Ariana’S Mistake
mocks
jai(ml)
(Heart racing, hand trembling in his pocket) Ari, wait! Don’t walk so fast. I’ve been trying to catch you since the ceremony ended.
ariana(fl)
(Stops, but doesn't turn around) I’m in a hurry, Jai. My car is waiting.
jai(ml)
Just one minute. Please. I know we just graduated, and everything is moving so fast, but… I don’t want to go another day without saying this.
ariana(fl)
(Sighs heavily, turning around) Saying what?
jai(ml)
(Drops to one knee, pulling out a small, simple velvet box) We’ve been together through every late-night study session, every exam, every cup of cheap coffee. I don't have much yet, but I have a job lined up and… Ariana, I love you. Will you marry me?
ariana(fl)
(Stares at the ring. A cold, sharp laugh escapes her lips) Are you serious right now?
jai(ml)
(His smile falters) Ari?
ariana(fl)
(Mocking) "Will you marry me?" Jai, look at yourself. Look at that ring. Is that even a real diamond? Or did you find it in a cereal box?
jai(ml)
(Internal: It feels like the air was just sucked out of the room. My knee is damp from the grass, and suddenly, I feel small. So small.) It’s… it’s what I could afford. I thought the meaning mattered more than—
ariana(fl)
The meaning? The meaning is that you’re delusional. Did you actually think this was real? That we were real?
jai(ml)
(Voice cracking) What are you talking about? We’ve been together for three years.
ariana(fl)
Three years of college, Jai. You were my college pastime. You were the guy who helped me pass Biostatistics and kept me entertained when campus life got boring. Did you think I was going to bring a "starving artist" student home to my parents?
jai(ml)
(Internal: Pastime? Every "I love you," every night she cried on my shoulder because of finals… was I just a distraction? A hobby? The ring box feels like it weighs a hundred pounds now.) You don’t mean that. You’re just stressed about the move
ariana(fl)
(Steps closer, her voice dripping with venom) I’m stressed about how to tell my fiancé that my college "friend" is stalking me with a cheap ring
ariana(fl)
His name is Dalton. He’s an executive. He’s established. He’s rich, Jai. He doesn't buy jewelry that looks like it came from a vending machine. He’s a man with a future, not a boy who just got a degree and thinks he’s king of the world.
jai(ml)
(Internal: The humiliation is physical. It’s a hot, burning sensation crawling up my neck. I’m still on my knee like a fool, looking up at someone I don’t even recognize. Two days ago, we shared a graduation gown. Today, she’s looking at me like I’m dirt on her designer shoes.) You’ve been engaged this whole time?
ariana(fl)
Since last summer. I just needed someone to make the school year go by faster. And you were so… convenient. Always there, always eager, always poor and grateful for a smile.
jai(ml)
(Standing up slowly, his legs feeling like lead) I gave you everything I had. I worked two jobs just to take you out on weekends.
ariana(fl)
And that’s the problem! You "worked." You struggled. I’m done with the "struggling student" aesthetic, Jai. It’s over. Look at us—we graduated forty-eight hours ago. I’m moving into a penthouse, and you’re probably moving back into your mom’s house to "find yourself" with your camera.
jai(ml)
(Internal: I want to scream, but my throat is tight. I want to throw the ring into the bushes, but I can’t even move my arm. Every memory of us is twisting, turning into something ugly. Every kiss now tastes like ash.)
ariana(fl)
Don't look at me with those puppy-dog eyes. It’s pathetic. You’re a loser, Jai. A sweet, broke, delusional loser. Don’t call me. Don’t follow me. And for God’s sake, throw that ring away. It’s embarrassing.
jai(ml)
(Whispering) Who are you?
ariana(fl)
(Fixing her hair, her expression bored) Someone who is finally out of your league. Goodbye, Jai. Have a nice life… or whatever it is people like you have
[Sound of her high heels clicking away on the pavement]
jai(ml)
(Internal: I’m standing in the middle of the quad. The sun is shining, people are laughing in the distance, and I am dying. My chest feels hollow, like she reached in and scooped out everything that made me human. I look down at the ring. She’s right. It looks cheap. I look cheap. I was just a placeholder. A "pastime." The person I loved never existed.)
jai(ml)
(To himself, voice trembling) I was just… a pastime.
