Novel Square
Her crumbling world.
(SOFIA'S POV)
"Ms Sofia, this is Rachel from the card services department. Unfortunately, your credit card has been declined for the transaction you attempted today."
My hand froze on the edge of the phone. "What the hell? Say it again??"
"The payment could not be processed. Is there another card you'd like to use?"
I swallowed, humiliation tightening in my chest. My heart pounded in my ears as I stared at my wallet on the bed, blankly. My grip on the phone tightened, and my voice shook when I finally responded, "No. It's... it's fine. I'll call back."
The call ended, and I slumped back onto the pillows, my body heavy with despair. Sitting in my bedroom, my throat raw from crying, I glanced into the mirror. The person staring back at me wasn't who I once was. The reflection was a hollow shell-cheeks streaked with mascara, eyes red and puffy.
I didn't see any reason to pretend I was strong anymore, after all, my days were collapsing around my feet faster than I'd ever feared. Everything I'd worked hard to build just came crumbling down like a wall of powder on a windy autumn day.
Before everything happened I used to think myself clever, unshakable, with a plan out of everything and every situation.
I thought I was invincible, the one who never cracked. Jared's rejection only proved otherwise. He withdrew all form support without warning and left me standing high and dry, losing contacts faster than the speed of light. It turned out that most of them let me into their circles just because I was with Jared - I never really mattered to any of them!
This thought brought down a fresh torrent of tears down my cheeks with so much force I feared my eyeballs would roll down my face with it.
I'd never felt more alone my entire life. Just then, the thought of reaching out to the object of my agony crossed my mind. I'd tried a thousand times already without result but it wouldn't kill to call him one last time. I took out my phone and scrolled through the contacts list. I circled my finger over his name still contemplating whether or not to carry on with the call.
I pulled out a clean wipe from the box of Kleenex sitting between my legs on the bed and blew hard into it. When I'd gathered all the composure I could manage, I pushed myself to dial Jared's contact.
After a deep breath, I forced myself to press the call button. The dial tone echoed in my ears. One ring. Two. Three. No answer.
I tried again. And again.
My fingers trembled as I redialed his number over and over, but nothing. Not even a voicemail. A knot of frustration twisted in my stomach, and with a frustrated yell, I threw my phone onto the bed.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through my thoughts. Jared took his mother's words like they were the voice of God. If only I could finally come clean about things not going well between us, and get her to speak with him.
Yes, that was the right thing to do at this point! His mother adored me, and if I told her how her son had been treating me, she would not hesitate to put him back on track.
Quickly, I picked up my phone and dialed her number. I waited with bated breath as the dial tone played in my head. For better luck reaching her, I used a different number from the one she had for me. "Hello? Who's this?" she said once the call connected.
"Oh, thank God. Mom, I've been trying so hard to get to Jared. He won't take any of my calls," I said quickly.
"Sofia? This is a different number. What do you want with my son?" she asked, leaving me stunned.
For a moment, I was tongue tied. Did she really speak to me in that tone, and why did she address me as "Sofia," and not her usual endearing names?
A warning bell instantly went off in my head, a sign that all was not well. But I pushed it aside, deciding things were not serious. As long as I got help, whatever tone or name she used on me doesn't matter.
"I need your help, Mom," I began. "I need you to talk to Jared for me. Please. You know I love your son. I'm not perfect but I promise I'll change...," I began saying before she cut me short.
"Listen, Sofia, my son is a grown man. He makes his own decisions and if he says you're a headache to him then that's what you are."
Her words hit me like hot brimstones, shattering whatever hope I had left. She was against me now, too, I realized.
"Please. I promise I'll change," I cried helplessly, feeling my heart break in despair.
"Oh, come on. You had all the time for that while you two were still together. Now listen, don't ever call me again. My son's moved on from you and your drama and I think it's a good decision for him. I'll advice you count your losses and move on too." The line went dead.
"No. Wait. Hello?" I cried, still in shock from the cold dismissal. Of course I hadn't expected the call to go all smooth, but I didn't expect her to shut the door in my face the way she did. I called again but it went straight to voicemail.
I watched my plans blow up in my
The
face, settling in a cloud of smoky regrets and frustration around me. I was slowly coming to terms with the fact that me and Jared were in a building that had gone down in an earthquake. That didn't spell any good for me. Over the years. i'd managed to build a lifestyle fitting for someone of the upper class and now I felt like the rug had been pulled from underneath me.
I needed help, and I needed it badly.
In my desperation earlier, I'd tried approaching a couple of friends I'd made attending high-profile events with Jared but they all had a story or an excuse to give. Everyone seemed to be avoiding me like a plague. It felt like I'd become their source of entertainment- an item of comic relief that they watched with
mocking smiles.
I sank down to the floor from my bed, clutching the box of Kleenex to my chest as I sobbed uncontrollably. I bawled my eyes out in defeat, mourning the loss of my life as I'd known it to be.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
How had I lost everything so quickly? How could Jared just move on like that? How could he throw me away for Arielle, his stupid ex-wife of all people?!
I closed my eyes and replayed Jared's last words in my head: "Stop it from today, Sofia. Let's give each other a proper farewell. I owe you nothing. Let's move on and live our separate lives." Bullshit! He owed me EVERYTHING.
Memories kept flashing before my
eyes. That was our last chance to talk, only on the phone. How did I get here? My eyes went to the top of my dresser where I had a growing stack of bills. Of course they'd chosen the worst of times to come in
unapologetically. With the ove
rate at
which everything was going I feared
going homeless by the end of the
month.
I let out a frustrated roar and flung the box of Kleenex at the stack of white envelopes containing the bills.
The air in the room was instantly filled with the sound of crashing bottles as my perfumes fell down to the floor. My tears poured out harder and faster as I watched the scene, never feeling any more defeated than I was.