Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
Caleb gazed at the angry Timothy, his tone sounded helpless as he said, “Why are you angry? Didn’t you decide to stay to confirm whether that woman is Mia or not?”
Timothy walked to the wine chiller and poured himself a glass of wine. He hadn’t been consuming alcohol because Ginger was around.
“Give me a glass of wine too, Tim.”
“Do it yourself.” Timothy stood before the floor¨Cto¨Cceiling window while holding a glass of wine.
The somber sky dawned upon the sea as the waves rolled. The surface was serene without any boats or ships.
Caleb walked up to him. “We still have time, Tim. I know Luna has put her foot in her mouth. I bet what happened to Mia that year wasn’t an accident.”
Hearing that. Timothy downed his glass of wine in one go.
“The auction tonight is the main reason we came here. There’s no room for mistakes,” Caleb reminded.
Timothy’s fingers tightened around his wine glass. “I know.”
“What the fuck? What are you wearing on your wrist, Tim? We’ve been friends for years and I didn’t know that you’re into this kind of thing!”
Timothy dropped his gaze onto the pink smartwatch on his wrist, which reminded him of Ginger.
He smiled. “It’s a gift from your daughter.”
“Although she’s not really my daughter, she gave you a gift but not me? I don’t get her.” Caleb was bitter about it.
“Whenever you can’t figure out something, it’s time to reflect on yourself.”
“Personality¨Cwise, I’m better than you, though.”
Timothy caressed the smartwatch. He couldn’t put a finger on the strange feeling swelling in him.
At the same time, Mia was sitting on the couch in a different room.
Mia was listening to Ginger’s recount of her exploration. Ginger gesticulated to give Mia a better picture of it.
Her six brothers¡® faces were shown through the monitor.
When they heard that Ginger was found, they urged Mia to make a video call so that they could see
Mia stared at Ginger, who was found after going missing. The latter didn’t show a tinge of fear. Instead, she was all excited.
Helplessness seeped into Mia.
She thought her brothers would tell Ginger off during the video call, but to her dismay, her brothers were wreathing in smiles while babying Ginger.
Ginger flashed a sweet smile. “Uncle, don’t you think I’m super?”
Dominic nodded proudly. “You are super! You took a ride on a helicopter at such a young age.’ “Yup! Ginger’s the best!” “Ginger, you’ve been away for days. Do you miss me?” asked Connor.
Ginger nodded. “Yes, I miss you very much!”
Her brisk tone melted his heart. He expected nothing less from his niece.
She was overloaded with cuteness!
Sage, who was sitting next to Eva, asked Mia, “Is Xanier Island fun?” “It is, but it’s pouring here.” “Be careful.” A tinge of envy colored his eyes.
Noticing his disappointment, Mia promised, “I’ll take you here when the weather is good.”
He nodded. “Okay, Mommy.”
Due to the preterm labor, the twins were born weak, especially Sage. Mia was crestfallen for a while back then.
His body had been weak since he was born. His allergies could go on like a list, especially when it came to seafood.
That was why she didn’t dare to bring him to beaches. She feared that the salty scent from the seashore would give him a shock due to allergy.
The sensible Ginger read the room and waved her hand. “Sage, Uncle
Dominic, Aunt Eva, Uncle Nathan, Uncle Connor… Uncle Liam, bye-bye!”
Mia then ended the video call, her mood was down.
Ginger came up to her and said in an undertone, “Mommy, I won’t run away without your permission anymore. I’m sorry.” “You always say you don’t want to travel far. Is it because Sage can’t travel far?” Mia didn’t expect the trip to Xanier Island could turn Ginger into a happy bunny.
Ginger was all jumping and dancing as though they had come to a Utopia.
“Mommy, Sage can’t go anywhere. If I can go, but he can’t, he’ll be sad. I don’t want to make him sad.”
Ginger was so understanding that it warmed Mia’s heart.
Mia hugged Ginger. She actually thought of teaching her daughter a lesson after the video call, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it now.
Right then, the butler showed up to serve them food.
“Hi, Grandpa Wade,’ Ginger greeted politely.
“Hello, Ms. Ginger.” A wave of relief washed over Wade Miller when he finally saw that she was safe and sound.
If something happened to her, Xavier Island would’ve been turned upside down.
Ginger slid out of Mia’s embrace to scurry to the serving trolley. As if she had done it many times, she picked a dessert and went back to Mia again.’ Mommy, have this. This is delicious.’ “How do you know that?” Mia glanced at the dessert.
“Because I’ve eaten all of them before.” Ginger instantly covered her mouth. It was a slip of the tongue.
Mia narrowed her eyes. “Tell me, what is there that you haven’t told me?” “Mommy, that nice uncle called for room service.” “You mean Mr. Barrett?”
“Yup. He brought me from the airport to the hotel.”
Mia was surprised to learn that Timothy wasn’t actually that spiteful, although he was friends with Caleb.
Still, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she had met him before. She just couldn’t remember.
“Mommy, when will my watch be fine?” Ginger took out the watch that fell into the cup.
The bodyguard ensured her that it would function again once the water dried out.
Mia took the watch. “How did you drop it into the cup?” “The bad lady wanted to steal my watch and it fell into the cup.” Ginger balled her fists angrily when she brought it up.
Mia knew that Ginger was referring to the pretentious lady right away.
She handed it to Wade. “Fix it.”
Ginger’s eyes didn’t leave her watch for one second. She stood on her toes, requesting, “Grandpa Wade, could you make it quick?” “Don’t worry, Ms. Ginger. I’ll return it to you as soon as I have it fixed.” He walked away with it.
“Are you in a rush to use it? I never see you cherish it so much.” Mia sat behind Ginger to tie her messy hair into pigtails.
Ginger was happy with her new hairstyle. “B-Because I want to call that nice uncle.” “You like him that much?”
Ginger beamed. “He’s nice! Mommy, can I change my father?”
Ginger’s secret trip to Xanier Island was actually a search to look for Caleb, and Mia knew that.
The glint in Mia’s eyes dimmed. “Didn’t I say that it’s the same as having six uncles? Do you regret it?”
Ginger pouted, “B-Because I’m curious. I don’t want that guy to become my father. I want that nice uncle to become my father.”
Mia was amused. This was the first time Ginger took a liking to a man.
Smiling, Mia promised, “Okay. I’ll win his heart and make him your father.”
As long as it was her daughter’s wish, she would do anything in her power to grant it because she owed too much.
At night, Timothy and Caleb entered the auction with a mask. All the guests were wearing masks because this was an illicit event.
There were a lot of underhanded items on the auction, so the masks could save them from trouble.
Timothy had a nice spot in the middle of the front row.
When he seated himself, a scrutinizing gaze caught his radar. He scanned the area but failed to notice anyone suspicious.
Everyone was wearing a mask, so it wasn’t easy to recognize the people there.
Suddenly, a woman in a white strap dress showed up in the crowd. Her sexy attire drew the attention of many.
Soon, she walked up to the men with a smile. “Can’t recognize me already?”
Caleb recognized the voice. “Luna?” “Yeah, it’s me.” “You look good today,” Caleb complimented.
Despite that, he found it strange because she normally dressed conservatively.
Why the sudden revealing outfit?
Timothy neither gave a reaction nor a word.