Chapter 250: Mia's Maintenance
Everything happened too fast. James was still reeling from the shock of hearing Mia say again, with her own lips, that Fox was Uri's son.
Her expression, her eyes—they were too serious.
For a moment, he was in a daze, thinking maybe what Mia said was true.
Until Uri's fist landed heavily on his jaw, snapping him back to reality.
That punch from Uri was vicious.
James's face, which had been turned toward Mia, was knocked to the side. His mouth filled with the taste of blood.
His lip split open, blood seeping from the wound, quickly forming into droplets that slowly trickled down.
James pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. That punch from Uri had completely ignited his rage.
The taste of blood stirred the beast lurking deep inside him, his eyes turning dark and menacing.
He slowly raised his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
The instant he pulled his hand back, he swung and punched back.
James moved lightning-fast. Even though Uri had his guard up after throwing his punch, he still couldn't dodge James's strike.
He tried to step back quickly but James grabbed him by the collar.
He was yanked back, the fist landing squarely on his jaw.
This punch was even more vicious than Uri's!
One punch wasn't enough to satisfy him.
James swung again with his other hand.
Uri was beaten with no ability to fight back. After taking two punches, he couldn't keep his footing and stumbled backward several steps.
James was puzzled—Uri's skills weren't this poor.
What game was he playing?
Then he heard Mia's worried shout from behind him, "Uri—"
Mia rushed over in a few quick steps, supporting him with concern written all over her face. "Are you okay?"
Uri had been in a car accident before and had been a vegetable in bed for four years.
Though he'd woken up since then, his physical condition had never been great.
Under Wanwan's careful care, he'd only recovered to about seventy or eighty percent in the past six months.
She'd seen how bad Uri's condition had been before. Even though he looked no different from a normal person now, she still worried.
"I'm fine."
Uri coughed lightly, looking up at Mia with a reassuring smile. "I'm just glad you're okay."
That smile pulled at the corner of his mouth that James had split open, blood trickling down from the wound.
Mia felt terrible watching this. Without thinking, she raised her hand and gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with her sleeve.
James's eyes grew even more murderous. The scene before him stung his eyes until they were bloodshot.
Through gritted teeth, he said, "Uri!"
If Mia wanted to get revenge on him this way, he couldn't do anything about it.
But Uri—this was clearly deliberate!
That punch he'd just thrown at him—they both knew exactly what his real capabilities were.
In a real fight, they were evenly matched.
This act of being so weak after two punches that he couldn't even stand—who was he putting on this show for?
James was blinded by jealousy.
He strode forward in a few quick steps, fingers curved like claws, ready to yank Uri away from Mia's support.
"James!"
Mia looked at James bullying people with his power. She shouted his name with fury, without a trace of the intimacy from four years ago.
Only full of indignation and anger!
Her eyes were red with rage.
James was going too far!
It was one thing for him to keep offending her.
But now he was actually attacking Uri!
Didn't he know how poor Uri's health was?
And why was Uri's health so poor—didn't he have any idea?
The fire of anger burned fiercely in Mia's heart.
She raised her hand and slapped away James's reaching hand with force.
Like a mother protecting her young, she spread her arms wide and blocked Uri.
"You like hitting people so much? If you've got the guts, knock me down first. Otherwise, as long as I have even a bit of strength left, don't even think about touching Uri again today."
She stared hard at James.
Her eyes deadly serious.
James's pupils contracted, his eyes full of shock.
Looking at Mia protecting Uri, the pain in his eyes deepened.
She really knew exactly where it hurt, and she kept stabbing right at his most painful spots!
Hit her?
How could he possibly bear to lay a finger on her?
Wasn't she deliberately trying to hurt him?
Uri stood behind Mia, his gaze sweeping coldly over James.
A mocking smile curved at the corner of his lips.
"Mia, be good, get in the car first. Let me handle this."
Uri's eyes were challenging, but his tone was very gentle.
His large hand gripped Mia's shoulder, trying to protect her and get her in the car first.
"I'm your fiancée!"
Mia's tone was firm. There was no way she could just watch him get beaten.
Her body blocking Uri didn't budge an inch. Her eyes were fixed on James, full of wariness.
"Go ahead, do it!"
Seeing James not moving, Mia urged him with a mocking tone.
James's eyes were full of pain. "How could I possibly hit you?"
Mia's tone grew colder. "Not going to hit me then? Move aside."
She didn't give James a moment to breathe.
Her words, her actions—they all turned into blades, mercilessly stabbing into his heart one cut at a time.
Stabbing however it would hurt most.
In just a few short minutes, James's heart was stabbed bloody by her.
Their gazes met in midair.
Mia ignored the pain filling his eyes, not backing down an inch.
James's chest heaved violently.
In the night, dark currents surged in his eyes.
Tonight, having Robert target Mia's branch office and create trouble—he'd done it because he had too many things he wanted to say to her.
He needed a private space.
But now there was no way to continue. Looking at Mia staring at him with determined eyes full of resentment.
Extremely unwilling, he finally stepped slightly to the side and moved out of the way.
Mia turned back to support Uri. As they passed James, her eyes still watched him warily.
As if afraid he might suddenly attack Uri again with some underhanded move.
James's fists clenched tighter and tighter as he watched helplessly while Mia helped Uri into the car he'd driven there.
After getting in the car, Mia was setting the GPS to take him to the hospital when Uri stopped her.
"It's fine, just a minor injury. We'll treat the wound when we get back, and have the servants boil a couple eggs for you to help reduce the swelling."
"Okay."
Hearing Uri say he was fine, Mia didn't insist.
She was worried about Fox in her heart.
Although the Smith Villa was Uri's brother's home, it was still very unfamiliar to Fox.
She was afraid if he woke up in the middle of the night and didn't see her and Uri, he'd be scared.
"Mia, I'm sorry."
"What?"
Mia was turning the car around to head back. Hearing Uri's words, she glanced at him.
With that glance, she happened to catch the rearview mirror.
She saw under the streetlight, James's tall, straight figure slowly crouching down.
His hands holding his head, his body hidden in the night, somehow making people feel he was in great pain and sorrow.
Mia's brow furrowed noticeably. Her foot eased off the gas pedal, and the car slowed down.
"When you suddenly got that call tonight, the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
I called to ask around and found out James was deliberately pulling strings behind the scenes. I was worried he might do something to you, so I left Fox alone in the room."
"It's fine, you were just worried about me."
If anyone was to blame, it was James.
What exactly was James trying to do?
Mia's eyes turned cold. She withdrew her gaze, pressed the gas pedal to the floor, and the car sped away, not bothering with James behind them anymore.
......
When James returned to the Smith Villa, it was already very late. The servants had all gone back to their rooms to rest.
The house was very quiet.
He had just started walking inside when a familiar voice rang in his ears.
"Is this pressure okay?"
It was Mia.
He looked up, following the sound.
Standing in the shadows, he watched the two people bathed in light over by the open kitchen.
Mia stood in front of the island counter, her lower body blocked from view, her upper body leaning slightly forward.
Their posture wasn't really that intimate, but watching Mia look at Uri with gentle eyes, carefully using an egg to massage his face—
His heart felt like it was being pierced by ten thousand arrows, hurting so much he wanted to rush forward immediately and pull them apart.
What his heart wanted, his feet had already acted on.
He strode forward in large steps toward the island counter.