Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
He maintained this schedule to the letter.
All of the fixtures and decor in the rooms had to be to his strict preferences. They couldn’t be moved around at random. Everything had to be symmetrical. If not, he would feel uncomfortable.
Timothy lived like a monk-it was a rigidly organized and rather dull life.
Once upon a time, Mia was attracted by his extraordinary amount of self-control. He was a handsome man who lived a disciplined life.
Similarly, she spent three years living like a nun.
After marrying into the Barrett family, instead of experiencing married life, she experienced a life of celibacy instead.
Yet, there were plenty of women who threw themselves at the feet of wealthy scions. Mia never thought
Timothy kept himself away from women entirely-so much so that he had been a virgin!
Mia thought that if she ever told anyone else about it, she would probably get snuffed out!
Timothy pursed his lips and scoffed, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I was just pretending for Grandma’s sake, I’m not interested in you.”
Mia stood up. “That means I can leave now, right?”
“Hold it. What if Grandma finds out you leave alone in the middle of the night? How am I supposed to explain things to her?”
Mia thought about Laura’s chilly hands. Hesitating, she asked, “When is Grandma going to get surgery?”
“Didn’t you hear her? She refuses to get one.”
Frowning, Timothy added, “Before she agrees to get the surgery, don’t tell her about our divorce.”
“Alright,” Mia agreed without hesitation. “I’ll try my best to get Grandma to agree to the surgery.”
Timothy’s expression improved. “Let’s sleep.”
Mia took out her phone and sent Patricia a text. “Aunt Patricia, I won’t be coming back tonight. Help me inform Dominic.”
She had promised to head back tonight, but there was no way she could leave now.
Laura’s health had deteriorated. Mia couldn’t let Laura worry about other things before she got the surgery.
After all, she had put up with everything for three years, so what was the harm in waiting for a few more days?
Once Mia finished texting, she looked around for a couch but couldn’t find one. There was only one bed in the room.
She walked into the closet. “I remember seeing some extra bedding in here. I’ll sleep on the floor. It’s summer anyway.”
Alas, when Mia opened the drawers, she didn’t find any bedding.
It didn’t make sense to her. She knew there used to be extra sets in here.
Timothy’s voice rang out behind her. “Grandma arranged everything on purpose.”
The situation dawned on Mia as well. She realized that Laura genuinely wanted her to have a baby. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell Laura about the divorce yet.
Feeling a little awkward, Mia looked at the only set of bedding that was covering the only bed in the room. She felt conflicted. “What now?”
“Let’s just sleep like that. Don’t worry. If I wanted to do anything to you, I wouldn’t have waited this long to do it.”
Mia’s eyes flashed mockingly. He was right, of course.
She lay down on one side of the bed, but there was no blanket. It would be a little cold with the air-
conditioning on.
Timothy passed the blanket to Mia and said, “Take it. I’m not cold.”
Mia didn’t try to be courteous with him. She was pregnant, so she couldn’t afford to get a cold.
As Timothy lay on the other side of the bed, he found himself unable to fall asleep.
He looked at the woman who lay with her back toward him. His gaze was a little complicated. He couldn’t describe what he felt.
After a while, Timothy closed his eyes. Soon, he felt something warm snuggling against him and nuzzling against his chest.
Timothy looked at the woman who had rolled into his arms on her own accord. Now that she was no longer making biting remarks, she looked a lot more docile.
He preferred this side of her.
The next day, Mia woke up alone in bed.
She checked the time and figured Timothy was completing his morning exercise routine. Having lived with him for three years, she knew his schedule like the back of her hand.
Mia didn’t feel the urge to go back to sleep. In fact, she felt a little hungry, so she went downstairs to make herself some lemonade and prepare a snack.
When she was done, she saw Timothy coming out of the home gym. He instinctively walked toward her.
When Timothy saw the lemonade and a familiar-looking pastry on the kitchen counter, his expression softened a little. He assumed that Mia had simply been putting on an act and going against him the last two days just to get his attention.
Well, she was now obediently preparing a snack for him like she always did.
As he approached Mia with an aloof expression, she picked up the plate as well as the glass of lemonade and walked off.
She didn’t even look at him or leave anything for him.
Timothy stood in front of the kitchen counter. Staring at the empty glass before him, he poured himself some warm water. When he looked down and saw the pieces of lemon on the counter, the water in his mouth suddenly tasted terrible.
In the past, Mia would prepare lemonade and some energy-boosting snacks for him after his exercise.
When Timothy looked to the side, he saw her munching on something while sitting on the couch. His gaze grew rather complicated.
Mia felt his eyes on her, but she forced herself to stay calm and not back down.
Soon, Laura woke up.
Mia ate breakfast with Laura. Her appetite had gotten a lot better, and she ate far more than she usually did,
Timothy noticed that Mia ended up eating four pancakes, two slices of toast, and a bowl of cereal.
Did she always have such a hearty appetite?
Once breakfast was over, Laura abruptly held out an invitation. “Mia, I got you a spot as a contestant in this competition.”
Mia looked at the invitation. It was for the Fleur International Design Competition.
Startled, she asked Laura, “When did you do this, Grandma?”
“Well, you sent me some interior design sketches a while back, and I just so happened to hear about this competition, so I got you a spot,” Laura explained. “Give it a try. Mia. I think you’ll do a great job.”
Mia stared at the invitation with a look of melancholy. She considered joining this competition years ago, but after marrying into the Barrett family, she devoted all of her time and attention to Timothy. In doing so, she neglected all of her past interests.
Shelly strutted into the dining room and said casually, “Mia, that’s no ordinary competition. Considering how unskilled you are, you shouldn’t bother joining.
“You’ll just be embarrassing yourself. Don’t humiliate the entire Barrett family along with you.”
Laura immediately snapped, “Shelly, you didn’t even graduate from college, so keep quiet!”
Ashamed that her own failures had been exposed, Shelly ran off in anger.
She recalled that the Lanes were the ones who organized the competition, so she quickly called Maya.
“Maya, are you in charge of the Fleur International Design Competition?” Shelly asked.
“That’s right. I’m in charge of a few things in the competition. Why do you ask?”
“Maya, Grandma got Mia a spot in the competition,” Shelly informed. “She’s so biased. You need to try and find a way to stop Mia from joining the competition.”
Upon hearing that, Maya’s gaze turned cold. “That’s easy. Tomorrow’s the final day to register for the competition. I’ll tell them to end registrations a day early.”
Shelly instantly smirked smugly. “That’d be great. I’ll head over there tomorrow to enjoy the show in person. What’ll it be like to see the excited Mia being disappointed once she finds out the registration is over? It’s going to be so much fun!”
Maya was smiling tauntingly as well.
“Go ahead. Remember to give me a play-by-play afterward,” Maya said before ending the call.
How could a woman like Mia, who came from a poor background, be worthy of competing against her for Timothy?
After saying goodbye to Laura, Mia left the Barrett residence with the invitation in hand.
She heard Timothy’s footsteps coming from behind. It was followed by his voice as he asked in a surprised tone. “You know how to do interior designing?”
This explained why Laura had approached him in secret a few days ago. She had asked him to get a spot in the competition for her, and he complied without giving it much thought.
He didn’t expect it to be for Mia,
Mia lowered her eyes and said nothing. Timothy barely knew anything about her, so she wasn’t surprised that he was unaware of her interest in interior design.