Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
“Tim?”
Timothy returned to his senses and asked Maya lowly, “Are you okay?”
“My hand hurts, Tim. Is it broken? Can I continue playing the piano in the future?” Maya wept.
Timothy placed her on the bed. “I’m sure you’re fine. I’ll have a doctor check on you.”
Then, he turned to look at Mia. “Apologize to Maya.”
Maya was the heiress to the Lane family and had three older brothers who absolutely doted on her. If the Lane family were to find out about Mia laying a hand on her, they wouldn’t let Mia off the hook.
Mia’s heart ached at how Timothy said Maya’s name. Their names were so similar, but Timothy had never pronounced hers correctly.
Even during the one night they’d slept together, he’d called Maya’s name. She thought he’d been calling her like how he usually mispronounced it, but she now realized he’d just been calling Maya’s name. She’d thought too highly of herself.
From beginning to end, she was nothing but Maya’s substitute.
The ache in Mia’s heart intensified until she grew numb. She said hoarsely, “Apologize?”
“You’re the one who laid a hand on her first; even a child would know what to do in this situation. Besides, do you know how important a pianist’s hands are?” Timothy snarled.
Mia felt like she should’ve expected this. Even a strand of hair on Maya’s head was more important than her. On the other hand, she was worth less than a blade of grass by the roadside.
She’d suffered in silence for three years, and she didn’t want to take it anymore.
Mia said stubbornly, “I don’t care whether you believe me, but she’s the one who made the first move!”
Kaleb, who stood at the master bedroom’s doorway, chimed in, “Mr. Barrett, I saw everything happen. Mrs. Barrett’s the one who pushed Ms. Lane.”
Timothy frowned and growled, “Apologize!”
“What if I refuse?”
A trace of surprise flashed in Timothy’s eyes. When had Mia, who had always been obedient and accommodating, been so sharp-tongued?
He pursed his lips. “You’ve got a tough streak, huh? Think about your uncle who’s still lying in a bed in the hospital’s private ward!”
Mia’s uncle, James Stone, had gotten into a fight and had tried to escape when the police wanted to arrest him. Unfortunately, he’d ended up getting into an accident in the process of escaping. He was still comatose in the hospital.
This was enough. Hadn’t she learned her lesson yet?
Mia held back her tears, finding it hard to believe that Timothy had used James to threaten her. She looked at Maya, who lay on her bed, looking like she belonged there. The wedding picture that hung above the bed seemed to mock Mia’s existence.
Mia finally gave in to the harsh reality. She said hoarsely, “I’m sorry.”
Maya was secretly delighted but didn’t let it show. She pretended to be magnanimous, saying, “I’ll forgive you for Tim’s sake.”
Mia straightened up and looked at Timothy. “Can I go now?”
She didn’t want to spend another second there. She bent down to pick the divorce agreement up and handed it to him. This time, her attitude was as firm as possible.
Timothy looked at the divorce agreement and subconsciously frowned. He hadn’t expected Mia to sign the papers without a fuss this time. Whenever he’d tried to do this in the past, she would have Laura help her.
He’d already thought of the ways he could persuade Laura to see sense, but it seemed he wouldn’t need to do anything.
Timothy couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable. He looked at Mia’s suitcase. Was she leaving already?
He looked at her. “Have you already found a place to stay?”
“No,” Mia answered reflexively. She looked at him in surprise. Was he concerned about her?
Timothy quickly averted his gaze. “Go downstairs to get some ice for Maya’s foot. She sprained it because of you, so you can’t leave without doing anything.”
Ha, so this was still about Maya. For a split second, Mia had thought Timothy was worried about her. It seemed their three-year marriage was nothing compared to his first love.
Mia left the bedroom, walking stiffly. Her husband’s mistress had barged into their marital home and taken control of what was supposed to be their bed. Yet she still had to bring said mistress ice for her foot.
Mia thought self-deprecatingly, “Could you be any cheaper, Mia Bowen?”
As she walked down the stairs, she accidentally missed a step. She instinctively grabbed the plant closest to her, but it fell over and rolled down the stairs.
At this critical moment, someone grabbed her.
Mia turned to stare at Timothy. He’d saved her!
He pulled her to him forcefully, making her head smack against his chest. Her cheek was pressed to his chest; she could hear his beating heart.
Panicked, Mia wanted to back away to put some distance between them. Instead of that, Timothy lifted her into his arms and carried her down the stairs. Her face was still pressed to his chest, and she was enveloped by his scent.
