I Was Trapped In An Elevator On My Birthday, But No One Cared Chapter 07

I Was Trapped In An Elevator On My Birthday, But No One Cared Chapter 07

It was raining the day I arrived in Sunnyside.

The air smelled like damp ocean salt.

The company put me in a temporary shared apartment, two bedrooms. My roommate was a girl named Summer Williams.

She was warm and friendly and helped me haul my suitcase up the stairs. “You came all by yourself?”

I nodded.

She asked casually, “Your family didn’t come with you?”

I forced a small smile. “They were busy.”

She didn’t push. She just handed me a warm carton of milk. “Here, warm your hands. It gets cold when it

rains in Sunnyside.”

I took the milk, and the heat stung my numb fingertips.

Once I started the job, I buried myself in work. Revisions, proofing, pitch meetings, back-and-forth with

authors.

It was all grunt work, but it made me feel solid.

In the office, everyone focused on their own tasks-manuscripts and deadlines-and nobody had time to care

about what shoes you wore or how your makeup looked.

I loved that rhythm.

Every evening walking back to the apartment, I’d take a street lined with sycamore trees. There was a bakery on the way, with little cakes displayed in the window.

One night after a late shift, I stopped in front of the display case and spotted a tiny chocolate cake. The girl

behind the counter asked, “You want that one?”

I hesitated, then nodded.

That night, I sat on the balcony of the shared apartment and ate that small cake all by myself.

No one sang happy birthday. No one clapped.

But when I swallowed the last bite, I suddenly smiled.

It felt like the only cake in my entire life that had ever truly belonged to me.

Back home, my parents were searching everywhere for me.

Julian was asking all our mutual friends. Someone told him I’d gone to Sunnyside. He booked the next flight

out.

He was waiting outside The Hawthorne Building when I got out of a meeting.

The rain in Sunnyside was a fine drizzle. He stood under his umbrella, looking completely worn down.

The second he saw me, his eyes went red. “Mira.”

I stopped walking. “What do you want?”

My cold tone seemed to cut him.

“I came to bring you home.”

I looked at him without saying anything.

He rushed to explain. “I know I messed up. I shouldn’t have ignored your calls. I shouldn’t have said you weren’t as good as Serena. I shouldn’t have told you to learn from her.”

“I’ve thought about it a lot. The one I like is you. Not her.”

I asked him calmly, “What do you like about me?”

Julian blanked. The question hit him out of nowhere. He opened his mouth, but no answer came.

After a long pause, he finally said, “You were always so good to me. You were mature, and you always took

care of me.”

I smiled. “So what you actually liked was the Mira who never made things hard for you and just swallowed all her own pain. That’s not me.”

Julian’s face lost all its color. “That’s not true.”

“Mira, give me a chance. I’ll put you first from now on. I’ll remember what cake you want for your birthday. I’ll go with you to buy whatever dresses you want. If you don’t know how to dress up, I’ll help you learn.”