one and only house that made her feel like she was genuinely at home.

It had been a few years since she had been there, and at this point, there was no one remaining to keep it maintained. As a result, the surrounding area seemed to be a little rainforest that was struggling to stay alive.

Mira was forced to gasp for breath and cough up when she eventually made it to the entrance of the house, where she was welcomed by a whirlwind of dirt.

"Oh my goodness, it seems like there will be a significant amount of cleaning that has to be done. Dad, please help me," Mira yelled out while laughing.

She ran her hands along the wooden wall, and as she did so, she could feel the fragility of the wood giving way under her fingertips, which was an indication that this home was already very near to giving up.

She frowned, but there was nothing more she could do; she had nowhere to go at this point.

She cleaned up the whole mess in her room by sweeping, wiping, and organizing it before she was distracted by anything else.

She made her way over there carefully and turned to face the mirror. Her face lit up with a grin that was tinged with sadness as she thought back to the days when she and her father were still together, living with happiness and contentment.

"Dad, you are yanking my hair so much. Oh, my scalp felt like being peeled off, Dad." Young Mira groaned because she was in discomfort.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm sorry, but I have no idea how to make the braids that you saw done on your friend's or classmate's hair. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Arnolfo, her father, expressed remorse and began to gently kiss the top of her head.

Mira furrowed her brow because, for some reason, she felt sorry for her father, who had been acting in the dual role of being her mother and father since the day she was born.

Even though he was never very good at any of the girlie things that she requested her father to do for her, such as helping her pick what to wear to school or combing her hair, he was always happy to do his best, even if the results were almost always disastrous.

"Well wait, here, I have a beautiful idea," her father said in a hurry. "Oh wait, here."

As he came back, he was carrying a sunflower that had reached its full bloom, and each of its golden petals was gleaming more brightly than the last.

After that, he undid the unkempt braid that he had constructed and then carefully combed her long, silky, black hair.

And then, he adoringly placed the gorgeous sunflower behind her left ear, and his eyes filled with tears of joy. Her father beckoned for her to turn toward the mirror as his eyes welled up with tears.

"Dear, I know that your mother would be overjoyed to see you right now. If only she were here, she would undoubtedly do the tasks more effectively than I would.” Mira got to her feet and wrapped her arms around her father as she battled the need to cry.

"Dad, you are succeeding where others have failed. She stated it with all sincerity, "Mom must be very proud of you. You are the best father ever Dad! I love you so much!"

Mira smiled as she brushed away the tears that had just slipped her eyes. Since she was completely by herself, the void in her life just became deeper.

She had a tremendous void in her heart for her father, and she felt that ache on a daily basis. She set aside her sadness for the meantime and started with the task

She began by cleaning her own room, and then moved on to the living room, the room next to it, and finally the balcony after that.

When she was done, she walked into the kitchen to clean up since the sky was becoming darker and she needed to prepare her dinner soon.

Mira cleaned mostly the entirety of the house, and already cooked her dinner. After which, she went into the dining room to eat.

Another pleasant recollection surfaced in her thoughts as she saw the dust that completely coated the little pot.

“Could you teach me how to cook porridge, Dad?" Little Mira pleaded with her father.

"Why, sweetheart," He acted said and continued, "Are you sick with my cooking now?"

"No, Dad, it's not like that at all. I wanted to cook and take some for Sir Lawrence. You said he was sick, right? I want to prepare food for him so that he would feel better as quickly as possible."

Her father observed her with suspicion as he stared at her. After then, the crease that had been present between his brows transformed into a sneer of mockery, which was then followed by a hearty laugh.

Laughing, he questioned her, "Do you have a crush on the young master, sweetie?" he asked her.

"W-What? D-Dad, n-no. That's not the thing. I only want to return Sir Lawrence's generosity, particularly the necklace that he gifted to me. It's impossible for someone like him to have feelings for me, right?" She stated it with complete sadness.

The expression on her father's face changed abruptly, and he knelt down to look her in the eye.

