Chapter 145: Slap James
James's grip on her wrist loosened. Mia pulled her hand back expressionlessly. When he got so annoyed by her that he stopped caring and turned to stride away, she squatted down with an indifferent look and continued picking up the money.
Fighting the dizziness, she picked up the bills one by one, slowly.
Suddenly her body lifted off the ground—James had turned back and hoisted her over his shoulder, striding inside with large steps.
In the end, he couldn't bear it.
He had walked a few steps, then looked back to see Mia squatting there, looking like she could collapse at any moment.
His heart clenched with pain.
Mia was already weak, and being carried over his shoulder made her so dizzy that everything went dark.
As he walked with big strides, the dizziness got even worse.
Finally, when they got home and he put her down on the sofa, he turned expressionlessly and headed to the kitchen.
Mia took a moment to recover, waiting for the dizziness to pass.
Without saying a word, she pushed herself up and headed toward the entrance again.
James had just gone in to get a glass of milk and saw her walking out.
He knew exactly what she was going down to do.
With a dark expression, he put down the brown sugar water in his hand, strode to the drawer in the living room where money was kept, opened it, pulled out a stack of bills, and quickly walked to the entrance.
The moment she opened the door to leave, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
The door closed again.
He looked at her struggling desperately, his face dark. "Stop going out to pick up that money. However much you made today, I'll make it up to you, okay? Is this enough?"
Stop hurting yourself.
She was in so much pain she was breaking out in cold sweats.
She used to be so afraid of pain. Every time she had her period, she would curl up sweetly in his arms, eyes red, pulling his big hand to her lower abdomen and acting cute.
"James, rub it for me, it hurts so much."
Later, he found a Chinese medicine doctor to help her, and he was strict with her—no bare feet, no eating too many cold things. Gradually, her period pain got better.
But now—
James looked at her. She was clearly in so much pain her face looked terrible, her lips trembling slightly, yet she didn't make a single sound of pain.
Just coldness and stubbornness all over her face.
Mia's wrist was gripped tightly by him. She really had no strength left.
With the force he was using, she really couldn't pull away.
She slowly looked up at the money in his hand.
She didn't know how much it was, but clearly more than she'd made today.
This amount of money really meant nothing to him.
The money in his hand swayed slightly with his emotional fluctuations.
He was using money to humiliate her.
The cold smile on Mia's lips deepened. She slowly raised her hand and took it from him.
Just as he was clearly breathing a sigh of relief, she threw it hard in his face.
The money scattered between them, falling at their feet.
She didn't even look at the money on the floor. Looking at the wealthy James, she said coldly, "I do want to make money, but no matter how much I want it, I won't take your money. Not a single cent."
In this entrance.
The humiliation he gave her was unforgettable.
Her self-respect trampled by him, her dignity crushed.
That humiliation—she couldn't forget it.
Her whole face said she wouldn't give him another chance to humiliate her.
James also remembered that day, what he had done to make Mia stay.
His hand gripping her wrist loosened again. Mia pulled away, opened the door, and walked out stepping on his money.
This time, James didn't stop her.
The door closed automatically. He slowly squatted down.
Looking at the money all over the floor.
His vision gradually blurred.
They couldn't go back to the past. She would never again throw herself into his arms with a sweet smile calling him James.
Never again act willful and make a fuss in front of him without restraint.
He watched the rift between them grow bigger and bigger.
The sweetness of the past grew more and more distant.
Only mutual torment remained.
Let her go?
Let her belong to someone else?
He really couldn't do it!
...
When Mia came back, James was still squatting in the entrance, like a statue.
She ignored him completely, stepping over his money and walking past him again.
When pouring hot water, she saw the glass of milk on the dining table that had already gone cold. Her heart remained unmoved.
Her heart was already dead.
The occasional concern he showed seemed ridiculous to her.
She poured herself a glass of hot water and slowly drank it, then went into the bathroom to shower.
After washing up, she ran into James waiting outside the bathroom.
She still ignored him, picking up the hairdryer to dry her hair.
He stood behind her the whole time, watching her in the mirror, his eyes red-rimmed.
She was getting thinner and thinner.
Her little face had no life in it. She used to bloom so tenderly, but now she was slowly withering.
After Mia turned off the hairdryer, James looked at her, lowered himself, wanting to make peace with her.
He really didn't want to keep torturing each other like this.
He really wanted them to go back to how they were.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
Didn't mean to misjudge her character.
Didn't mean to humiliate her with money either.
He just felt too much pain for her.
Mia calmly put down the hairdryer and slowly turned to look at James.
Didn't mean it?
The damage was done—could saying "didn't mean it" erase it?
Too much had built up inside her.
With his "didn't mean it," it exploded.
She suddenly raised her hand and slapped James hard across the face.
She had taken medicine again and had a hot shower, recovering some strength.
This slap was loud and clear.
She had wanted to slap him for so long.
The moment the slap landed, she saw James's face darken inch by inch.
Looking at his dark expression, she also said, "I didn't mean it."
Using what he cared about most to throw back at him, she was using actions to tell James.
Not everything can be forgiven.
Just like he couldn't accept and wouldn't forgive her for slapping him.
That's why, after getting slapped, he would be so angry.
But Mia didn't expect that James wouldn't fly into a rage as she'd imagined. Instead, he suppressed his anger and said to her, "It's okay, I forgive you."
One sentence "I forgive you," carrying cautious testing and a hint of hope.
He understood what she meant. He also knew how much hatred for him was packed into that slap.
But he also wanted to tell her that what he couldn't accept, he was willing to compromise on for her.
As long as she would say she forgave him.
He really wanted them to go back to how they were before.
He didn't blame her for getting rid of the baby, and she could try to forgive him for cheating during their marriage.
They could start over.
Seeing her like this, his heart really hurt too much.
"But I have no intention of forgiving you."
Mia's incredibly cold words extinguished the hope in James's eyes.
Watching her leave his sight, it was a long time before he walked back to the living room and called Robert on his phone.
"Contact the old housekeeper. Whatever salary it takes, find a way to get her to come back."
Back then, making Wilhelmina leave was done in a fit of rage, wanting to cut off all her escape routes.
But now, he had lost.
He was at his wit's end.
He didn't want to let go, and didn't want to keep torturing each other.
He wanted to make peace with her, wanted to turn things between them back to how they used to be.