"Colton and I are over. How many times do you want me to repeat myself, Hail?" Mia groaned.
"Girl, I'm not asking you to jump on him and kiss him and neither am I forcing you to get back together with him. I'm only pleading that you hear him out. It's the most reasonable thing to do and after that, you will decide if you want him or not!"
Mia didn't say a word.
"You know I don't like it when you start chickening out. You literally have nothing to lose. What are you scared of?"
"What am I scared of?" Mia whispered. "I don't know. Maybe I'm scared of the fact that he will have a reasonable explanation for me, we will get back together and before I know it, something like this will happen again. As long as I'm with him, some jealous bitches will always be in pain."
"Or I just have a low self-esteem about not being good enough and most importantly, it's obvious that I will need therapy to erase the images of Colt and Natasha from my head."
"Colton has had sex with a couple of people and so have you. Don't think too much about what you saw." Hailey advised.
"Trust me, I never want to. I wouldn't intentionally haunt myself with something that triggers my jealousy. I've been finding myself thinking about it unintentionally."
"You only need one good sex from Colt to forget about your doubts and insecurities," Hailey said, then turned her attention to Mia's phone that was in her hand.
"What are you doing?" Mia frowned.
"You are never going to take the bold step so I have to step in," Hailey said, her eyes not leaving Mia's phone.
"Don't you dar...." she was saying but Hailey cut her off.
"Too late ma'am." She whispered, bringing the phone to her ear.
"Mia!" Colton's worried voice came through. He was surprised and happy that she called him.
"Hi! Colt! This is Hailey." She spoke, ignoring Mia's glare.
"Heyy, Hailey. How is Mia? Is she okay? She told you about what happened last night right? I'm sorry about everything but it's not what you all think. Natasha planned all of these."
"It's okay. I trust you. Where are you now?"
"Driving. On my way to Mia's. Is she with you? Can you give her the phone? I'd love to hear her voice."
"She's pretty mad right now, Colt." She took a glance at Mia who was giving her a deadly look. "I won't be surprised if she murders me after this call but what matters is that I'm doing the right thing by calling you. And yeah, we are together, at Mia's place. How soon will you get here?"
"I'm like seven minutes away."
"Okay, drive safe, we will be waiting for you."
"Thank you so much, Hailey. Thank you." He said, sincerely.
"You're welcome, buddy." Hailey ended the call.
"Whose best friend are you? Mine or Colton's?" Mia asked.
"Jealous?" Hailey smirked.
"Why wouldn't I be? You should be on my side, not patting him on the head."
"Patting him on the head?" Hailey arched a brow.
"I heard you say you trust him? What's that supposed to mean?"
Hailey shrugged. "My instincts tell me he's a victim too. Jeez, Mia, you can't seriously be jealous over this."
"Of course I have every right to be jealous. You know how possessive I am over my loved ones. First, you call him with my phone and then you tell him to come over."
"Yes, I'll do it again if I have to. And besides, he was already on his way here. I only told him to hurry up. You wouldn't do all of these because you're stubborn so I decided to step in and help you. By the way, don't forget to thank me later."
Mia rolled her eyes at her best friend. She rose to her feet and proceeded to the kitchen for some water with Hailey behind her. She took a cup and helped herself with water from the tap.
"You're being grumpy, you remind me of my sister when she was pregnant with Adrienne. Oh my God, are you sure you aren't carrying Colton's baby already?"
Mia choked on her water. She put the cup in the sink, coughing.
"God, Hailey. You almost killed me."
"How?" Hailey smirked. "I only asked a question. You and Colt are going to have one soon anyway. I have a feeling it's going to be a boy."
"Gracious goodness, thinking about it sends chills down my spine already. You and Colton are going to make an adorable human. And of course, I'm going to be the humble godmother of the Royal baby. I know you all are rich but damn, I'm going to spoil him the most " Hailey said excitedly, ignoring Mia's stare.
"You're not being fair, Hail. You know how much 'baby talk' triggers me. Besides, Colton and I haven't had sex so I'm not pregnant. Enough with your daydreaming."
"Not yet but that doesn't mean you wouldn't be." Hailey smiled.
"Did Colton bribe you or something?" Mia frowned.
"Girl, I would have loved that very much. A Bugatti Chiron wouldn't be bad right? Or a trip to the Bahamas."
"Gosh, I hate you!" Mia scoffed, then proceeded to the living room, back to where they were previously seated.
Hailey took a seat beside her. " I love you more, Mia. Today is my second time speaking to Colt so there's no way he could have bribed me. Hell, he doesn't even have my bank account details to spoil me with free money. That's actually not a bad idea. I can just leave my account details with him when he comes today in case of days when he has free money." Hailey smiled. Her smile slowly faded upon Mia's glare.
