Chapter 117: You Forced Me
He wasn't unaware of what she meant by coming out to look for apartments.
It's just that, deep down, he still refused to believe that Mia really wanted to divorce him. He had made a mistake.
But couldn't she really give him one more chance?
Did they absolutely have to get divorced?
"I know you don't want to see me, don't want to share the same space with me. Can't I just move out?"
"You stay at Luxe Haven for now and take your time finding a place. Moving out in such a rush will only make things harder for you... and the baby."
She wasn't someone who could handle this kind of hardship.
And how could he bear to let her live in this kind of old, run-down small apartment again?
Mia's hand on her belly clearly tightened.
She had rented places before.
She knew that finding a place was easy when you had money.
With a tight budget, finding a place with good value wasn't something that happened in a day or two.
If it were just her, she wouldn't mind—she could live anywhere.
But she had the baby...
She didn't say anything, just looked up at James.
Her eyes clearly saying: you'd better not be playing games.
James looked down at Mia.
Those eyes that used to be full of trust now only held doubt.
She didn't trust him!
'James, as long as you don't lie to me, I'll give you my complete trust.'
'James, if you ever don't want to be with me anymore, just tell me directly, don't betray me. Don't worry, as long as you say it, I'll move out right away. I won't cling to you.'
Being with him, Mia had never asked for anything else.
She only asked for no deception and no betrayal.
She had kept her word.
But he had broken their promise.
From the moment he cheated during their marriage and tried to deceive and cover it up.
He had killed with his own hands the Mia who believed everything he said.
James swallowed the bitterness in his throat. "Let's go back. I'll move out right away, okay?"
Between him and Mia, he had always controlled the pace, but now he had become the one being pushed along.
Every step was one he didn't want to take.
But he was helpless.
Mia didn't say anything, but from her expression, James knew she agreed.
He turned and walked toward the agent, pulled out a hundred dollars from his wallet and handed it over.
After handling things, he turned back to find Mia had already walked to the bus stop and gotten on the bus.
James was speechless.
He got in his car and followed the bus until it stopped at a bus stop one kilometer from Luxe Haven.
James's car followed her onto the side road. He tried to get her to get in the car, but Mia ignored him and walked all the way back to Luxe Haven on her own.
The two returned home, one after the other.
Half an hour later, Mia sat on the sofa, watching James come downstairs carrying a small suitcase.
He slowly walked toward the entrance. Mia suddenly called out to him.
"James."
James, who had been waiting for her to ask him to stay, immediately turned to look at her. "Mia..."
"I hope you keep your word."
Mia looked at James with cold eyes.
James's heart sank to the depths again.
Mia was reminding him that since he knew she didn't want to see him and had promised to move out, he shouldn't appear in front of her again.
After a long moment, James finally responded, "Okay."
He changed his shoes with a defeated look, opened the door, and stood in the doorway looking toward the sofa. "Take care of yourself."
Mia, sitting on the sofa, didn't respond. It wasn't until the door closed from outside that her straight back suddenly collapsed.
She bit her lip, slowly lowered her head, covered her face with both hands, hiding the pain written all over it.
Why did you cheat during our marriage?
Why did you do something so disgusting to me?
Did he know how much pain she was in?
...
Night fell. James sat in his office, his heart desolate.
The ashtray on his desk had gained several new cigarette butts in just a short while.
Mia had failed another job interview.
Actually, with just one phone call from Robert, Mia could find a job immediately.
But he had dragged it out day after day, never giving Robert the instruction.
Because he really didn't want to let go.
This was his only hope left.
He was still holding onto the hope that after being beaten down by reality, Mia would see things clearly, choose not to divorce, and give him a chance.
They could go back to how things were before.
But day after day, no matter how many times Mia was rejected, she never once thought about giving up on divorcing him.
Tomorrow, the divorce cooling-off period would end.
And Mia still hadn't backed down.
The phone on his desk suddenly lit up with a WhatsApp message from Mia. He immediately picked it up.
Before opening it, he still held onto one last bit of hope.
Maybe?
His long fingers slowly swiped it open.
[Nine o'clock tomorrow morning, see you at the marriage registry office.]
That short sentence was like a poisoned blade stabbing straight into his heart.
Only at this moment did James have to admit that Mia was truly determined to divorce him.
If he used tricks to delay, she really might do whatever it takes.
This past month watching her look for jobs, look for apartments.
Watching her grow thinner by the day.
Time was passing. James finished the last cigarette in the pack, stubbed it out, called Robert, and got straight to the point: "Arrange a job for Mia."
After saying that, he hung up directly.
He got up and left the company.
By then, it was nearly midnight.
He drove back to Luxe Haven and parked under Building 8, but didn't go up.
He sat in the car all night.
As night turned to day, James watched the sun slowly rise. When the clock passed eight, he opened Mia's WhatsApp message.
Just as he was about to reply, a call came in.
His expression changed when he saw who was calling. He answered immediately, and the more he listened, the worse his expression became. "I'll come right away."
James hung up and started driving while calling Mia.
Soon, Mia's cold voice came through the line. James spoke very quickly: "Mia, wait for me at home. I have something very urgent to deal with right now. When I get back..."
"James, stop making excuses to delay! I want to see you at the marriage registry office at nine o'clock. Otherwise, don't blame me!"
Mia finished speaking and hung up directly.
She sat at the dining table and took a while to recover before continuing her breakfast.
After eating, she went upstairs to change and came back down.
Before leaving for the marriage registry office, she said to the housekeeper: "Please contact the landlord for me. I'll be back this afternoon to move in."
Finally, she would be free.
This past month had been too painful for her.
...
At nine o'clock, Mia arrived at the marriage registry office but didn't see James.
She called him, but no one answered.
She called three times in a row, but he didn't pick up.
She sat in the lobby, waiting from nine o'clock until eleven-thirty when the staff went on lunch break, but still didn't see James.
Mia slowly stood up and made one last call to him. Still no answer.
It seemed he had made up his mind to avoid her as a way to delay.
Delay another month, until the application was automatically withdrawn.
She walked out of the marriage registry office, stood at the entrance, and sent him a text message.
[James, you're forcing me to do this!]