CHAPTER 36: WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVE, MIRA?

Raquel sat at the edge of the bed, crossing her legs and staring out the window. She had barely touched the sofa can on her bedside table, while Liam leaned against the window, folding his arms tightly across his chest. The tension in the room was stretching widely.

"I can’t sleep," Raquel said, still staring out the window.

Liam didn’t answer right away. He watched his own reflection in the mirror. Then he said, "Yeah. Me neither."

There was a beat of silence.

"Liam... don’t you think this is all a bit much?" she asked finally.

He moved over to sit beside her on the bed. "She’s acting weird, right? Like, it’s not just me?"

Raquel didn’t answer right away. Her eyes were still locked on the city, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I mean, Mira’s always been intense," Liam continued. "But this? We’re in another country, with fake names and fake documents, and we’re just quiet like this is normal. I’ve been thinking about it since we landed, it doesn’t feel right at all. None of it does."

Raquel finally looked at him. "She had us lie to everyone. My mom thinks I’m away on some sleepover.

She didn’t even approve of the sleepover when I tried asking for permission, so I ran out of the house. Now imagine what happens when she finds out I flew out of the country to avoid punishment for a scandal I was actively involved in."

"Hahahaha..." She laughed mockingly.

Liam winced. "My parents think I’m at some school excursion with the Ministry of Youth and Culture for the week"

Raquel scoffed softly. "Excursion with the Ministry of Youth and Culture? God. We sound like a bunch of idiots."

They sat in silence for a few moments. The weight of everything was beginning to settle.

"Do you think we overdid it?" Liam asked quietly.

Raquel hesitated. "It was bad what we did. Bella didn’t deserve any of it.

At first I thought escaping was a brilliant idea. But now? I keep wondering... why? Why is Mira going to these extremes? I mean, we would have been severely punished, yeah, but... does it warrant running away to start a new life over it? Mira’s acting like we committed some international crime or something."

Liam turned to face her. "Exactly. It was horrible, yeah. But expulsion? Maybe a lawsuit? Maybe even a juvie. All of that’s still in New York. Why are we here? Hiding like fugitives in Mumbai?

And not just hiding, we got new identities. This is erasing ourselves."

They looked at each other for a long moment.

Liam lowered his voice. "What if Mira’s not just protecting us? What if she’s protecting herself? From something bigger?"

Raquel’s voice piqued with interest. "Something bigger? Like what?"

He bit his lip. "I think she’s hiding something. She’s not being entirely honest. Because leaking nudes and blackmailing is not reason enough for all this."

Raquel nodded slowly. "You have a point. Do you think we should ask her some questions? Talk to her?"

Liam hesitated, then stood. "Yes. Let’s ask her. We need answers. At least we deserve to know what we’re actually running from. If she flips out, that’ll tell us everything we need to know."

He was already walking out the door.

"Wait! Are we asking her now?"

---

Mira was sitting at the counter in the kitchen, scrolling through her tablet. A plate of fruit sat untouched in front of her. She was dressed, as usual, in an expensive two piece set.

Liam walked in first. "Mira? Can we talk to you?"

Mira glanced up, then turned her gaze back to the screen. "If it’s about the schedule for tomorrow, I already messaged Everett. We’re laying low for a few days."

Raquel stepped beside Liam "It’s not about that. We need to talk. It’s about something more important."

Mira closed the laptop with a soft click and leaned back into the couch. "Okay. Talk."

Raquel crossed her arms. "Why are we really here?"

Liam leaned against the fridge. "We’ve been thinking about everything. About this whole plan. And we just... we want to understand."

"Understand what?" Mira asked without looking up.

"Why we’re in Mumbai pretending to be different people."

That made her glance up.

Mira blinked. "I already told you. We needed to disappear. If we’d stayed back in Brookside High, we would’ve been expelled and humiliated, dragging our families into the mess. Our parents’ reputations would have been ruined, probably forever. This... this was the safest move."