"I was only joking, babe. I guess I'm feeling a bit nervous because I'll be meeting Colton Royal in person for the first time. It's not every day I get to dine, wine, or see a Billionaire you know.?" She winked, while Mia rolled her eyes at her.
"And about the baby, I didn't mean to trigger you. I'm sorry. But I meant everything I said about being excited to be a godmother and spoiling him. On that note, you and Colt should hurry up. You all seem to be taking forever."
"Don't have high hopes, baby. You might end up being disappointed."
Hailey shook her head. "There's nothing about having high hopes here. I'm only speaking what I want into existence."
"Hey," She took one of Mia's hands in hers. "You know I'll always have your back. I'll never upset you or say things to annoy you. I just want you to know that I think Colton Royal is a good man and I'm doing all of these so that you won't lose him due to your insecurities. A good man is hard to find, baby. If you break up with Colton today, trust me, in the next few minutes, he will be off the market."
"He has done nothing but fought really hard for you and I think you should do the same. Hell, he can get any woman he wants in the world just by a snap of his fingers but he wants you and he's doing all that he can for you."
"I understand you, baby. You have every right to be angry over all that has happened. I would definitely be a mess too if I were in your shoes or if something like that were to happen between myself and Enoch. But that's where our friendship comes in right? Be there for each other, uplift, and tell each other the truth."
"I'll definitely excuse you all when Colton arrives so you both can talk and I want to plead with you to hear him out. And don't hide anything from him. Let him hear you out too. Tell him why you're angry, let him know what's bothering you and how you felt about him not showing up."
"Unlike Christoph the douche bag, Colton seems like a good listener. He will listen to you without thinking you're whining or overreacting. Just keep an open mind with him, hun? And please go easy on him" Hailey said with pleading eyes.
"Again, you're stronger than how you see yourself, babe. The images of whatever Natasha did with Colt have nothing on you."
"Promise me you will be on your best behavior with Coltie."
Mia frowned. "What sort of nickname is that?"
"Jealous?" She smirked, making Mia roll her eyes.
"That reminds me, do you have any special nicknames for him? Please don't tell me you call him by his full name all the time!"
"So 'Coltie' is the proper name to call him?" She arched her brow.
"Come on, Mia. You understand what I mean right? Who says you can call him Coltie. As his woman, you should have a sweet pet name for your man. What does he call you?"
"Babes, love, sweetheart, and sometimes Mia."
Hailey smiled. "He's so sweet. Girl, you're so lucky to have him."
Mia shrugged. "I call him Colt most of the time. But lately, I've been calling him babes too."
"Keep it up, my friend. I'm proud of you. Don't give Colt a hard time okay?"
"I'll try," Mia whispered.
Hailey pulled her into a hug. They both stayed that way for a few seconds.
"You sure you want Colt to see you this way?" Hailey referred to her best friend's appearance.
Mia had her night robe over her satin nightdress. Her hair was in a bun and her face was blotchy
.
"He's free to take his leave if he doesn't like the way I look," Mia mumbled.
Hailey shrugged. "He's your man. He will probably like you the most this way. But really, you don't look bad. I just thought you would want to splash some water on your face but never mind, Colton should see you this way. So he will know how much you've been hurt"
As if on cue, the sound of the doorbell came through. "He's here!" Hailey said to Mia, smiling. "I'll go get the door. Wish me luck."
Mia rolled her eyes.
...................
"Hi" Hailey smiled at Colton Royal. She had seen him in magazines a couple of times. She was used to seeing pictures of him in a suit but he wasn't bad in casual clothes as well. Hailey couldn't help but notice how tired and worried he looked.
"Good morning, Hailey." He forced a smile.
"Nice to finally meet you and thank you for everything."
"It's nice to meet you too, Colt and you're always welcome."
"I got your back!" She mouthed at him, knowing she would be dead if Mia saw or heard that.
"Thank you." He mouthed with a much more genuine smile.
"Please, come in." Hailey opened the door wider for him.
Stepping in, he saw Mia. She was seated on the couch in the living room so he approached her.
Colton's heart started aching when he took in her appearance. From her face, he could tell she had cried a lot, and knowing he was the reason for that, he wasn't happy with himself. His heart broke the more when he noticed she was purposely avoiding looking at him, giving an atmosphere that felt like he wasn't welcomed.
"I'll leave you both alone," Hailey said, She picked up her purse and exited Mia's apartment, giving the duo some privacy.