Chapter 109: James Agrees to Sign
Last time at the mall, she had slapped Amelia twice too.
When he rushed back, she thought he was coming to stand up for Amelia.
But instead, he acted like he only cared about her, never mentioning that she had hit Amelia.
In that moment, she mistakenly thought he truly cared about her, just like Louis said, and her heart softened because of it.
She should have known better - when the woman he loved wasn't around, of course he was willing to spend time coaxing her.
Hadn't these past four years been exactly like that?
Everything was built on the fact that Amelia was abroad.
Only because Amelia hadn't returned did she get that gentle affection that made her fall deeper and deeper.
Since Amelia came back, scenes flashed before her eyes, one after another.
Whenever Amelia was around, the person he protected would always be her.
Amelia was the one he loved!
Before he rushed home to put on an act for her, who knows how long he had held Amelia in his arms, comforting her.
Only she was foolish enough to take the little bit of tenderness he gave as a second choice and think it meant he cared.
Taking this supposed caring and using it to compete with Amelia for a place in his heart.
Mia, oh Mia, how ridiculous you are!
Where did you get such confidence?
James stood there. All along the way, he had heard employees gossiping about Mia.
Those words made his expression darker and darker.
Unable to deal with those people right now, he hurried to the marketing department.
His eyes saw no one else, only Mia.
His heart instantly tightened.
The heartache was intense.
James thought of the text message she had sent him last night, where she said if he didn't sign, she wouldn't blame him for things getting ugly between them.
So this was what she meant by getting ugly.
When he heard on the 32nd floor that Mia was causing a scene at the company, he didn't believe it at first.
Because he knew Mia too well - she couldn't do something like this.
She always liked to put herself in others' shoes and think of others.
She simply wasn't good at it, and didn't like doing such things.
Before they got married, once she was lying on his lap reading celebrity gossip, and saw a celebrity couple going through a breakup.
She looked up at him and said, "James, if we ever break up, let's part on good terms. I would never get ugly with you and ruin the good things between us."
His gaze behind his glasses suddenly changed.
She didn't notice, her little mouth still chattering away.
He directly put down the document in his hand, took off his glasses, pulled her onto his lap, grabbed her chin, and blocked her mouth.
He couldn't stand hearing her talk about breaking up!
Not even as a hypothetical!
But now, the Mia who said it could never happen was standing here, doing the thing she least liked to do.
Clearly uncomfortable with it, yet stubbornly straightening her back, forcing herself to hold on.
The little bit of weight she had gained recently had quickly disappeared in just a week.
Her jawline was becoming more and more prominent.
Those eyes that always sparkled with smiles now only showed exhaustion and the sadness she was desperately trying to hide.
That sadness was like a net cast over him.
James's heart was firmly caught by this net, tightening more and more, so tight it made him suffocate.
The more he suffocated, the more it hurt.
The smile he loved most was gone.
He had always blamed Mia for becoming less and less like when they first met, no longer the way he liked her.
But he never thought about why Mia had changed.
The culprit was him!
He was the one who personally turned that happy Mia into what she was now.
The more James thought about it, the worse he felt. He couldn't help but raise his hand.
He really wanted to ruffle her hair comfortingly like before, when she was sad or upset.
But when he raised his hand, Mia misunderstood.
Those stubborn eyes that had been holding on instantly turned red.
She awkwardly dodged away.
Quickly stepping back, she avoided James's slap.
He really was going to hit her for Amelia.
When she saw him cheating the morning before yesterday, her heart had already died.
She shouldn't have any more expectations of him!
She shouldn't be in pain, shouldn't be sad or hurt.
But when she saw James raise his hand, her heart still felt like someone was squeezing it hard.
So hard it hurt, making her unable to breathe.
Turns out, deep down there was still a trace of hope!
But seeing him not even asking, choosing to protect Amelia without hesitation, her heart still hurt.
The human heart is just that stubborn.
But at least this stubbornness helped her see James's true heart more clearly.
They say when people face difficult choices, that's when you can see their true nature most clearly.
The choices they make come from instinct.
She saw it clearly now.
So clearly that she felt the tiny bit of hope she just had, and the heartache that came with it, were especially pathetic!
Never again, it would never happen again!
She could see it clearly now, couldn't be clearer!
She had chosen the right path.
This James really had nothing left worth her attachment.
When Mia looked up again, the pain in her eyes was perfectly hidden.
She looked at Amelia, her lips curling without any warmth as she dropped a line: "Amelia, you win! James is already dirty. I don't want him anymore. He's yours!"
After speaking, she turned her gaze to James, her tone even colder: "I'll wait for you in your office. I don't have that much patience. If you want to comfort Amelia, you'd better hurry."
Before James could react, Mia had already walked out.
In this war, she really couldn't tell who had won.
Winning or losing didn't matter anymore.
She had achieved her goal.
It would be over soon!
"Mia..."
James realized what she meant and immediately chased after her.
How could she think he was going to hit her?
How could he bear to hit her?
