Chapter 118: Do Me a Favor, Reward Five Million Dollars
"I never said today was my birthday. You all misunderstood." Mia refused to admit it, because this way it was just others' misunderstanding, not her fault.
But these people were all very smart. Once they thought about it carefully, they understood exactly what Mia was up to.
What a bitch.
They had wasted so much effort flattering her, only to find out she wasn't tonight's star.
This anger of being deceived spread through everyone's hearts.
No matter how Mia tried to argue, they weren't going to let themselves be taken advantage of.
"Ms. Wilson, you didn't say today was your birthday, but after we misunderstood, you didn't explain. Not only that, when we wished you happy birthday, you smiled so happily - wasn't that basically confirming it?"
"Exactly! How dare you say otherwise? Dressing like that at someone else's birthday party - who wouldn't misunderstand?"
Knowing the truth, not a single person would indulge Mia.
Facing these harsh accusations, Mia couldn't argue back. "I..."
Ava's brow furrowed slightly. Clearly, before she arrived, another drama had played out here.
As expected, Mia would stop at nothing to disgust her, only to suffer the consequences herself.
Right now, Mia's face looked terrible. She wished she could find somewhere to hide.
"Ms. Wilson, tell me, what's going on?" Ava asked calmly.
"I..."
Under Ava's calm gaze, Mia suddenly felt completely exposed.
Having her own birthday party hijacked and used for showing off by someone else - everyone expected Ava to be furious.
But Ava's lips only curved into a faint, shallow smile. She slowly walked toward Mia.
Mia guiltily stepped back, her eyes darting away. "You... what are you going to do?"
Ava's gaze fixed on Mia's eyes. After a few seconds, her lips curved into a mocking smile.
Mia looked at Ava warily, not knowing what she would do. Her heart filled with fear, afraid a slap would come flying.
Just when everyone thought that would happen, Ava had already turned around, saying coolly, "Let's cut the cake."
That's... it?
Everyone was confused. Most people would get angry when someone used their event to show off, but Ava wasn't angry at all.
Her temper was really too good.
Mia felt a breath stuck in her throat, unable to go up or down. While everyone else saw Ava's generosity, only Mia saw in her gaze what it really was - disdain!
She simply didn't think Mia was worth teaching a lesson.
Mia didn't know why her chest felt so suffocated.
Ava hadn't done anything, yet her face felt like it had been slapped, burning with pain.
Under that disdainful gaze, she felt more humiliated than if she'd actually been slapped.
Joshua's gaze returned to Ava, and the dark expression on his face lightened somewhat.
Everyone's attention returned to the main character, while Mia's incident was just a laughable little episode, not worth mentioning.
But the woman by Joshua's side wasn't Mia - who was this woman next to Joshua? No one had seen her before. If she were from their circle, someone this beautiful couldn't have left no impression.
Right now, everyone was extremely curious about Ava's identity.
The woman Joshua valued.
Previously, Mia was the closest woman to Joshua, but she had never received this kind of treatment at any birthday.
Yet this woman, appearing for the first time, was clearly valued by Joshua in a way everyone could see.
The way they looked at her now included not just admiration and attraction, but also respect and awe.
The server stepped forward to light the candles.
All the main lights in the venue went out, leaving only a spotlight following tonight's star.
Joshua stood to the side, his eyes seeing only Ava. A gleam flashed in his eyes, and his refined lips curved into a gentle arc. "Make a wish."
Ava closed her eyes and put her hands together.
A few seconds later, Ava opened her eyes, stepped forward, and blew out the candles.
Applause rang out around them.
"What did you wish for?" Joshua asked gently.
"Not telling you." Ava curved her lips and took the knife the server handed her.
Ava took two steps toward the cake.
Joshua chuckled softly, his voice magnetic and pleasant, carrying a hint of joy. "Ava."
"What?"
Ava turned around. A large hand gripped the back of her neck, and Joshua leaned down, pressing his lips against hers.
Ava's eyes widened in shock. She lifted her free hand, instinctively trying to push him away.
But Joshua had no intention of letting her go.
Gilbert's hands instantly tightened, his whole body trembling involuntarily. Finally, he could only squeeze his eyes shut and turn slightly away.
"What am I seeing?"
"...Why isn't the woman in Mr. Thomas's arms me?"
"Kissing in public - Mr. Thomas's love for that lady is practically overflowing."
The whole venue erupted. Mia felt her entire body turn ice cold. She had ten thousand impulses to rush up and separate them, but how would she dare? She could only endure it, her hatred for Ava reaching an extreme. If Ava hadn't come back, all of this would have been hers.
Why?
Why was the person in Joshua's arms Ava?
Why wasn't it her? She would take back everything that belonged to her.
