Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
Why had he never realized just how badly his mother treated Mia?
*Tim, you’re already getting a divorce, so why are you helping this woman? Plus, we’re having a family dinner today. Why did you let her come over? She’s just going to ruin our appetites.”
“Who’s getting a divorce?” Laura’s voice rang out.
The elevator doors were open, and Laura came into the living room in a wheelchair. She looked around the room before continuing. “Speak. Who’s getting a divorce?”
Timothy quickly replied, “No one, Grandma. You misheard what we said.”
“Is that so? I guess my hearing isn’t too good anymore due to my old age. Mia, come here. Let me take a look at you. Why have you lost weight?” Laura asked.
Mia walked over to Laura and took the latter’s hand. “I haven’t lost any weight, Grandma. In fact, I’ve put on some weight..
“Nonsense. I may be losing my hearing, but my eyes are as sharp as ever. If Timothy treats you badly, you must tell me, okay? I’ll stand up for you,” Laura stated.
Then, she grabbed Mia’s hand and asked in concern, “What happened to your hand? Oh, my goodness! Let the doctor take a look at it right away! I’m sure it must be very painful for you.”
Mia’s heart twinged with a bittersweet feeling. Honestly, Laura was truly nice toward her. Apart from Patricia,
Laura was the one who treated her the best. She felt truly grateful for Laura’s kindness.
Mia sat on the couch. Ivan bandaged her hand before instructing. “For the next few days, avoid letting your wound come into contact with water. You need to let the wound heal first.”
“Mia, tell me how you got injured,” Laura said.
Mia glanced at Maya. The latter’s eyes shifted evasively.
Sharon immediately cried out, “What do you mean by that, Mia? An accident? Don’t tell me you’re trying to frame Maya. She was just kind enough to try and help you. She got injured, too.”
“Shut up!” Laura snapped loudly. “Who allowed you to speak?”
Sharon clammed up at once, though her expression was unpleasant. Laura, her mother-in-law, had always disliked her. Instead, Laura favored Mia, a woman from a poor background.
In the end, Mia calmly answered, “It was just an accident, Grandma. I got distracted while I was making some soup.”
Her explanation made Timothy’s eyes grow thoughtful. Why wasn’t Mia making a fuss when Laura was here to stand up for her?
“Oh, you silly goose. We’ve plenty of people who can cook for us. I told you not to cook anymore, but you refused to listen to me,” Laura chided.
Mia lowered her eyes. She didn’t try to speak further on the subject. Even though she knew Laura had her back, she suddenly decided not to let Laura worry about this matter.
Just then, Maya approached Laura and said, “How have you been feeling lately, Mrs. Barrett Senior? I brought a lot of health supplements for you. They’re good for your body.”
Mia stood in silence beside Laura.
“Haven’t I told you not to come over anymore, Ms. Lane?” Laura asked in a polite but distant tone. “We’re having a family dinner tonight, so I won’t keep you for dinner.”
Maya could barely keep her expression neutral. She was the daughter of the Lane family. When had she ever faced such disrespect?
The old hag was being too rude!
For a brief moment, Maya’s gaze was stormy, but she kept her smile going. “In that case, I’ll drop by to visit you some other time, Mrs. Barrett Senior.
“Once my brother Connor frees up his schedule, he can come over to perform your surgery. You’ll be able to make a full recovery. Tim won’t have to worry about you anymore.”
“I’m feeling just fine,” Laura scoffed icily. “I don’t need any surgery. Let’s go, Mia. It’s time for dinner.”.
Mia was a little anxious. She knew Laura didn’t want to push her into a difficult position. But how could she bear to let Laura turn down the chance of a full recovery just for her sake?
“Grandma, I left my phone in the kitchen. I’ll go and look for it.”
Mia wanted to find a place to calm down and sort through her thoughts.
Soon after entering the kitchen, Mia heard Maya’s voice ringing out behind her. “Don’t tell me you really snuck in here to get the security footage.”
Maya had come over, and Shelly was standing beside her.
“It’s too late. I just deleted all of the old footage and turned off the security camera in here,” Shelly gloated.”
