Mia woke up already tired,she wasn't tired from stress or too much work.This one sat deeper, behind her eyes, the kind that came from thinking too much even while asleep. Mia lay still for a while, staring at the ceiling, replaying the moment from yesterday the way her mind insisted on doing. The restaurant,the noise,Kim storming out in her quiet, lethal way. And then that voice that called her Mia Brooks.
He didn't shout nor whisper. He Just said it like a fact.
She rolled onto her side and pulled the blanket tighter around herself, as if that could keep the memory from touching her. It had followed her into sleep and now it was here again, fully awake with her.
Who was he.
And how did he know her name.
She went over it again, slow this time. His face. Ordinary. Not threatening. Maybe mid thirties. Clean enough. He did not look like trouble. But trouble never really announced itself, did it? Sometimes it just smiled politely and said your name in public.
She thought about Yonkers.
That part twisted something in her chest.
She had been careful, so careful. When she left, she did not just leave the city. She shed skin, old numbers, old habits,old explanations. She chose this part of New York because it was anonymous. Because no one here knew the girl who got pregnant too young. The girl whose life narrowed overnight. The daughter people shook their heads over.
Here, she was just Mia. Quiet. Reliable. Invisible if she wanted to be.
Or at least she thought she was.
She sat up, feet touching the floor, grounding herself. For a moment, she considered doing something reckless.she considered going back to that restaurant. Asking around. Looking for him. She imagined herself walking up to strangers and asking if they knew a man who knew her name. The thought made her stomach tighten.
No. That would only make it bigger.
Still, the fear stayed. Soft but persistent. Like a bruise you kept pressing just to check if it was real.
She needed to talk to Kim.
Her fingers hovered over her phone for a second before she dialed. Kim picked up on the first ring.
"I knew it," Kim said, voice thick with sleep. "I was waiting."
Mia exhaled. "I woke you."
"You did. But it is fine. You sound like you have been carrying something all night."
Mia hesitated. Then she let it spill, all of it. "Mia," Kim said again, softer this time. "What happened."
Mia swallowed. She shifted on the bed, pulling her knees closer, phone pressed to her ear like an anchor.
"There was a man," she said. "Yesterday. At the restaurant."
Kim did not interrupt.
"I was sitting alone. Waiting for you to finish with Aiden. And I heard someone say my name." She laughed weakly. "Not excuse me. Not miss. He said it like he knew me,he called my full name. Mia Brooks."
Kim's breath stilled on the other end. "What."
"My whole body just froze," Mia went on. "It was like… my brain shut down. I did not even turn immediately. I just sat there thinking maybe I imagined it. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me."
"But you didn't imagine it."
"No," Mia said. "When I looked up, he was right there. Standing too close. Looking at me like he was trying to place my face."
Kim swore under her breath. "What did he want."
"He asked if I was Mia. Just like that. And I asked who was asking, because I needed time. I needed something to say." She paused. "Then he said I looked like someone he knew. From Yonkers."
Kim sucked in a sharp breath. "Oh."
"Yeah," Mia whispered. "That's when it really hit me. Because nobody here should know that. Nobody here should even know that place exists in my life."
"What did you say."
"I lied," Mia said quickly. "I told him he had the wrong person. That he must be mistaken. I said it calmly, but inside I was shaking. Every nerve in my body was screaming that he knew exactly who I was."
"And him."
"He apologized," Mia said. "He said sorry and walked away. But he kept looking back at me. Like he wasn't convinced. Like he was trying to remember something."
Kim was quiet for a moment. Then, "Mia… are you scared."
"Yes," she admitted. "Because I left that life. I left all of it. I came here to start over. To not be the girl people whispered about. To not be defined by mistakes and labels."
"And now it feels like it followed you."
"Yes," Mia said, voice cracking slightly. "I just wanted to live differently this time."
Kim sighed. "Mia. Listen to me. Whatever that man thinks he knows belongs to him. Not you. You do not owe your past a front row seat in your future."
Mia leaned back against the headboard. "What if he tells someone."
"So what if he does," Kim said. "You are allowed to exist in more than one version. You are allowed to grow. You cannot keep shrinking your life because someone might recognize an old chapter."
Mia stared at the wall. "I built walls for a reason."
"And now they are suffocating you," Kim said gently. "You cannot heal inside a cage and call it safety."
That landed harder than Mia expected.
"You deserve a normal life," Kim continued. "A messy one. A fun one. One where you do not flinch every time someone looks at you too long."
Mia closed her eyes.
Maybe Kim was right. Maybe she was tired of hiding from ghosts that might not even want to haunt her. She had come here to live. To explore. To be more than survival.
"Okay," she said quietly. "I am tired."
Kim smiled through the phone. Mia could hear it. "Good. That is usually where things change."
After the call ended, Mia stayed there for a while, letting the fear loosen its grip. It did not disappear,but it softened. Enough for her to stand up and move on with her day.
She dressed and went downstairs, slipping back into routine like muscle memory. Breakfast for Mr Alex, coffee done the way he liked it,kitchen cleaned before anyone else appeared. She moved efficiently, almost meditatively. There was comfort in doing the things she knew how to do well.
Margret came in while Mia was checking the pantry.
"We are low on olive oil," Mia said. "And the rice brand Mr Alex prefers. Also, the spices for the soup."
Margret nodded. "I will add it to the list. You look tired."
"I am okay," Mia said. And for once, it was not a lie she had to force.
Alex was out most of the day, so lunch was unnecessary. After finishing her duties, Mia retreated to her room. She lay down intending to close her eyes for a few minutes. The tension she had been holding onto finally slipped and sleep took her quickly.
When she woke up, the light outside had shifted. Evening crept in quietly. She showered, changed, and returned to the kitchen to help with dinner preparations. The house hummed with its usual low energy,a familiar and predictable energy.
Still, her mind drifted.
After dinner was done and the kitchen settled, Mia returned to her room. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a second, heart thudding softly. Something in her felt restless, like standing on the edge of a pool, deciding whether to jump or not.
She reached for a pen and a notebook from her drawer.
She did not overthink it. Did not try to make it poetic. She wrote plainly. Honestly. Things she had never allowed herself to want out loud.
She stared at the blank page for a moment, then started.
At first, her hand shook slightly. Then steadied.
Each line felt like an act of rebellion. Quiet but powerful.
When she finished, she leaned back and read it again.
MIA'S CHECKLIST
Dress outrageously sexy at least once
Go to a club
Stay out late without watching the clock
Get drunk
Dance like nobody knows her
Say yes without overthinking
Let someone see her, really see her
Have sex
Live, even if it scares me.
Her heart beat faster. Fear mixed with something else. Excitement, maybe. Possibility.
For the first time in a long while, Mia smiled to herself. Not the polite kind. The real one. The kind that surprised her.
She closed the notebook gently, like it held something fragile and brave.
Tomorrow, she would still wake up early. Still make breakfast. Still move through the world carefully.
But something had shifted.
She was done being only careful.
She was ready to live.
Even if it scared her.