Her face was burning when he set her on her feet. They’d been married for three years but had never had any physical contact aside from the accident a month ago.
Timothy said coldly, “Keep your eyes open when you’re walking. You don’t wanna fall on your head and end up like an idiot, do you?”
Mia pursed her lips as she gradually calmed down. She looked at the vase which had shattered on the floor, leaving the soil scattered. “I’ll go clean that up.”
“Have the maids do it. Don’t you have anything better to do?” Timothy frowned. He hadn’t hired a house full of maids for nothing.
Only then did Mia remember why she’d come downstairs in the first place. She had to get ice for Maya’s foot.
A hint of self-deprecation flashed in her eyes. She raised her head a little to see some soil smeared on Timothy’s shirt. It had probably gotten on him when he’d saved her from falling earlier.
He was a clean freak. There was no way he could stand something like this.
Mia wanted to tell him about it, but he’d already turned to head back upstairs. It looked like he was heading to the master bedroom.
Was he that worried about Maya? He couldn’t even be bothered to clean up the soil on his shirt.
Mia let out a ragged breath and headed upstairs with the ice. When she entered the master bedroom, she saw that Timothy wasn’t around. Where had he gone?
Maya leaned against the bedframe and smirked at her. “You can put the ice down and go—unless you want to stay here to serve me. Or could it be that you want to see me and Tim being lovey-dovey? It has been three years since we last saw each other, after all.”
Maya’s words were pointed; her underlying meaning was clear.
Only then did Mia hear the sound of running water in the bathroom. Timothy was showering in there!
The blood drained from her face. She and Timothy had just signed the divorce papers, yet Timothy was already raring to fuck his first love!
Mia’s stomach roiled at the thought of what would happen on that bed in a while. Still, she controlled herself and turned to head into the walk-in closet to pack her things. It didn’t take long to put everything into her suitcase.
“Kaleb, that suitcase seems to be branded. Get her a recyclable bag for her to put her stuff,” Maya said.
Soon, Kaleb brought over a dirty recyclable bag. He flung it at Mia’s feet and said, “Use this.”
Mia bent down to open up her suitcase. Behind her, Maya said, “Remember to check her things later. We don’t want her to take anything that doesn’t belong to her.”
At her words, Mia recalled what Timothy had said about getting rid of the baby. He was only in the bathroom; if he were to find out about the pregnancy test, there was no way she could keep the baby.
Kaleb and Maya were standing guard outside the walk-in closet. Mia looked at the pregnancy test that she’d buried with her stuff, then came to a decision.
She turned around and secretly ripped the pregnancy test to shreds, stuffing them into her mouth and swallowing them. As she stared at Timothy’s clothes in the closet, her heart slowly died.
From today onward, her child would have nothing to do with the Barrett family. Mia turned to leave the closet with her recyclable bag. “Do you want to check this?”
Maya covered her mouth, looking disgusted. “God, get out of here before checking those things. That bag stinks!”
Once Timothy was out of the shower, she wouldn’t be able to drive Mia away. She couldn’t allow Mia to linger.
Kaleb stepped forward to shove Mia. “Are you deaf? Get out of here!”
Mia walked out of the villa alone. It was a short distance, but it felt like it took her a century to get there.
Kaleb snatched the recyclable bag from her and poured its contents out on the ground as if wanting to search for something. It was too bad Mia had already swallowed the pregnancy test.
Mia crouched on the ground, wanting to pick her things up.
At that moment, her phone rang. When she answered it and heard Patricia’s voice, the tears started rolling down her face.
She’d made it through being humiliated by Maya and misunderstood by Timothy without shedding a tear, but she could no longer hold herself back upon hearing Patricia’s voice. She was choked up as she said, “Aunt Patricia.”
“Mia, why are you crying?”
“I’m getting a divorce, Aunt Patricia. I’m losing my family again.”
“Oh, you silly thing. Whoever said anything about you not having a family? That’s what I’m calling you about—your family tracked me down. You have three older brothers who are from the Lane family in Nord City.
“You also have three older male cousins, which means you have six older men to watch over you. They’re here for you, and they’re your family,” Patricia said.
Mia faltered. “My family?”
She’d long since known she was an orphan, but she’d never thought about searching for her biological family. Since her parents hadn’t wanted her, she didn’t need to seek them out.
“Don’t cry, Mia, and hurry home. We don’t need those rich people! Or maybe I can have your brother—“
Before Mia could say anything, the line cut off because her phone had run out of battery.