No one can prove what happened just now.”
“Is that so?” Mia remarked.
Her expression was different, but her gaze was cold. “That makes things a lot easier then.”
Maya lifted her chin haughtily and said, “Now that the footage is gone, there’s no proof. Who’s going to believe your claims?”
“Since there’s no evidence, and the security cameras are turned off, that’s precisely why things are a lot easier for me,” Mia said.`
She picked up a nearby spatula and whacked both Shelly and Maya with it.
The two young women couldn’t avoid her. All they could do was shriek their heads off. Soon, they were in tears.
Mia stood in the doorway to stop the women from escaping as she taught them a lesson.
Once she was done, she fixed her hair and adjusted her clothes before saying, “Since there’s no security camera in here, no one will believe what you say.”
Maya and Shelly were in similar states of disarray. Their hair and clothes were a mess, and there were marks left behind by the spatula Mia had used.
“Mrs. Barrett will stand up for me!” Maya shrieked.
“But you’re in the Barrett residence right now, and Grandma Laura is the one who has the final say. Do you think she’ll believe you guys or me?
“I’m warning you two. Don’t try to mess with me, or you won’t be getting off so easily next time,” Mia growled.
Shelly gulped with a look of despair. She knew Mia was right. Laura would definitely believe Mia, that bitch!
After saying her piece, Mia walked out of the kitchen.
Maya and Shelly crumpled to the floor. They were forced to suffer such treatment without being able to get even.
Gritting her teeth, Maya fumed, “I won’t be forgetting this! Just you wait!”
All this while, Timothy had been standing in a corner outside the kitchen. He had witnessed everything.
Cocking an eyebrow, Timothy stared after Mia’s retreating figure. He didn’t expect her to come out victorious despite being outnumbered and injured.
His assistant asked, “Mr. Barrett, what just happened proves that Ms. Lane did indeed frame Ms. Mia. Should we help? What if Ms. Lane tries to get revenge?”
“Don’t bother. As long as Maya has a functioning brain, she won’t dare to pursue this matter,” Timothy said before leaving.
When Mia returned to the living room, she acted like nothing happened.
The women went into the dining room and took their seats, but Timothy wasn’t with them.
Laura turned to the side and said to one of the Barretts’ household staff, “Martha, get that brat in here. It’s time for dinner. Why isn’t he here in the dining room? Where has he gone off to?”
Mia served Laura a bowl of soup. “Have some soup, Grandma. It’s such a shame that I spilled the soup I was making for you.”
She didn’t care whether or not Timothy came to dinner. In fact, she figured he was busy consoling that pretentious bitch Maya.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is your hand. What if it leaves a scar?”
Laura’s concern made Mia feel a bit guilty. She set down her cutlery and said, “Grandma, I want to talk to you about something.”
Laura looked up and asked, “What is it?”
“It’s about the surgery.” Timothy said as he came into the dining room.
He pulled out the chair beside Mia and sat down. His arm bumped against her shoulder.
When Mia heard the word “surgery”, she looked at Timothy. He had an unreadable expression.
Did he cut her off on purpose?
Laura scoffed, “I’m perfectly fine. I don’t need any surgery. I know better than anyone what Maya is after. Tell her to stop dreaming.”
While speaking, Laura specifically gave Sharon a warning look.
With furrowed brows, Timothy said, “Those are two separate matters. Don’t mix them together.”
“To me, they’re one and the same.”
Just then, Sharon piped up, “Don’t tell me it’s because someone talked you into this. Why are you refusing to get the surgery done? We’re talking about the top cardiovascular surgeon here. When it comes to surgeries, he has a 100% success rate.
“He’s Ms. Lane’s brother, and if not for her, we wouldn’t even be able to hire him.”
Mia looked down at her plate. She lost all her appetite.
She never thought Laura would turn down the surgery for her sake. What had she ever done to deserve such a sacrifice?
Alas, she had failed Laura. She had already signed the divorce agreement.
Timothy interrupted Sharon by saying, “Let’s just enjoy our dinner.”