Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
“You’re right, Mr. Officer. I’ll talk to him.”
As soon as Mia left the place, she immediately called Timothy. She demanded an explanation.
Mia called several times but no one picked up.
She then texted Timothy. “What do you not like about the decor?”
But after waiting for some time, there was no response from Timothy.
Mia knew that he was doing this on purpose.
Yet, if Timothy didn’t repeal the complaint, it would negatively impact the studio’s reputation.
She needed to convince Timothy to repeal the complaint.
When Mia returned to the office, Wilhelmina remarked sarcastically. “Some people might have but they turned out to be incompetent.
won the prize
“After all drafting something and actually working on it are two different things. If the complaint is not repealed, our credibility will take a hit at the end of the year.”
Ignoring Wilhelmina’s negative remark, Mia turned to Felix. “Felix, I’ll fix this as soon as possible.”
“I know you will Mia. But is there a communication problem between you and the client? I checked the design draft. It doesn’t look like something you would draw.”
Mia beat around the bush. “Perhaps I misunderstood what the client wanted.”
There was no way she would admit that she screwed up the design on purpose.
She was careless and forgot that Timothy could always alert the authorities.
That night, Mia waited for Timothy’s response, to no avail.
She returned to the studio and redrew the draft.
She then texted Timothy. “I’ll show you the new draft this afternoon. When are you getting off work?”
Timothy was in a meeting. His phone was next to him, and he picked it up when the screen lit up.
It was a text from Mia. He had ignored her calls and texts for a day now, and he could continue doing that.
Mia’s studio must be desperate to clear its name, so Mia would come to him soon.
Timothy saw the text and chose not to send a reply. Mia should know what she needed to do.
Mia waited for another hour. There was still no response from that prick.
Mia thought about it and decided to hail a cab to her marital home. She just had to do everything from scratch. She might not know the taste of every client, but she was confident that she knew what Timothy liked.
She walked toward the door as if was familiar with the place. Then, she pressed on the doorbell. No one answered the door. She keyed in the code and the door flung wide open. So, the code did not change at all!
Mia entered the living room.
Everything inside had been stripped bare. Not even a curtain could be found. It looked rather sad.
Mia could imagine how furious Timothy was when he’d seen the decor. Mia had had her revenge so now was the time to fix the mess.
After all, Timothy could be quite picky.
She even regretted it a tiny bit. She shouldn’t have acted without thinking.
“Mia, what are you doing here?” Mia turned around and saw Maya coming out of the kitchen wearing an apron.
Looking at Maya, Mia found the apron oddly familiar.
Ah.
She used to wear it.
Mia did not expect to see Maya here. But she wasn’t surprised. Maya and Timothy were living together now and they were trying to renovate the house before they got married. She was the one who shouldn’t be there.
Mia composed herself and explained, “I’m here to work.”
“Work on what?” Maya eyed Mia apprehensively. She saw the cover of the file Mia was clutching and understood right away. “You’re the new interior designer?” Maya was surprised to learn that Timothy hired Mia to redesign the decor.
Maya asked the butler to strip everything bare, thinking that she could eliminate all traces of Mia. But Timothy was livid upon seeing that. He even went so far as to fire the butler.
To make up for her mistake. Maya hired many famous interior designers. But-Timothy was never happy with their services.
Undaunted by Maya’s question, Mia placed the design paper on the table confidently. “Yes, that’s me. When is Timothy coming back?”
“He’s working overtime today, so I don’t know when he’s coming back. You can tell me everything since I live with him anyway.” Maya grabbed the design paper and began perusing it on the couch.
Silence returned to the living room. Only the noise of pages being leafed through could be heard.
Mia stood in the same spot. The quietness amplified the ticking of time. Maya put down the design paper and asked, “Ms. Bowen, I like your design here, but certain details need to be tweaked. I’m thinking of having a photo wall for our wedding photos. Where do you think we should display it?”