Mia's hands clenched until they turned red.
Ava's cheeks flushed red as teasing voices continued around them.
Ava felt her face was on fire. Seeing the woman so embarrassed she wanted to find somewhere to hide, like a panicked little beast, both angry and furious, Joshua's lips curved playfully.
It was completely the manner of a young woman in love.
Joshua raised his hand to pull her into his embrace, his large hand stroking her hair. "Why are you shy?"
"Joshua! You're such a... scoundrel!"
Doing this in front of everyone - he was shameless.
Joshua chuckled. "I accept that description."
All the overhead lights came back on, but they in the center were still the most dazzling.
Ava had a bit of a headache. Tonight's Joshua was clearly more than she could handle.
"You all eat first. I need to use the restroom."
Joshua said, "I'll go with you."
Ava quickly raised her hand to stop him. "No need."
Watching Ava's flustered retreating figure, Joshua chuckled softly. How had he never noticed before how cute Ava was?
In the restroom, Ava's slender fingers were under the faucet, letting the cold water flow over her fingertips.
The cold sensation made her space out for a moment, gathering her thoughts.
She realized a problem - lately she had been getting too close to Joshua.
She sighed softly. Just as she was about to leave the restroom, a figure in red appeared beside her.
In the mirror, Mia glared at Ava with a dark expression.
Ava didn't want to deal with her. She pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped her fingers.
"I'll make you pay. Don't get too proud."
The sound of running water accompanied Mia's vicious voice.
Ava didn't even give her a glance. Not every time Mia came to disgust her did she have to accept it.
If Mia wasn't tired of it, she was.
She didn't know where her two kids had run off to. The two children were playing and didn't even know to come find her. Ava dialed Finn's number.
Ava waited anxiously for a few seconds before the other side picked up. "Hello, Mommy, what's wrong?"
"Finn, Cleo, where did you two run off to? I told you to come find me after playing for a while." It was almost over and she hadn't seen either child.
"Mommy, don't be angry. We wanted to come find you too, but someone here keeps making us play hide and seek."
Hide and seek!
Ha, they must be talking about Hayden.
"Little darlings, are you hidden well? I'm coming to find you!"
Sure enough, it was Hayden's voice.
Ava was speechless. Of course.
But you could tell Hayden really liked these two kids.
...
Mia angrily returned to the banquet hall. Katya came up and pulled her aside.
Seeing Katya's hurried expression and panicked look, Mia's heart immediately filled with a bad feeling. "Mom, what's wrong? Why are you here?"
"Your father had someone investigate what happened with Ava five years ago. There are results." Katya's face was dark.
Mia stepped forward, staring at Katya. "What happened? What results?"
"When Ava left that year, she was already pregnant."
Mia's eyes widened and she didn't dare breathe. "Is the information... reliable?"
"Absolutely reliable. Your father spent a lot of money to bribe a servant from the Thomas family back then. Not only that, your father followed up and found that Ava's two children are in kindergarten - a boy named Finn and a girl named Cleo."
Mia's whole body staggered. Her hand grabbed the nearby railing to prevent herself from falling.
Two children.
Ava and Joshua had two children...
Mia's face turned pale, without a trace of color.
Finally she knew. Finally she knew why she couldn't beat Ava.
She finally knew why Joshua didn't want to marry her five years ago.
It was because Ava was pregnant. Because Ava had a child, Joshua had to be responsible for Ava and the child - that's why he wouldn't marry her back then.
If there had been no child, she would have married Joshua long ago.
Damn it!
Damn it all!
So she was only one child away from marrying Joshua.
This was all Ava's fault.
Why should she have children, and two at that?
No way. All of Ava's things belonged to her, and she had to take them back.
A dark gleam flashed in Mia's eyes. A terrible plan spread through her heart.
"Mom, you have to help me. I absolutely cannot let that woman Ava succeed." Mia gritted her teeth hard, her venomous eyes full of murderous intent.
Katya had never seen Mia look so murderous. Seeing Mia like this, Katya felt very afraid. "What do you want to do?"
Mia leaned close to Katya, whispering in her ear, "Mom, I want to..."
"You're crazy! You've gone completely crazy! Do you know how much Joshua values those two children now? It's not worth it for just Ava. Mia, don't do anything foolish." Looking at Mia's eyes full of viciousness, Katya suddenly felt like she didn't recognize her.
Mia's mind was made up. She had to take this gamble for herself. "Mom, give me your phone."
Katya's hand holding the phone trembled slightly. Mia snatched the phone and, gritting her teeth, made the call.
Soon a man's sinister voice came from the other end. "What is it?"
Mia's eyes narrowed viciously. "Help me with something. Payment is five million dollars."
"Where's the target?"
"Veridian Heights, top floor."