Liam frowned. "But we’re not just avoiding expulsion. We’ve changed names and burned our real identities. You had fake documents ready in less than 24 hours. Flew on your father’s private jet all the way here. That’s not something you just up and do in the name of escaping ’expulsion’." He made quotes in the air.

"You want to have this conversation now? After everything I’ve done to get us here?" Mira stood slowly, her arms tightening at her sides. "I was protecting us. You should be thanking me."

Raquel crossed her arms. "Mira, this is insane. We changed our names. Left our lives. And all because of something that happened at school. You really think that justifies this?"

Mira narrowed her eyes. "It wasn’t just something. It’s leaking your mate’s nudes and blackmailing her. That’s pure scandal."

"Yeah, but people survive scandals all the time," Liam said. "They don’t run across the world and become new people."

Mira stood. "You don’t get it. You really don’t. My father cannot have his name in the same sentence as a leaked nude scandal. Not even as background noise."

"But that’s your father," Raquel said. "We get that you’re under pressure. But you didn’t just protect yourself, Mira. You made us leave everything behind, too. You made me lie to my mom."

"I didn’t make you do anything," Mira said flatly. "I gave you a choice. You both took it."

"A choice?" Liam said, his voice rising. "Come on, Mira. You basically made it impossible for any of us to leave, maybe because we had evidence of your involvement.

I tried walking away, remember? You threatened me. That’s not a choice."

Mira’s jaw clenched. "You both are just ungrateful. I should have left you to rot back there. Let you face the Board, ruin your parents’ reputations while our schoolmates post your photos on some stupid blog. I guess you would have liked that better.

I was the one with the most to lose, and I brought you both with me. And this is the thanks I get?"

Liam shook his head. "But you planned this. You had the plane, the contacts, the IDs... like you were ready to go even before anything happened."

So what?" Mira snapped. "I plan ahead. I don’t wait to get caught. Is that now such a bad thing?"

Raquel looked at her. "You’re not protecting us, Mira. You’re trying so hard to control us."

Silence.

Liam stepped forward. "So what is it Mira? What are you really running from? Because this? This doesn’t feel like it’s about Brookside anymore."

Mira stayed silent, her hands tightening more into balled fists.

"You dragged us halfway across the world," Liam continued. "For that, I think we deserve the truth. Not just about what you did. But what you’re still doing."

He pressed. "Is someone else involved? Are we being watched? Why were we trailed back in New York? That didn’t seem to upset you much."

Still, nothing.

Raquel scoffed. "Wow. You really brought us halfway across the world to run away from consequences, and now you’re shutting down on us?"

Mira turned her back to them, her voice low. "You’re safe. That’s all that matters. I did what I had to do."

Liam stared at her. "No, you did what you wanted. Now we’re stuck. It’s too late to go back, isn’t it?"

Mira rolled her eyes. "You guys are unbelievable. You think I wanted this? You think I enjoy covering our tracks and constantly looking over my shoulder? I did it because it was necessary!"

Liam’s voice hardened. "So I’m asking you to help us understand!"

Mira didn’t answer.

He became calm again and stepped closer to her. "What exactly are you planning next, Mira? Or do you just make this up as you go and expect us to follow blindly?"

She stared at him coldly. "If you don’t like the plan, you can leave."

Raquel swallowed. "Back to what? Our fake identities? Our real ones, that are probably flagged by now? We can’t leave."

Mira picked up her tablet. "Then stop acting like you have better options."

She walked out of the kitchen without another word.

Liam exhaled slowly. "She didn’t answer the question."

Raquel rubbed her face. "No. She didn’t. And that scares me more than anything else."

Liam nodded slowly. "We need to figure it out. Before it’s too late."

The silence that followed said more than their words could.

Whatever Mira was planning? Liam and Raquel weren’t sure if they were the villains or the victims in her story.