[He closes the box with a sharp 'snap'. The silence that follows is the loudest thing he’s ever heard.]
.
The Flashback: Nine Years Ago
[Scene: A small, cramped apartment. The air smells of medicine and damp walls.]
ml mom
(Coughing violently, her face pale) You… you need to leave him, Ariana.
ariana(fl)
(Eyes red from crying, holding a glass of water) Mrs. Brooks, please. You’re sick. You need to rest. Jai just went to the pharmacy to get your prescription. He’ll be back soon.
ml mom
(Suddenly sits up, her eyes wide and desperate. She reaches out and SLAPS Ariana across the face)
ariana(fl)
(Gasps, hand flying to her cheek)
ml mom
Leave him! Look at this place! Look at me! He spends every cent he earns on you. He buys you those little rings, those trinkets, those dinners… while we can barely afford the electricity.
ariana(fl)
I love him! I don't care about the money! I’ll work, I’ll help—
ml mom
(Screaming) You are a distraction! I am a single mother. I have sacrificed everything to give him a future, and I won’t watch him throw it away playing "house" with a girl who has nothing to offer but a smile. If you stay with him, if you keep letting him waste his life on you… I will end it. I will suicide, Ariana. I mean it. I cannot watch my son become a beggar because of you.
ariana(fl)
(Whispering) You can’t ask me to do this.
ml mom
If you love him, let him hate you. Let him become the man he was meant to be without you dragging him down to the gutter. Promise me!
ariana(fl)
(Sobbing) Okay… okay, I’ll leave. I’ll make him hate me. Just please, take your medicine.
Present Day: Nine Years Later
[Scene: A high-end corporate office in Melbourne. The glass walls overlook the city skyline.]
[Ariana is sitting at her desk, staring blankly at a spreadsheet. Her friends, Sarah and Chloe, are huddled around a tablet, giggling and gasping.]
...
Oh my god, Ari, look! They just uploaded the live interview with the "Shadow King" of Tech.
...
He is literally the most handsome billionaire in the country right now. And he’s self-made!
ariana(fl)
(Internal: I know that voice. Even after nine years, I would know that voice anywhere.)
[On the Screen: Jai Brooks is sitting in a leather armchair. He’s wearing a tailored black suit that costs more than Ariana’s annual salary. His jaw is sharp, his eyes are cold, and when he speaks, there is no trace of the boy from the quad.]
...
Jai, you’ve become a national sensation almost overnight. Your AI tech has disrupted the entire global market. But everyone wants to know… what drives a man like you? Is there a lady in your life?
jai(ml)
(He leans back, a ghost of a smirk appearing—one dimple showing, but it doesn't reach his eyes) Love life? No. My drive comes from a very specific memory.
jai(ml)
Someone ditched me. Right after graduation. She mocked me for being a "starving student." She told me I was just a "college pastime" and left me for a rich executive because I couldn't even afford a real diamond.
...
(Whispering) Wow, what a snake. Who would leave a guy like that?
jai(ml)
(Looking directly into the camera) Actually, I want to thank her. Because of her, I learned the truth about the world. I learned that loyalty is a luxury for the rich. I earned every billion I have just to prove her right—that money is the only thing that matters.
...
(Leaning in) And if she saw you now? If she came back and asked for a second chance, now that you’re at the top… would you ever accept her?
jai(ml)
(His expression turns to ice. There is zero hesitation) Never. Some mistakes are permanent. She wanted a rich guy? Well, she found one. But he doesn't exist for her anymore.
ariana(fl)
(Internal: The words are like physical blows. Every "thank you" he gave her was a knife in her chest. He thinks she left for greed. He thinks she hated him. He has no idea his mother is the reason he’s sitting in that chair.)
ariana(fl)
[A single tear escapes Ariana's eye and splashes onto her keyboard.]