"Mirabel, I am aware that you are not old enough to comprehend anything as difficult as love. Please do not worry about it. Yet, this isn't something that can be explained by looking at the environment around us, such as how much money we have or don't have. True love doesn't depend on appearances; rather, it is founded on how a person really feels on the inside, and this feeling is unshakeable. Thus, just keep being the kind of person that everyone appreciates, and everyone who loves you will love you back."

*******

After learning that Lawrence had already served Mira with divorce papers, Lawrence's awful mother celebrated the happy event by hosting a massive feast for family and friends.

Both the Wilson and the Campbell family line were present there, along with all of their business partners and investors.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for coming to celebrate with us today. Although even if my husband, my sweet Henry, is not here with us at the moment, I am certain that he is participating in our joyous celebration enthusiastically from a place in paradise," Deborah dabbed her eyes with a tissue even though she wasn't crying at the time.

"But, it is clear that my husband is watching over us at all times, since my son, Lawrence, will soon be able to spend the rest of his life with the woman he has loved his whole life." She then signalled for Lindsey, who was still in disbelief at what she had just heard, to come to the stage with her.

"You did not misunderstand what was said. Soon, Wilson's and Campbell's will finally get married, marking the moment when the two largest organizations will finally become one through the power of love."

The environment was filled with compliments and praises as Lindsey sobbed her joy into Lawrence's arms as everyone else celebrated and clapped.

After that, everyone congratulated them, began making arrangements for their wedding, and some people even promised them lavish wedding presents.

On one hand, it was a happy occasion for them to celebrate, but on the other hand, Mira was alone herself, crying herself to sleep while firmly clutching her pillows and dreaming that Lawrence was there with her.

******

"Lawrence, my dearest, both Lindsey and I will be very busy the whole week because we have appointments scheduled with a number of renowned fashion designers to discuss Lindsey's wedding attire. Handle the situations that are necessary." Deborah gave him a deep and serious glance in response to his statement.

Lawrence gave a respectful nod and then kissed each of the women goodbyes. He performed what was required of him without any additional delay. He needs to do it now, or else, things would never go as planned.

******

As Mira's phone suddenly began to ring, she became immediately anxious. Since it had been so many days since it had made a sound, she was taken aback by the fact that it did so now.

The moment she saw the name on the screen, her anxiety level shot through the roof.

She murmured, "Yes, hello?" in response.

"Let's meet, now. There is something I want to talk to you about," Lawrence remarked in a chilly tone.

"W-What e-exactly does it p-pertain to?" Mira's anxiousness caused her to stammer.

"After you get here, you'll understand what I need to discuss." After giving an agitated reply, he cut the phone off before continuing.

Mira let out a dejected sigh. She thought for a second that he was going to inquire about her location, her well-being, and how she was doing at that very moment.

She chuckled to hide the anguish, as if Lawrence's cold and aloof behavior toward her was something that had never happened before.

Since she was being completely honest, she did not want to go, but the opportunity to sort things out following the unexpected break in their relationship was tempting her.

This was especially true considering that she would have the chance to look at his face and to be with him once more, even if only for a couple of minutes.

In addition to this, she did not quite give up the hope that by having the appropriate talk, the hitches in their marriage might be eased out.

Maybe there was still a possibility for him to back out of his decision; perhaps there was still a chance to convince him to stay with her, in their marriage.

Mira let out a wry smile, sighed heavily as she stood up to get ready and thought, “Whom I was fooling again this time? Myself?”

Mira felt as like her uncertainties were slowly engulfing her, but her eagerness to talk to Lawrence overcame all of her restriction, and as a result, she traveled back to the home that she had previously thought she would never see again.

As soon as she entered the door, she was greeted with tranquility and quietude.

Even after being gone for close to two weeks, she was still nostalgic for every room in this house.

She was certain that the guy would be waiting for her on their terrace, which was Lawrence's favorite spot in the house.

Verifiably, she saw him drinking coffee and reading a book at the location in dispute.

