Billionaire Thane Wants Me Back

"Ma, are you still waiting for Mr. Thane?"

Leah, Mira's personal maid asked, her voice etched with concern.

She forced a smile, yet it was not enough to conceal the anger and frustration which clouded her chest.

"Yes. He will be back soon."

"I am sure he must be  overwhelmed with work, satisfying clients may seem demanding most times" she  defended.

"If you say so, Ma'am, I will be in the kitchen. Do you need anything else?" She asked.

"No, I will be fine." Mira assured her.

Leah hesitated, glancing at the untouched food before bowing and leaving the room.

The silence that followed Leah's exit seemed suffocating.

Mira glanced at the table one more time, her fingers tracing the rim of her wine glass.

She heaved a heavy sigh of relief as she stole a glance at the clock.

Today was her third wedding anniversary and she had  prepared a candle-lit dinner for her husband.

Mira sighed, her gaze settling on the elegantly wrapped package sitting beside her plate. A navy-blue box, tied with a silver ribbon which was Thane's favorite colors. 

Inside was a platinum wristwatch, custom-engraved with the words "Forever Yours, Thane".

 She had spent weeks finding the perfect gift for him.

Beside the gift lay a handwritten letter, folded neatly inside a cream-colored envelope. She had poured her heart into that note, recalling their journey together, the promises, the dreams they once shared, and how, despite the growing distance between them, she still believed in their love.

 She had arranged a bouquet of green and white roses in a crystal vase, the same flowers Thane had sent her on their first date.

The meal was just as carefully planned.

She had prepared his favorites:

Garlic-butter steak, cooked just the way he liked it coupled with truffle mashed potatoes, creamy and rich, seasoned to perfection.

A bottle of aged red wine sat in an ice bucket, waiting to be poured.

She had envisioned the evening a hundred times in her head. Thane would walk in, tired but smiling. He would notice the effort she had put in, pull her into his arms, and whisper how much he appreciated her. They would talk, laugh, reminisce, and just maybe, tonight would be the night they found their way back to each other.

But with every tick of the clock, her hope dimmed.

11:02 PM.

Her phone buzzed.

Mira reached for it eagerly, thinking it was Thane with an apology or an excuse or a message to reassure her that tonight wasn't another night spent waiting in vain.

Instead, a message from an unknown number flashed on her screen.

Her brows furrowed as she tapped it open.

Her world stopped at the sight of the man in the picture. His face looked familiar and upon further glance, Mira recognized him.

It was Thane, a white singlet hung loosely on his broad chests exposing his body frame.

His head tilted back in laughter, his arms wrapped around a woman draped in silk sheets. Her face was turned toward his, her lips passionately close to his lips.

The message below read:

"Happy Anniversary, Mrs. Thane. Thought you should see where your husband is tonight."

Mira's breath caught in her throat, her fingers going numb around the phone.

The beautiful dinner before her blurred as tears welled in her eyes. The gift, the letter, the effort all felt like a cruel joke now.

Thane wasn't working late, he wasn't with any client, he wasn't stuck up in traffic either.He was with another woman on their anniversary day.

A sharp pain twisted in Mira's chest as reality sank in.

She had spent the night waiting for a man who was never coming home.

Her hands fidgety, Mira picks up her phone to call Sienna, her best friend and the only person she had always trusted.

Her hands trembled as she dialed Sienna's number, her vision blurred by the tears she refused to let fall.

The phone rang once and twice and on the third ring,  a sleepy  voice cut up at the other end.

"Mira? It's late. What's wrong?" Sienna's voice was thick with exhaustion, but at the first crack in Mira's breathing, she immediately woke up.

 "Are you okay?"

Mira let out a shaky breath, gripping the phone tightly as if holding onto it would keep her from shattering completely.