Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
Observing her getting soaked, Timothy swiftly retrieved the fallen umbrella and sheltered her. “Are your crazy? Why are you rushing out into the rain?”
Mia reached out and gave his right arm a gentle squeeze, causing Timothy to grimace and inhale sharply.
Turning to Dominic, she pleaded, “Dominic, his arm is injured. Please don’t hit him anymore.”
Seeing Mia defend Timothy, Dominic suppressed his frustration. “Mia, injustice isn’t acceptable. Please go upstairs first!”
However, Mia stubbornly refused to budge.
Sensing the tension, Claude swiftly interjected, “Dominic, considering Timothy’s injured arm, it wouldn’t be fair to engage in a fight now.
“Let’s postpone it for another day. Today, let’s just teach Timothy a small lesson.”
Mia pursed her lips and added, “Dominic, Timothy got injured while trying to protect me just now.”
Upon hearing Mia’s explanation, Dominic reluctantly released Timothy, maintaining a cold glare. “Let me make it clear: Mia will never be involved with the Barrett family. Don’t get any wrong ideas!”
Feeling exasperated, Mia interjected, “Dominic, Timothy was simply giving me a ride home. It has always been me who likes him.
“In reality, he has no romantic feelings for me at all, so there’s nothing inappropriate about his intentions.”
Timothy’s expression became intricate upon hearing Mia’s words. He glanced down at her, struggling to hold back his response. “Actually, I-“
“Alright, Timothy, there’s no need to explain further. Let’s leave it at that for today, okay?” Sensing Timothy’s urge to speak, Claude swiftly interrupted with a jest, pretending to be oblivious to Timothy’s sentiments.
After all the effort it took for their divorce to be finalized, there was no way he would allow Mia to be entangled with Timothy again.
After being interrupted. Timothy glanced briefly at Claude before reluctantly shifting his gaze toward Mia.
Mia met his gaze and stated. “I’m home now. You should go back.”
Timothy furrowed his brows, insisting, “I have a few things I’d like to tell you.”
Although his words were cut short by Claude’s interruption, Timothy still wanted to clarify what he meant.
Mia suggested. “We can discuss it later. There’s no need to hurry at the moment.”
She then addressed Dominic and Claude. “Let’s head back. It’s pouring outside, and I’m already soaked.”
Mia didn’t want to linger any longer, fearing another confrontation might arise.
Noticing Mia’s damp clothes from her earlier attempt to intervene, Dominic reluctantly agreed, “Alright.
let’s go. Make sure to change into dry clothes as soon as possible. We don’t want you catching a cold.”
Timothy could only watch helplessly as Mia walked away, gradually fading from his view.
Alone in the pouring rain, Timothy felt the cold drops beating against his face, his usually charming appearance now disheveled in the downpour.
In the world of business, Timothy was accustomed to being in control, but with Mia, he felt a sense of powerlessness that was unfamiliar to him.
Heath retrieved the umbrella from the ground and approached Timothy, holding it over him. “Mr. Barrett.
the rain is getting heavier. We should head back,” he suggested cautiously.
Nonetheless, Timothy stood in silence, unmoving. His gaze shifted upwards toward the nearby residential building, its illuminated windows emitting a gentle warmth.
In that moment. Timothy couldn’t help but reflect on the emptiness of his own home. From his initial discomfort to the present moment, he slowly came to realize, albeit belatedly, the true extent of what he had lost.
As Mia stepped into the elevator with her brothers, she wiped the raindrops off her forehead.
Standing beside her, Claude asked, “Mia, why did you return with Timothy today? Weren’t you planning to take a cab?”
Mia replied, “I didn’t mean to keep it from you guys, but with such heavy rain, taking a cab didn’t seem like a safe choice.
“So. I decided to share a ride back. But please don’t worry, this small incident won’t sway me. After all,
Timothy and I are already divorced.”
She then turned to Dominic, calmly reassuring him, “Dominic, I understand your concern, but trust me, l won’t change my mind.
“As the heiress of the Lane family, I have the freedom to make my own choices. Besides, a good horse doesn’t graze on what’s behind it.”