As Mira gasped to get his attention, Lawrence turned around and faced her while looking at her with a blank expression on his face.

"What exactly do we have to do or talk about?"

"Have you already put your signature on the documents? Have you brought it with you to this place?" Right away, Lawrence inquired, cruelly cutting Mira off in the middle of her thought.

The words she wanted to say left out of Mira's mouth, and with them went all of her hopes and dreams for the future of their relationship.

Everything came crashing down all at once, and the shattered, jagged fragments came to puncture her, which caused her heart, which was already bleeding, to break into an uncontrollable sob.

Lawrence stepped up and gave her an elegant envelope with platinum embellishments before she could even take a second to recover her emotions before responding.

Even though she chose not to open it, she was well aware of what was contained inside it. Yet the revolting words continued to draw her attention, driving the knife farther into her heart.

"We would be honored to have you participate in the wedding of the decade," the invitation said.

Lindsey Campbell's name was the one that was imprinted next to Lawrence's, so Mira can't say that it was a fortunate chance.

They were surrounded by silence, and the only sounds she could hear were the shallow, labored breaths she was taking and the pounding of her heavy, pained heart.

"How is it possible for you to be so insensitive?" Mira's internal anguish and rage reached a point where she could no longer be contained.

She questioned in a voice that was shaking from the intensity of her feelings, "Is indeed the three years of misery in your hands not enough?"

Lawrence's eyes dilated in surprise, and a gap appeared between his lips as he expressed his astonishment.

“Really, huh? Why?"

"Just why? L-Lawrence, why are you engaged in each of these actions? Kindly explain the reason to me! Answer me Lawrence, why?" Mira had reached her breaking point at this moment, and she sobbed in front of him.

"Throughout the last three years, I gave up all I had for you because I cared about you so much. I have given you my love, my whole being, and every part of my body. So, why are you treating me like this, Lawrence?" Mira yelled at him and smashed her hand down on his chest.

Lawrence took her hands in his and gazed at her with a blank expression on his face. He gave her a little shove to get some space between them.

"Ms. Mirabel Saunders, I never once requested that you hand all of them over to me. I had already told you from the beginning that there was nothing you could do to make me love you more, and I adhered to my word. Now is the time to pack up all of your belongings since Lindsey will be moving in with me. After that, kindly expedite the delivery of the divorce papers to me." The statement was made by Lawrence without any trace of empathy.

Mira let out a wounded chuckle. How naïve could she be to believe that if they only had the proper chat, they might save a marriage that existed only on paper.

Lawrence was correct, and he had certainly made it quite plain from the very beginning that she was only a requirement that had to be fulfilled in order for him to get his fortune. As she had done the gravest sin possible by falling in love with him, she was solely to blame for her current state of wretchedness and she knew it.

"Well, it doesn't matter whether you toss away the last of the things I had since everything were bought by your money anyway." Mira spoke the statement in a mute tone without glancing at him.

Mira eventually turned around, but as soon as she took a step away from the home, she felt a searing agony in her stomach, as if her internal organs had been twisted.

She lowered herself to the ground and knelt there with her hands on her tummy, holding it as fiercely as she could as she felt her awareness slipping away from her.

But before she could do so, a figure she was acquainted with came sprinting towards her, his brown eyes, which have a hypnotic quality, looked at her with a great deal of concern.

The eyes of the guy whom she had sworn to love for the rest of her life, even in the event that he never loved her back for one second.

"L-Lawrence..."

*******

As Lawrence saw Mira fall to the ground, he felt a sudden jolt of pain in his chest, and his heart began to pound rapidly.

He had temporarily blocked out all of the hatred he felt for Mira, especially the incident in which she had taken the affection of his father that should have been reserved exclusively for him as the only legal child.

Throughout this whole period, he had the impression that Mira's body was nothing but dirt that she used to attract men and win them over, even his own father.

This was what he was led to think by his mother, and her comments completely clouded his judgment. But now as he was looking at her, he saw that her skin was dreadfully pale, and her collar bone was bulging in an unexpected way. This caused him to lose all of his thoughts.