But before he could catch the elevator, Mia had already closed the doors.
If it wasn't necessary, she didn't want to be in the same space with him.
In the marketing department, two main characters had left, only Amelia remained.
Everyone's eyes fell on her. Although they didn't dare gossip openly, every look made Amelia's expression worse and worse.
Mia, it was all Mia!
How dare she!
She walked back to her office with a dark face and closed the door.
Once the door closed, her face turned completely gloomy.
She won?
How did she win?
Mia had avoided looking, so she didn't see it, but she saw it clearly.
James wasn't protecting her or about to hit Mia at all.
In his eyes, there was nothing but heartache, only heartache.
When she was publicly humiliated by Mia, even slapped twice in front of him, he only felt sorry for Mia who had done the hitting.
He ignored her, disregarded her feelings, turned a blind eye to her!
Amelia was furious and swept everything on the desk to the floor.
She refused to believe that James's heart had been mostly occupied by Mia.
That heart that used to be completely filled with her - how could it be occupied by Mia?
That bitch, with her foul mouth.
Was James blind?
To abandon her and choose Mia!
She wouldn't allow it, absolutely wouldn't allow it.
After venting, Amelia slowly calmed down.
It's okay. Even though she didn't get James to protect her and strike down Mia today.
The effect was still achieved.
She had clearly misunderstood.
This bitch was finally willing to divorce.
As long as they divorced, she had plenty of ways to make James's body and heart completely belong to her again.
...
32nd floor, office.
This time Mia walked in without any obstacles, pushed open the office door, and sat down on the sofa.
She kept taking deep breaths.
Her hand rested on her lower abdomen, comforting the baby inside.
She wouldn't get angry, couldn't get angry anymore.
While she was calming her emotions, James also strode into the office.
He closed the door, walked quickly to the sofa, and looked at Mia with concern: "Mia, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Seeing the paleness that even makeup couldn't hide, his heart ached terribly.
But his heartache meant nothing in Mia's eyes right now.
Coming to feel sorry for her now? Care about her?
If she hadn't just personally experienced him almost hitting her for Amelia's sake, she might have actually believed he truly cared about her.
Once Amelia wasn't around, look, he became so gentle again.
She used to love this side of him too much.
It made him think he could control her with this trick.
No matter what hurtful things he did to her, as long as he used this gentle, doting approach, he could make things right with her.
Once he had placated her, he became the one in control again. If things didn't go his way, he would show his impatience.
He would think she was being unreasonable and blame her.
Between the lines, it was all about how she was a pet he kept, so how could she not obey him.
Think about every time she resisted after Amelia came back, and how he reacted.
Wasn't it obvious enough?
She was just foolish, constantly immersed in the good he showed her.
Not anymore, never again.
Mia composed herself. She ignored the heartache in James's eyes, looked at him coldly, and got straight to the point: "James, this is just the first step."
"If you still don't sign, I can do even worse things. I'm not just talking. To get this divorce, I'll do whatever it takes."
"So sign! Let me go, and I'll let you go too!"
Mia took out the divorce agreement from her bag, pushed it in front of James, her face full of determination.
James slowly crouched halfway in front of her, keeping a bit of distance, not daring to touch her.
Looking at Mia who was forcing herself to hold on, his eyes full of heartache, he said in a very soft voice: "Mia, how could I bear to divorce you?"
"Don't give me this nonsense, it's useless!"
She didn't want to swallow these sugar-coated poison pills anymore.
Mia's face was written with determination.
She was serious.
To get divorced, she really would do whatever it took.
Mia right now was like a warrior fighting with her last breath.
She had made herself his enemy, confronting him!
Clearly exhausted and unable to hold on, yet forcing herself, determined to achieve her goal.
She was using herself to fight him!
James saw it all and felt the pain in his heart.
He loved her, so how could he bear to watch his Mia, whom he cherished, become less and less like herself just to divorce him?
Today's scene had already pierced his heart enough.
How could he bear to watch her do more things that went against her nature?
Getting more and more painful, more and more uncomfortable.
But divorcing her, he really couldn't bear it.
The only solution he could think of was to delay.
But now, he couldn't delay anymore.
How could he have the heart to continue letting her hurt herself like this?
Their eyes met.
She ignored the pleading look in his eyes, just looked at him coldly and firmly.
Unmoved.
Finally, James gave in.
He couldn't bear to watch Mia force herself like this anymore.
Torturing herself this way.
But when he really decided, when it came time to say it out loud, it was so difficult.
James's thin lips moved slightly. After a long while, as if making a dying struggle, he asked: "Mia, do we really have to get divorced?"
"Yes!"
"Really no room for negotiation at all?"
"None!"
Her words were very firm.
Her haggard face was filled with determination to achieve her goal no matter what.
Another long silence.
Mia maintained her fighting stance throughout, using her last bit of strength to force him to sign.
James looked at Mia, whose face showed determination without the slightest sign of softening.
He struggled to squeeze out a sentence: "Okay, I'll sign!"