Chapter 17: A Slap
"Are you kidding me? How could Amelia possibly have 'that kind of' friend?"
She was deliberately leading Ernest on.
From the way he looked at Mia, she knew he had fallen for her.
Who knows what's wrong with these men's judgment - they can fall for just anyone.
...
Ernest understood.
Not Amelia's friend, but here anyway.
That could only mean a woman trying to climb the social ladder.
Luxe Hideaway was famous in Imperial City. Most men who came here were either rich or powerful.
So many women looking to attach themselves to the wealthy would hang around here.
There were plenty who used the excuse of entering the wrong room to find their targets.
He'd seen many, and slept with many too.
But those ones all dressed up like slutty vixens.
Like Mabel beside him.
Someone like Mia was a first.
Ernest stood up and walked over, his eyes scanning Mia up and down. The closer he got, the more alluring he found her.
He blew a smoke ring at her disrespectfully and spoke bluntly and crudely, "How much for a night?"
Mia stood at the doorway. The moment she pushed open the door, she put on a smile again, wanting to face James's friends in her best state.
But she didn't expect this kind of opening.
James wasn't there. She instinctively turned to look for Amelia, whom she knew, only to find she was gone.
She turned back, about to explain who she was, when she heard those humiliating words.
The smile quickly vanished from her face, replaced by a cold expression.
Considering the man before her was James's friend, Mia suppressed her anger and said coldly, "Watch your mouth. I..."
Her unfinished words were interrupted by Ernest's sudden movement.
"Respect? Well, this is something new - a hooker talking to me about respect? Tell me, how should I respect you, hmm?"
She didn't expect Ernest to not only have a foul mouth but to suddenly get handsy with her.
When he looked at her with that lewd gaze and touched her face, it felt like a disgusting poisonous snake crawling on her body.
It reminded her of middle school, when that man took advantage of her mom being away, used his key to open her door at night, and climbed into her bed—
She felt sick, her rational thread snapping.
She couldn't care anymore and raised her hand to slap him across the face.
Ernest didn't expect a hooker like Mia to dare hit him. His expression changed instantly.
Mabel laughed lightly from inside at just the right moment. When she laughed, the group inside laughed along.
To Ernest's ears, they were laughing at him for not being able to handle even a hooker.
It was utterly humiliating.
"Who the hell do you think you are, daring to hit me?"
Ernest wasn't a good person to begin with. Women were just playthings to him. Not hitting women - that kind of gentlemanly behavior had nothing to do with him.
Seeing Mia being so disrespectful, actually hitting him in public, he raised his hand viciously and swung back at her.
With extreme force.
This slap could potentially disfigure Mia's face.
Mabel excitedly clenched her fists, waiting in anticipation.
Just as the slap was about to land on Mia's face, a large hand appeared from behind and grabbed Ernest's wrist.
Another hand pulled Mia into an embrace. James looked down and asked, "Mia, are you okay?"
The moment Mia was protected, the strength she'd been forcing herself to maintain instantly crumbled.
She looked up at James from his embrace, her eyes reddening.
Looking wronged, she pressed her lips together without speaking, just hugging his waist.
She took a deep breath of his scent that made her feel safe, to calm the disgust from her childhood trauma and the inferiority deep in her heart.
He came.
She knew he would definitely protect her.
With him here, she only needed to rely on him wholeheartedly.
...
James noticed and tightened his arm, holding her even closer, protecting her in his embrace.
He slowly raised his eyes, looking at Ernest like looking at a dead man.
Ernest felt the pressure from James, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
He wanted to speak, but was so scared he couldn't squeeze out a single word for a long time.
"James, don't."
Just as James's eyes turned cold and he was about to make a move on Ernest.
Amelia, as if just hearing the commotion, hurried over from around the corner and stopped him in time, "Don't be angry."
"This is my fault. I meant well, seeing Mia in the cold wind downstairs, I thought I'd bring her up first, but I didn't consider that Mia doesn't know these people."
"I shouldn't have let her go in alone. No matter how urgent the call was, I should have stayed with her. If I'd been with her, this little misunderstanding wouldn't have happened."
Mia, who had been leaning in James's embrace, trusting him completely and leaving the situation for him to handle, suddenly looked up in shock.
Amelia's words clearly showed she knew Mia had never met James's friends.
Those words she said at the mall that day - it wasn't her being oversensitive.
Amelia really did it on purpose.
Mia's mind went briefly blank.
Watching Amelia continue with a smile, speaking casually, "You know what Ernest is like - whenever he sees a pretty woman, he can't help but hit on her."
This compliment didn't make Mia feel happy at all.
Amelia was implying that she was humiliated because she was good-looking, which attracted men to get handsy with her?
This victim-blaming was disgusting!
Mia's mind was in chaos. From the moment she realized Amelia wasn't as friendly as she appeared on the surface.
It was as if something was about to burst out, desperately crashing against an increasingly thin membrane.
Once it broke through, what came out would be more than she could bear.
...
James noticed something was wrong with Mia in his arms and was about to look at her.
At that moment, Amelia suddenly reached out and grabbed James's hand, "James, do me this favor."
The instant Amelia's hand touched him, James loosened his grip.
Mia didn't notice anything else. Her eyes happened to witness James actually letting go of Ernest's hand.
She couldn't believe that James, whom she trusted so completely, would let go of the person who humiliated her just because of Amelia's simple request for a favor, completely disregarding her feelings.
That already thin membrane couldn't withstand this blow and broke.
What was hidden inside poured out, surging toward her, drowning her.
Were they really... just friends?
A bone-chilling coldness shot up from the soles of her feet.
This embrace that made her feel warm and safe, that she could trust completely, suddenly terrified her.
Just moments ago it was a warm harbor, but now it suddenly became an abyss with gaping jaws.
Opening its mouth wide at her, ready to devour her.
Mia panicked and backed away from James's embrace.
Just as she stepped back, he grabbed her wrist. She heard him call her name with concern, "Mia."
Mia was already completely lost.
She had fallen into enormous doubt.
She couldn't tell anymore. She only knew that as the membrane burst, many, many images crowded into her mind all at once.
She was scared, afraid that those thoughts she couldn't sort out, once sorted out, would give her an answer she couldn't bear.