This was the first time that he stared at her closely, staring at her without any greedy aim such as feeding his need, and he felt the uneasy sensation steadily increasing inside him. This was the first time that he gazed at her intently.

After putting the lady on his lap, he promptly phoned the number for the ambulance while his hands were trembling.

The ambulance came in a short amount of time, and the attending medical staff promptly placed her into the vehicle before evaluating her condition. While he kept his eyes on the fleeing ambulance, he could feel icy droplets of sweat gathering on his forehead.

He intended to go with her, but he was unable to proceed upon imagining Lindsey, his fiancée, showing a disappointment look in front of him.

Throughout the span of only one hour, his one and only love appeared before him, beaming with happiness. Lindsey extended an invitation to him for dinner, and when he accepted, a fleeting concern for Mira's well-being started to fade from his thoughts.

Following that, they went to Lindsey's house, and with every thrust he performed inside of her, the thought of Mira entirely disappeared. This continued until they were alone in Lindsey's apartment.

“Forget about that woman Lawrence,” he scolded himself silently while banging Lindsey harshly on his bed.

Mira opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room that had been painted with a sickeningly pale color.

She clutched her head and squeezed her eyes shut as she attempted to recall the reason why she was in that place.

After she came to the realization the predicament she was in, she started looking for him right once, but to her dismay, she couldn't find Lawrence anywhere.

She was quite upset about this. She's in the hospital and Lawrence abandoned her all alone.

Mira then put her hand on the top of her abdomen and pondered the source of the severe discomfort that had forced her to pass out.

"Was it because I have an ulcer in my stomach?"

When Lawrence left the divorce papers, which must have been the precipitating event, she began skipping meals on a regular basis.

Mira prayed to herself in silence that her health wasn't in a critical state so that she could leave this place sooner rather than later.

The door was flung open, and a lady in a white coat walked in with a wry smile that was full with compassion.

"Mrs. Wilson, how are you feeling? Do you still have discomfort in the bottom part of your abdominal area? By the way, my name is Dr. Carroll, and I work as an OB-Gyn at this medical facility." The woman's words were pleasant to hear.

"I feel much better, doctor. I am grateful that you have attended to my needs. May I know what just happened? Am I experiencing an ul-"

Mira was rendered speechless after suffering the sting of self-awareness. Suddenly, she felt a wave of extreme terror wreak destruction on the inside of her, and she saw that her vision was becoming cloudy once again.

The doctor broke into a comforting look as she realized that the patient had picked up on some aspect of her condition.

"Mrs. Wilson, you don't need to be anxious. Your baby, which was four weeks old and was still very attached to your womb when it was able to live. On the other hand, what occurred previously was a brief reprieve. If you had arrived at the hospital just a few minutes later, the life of your child would have been in deep trouble.”

“Your pregnancy is fragile, and as a result, you should take extreme precautions and refrain from engaging in intense physical activities as well as those that might be harmful to your mental and psychological well-being. You and your baby are both in excellent health as of this moment; nevertheless, in order to ensure both your and your baby's general wellness, you will need to comply with my recommendations and go through a series of check-ups over the following several months. If you'll pardon me," Dr. Caroll beseeched her goodbye and then departed, which completely disturbed her.

Mira was experiencing a wide range of feelings, but the one that stood out above the others was affection.

Although, her unborn baby was still in the beginning stages of its development and does not yet have a fully formed structure, her love for the baby was currently at an all-time high.

She believed that being pregnant was something she had to do simply out of responsibility, a link to keep Lawrence from leaving.

But now that she knew that a life was developing inside of her, she felt a surge of love inside of her; love that was greater than even her love for herself at the time.

Now, all she wanted to do was tell Lawrence, the man she loved, and the child's father, who would love her child the same way she would, about this wonderful gift. She was aware of how much Lawrence yearned to have a child that was his own, even if it's not with her

So this unexpected miracle that God had provided by giving her tresses in the midst of such desperation, she was certain that her circumstances would eventually improve. Her agonized cries will be replaced by tears of happiness at this point.