...
Ari? Are you okay? You’re crying!
ariana(fl)
(Wiping her eyes quickly, her voice trembling) It’s nothing. Just… just a sad story, isn't it?
[She looks back at the screen. Jai is walking off the set, the camera following his powerful stride. He has the world at his feet, and Ariana has a heart full of secrets and a cheap ring hidden in her top drawer.]
.
[Scene: The office lobby. A group of younger female interns are huddled around Ariana, showing her a high-definition photo of Jai on a magazine cover.]
...
Ariana, you went to the same university as him, right? The dates line up! Did you ever see him on campus?
ariana(fl)
(Internal: Every single day. I saw him in the library, in the cafeteria, in my dreams. I saw him on his knees with a ring I still keep in a velvet box under my bed.)
ariana(fl)
(Voice flat) No. I don’t know him. It was a big campus.
...
(Mocking) Figures. A guy like Jai Brooks probably moved in much higher circles than a junior researcher. He was probably too busy being a genius to notice people like... well, us.
ariana(fl)
(Internal: If only you knew. He was the one who helped me with my Biostatistics labs when I was failing. He was the one who walked me to my dorm every night. And I’m the one who broke him.)
[Scene: Outside the building. A sleek, matte-black Maybach pulls up. Jai Brooks steps out, his presence commanding the entire street.]
...
, the acquisition papers for 'Vertex Solutions' are ready. But if I may ask... why this specific company? It’s a mid-tier firm. There are much more profitable targets.
jai(ml)
(Adjusting his cufflinks, eyes fixed on the building entrance) I’m interested in their... assets.
jai(ml)
(Internal: I’m interested in seeing her face when she realizes I own the chair she sits in. I want to see if those eyes still look like they’re full of light, or if they’ve turned as cold as mine. Nine years, Ariana. Nine years of working twenty-hour days to make sure I never felt as small as I did on that quad.)
[Scene: Late night. The office lobby is nearly empty. The Boss walks out of the elevator, looking stressed but excited.]
...
(Addressing the skeleton crew) Listen up. Tomorrow is the biggest day for this firm. The new owner is coming at 10:00 AM sharp. I want this place spotless
...
[He turns to the receptionist]
...
Call Ariana. Tell her she’s not needed for the morning briefing. Tell her to come at 11:00 AM.
...
She’s the lead on the current project. Shouldn't she be here to present?
[Scene: Ariana’s small apartment. Her best friend, Chloe, is sitting on the sofa, watching Ariana pace the floor.]
chloe
Ari, stop. You’ve been walking in circles for an hour
chloe
Why don’t you just tell him the truth? Tell him about his mother. Tell him she slapped you, threatened suicide, and forced you to leave!
ariana(fl)
(Shakes her head, tears finally falling) No. I can’t.
chloe
Why not?! He hates you for the wrong reasons!
ariana(fl)
Because his mom was right, Chloe. Look at him. Look at the empire he built. If I hadn’t left him... if he had stayed with me, he would have spent his life working three jobs just to keep me happy. He would have been a photographer in a small studio, struggling to pay for my medicine or our rent.
ariana(fl)
(Internal: He needed a villain to survive. He needed to hate me to become this version of himself. My sacrifice wasn't just about his mom; it was about his potential. And seeing him on that screen today... it proves she was right. He was meant for greatness, and I was just the weight holding him back.)
ariana(fl)
I’d rather have him rich and hating me than poor and loving me. At least this way, he’s the King of the world.
chloe
But at what cost, Ari? You’re both miserable.
ariana(fl)
(Looking at her phone—a text from the office: 'Report at 11:00 AM') The cost doesn't matter. The deal is done. Tomorrow... it finally ends.
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