Chapter 60: Truly Forgiven Him?
The Smith Group
Anyone who could be James's assistant had to be highly capable.
But compared to Robert, they fell far short.
Robert was very smart.
With Robert around, many things were already arranged in advance without James having to say anything.
It saved a lot of time.
Without Robert, work efficiency was noticeably lower.
What could normally be finished by eight o'clock kept him busy until after nine.
James stood up and grabbed his phone from the side.
He performed an action he'd done countless times at work—unlocking his phone.
After unlocking, it didn't go to the home screen, but to WhatsApp.
It was the chat window with Mia.
The last message was one he'd sent her after calling Louis, carefully worded: [Mia, what are you doing?]
Still no reply.
Right above this message was one Mia had sent him over ten days ago.
A cute kitten emoji, followed by: [James, I'm home safe, waiting for you to come home.]
The emoji was just like her—lively and adorable, making anyone who saw it smile.
Before, Mia was like a little chatterbox. Whenever she encountered something fun or happy, she'd share it with him.
She never demanded quick replies, or even any reply at all.
She said, I know you're busy with work, you don't have to reply to everything, I just want you to be able to relax when you have a moment.
James gently scrolled up with his finger.
Almost all of it was Mia sharing things one-sidedly.
Except for questions about when he'd be back—things that needed answers—he'd only reply briefly.
The more he scrolled up, the heavier his heart felt.
He scrolled back down to the latest message.
Looking at the message he'd sent after believing Louis, which got no reply.
Louis said he'd made it through the rough patch, that Mia was going to forgive him.
He'd believed that jerk Louis!
After being neglected for so long, having hope, only to be doused with ice-cold water.
He couldn't bear to give up on Mia, but Louis!
James backed out and opened Louis's chat: [At home?]
Louis, who had surgery tomorrow and couldn't go clubbing tonight, was home and replied: [Yeah.]
After a few seconds with no follow-up from James.
Louis: [?]
James sat in his car, coldly looking at the popped-up message, swiped it away, and continued his operation.
Once finished, he tossed his phone onto the center console and drove home.
Half an hour later, Louis suddenly got a call: "Mr. Cox, there's a delivery that needs you to come to the community gate to sign for."
"Delivery?"
Louis had a flash of insight and excitedly asked, "Is it from someone named Smith?"
"Yes."
It really was!
He'd never say anything bad about James again!
So reliable!
He actually sent him the car he'd wanted for so long!
"Coming right away."
Louis sprang up from the couch like a carp jumping out of water.
When he left his apartment, he found it was snowing.
No time to go back for an umbrella, he braved the wind and snow, running all the way to the community gate.
Still catching his breath, he heard someone beside him ask: "Mr. Cox?"
"Yes!"
As soon as he answered, a very realistic inflatable doll was shoved into his arms.
His face was pressed right into the inflatable doll's chest, nearly suffocating him.
What the hell was this?
Where was the car?
Louis, holding the inflatable doll with a confused expression, didn't react for quite a while.
Not until the person reminded him to sign did he snap back to reality.
When he chose to buy in this community, it was for convenience.
This community was peaceful despite being in a busy area.
Just two streets away was bar street.
Many people going to bars passed through here.
Not even ten o'clock—real nightlife was just starting.
Heavy foot traffic.
Standing in the wind and snow, he was surrounded by groups of men and women giving him strange looks.
To uninformed passersby, he was a typical creepy shut-in.
Not only buying one, but not even playing with it at home—playing with it in public.
The world was going downhill, morals were declining.
He kept hearing the word: [Pervert]
Louis was furious inside!
He quickly signed, hid his face behind the inflatable doll.
Dragging it, he got home as fast as possible.
Door closed, Louis opened James's WhatsApp and sent him a message: [James, Fuck! You ungrateful, worse than an animal...]
James, just arriving downstairs, opened the voice message, and hearing the tone, he was satisfied and backed out. He didn't care what came after—after receiving his special gift, Louis couldn't have anything nice to say.
He turned off his phone, held it in his hand, opened the car door and got out.
After Louis tricked him and ruined his mood, did he think he'd get off easy?
...
James returned home, carrying the cold from outside. After showering downstairs, by the time he went upstairs it was nearly eleven.
At this hour, Mia was already sound asleep.
He walked to the master bedroom door, took out his key, gently unlocked it. The door opened a crack, and light from the night lamp seeped through.
He waited quietly for a few seconds. No movement inside, so he pushed the door open and walked in with light steps.
Standing by the bed, looking at Mia curled up in a ball, with only a small portion of the blanket covering her.
She was restless in her sleep. At the hospital, he'd been there to cover her.
After coming home, they slept in separate rooms.
Worried she'd kick off the blanket and catch cold at night, he'd come check on her several times each night.
With practiced movements, he bent down to tuck her in properly.
He accidentally touched Mia's hand.
James froze, his tucking motion stopped.
Afraid of waking her and making her unhappy to see him sneaking in at night.
He quickly pulled his hand back.
His hand was grabbed.
James's gaze fell on the small hand gripping his large one.
Was Mia... awake?
In just over ten seconds, James's mind had rapidly filtered through a dozen methods.
All about how to calm her down as quickly as possible if Mia was angry, to keep her from getting emotional.
Just as his thoughts were in chaos, Mia's soft voice sounded in his ear, "James, I'm so hungry."
That coquettish tone felt as distant as a previous century.
James quickly looked up.
Looking at Mia with her eyes half-open, he couldn't figure out what she meant for a moment.
Could what Louis said actually be true?
Had Mia really forgiven him?
His throat felt blocked, his voice very low, asking softly, "What do you want to eat?"
His voice so quiet, as if a slightly louder volume would shatter this beautiful dream-like scene.
"I want fried chicken, barbecue, cola, milk tea, cake—"
She listed over a dozen foods in her soft voice, even specifically naming which restaurants she wanted them from.
James's brain worked like a machine—if he wanted to, remembering this much was no problem.
"Okay, I'll go buy them."
He placed her hand back under the blanket, turned and strode out.
After he left, Mia closed her eyes again, falling into deep sleep.