"I will do all in my capability to ensure that you, my child, would be happy and loved. That you will have a beautiful, loving and healthy family in its entirety." Mira did a happy little rubdown on her tummy.

Mira admitted to having an out of the ordinary amount of excitement upon waking up the next day.

It had been the first morning in what seemed like many years that she had woken up with such a strong desire to get started living, as if her life had all of a sudden discovered a new meaning.

When she glanced at her stomach with awe and adoration, she realized the primary reason for this inexhaustible source of happiness.

"Honey, it's been a while. How was your sleep." Mira greeted her unborn child, in a calming manner while devoutly stroking her tummy.

As both she and her baby were determined to be in stable condition after their medical evaluations, the attending physician had already informed her that she would be released from the hospital today.

In addition to that, another thing that made her happy was the fact that she would be telling Lawrence about this good news.

Mira immediately dressed herself up, and the hospital was kind enough to supply her with some comfortable clothing to wear.

Someone opened the door for her as she was ready to turn the knob to go, so she didn't have to. They did it from the outside.

And she had no idea that she would run into this person at this time.

"M-Ma'am Deborah? W-What in the world are you doing in this place?" Mira questioned in utter disbelief.

The old lady just fixed her gaze on Mira in question before moving on to take a seat without providing a response to the remark.

“Please take a seat woman. There's something really urgent I want to speak to you about." The serious statement was made by Deborah.

Mira obeyed her instruction unwillingly in the futile hope that this unpleasant and unnecessary discussion would finish more quickly.

"Well, let me get straight to the point, Ms. Saunders. Are you really pregnant?" Deborah inquired, raising both eyebrows in a questioning manner.

Mira was taken aback and silently thought, "How did she manage to figure it out so quickly?" Mira wanted to let Lawrence know the news before anybody else found out about her situation.

"Then, what exactly does it mean to you? You already knew That Lawrence and I will finalize our divorce soon. You have lost all authority to tell me what I ought to do and what not to do. You have no right to do so." Mira was able to respond in a bold manner.

Deborah gave her a sneering grin and looked down at her with an arrogant expression.

"You are fully aware that my son will soon wed the woman who has been the love of his life, correct? As his mother, all I ever wanted was for him to be happy, and I would do everything and anything in my power to remove any barriers that would stood in the way of his achieving that." She said, stressing each of the words that she had just pronounced.

"W-wait, what are you trying to say?" When Mira questioned it, apprehension began to develop inside her.

"Get an abortion on that baby." The wicked lady offered a snappy response.

In utter disbelief, Mira let out a startled shriek. Since that time, she was aware that the lady was a cruel person; nonetheless, what the woman had just stated at this very moment was completely unethical.

"Ma'am, are you quite certain that you are, in fact, a human being?" Mira spoke sharply.

"I take that you are a mother as well, right? How could you bare to speak such awful things without being sickened to your stomach and throwing up blood? I will protect my child and myself from your despicable behavior! I hope you languish alone in hell!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, infuriated.

The face of Deborah distorted in a manner that was both horrible and inexplicable, yet she was able to keep her lips shut while balling up her frail fist in wrath.

"Ms. Mirabel Saunders, I am going to make an exception for this matter, right this time. If that is what you want to do, I will accept to let you retain the baby as long as you fulfill one condition. Please sign the divorce papers right away so that my son may experience joy for the first time in his life. If you genuinely loved him, you would only want what is best for him, considering that he was shackled to a miserable life while he was in your care for three years.”

"Is that all Ma'am? Okay then, consider it as done. I will sign those papers."

The conversation was grabbed a hold by Deborah who have said, "I have another option for you."