Wedding photos? Mia recalled that when Timothy and she got married, Timothy absolutely refused to hang their wedding photos. Laura had to keep bugging him to change his mind. And now that he was with Maya, he wanted a photo wall. Now she knew who was more important.
Mia rolled her eyes internally, but she was professional enough to maintain her smile. “Anywhere you like.”
“I want your opinion because you’re the professional here.”
Mia pointed at the wall facing the main entrance. “That’s a nice spot. You’ll see the photos when you walk in.”
Maya nodded contentedly. “By the way, we need a new mattress too. I want something softer to improve our sleep quality. Timothy hasn’t had enough sleep lately because the mattress is too hard.”
Mia breathed out slowly. “There are a lot of brands available, even the luxurious ones. I’m not an expert in this. Perhaps I can redirect you to sales?”
“You’re the designer. You’ll help us pick the mattress, too, yeah?”
Mia nodded. “Sure, I can come with you.” Her smile did not betray the scowl she just let out internally.
Maya grinned widely. “Great. When we’re free, we’ll give you a call. I hope we can make it work this time.”
Mia glanced at the design paper. “No problem. If there’s nothing else, please repeal the complaint.”
Maya dismissed it awkwardly. “I will in a bit.”
Mia took out her phone and showed Maya the page to complete the simple process. “It’s easy. Just sign here.”
“Timothy lodged the complaint, so by right, he should sign it.”
“Don’t worry. It’s your marital home. You can sign it, too. Unless you think you don’t have the right to sign it?” Maya immediately signed the agreement to repeal the complaint.
As soon as Maya signed it, Mia let out a sigh of relief. Her hard work had paid off.
While Maya often said something nasty, she would sign the agreement once she was satisfied. To make Timothy sign, however, would be a mission impossible.
Before Mia left. Maya called out, “Ms. Bowen, can I ask you something? Who’s the male partner that came with you to the banquet last time?”
Mia turned around and replied calmly. “I believe this is my privacy.”
Maya was slightly annoyed. “You know, I was happy that you finally returned to your place. After all, we’re not from the same worlds. This was great for everyone, but I see that you haven’t given up. You want to enter the circle you never belong to. And in the end, you’re just going to hurt yourself.”
“What a gold digger.” Maya thought. Right after Timothy dumped her, she found Liam. She was like an eyesore who refused to go away.
Hearing Maya’s statement, Mia raised her eyebrows. “You’re right. But can I say something to you, too?”
“Oh, yeah?” Maya looked at Mia. “Sure. Go ahead.”
Mia continued in a calm yet assertive volce. “You asked the butler to get rid of the previous d¨¦cor, didn’t you? Timothy doesn’t like the new d¨¦cor, which means you don’t know Timothy that well yet. A side chick who doesn’t know the way to her man’s heart can never be a main chick.”
Maya stood up quickly. “Did you just call me a side chick?”
“Well, the law says so. Timothy and I haven’t gotten the divorce yet. So, who do you think you are now?” Mia left as soon as she said that. But suddenly, a searing pain spread from her scalp. Someone was grabbing her hair.
Maya was mad. “And who do you think you are? You’re a tramp who used to live in slums. Know your place. Who gives you the permission to bark at others with your stinky breath?”
Mia retaliated and grabbed Maya’s head before pinching the latter’s waist hard. “And even if you were born rich, you’re still a side chick. Pathetic.”
Maya’s whole body trembled in fury following Mia’s provocation. She wished she could choke Mia.
“Stop! What are you doing?” As soon as Timothy walked in, he saw the two women engage in a brawl. His eyes fell on Mia, surprised by how aggressive Mia could be.
Maya saw that Timothy was back, and she let go of Mia immediately. “Timothy, you’re back. Look. My head hurts. My hands hurt, too.”
Mia turned around to find that Timothy was here. She froze on the spot.
Timothy approached Mia and uttered coldly, “Let go of Maya now.”
A mocking look appeared on Mia’s face. Nothing had changed at all.
She let go of Maya. The latter immediately threw herself into Timothy’s arms and wept pitifully.