Chapter 36 Mia Bites and Refuses to Admit
"What are you so smug about?" Lyra said through gritted teeth, shoving Ava hard as the elevator doors opened.
Ava dodged to the side, her eyes cold.
"Bitch, shameless. You're just relying on that pretty face of yours. With all your skills at seducing men, you really think you're something special? I'm telling you, I'm saying it right now—you're nothing but a lowlife bitch who can't show her face in public. You did something dirty and shameful back then and got kicked out of medical school. What, you still not convinced?
Your skills have really improved over the years. First you clung to Mr. Thomas and took Mia's place, now you're seducing Dr. Harvey. You're just a whore who seduces men."
Lyra had been so humiliated today and had offended Mia, so naturally she couldn't swallow this insult. She wanted to make a good show in front of Mia. Her sharp voice, full of anger and sarcasm, echoed through the huge underground parking garage.
Mia stood off to the side with an air of superiority, giving Ava a mocking glance.
Ava's expression remained calm as she lightly brushed the dust off herself. "Psycho."
She was in a hurry to pick up Finn and Cleo and had no time to waste here with these two idiots. She wouldn't even spare them another glance as she walked past to leave.
Mia stepped forward to block Ava's path. "Explain yourself."
"Explain what?" Ava turned her head and looked at Mia mockingly. "What's your problem? Don't you get tired of fighting over things like a psycho every day?"
"Ava, I suggest you'd better..."
"Don't suggest anything. It's annoying." Ava cut Mia off directly.
Mia was almost dying of anger. "Ava, what do you have to be so proud of? You're not the wife of Joshua that all women envied anymore. You're just a discarded woman Joshua threw away."
"What's that got to do with you? Even if Joshua did throw me away, at least I was chosen by him. And you? You weren't even chosen in the first place. You can't even be a discarded woman. How about that—does that piss you off?"
With that, Ava smirked and turned to leave. Mia stared hard at Ava's slender back, her hands clenched into fists. Suddenly she strode forward and pushed Ava hard from behind in a sneak attack.
"Ava!" Gilbert, who had just come out of the elevator and saw this scene, shouted anxiously, his usually calm eyes now full of anger.
Ava was caught off guard. She was rushing because she was almost late to pick up Finn and Cleo, but she never expected Mia would actually attack her from behind.
The force hit her back hard. She had no time to dodge and could only turn slightly to deflect some of the impact. Her elbow slammed hard into the car beside her, making Ava wince in pain.
"Ava, are you okay?" Gilbert quickly steadied Ava, his usually gentle eyes now filled with fury as he stared at Mia.
Ava clenched her teeth in pain, her face dark.
"Isn't Dr. Wilson going a bit too far?" Gilbert's voice was as cold as ice frozen below zero in winter.
"...Dr. Harvey?" Mia was obviously a bit panicked, exchanging glances with Lyra. They had just wanted to teach Ava a lesson and vent their anger, never expecting to run into Gilbert.
Now, afraid her image would collapse, Mia immediately put on a concerned expression and stepped forward to ask, "Dr. Davis, are you okay? I was just trying to stop you because I hadn't finished talking. How did you fall? I know there's been some unpleasantness between us, but Dr. Davis, you don't need to frame me, do you?"
Ava was truly in awe of Mia's shamelessness. Her ability to twist the truth was like treating everyone else as blind and stupid, with only herself being the smart one!
"Mia, is everyone else blind? Stupid?"
A rush of hurried footsteps came closer and closer.
The person grabbed Ava's wrist, pulled her into his arms, forcefully taking her from Gilbert's hands. He gripped Ava's shoulder, lifted her hand, his brows furrowed tightly, his eyes carefully examining her injury.
Ava, who had been calm before, began to resist violently the moment she saw Joshua. But Joshua only gripped her shoulder tighter, not allowing her to move.
"Try moving again and see what happens." Joshua's voice was dark, the coldness in his eyes enough to freeze everything solid.
Gilbert faced the suddenly empty embrace, his cold eyes narrowing.
Seeing the imposing Joshua suddenly appear before her, Mia's heart skipped a beat. Her face looked terrible, her palms growing colder.
"Joshua, you... why are you here?"
Mia forced down her fear, took two steps forward, her voice gentle, her expression delicate, as if she hadn't been the one who pushed someone just moments ago.
Joshua completely ignored her, his gaze fixed only on Ava. "Does it hurt?"
"...Yes, it hurts."
Ava told the truth. How could it not hurt?
Mia immediately said with concern, "Dr. Davis, let me bandage that for you."
Ava couldn't be bothered with Mia's fake sympathy.
The man's gaze was dark as he looked up at Mia, his thin lips coldly saying, "Apologize."
"...What?" Mia's eyes widened in disbelief. Joshua was actually asking her to apologize to Ava.
Why?
Why should she apologize?
"Joshua, she fell on her own. What did I do wrong?" She still wore that pitiful look, and as she spoke, her eyes filled with tears like a reservoir.
As always, refusing to admit it. As always, twisting the truth.
As long as she believed she wasn't wrong, then everyone else was wrongly accusing her.
Joshua's handsome face showed no warmth, his eyes like a deep pool. "Mia, am I blind?"