"It may seem impossible, but I will assist you in healing your marriage to Lawrence in the chance, once you decide to get an abortion and begin a new life. If you do decide to do so, I have opted to assist you rather than continue working with Lindsey's family, thus I will end our cooperation. I will now allow you to live in peace together with my son, and you are free to decide whether or not you would want to start the process of having another child. I would even be willing to compensate you for the harm that I have caused." Deborah persuaded desperately.

Mira chuckled in a disrespectful manner as she thought, "Who does this aged witch think she was fooling?"

She was certain that her second proposal was nothing more than a childish plot that she had conceived up on the fly of the moment.

Her fear for the unborn child that was developing inside of Mira drove Deborah to the edge of madness.

She was petrified that the news that Lawrence was about to become a father might make his heart grow fonder toward Mira.

"Okay. Is that all? Are you done now? Did you really believe that I am such a dim-witted whore that you could deceive with poisonous sweet promises? I may well have finished at the top of my class, but I won't lie and say that the love I have for your son didn't save me from falling behind academically for those three years.”

“Nevertheless, given that I am a mother now, my baby gets priority over anything else, and the possibility of getting together with your violent son is no longer on my mind.”

“Today, I will sign the documents so that you may have peace of mind about the situation. I promise that I won't continue to be a bother to your family, so please don't bother my baby or me. If you'll allow me, Mrs. Wilson." Mira intoned her goodbye with a heavy heart but a triumphant feeling in her gut as she left the aged woman's lips in an awkward position.

She could feel the surge of courage coursing through her veins, the kind of gallantry that only mothers are capable of having in their efforts to save their offspring.

Mira kept her promise and brought the divorce papers to Deborah, who was fuming with rage as a result of the passionate talk that she and Mira had just had.

That was the first time that she had been insulted in such a manner, and the feeling of contempt that she was experiencing made her stomach churn.

Deborah furiously uttered, "Shameless! Ungrateful! A useless human being!" as she put Mira's name as the sender in the box that was to be delivered to Lawrence's workplace.

"You'll certainly pay big time for this, bitch!"

After that, she made the call to his son's lovely fiancée. Deborah welcomed her with a smile and said, "Hey, sweetie! Where are you?"

Lindsey's enthusiastic response on the other end of the line to her future mother-in-law's call was, "Hello mom, I'm here at the flower shop. I am selecting flowers to be used in the wedding decorations."

"Oh dear! You shouldn't worry too much about things like that. The wedding planner should be allowed to perform her job."

"I'm sorry, but I can't. The wedding is a momentous event, and I want everything about it to go off without a hitch." Excitedly, she stated her opinion.

"By the way, Mother, did anything take place that I need to be aware of?"

"All right, I have some news. One is excellent, while the other is not quite as good. Choose the one that you would like to hear first from the options." Deborah stated pleasantly.

"Then, I'll have the good news first, mom!" Lindsey smiled with excitement.

"Well then, if that's the case. So the divorce papers were already signed by Mira."

The woman on the other line yelled, "Oh my goodness!" when she heard what the other woman had said. "Oh my goodness, I'm going to cry, Mom."

With exasperation, the elderly lady spoke the following phrase: "I don't want to burst your bubbles yet, but I have another bit of news, right? It was the unpleasant one. So?"

Due to the awkward pause that ensued between them, it can safely be assumed that Deborah has already revealed everything.

"Are you serious with that Mom? Mira is pregnant?"

"Mom, no! No fucking way!" Lindsey let out a wild shriek, which caused the elderly lady to recoil in disdain.

After that, Lindsey engaged in some melodramatic behavior, seeming to be on the edge of losing it.

"Settle down, remain calm, would you?" The subdued tone of Deborah.

"I had already confronted her, and she swore that from today, she would never again bother you and Lawrence," she added.

"Don't let it affect you at all, my sweetheart. I will personally see to it that all of the necessary arrangements for your wedding are made in a timely manner. Absolutely nothing or anybody could stand in the way of that, and if they do, I would do all in my power to wipe them out." The determined grasp that Deborah had on the phone as she made her pledge was clear.

“No one will going to ruin your wedding with my son, Lindsey. Remember that!”