Dominic affectionately patted her hair and said, “Alright, go back and take a warm shower quickly. We don’t want you catching a cold.”
Claude added, “We’ll stay out here.”
With a nod, Mia exited the elevator and entered her home.
Dominic and Claude watched her until she was safely inside before departing.
Dominic’s previously gentle expression instantly hardened.
sure someone keeps an eye on
Timothy. We can’t risk any trouble from him until Mia finishes her exams and leaves Bern City.”
“Dominic, trust me, I’ll take care of this.”
“Hand it over to you? That’s even more troubling. If it weren’t for your error in the driver arrangement, how else would Timothy have had the chance to bring Mia back?”
Claude immediately lowered his head, not daring to utter a word. How could he have anticipated this outcome?
After all, wasn’t Timothy the CEO of the Barrett Group? How did he suddenly have so much free time to drop Mia home?
It seemed rather suspicious!
Meanwhile, upon returning home, Mia’s first priority was to take a shower, change her clothes, and blow- dry her hair.
As a pregnant woman, she couldn’t afford to catch a cold.
Upon exiting the bathroom, Mia proceeded to her bedroom and instinctively approached the window.
From her vantage point, Mia could see the entrance gate, but the heavy rain severely limited visibility, making it impossible to discern any activity outside.
Nonetheless, Timothy should have departed long ago.
As Mia remembered Timothy enduring Dominic’s assault without retaliating, her mood grew increasingly uneasy.
She rubbed her face, reminding herself sternly, “Don’t be swayed, don’t falter!”
Indeed, sympathizing with a man was often the beginning of trouble!
Lying back on her bed, Mia retrieved her phone and opened Instagram.
She noticed several follow requests, mostly from her former classmates, but she didn’t accept them since they weren’t particularly close.
Messaging Gina, she inquired, “Are you back home?”
“Yeah.”
“You and Taylor seemed to hit it off today. Hoping for good news from you two.”
“Ahem, don’t jinx it. Whether it works out or not depends on fate. By the way, have you checked the class group chat? It’s blowing up. Who would’ve thought you’re now a wealthy heiress with a billionaire ex-husband?”
Mia was taken aback when she saw the message. She had muted the group chat a while ago and hadn’t been keeping up with the conversations.
As she opened the chat, she noticed a significant increase in the number of participants.
Someone had even tagged her in a message: “Hey, Mia! Remember me? We used to be roommates. I couldn’t make it to this reunion due to some family matters, but let’s plan another one soon!”
“Yeah, who would’ve thought Mia had such a wealthy background? She’s always been so low¨Ckey. I bet those who underestimated her are regretting it now. I always knew Mia was special, but some people just didn’t see it.”
“I’ve heard that Ramona is on her knees at her family’s doorstep, begging not to be disowned. If I had a daughter who caused such trouble, I’d disown her too.”
“Taylor, you need to plan another reunion soon. There are so many of us who missed out this time. You can’t leave anyone behind!”
Reading these messages, Mia couldn’t help but feel a sense of irony.
She promptly replied to Gina. “I’ve just skimmed through the messages in the group chat. These people were just acquaintances before, but now they’re acting like we’re total besties.”
“Well that’s because everyone knows you’re an heiress who married into a wealthy family, so they’re all trying to cozy up to you. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure Taylor doesn’t organize another class reunion. I won’t let them bother you.”
Mia now understood what it felt like to be treated differently.
It dawned on her why the pursuit of wealth was so prevalent. She couldn’t help but notice a surge in the number of people following her on Instagram again.
Frustrated, Mia decided to exit the class group chat, believing that distancing herself would be a preferable course of action.
The following day, Mia went to campus as usual for her self¨Cstudy session.
This time, Antonio stood by the roadside bright and early, appearing somewhat nervous as he apologized, “Ms. Mia, I’m truly sorry about yesterday. I mistakenly thought I was supposed to pick up Mr. Dominic instead. You know how these things can happen.”
“It’s okay, let’s go.” Recognizing yesterday’s incident as a mere misunderstanding. Mia held no blame toward Antonio.