Chapter 14: Late Night Call
Mia put on the dress she didn't like.
She had just pulled it out from the back of the closet.
Besides this one, there were dozens of winter outfits in the same style.
James had bought them for her four years ago.
She had run into a terrible landlord and got kicked out in the middle of winter.
That day, the snow was heavy and the wind was biting cold.
She pushed down the moisture in her eyes, forced a smile, and told herself: "It's no big deal, I'll just find another place to live."
But in the freezing cold, it was really hard.
She dragged her big suitcase, struggling step by step down the nearly empty street.
With nowhere to go, feeling lost and helpless, James happened to call.
They hadn't been dating long, and she didn't want to bother him, but he wouldn't take no for an answer and insisted on coming over.
……
He arrived quickly.
When she saw him, she looked up and smiled, "See, I told you I was fine, and you still came."
He picked up her frozen body and said: "If you don't want to smile, then don't."
At that moment, her nose stung, and all her grievances poured out.
Not wanting him to see, she buried her face in his shoulder as tears streamed down.
He brought her back to Luxe Haven.
Thoughtfully arranged for her to stay in the guest room.
The next day when she woke up, she was taken to the walk-in closet.
James had people clear out half the space for her.
In one section of her half hung dozens of outfits he had the mall deliver early that morning—the most popular winter styles.
The dress she just put on was one of those dozens.
At the time, she had said she didn't like that style.
After James asked what she liked and learned she preferred casual wear, he called the mall again and had a batch of casual styles delivered.
Those clothes got moved to the back of the closet.
If not for today, she would have completely forgotten about them.
……
Mia looked down at what she was wearing.
This style was exactly like Amelia's...
Mia quickly bit her lower lip, stopping this dangerous thought in its tracks.
She wouldn't let herself overthink, and turned to look in the mirror.
As she turned, she met a pair of burning, intense eyes.
The flames dancing in them seemed ready to pull her in and consume her at any moment.
While she stood frozen, in a few long strides, James was already in front of Mia.
His long arm hooked around her, lifting her up with ease, pressing her against the glass door beside her, and kissing her.
……
When the kiss ended, Mia leaned breathlessly against his shoulder.
Her legs hung limply at his sides, her whole body without strength, soft and relying on his support to keep from embarrassingly sliding to the floor.
"You rogue! Ambushing me!"
James's breath caught, and his just-relaxed body tensed up again.
He pulled her back to him.
Mia's chin was caught again, and this time, he kissed her even deeper.
……
"You sit there, don't move."
A few minutes later, Mia, face burning hot, ordered James to sit at the other end of the closet, far away from her.
After settling James, she turned sideways in front of the mirror to straighten out the clothes she had wrinkled.
Slowly turning around, with barely concealed nervousness, she looked at James and asked, "Does it look good?"
James looked up at her voice and casually praised, "Looks good."
"You didn't even look properly."
Mia wasn't satisfied with his half-hearted response and took two steps forward on her own, letting him see more clearly.
Her eyes on him, waiting for him to speak again.
James, now paying attention, noticed the style Mia was wearing was completely opposite from her usual look. "Don't like casual style anymore?"
Mia always wore casual clothes.
"No, it's my first time meeting your friends on Saturday, I wanted to dress more elegant."
That way she'd match him better!
"What?"
Hearing James's confusion, Mia remembered she forgot to tell him, "Today Alice and I went shopping and ran into Amelia."
As she spoke, even though her rational mind kept reminding her, she still couldn't control her eyes from watching his expression.
Seeing his face remain unchanged at Amelia's name, she quickly stopped her uncontrollable dangerous thoughts.
She walked up to him on her own, and with a gentle pull from him, naturally sat on his lap, completely forgetting she had just pushed him far away.
Mia looked into his eyes, and at his prompting continued: "She said there's a gathering on Saturday with friends you all know, and invited both of us to come."
"I didn't agree right away, said I'd come home and talk to you about it."
She lied a bit.
What she said in front of Amelia had been somewhat deliberate, and she was afraid James would notice.
"Okay." James nodded to show he understood.
His large hand gently rubbed her slim waist, his manner casual as he said: "You don't need to dress up specially to meet them, just wear whatever you're comfortable in."
His expression and tone were completely normal.
As if he hadn't noticed at all that the style she was wearing was exactly like Amelia's.
His normalcy also reminded Mia how ridiculous her earlier thoughts had been.
When she put on this outfit, seeing it matched Amelia's style, she had neurotically started thinking about being a substitute again.
Thinking that when James bought her clothes back then, he had bought them according to Amelia's style...
"You're really taking me?" Mia's eyes filled with joy, asking even though she knew the answer.
"If you don't want to go, we don't have to." James acted like those people weren't important, whether to see them or not was entirely up to her mood.
"I want to go." Mia smiled happily.
"Then we'll go." James stood up holding her, "Let's go downstairs and eat."
"Wait, wait, let me change out of these clothes first."
They felt so uncomfortable.
She must have been crazy.
Mia skillfully slid down from James, pushing him toward the door, "You go downstairs first, I'll be right there."
James stood at the door, and after it closed from inside, the smile faded from his lips.
What was Amelia trying to do?
……
Night fell, and after her shower, Mia waited for James to come to bed.
As soon as he lay down, she snuggled into his arms, hugging his waist, her face nestled dependently against his chest. She lifted her head slightly and kissed his jaw, "James, good night."
"Good night." James lowered his head and gave her a brief kiss on the lips.
Mia closed her eyes peacefully and fell asleep.
Only after the person in his arms was breathing evenly did James slowly open his eyes in the darkness and get out of bed.
He opened the balcony door, walked out, and dialed Amelia's number.
On the other end, Amelia had just finished her shower. Seeing the incoming call, she didn't answer right away. Instead, she walked to the bar, took out a wine glass, and poured herself some red wine.
Holding the glass, she walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the city's night view.
She liked living on high floors. Looking down from above, all of Imperial City seemed to be beneath her feet, under her control.
Amelia reclined gracefully in a comfortable chair, and just before it automatically disconnected, she swiped to answer, asking knowingly, "James, why are you calling so late? Something urgent?"