~The Next Day~
Stephanie felt someone sit next to her on the bed while she slept. She turned on her other side and slowly opened her eyes. She saw her mother and father staring at her as she slept. She wrinkled her forehead and rubbed her eyes with her finger. “Mom. Dad. What’s wrong?” She asked. Sarah was sitting next to her on the bed, and Philip was standing next to Sarah.
“Good morning, Stephanie.” They chorused with a bright smile. Stephanie held onto the bed with her hands and pulled herself to sit up. “Good morning.” She covered her mouth and closed her eyes as she divulged a yawn. “How are you this morning?” Philip asked, and she bounced her head. She opened her eyes and looked at them again. They seemed suspicious, and Stephanie knew it. “Should I be worried? You are in my room so early in the morning.”
Sarah smiled faintly and moved her hands to Stephanie’s legs that were still tucked under her duvet. “We are here to talk. We wouldn’t want your siblings to listen to what we have to say, and that is why we are here early,” Sarah said, and Stephanie slowly nodded. “Okay. Tell me what it is about.” She paid rapt attention to them.
“It is about Sebastian, Stephanie.” After Philip spoke, Stephanie heaved a sigh and bobbed. She still didn’t want to talk about it because she didn’t want to remember him, but she knew one day she would have to explain what happened to them. ‘It’s better I talk about it to them once and forget about it.’
“Tell us, child, what happened?” Sarah looked very worried as she spoke. “He did the same thing Owen did. He broke my heart. The only difference is this time, I am more hurt than I was before.” When she finished talking, Sarah and Philip exchanged sad looks and turned to look at her again. “What exactly did he do? How did he break your heart? Did he have another woman?” Philip eagerly asked. He walked to the other side of the bed and sat on it. He made sure he sat in a way that he would be able to see her face.
“I am not sure about him having a woman yet. All I know is that he dumped me after we had sex. Maybe the sex we had wasn’t good enough for him.” Stephanie let out a painful little laugh and lowered her head. She began to feel her throat tighten in a painful way. “But why would he do that to you? He made it clear that he loved you. By his words. His actions,” Sarah said with a sad face.
“Maybe he was just being generous and wanted to have a taste of me. He never really loved me, Mom. He just wanted to use me, and he succeeded. You know what is so painful? He still went on to dump me after I told him how shitty my last relationship was. I told him…” Stephanie sniffed and gulped hard. She exhaled from her mouth and continued to speak. “I told him I was scared to go into another relationship, yet he made me fall so hard for him. He didn’t even wait two months into the relationship before leaving me.” Stephanie covered her mouth with her right hand as a drop of tear rolled down her cheeks.
“Oh my… I’m so sorry, Stephanie.” Sarah moved closer to her and pulled her into her warm embrace. “It’s all my fault. You never wanted that relationship at first, but I kept pressuring you, I kept shipping you two together. I’m so sorry, Stephanie.” Stephanie shook her head as she wept on Sarah’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself,” She mumbled. Philip moved closer to where she was and also embraced her.
After some minutes, Stephanie stopped crying, and they let go of her. “So, what do you want to do now? I know you have left your work in New York City because of him. What are your plans?” Philip asked as Stephanie cleaned the remaining tears on her face with her palm. “I want to start a new life. This time, no distractions. No relationship. I want to look for a new place to work and just make money. I want to work close to my family. That is what I want now.”
Her parents smiled faintly as she spoke and gave her their consent by nodding. “So today, will you be going out to search for a job?” Sarah asked, and Stephanie bobbed. “Yes, mother.” “But, can’t you at least rest today? Then you’ll start looking tomorrow?” Philip asked, and she shook her head. “If I’m idle, I’ll start thinking about him. I need to get myself busy as soon as possible.”
After she finished talking, her phone that laid on her bedside table began to beep. She looked at her phone and picked it up. She looked at the screen and saw Robbie calling. “We’ll leave now.” Sarah said, stretching her hand to Philip. She held his hand, and they both walked out of the room.
Stephanie answered the phone and put it on speaker. “Hi, Robbie,” She said as she yanked the duvet off her body. “Hey… How have you been?” Robbie asked in a lively manner, and she smiled. “I have been good, Robbie, and you? How have you been?” “I’ve been good! Danielle told me you left New York City already. Don’t worry, I’m not pissed you didn’t tell me about it,” Robbie responded, and Stephanie sighed.
“I’m sorry, Robbie.” “Nah, trust me, I understand you. So, what are you up to today?” He asked. “Errmm, I’ll be doing out to search for a new job. I hope I find one soon.” “A job? Do you have to go out to look for a job? You can look for jobs online. There are lots of opportunities online. I even have a link for you,” He said, and Stephanie’s heart leaped for joy.
“Really? Can you please send me the link? I’ll submit my credentials as soon as possible.” “Sure! I’ll send it soon.” “Thank you so much, Robbie. I’m very happy right now.” Stephanie leaped for joy. “I’m happy to help you, Stephanie. I’ll text you soon, okay?” Robbie hung up afterward. Stephanie quickly switched on her internet connection, expecting a message from Robbie. While she waited for him to send her a message, other messages popped up.
One from Thomas and the other from Danielle. She opened the message from Danielle first and read, “Hey, baby girl. I’m sorry I haven’t called you. Dr. Peter has been a pain in the ass for days now. I hope you and your family are fine. I miss you so much! Text me as soon as you see this!” Stephanie smiled as she read and before she could text back, Robbie’s message popped in. She quickly clicked on his message and it opened.
He had sent a link and a short note which said, “You can try other online Job opportunities too. Don’t stress yourself, okay? Xoxo!” “Thank you, Robbie. I really appreciate this.” She texted him back and clicked on the link. It took her to a website, and the name of the company that showed on her screen was Hai Clothing Companies. “Hai? I think I have seen this name somewhere.” She thought.
She scrolled down and quickly scanned through the article that was written below the company’s name. And when she saw the company was in Los Angeles, she became even happier. “Thank God!” She saw they needed vacancies in so many departments in the company. “Why are there so many vacancies? Is it a new company?” She thought as she clicked on the button where she would submit her credentials. “I won’t be specific now. I’ll submit and let them put me in any department. I believe I’ll be able to cope,” She said to herself.
After submitting her credentials, she went on the net and started looking for other job opportunities. “I believe one of these companies would call me for an interview. Finally, I’ll get busy, and I’ll totally forget about Sebastian,” She thought and smiled widely.