Chapter 148: Surging Heat Flow
Before she could hear more, the door slammed shut in her face.
Inside, Mia heard James's questioning but said nothing. With a cold expression, she pushed him away.
She took off her high heels, changed into slippers, and walked past him, wanting to take a shower.
To wash away the smell of cigarettes and alcohol that she hated.
After just two steps, the furious James grabbed her wrist and half-dragged, half-carried her to the full-length mirror.
He gripped her chin, making her face the mirror.
"Mia, look at yourself now. Do you even recognize yourself?"
Was this still the Mia he knew?
Mia didn't want to look.
But James forcefully held her chin, making her face it.
With just one glance, Mia's eyes turned even redder.
The person in the mirror was indeed a stranger.
Pale face, haggard appearance, eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
Dull, lifeless eyes, breath reeking of cigarettes and alcohol.
She barely looked human anymore.
She looked at the man behind her in the mirror, holding her with anger all over his face. Their eyes met in the reflection, and she smiled bitterly and coldly, "James, isn't this all thanks to you?"
James's pupils contracted.
Pain spread through his eyes.
His grip on her chin loosened, but the arm around her waist didn't let go. Instead, it tightened bit by bit.
He held her thin, petite body in his embrace, their eyes meeting in the mirror.
In the past, many times, he would hold her intimately in front of this mirror.
He wouldn't let her close her eyes, making her watch as he gradually drew closer to her, until they were tightly connected.
Back then, her eyes were shy and timid, but she would obediently cooperate.
Leaning in his arms, her smooth skin would flush a beautiful pink, like a freshly bloomed rose, tender and delicate, making him want to pluck it.
It drove him crazy, made him obsessed.
And now, the mirror reflected two people in an intimate embrace.
One with eyes full of pain and weakness, the other with mocking coldness.
The pain in James's eyes deepened. His lips, pressed tight from intense emotions, moved slightly.
After a long while, he said nothing.
He looked at Mia in the mirror. He didn't know how to communicate with her.
Finally, he looked away, picked her up by the waist, and strode into the bathroom.
He turned on the hot water, which flowed into the bathtub.
Mia was carried by James into the tub. With both of them in it, the water level rose sharply.
He held her in his arms. She didn't resist, letting him remove her clothes and begin washing her.
The bath lasted nearly an hour, until she was completely clean inside and out.
All that remained in the air was the scent of the body wash they both liked.
James's eyes stayed red the whole time. After silently finishing the washing, he pulled Mia into his arms again.
His face buried in her neck, breathing in her familiar scent, he slowly closed his eyes.
This was his Mia.
His arms tightened slowly, wishing he could merge her into his body.
Face to face, their bodies intimately embraced. Hearts pressed together, clearly the closest distance possible, yet he felt like he couldn't get any closer.
James's eyes burned hot. Warmth flowed—he couldn't tell if it was the circulating hot water or the moisture in his eyes.
Under the steamy heat, Mia's drunkenness fermented, making her dizzy and drowsy.
He held her too tight. It hurt.
But her body was too weak to struggle.
After being held for who knows how long, he suddenly stood up with her.
He casually dried them both and walked out of the bathroom.
The moment she was thrown onto the master bedroom bed, Mia knew he wanted her to fulfill her wifely duties.
She was actually very tired today and didn't really want to fulfill those duties.
But she was also too sad today. Her brain could still think normally, and she couldn't completely pass out yet.
She didn't refuse James's approach.
She wanted to tire herself out more, tired enough to fall asleep directly.
The familiar bed.
The familiar scent.
As he approached, Mia turned over and lay face down on the bed.
As he pressed close from behind, she buried her face in the pillow.
She bit her lip hard. The warmth that flowed disappeared into the pillow.
...
The night grew deeper.
James finally let her go.
He held her from behind, still tightly.
Mia's eyes, which had been tightly closed, slowly opened.
Her whole body ached and felt weak, very tired, but she didn't let herself crave the warmth of the man behind her.
She slowly raised her hand, grasped the large hand circling her waist, and pried it open finger by finger, leaving his embrace.
She threw off the covers and got up, not caring that she wasn't wearing anything.
Just like that, wearing slippers, she left the master bedroom and returned to the side bedroom where she slept.
Too tired to shower again, she cleaned herself up briefly and put on a nightgown.
She pulled back the covers, lay down, closed her eyes, and exhausted in body and mind, Mia quickly fell into a deep sleep.
...
The next morning, as soon as the alarm rang, Mia opened her eyes.
She threw off the covers, got up, and washed her face with cold water.
Heavy makeup covered her haggard appearance. She went downstairs and took the black coffee Wilhelmina had made for her.
Wilhelmina watched as Mia, who used to be unable to handle even a bit of bitterness, drank the black coffee without changing expression.
After greeting Wilhelmina, she went to work as if nothing had happened.
The broken, hurt version of her from last night seemed to have never existed.
Wilhelmina sighed softly and began cleaning up.
Starting from the bathroom, she cleaned quickly.
After finishing cleaning the whole house, the master bedroom door still hadn't opened.
Since coming back, every morning, the mister would wake up earlier than the missus.
He no longer sat on the balcony like before, but sat on the sofa instead.
This morning, she hadn't seen James.
It was already work time now, and there was no sign of James.
Wilhelmina walked to the master bedroom door. While hesitating, the door was pulled open from inside.
James walked out with a cold aura. Wilhelmina feared him in her heart. Seeing him, her body instinctively stepped back two steps.
Watching him go downstairs, Wilhelmina immediately followed and prepared breakfast for James.
After preparing breakfast, Wilhelmina returned upstairs to clean the master bedroom.
Walking in, Wilhelmina opened the curtains and saw the ashtray at the bedside, which had been clean yesterday, now filled with cigarette butts.
Beside the ashtray were two empty cigarette packs and one pack with only a few cigarettes left.
Had James sat here smoking all night?
Wilhelmina stared blankly for a moment, then cleaned up efficiently.
The words she'd heard standing at the door last night surfaced in her mind again. As she cleaned, she kept pondering this matter.
Last night she had felt something was off about what James's words implied.
Since returning, she'd seen Mia suffering so much. Heartbroken by her gradual weight loss, she had secretly asked Mia why she didn't get divorced.
Clearly Mia was now financially independent and could support herself.
Mia said James wouldn't divorce.
She blurted out: Why?
Mia laughed coldly, to torture her.
She was confused—clearly James was the one who cheated, so why torture Mia?
When she asked more, Mia didn't continue.
Now, connecting everything together, Wilhelmina's mind was full of one thought: had James misunderstood something?
Lost in thought, as she walked out of the master bedroom, she ran right into James, who had finished breakfast and was returning to change clothes.
The moment she saw him, she blurted out: "Mr. James Smith, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about Mrs. Mia Smith?"