Chapter 179: Feed You Full
James was utterly speechless.
A one-night stand?
The muscles at the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching.
To distance herself from him, Mia really dared to say anything.
"Say that again?"
James lunged toward Mia through gritted teeth, pretending he was going to teach her a lesson.
Mia reacted quickly and backed away, her back against the headboard.
Gripping the corner of the blanket with both hands, she lifted her leg and kicked at him through the covers. "James, don't push your luck."
She kicked exactly where he had blocked with the pillow.
But this time she used her foot. Her intention was just to warn him, so she was quite measured with the force.
If she actually hurt him, wouldn't that give him a legitimate excuse to stick around?
"Move. I'm hungry."
Seeing James not backing off, she kicked at him again.
She hadn't eaten for a day and a night, and after yesterday's excessive exertion, she was starving.
"Hungry?"
James's tone when he said "hungry" was loaded with meaning.
Having been influenced by James, Mia caught the innuendo almost instantly.
She quickly responded, saying urgently, "I'm really hungry!"
James couldn't help but laugh softly. "Wait here, I'll fill you up soon."
Mia was utterly speechless.
Looking at Mia, whose beautiful eyes were wide with indignation at his teasing, he couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair. He got up and, under Mia's glare, walked toward the closet.
He quickly changed into a fresh set of clothes and brought out one of his shirts for her.
He placed it on the bed and went out to get his phone to make calls.
First, he ordered takeout, choosing a restaurant Mia used to love, and ordered dishes she liked.
After telling them to deliver as soon as possible, he made another call to have someone bring a new set of clean clothes and shoes.
The clothes and shoes arrived first, and James brought them to the bedroom.
When Mia came out after changing, the takeout had also arrived.
James sat at the dining table unpacking the food. Mia walked over and sat down.
She was truly hungry and ate without any concern for appearances.
James sat beside her, his gaze resting on her, quietly watching her eat.
Mia ignored him and continued eating.
Her mouth didn't stop, but her heart was quite conflicted.
Regarding James, apart from that unresolvable knot in her heart about his affair with Amelia during their marriage, she actually didn't reject him as a person.
She couldn't treat him like a stranger.
Deep down, she knew very clearly that if James was in trouble and she could help, she would definitely do her best.
Similarly, if something happened to her, James would do the same—try his best to help.
Initially, she didn't want him deliberately appearing in front of her because she wanted to give them both space to start new lives.
Once they both had their own new lives, maybe the past would truly be let go.
But she hadn't expected that during her adjustment period, after they had cleanly cut ties, they would get entangled again.
About this, she really had a headache.
The more she thought about it, the worse her headache got.
Mia didn't want to keep thinking. She channeled her frustration into appetite and ate even more enthusiastically.
She let James watch her and buried her head in eating.
She didn't want to bother with him. Anyway, in the past, when they ate together, he liked to sit on the side like this, watching her eat.
Only after she was full would James eat the dishes she left behind.
She had never been able to figure this out.
Back then, they clearly weren't intimate enough for that, yet how could someone with his germaphobia be willing to eat her leftovers that might have her saliva on them?
Seeing Mia like this, James felt his nose tingle with emotion.
How long had it been since he'd seen her eat so uninhibitedly in front of him?
He loved how genuine she was, how she spoke her mind.
Eating when she wanted to eat, not worrying about affecting her image in his eyes.
The old Mia seemed to be gradually coming back.
If he could make Mia become her old happy self again, he didn't mind waiting.
He was willing to wait however long it took.
As long as she allowed him to be by her side, even just sitting quietly beside her like this, he felt it was a kind of happiness.
He would work hard to make her open her heart to him again, to trust him.
This time, he absolutely wouldn't allow a second Amelia to appear and hurt Mia.
Thinking of hurt, James thought of what happened yesterday.
Ultimately, the reason Mia experienced such a terrifying incident yesterday stemmed from him.
If he hadn't provoked Amelia, Mia wouldn't have suffered this undeserved disaster.
From the moment Mabel contacted him yesterday, telling him that Amelia had kidnapped Mia at the hospital entrance and arranged for Ernest to torment Mia, his heart had been twisted into a knot—heartache, self-blame, and overwhelming guilt.
When he saw with his own eyes that Mia was almost violated, these emotions were magnified infinitely.
It was just that Mia's situation was too urgent at the time, and he had no time to think too much, so he pushed it to the deepest part of his heart.
Now, self-blame and guilt surged up.
By the time Mia had eaten her fill, she was really fed up with being stared at.
Just as she was about to look up and complain about James, the instant she raised her head, before she could speak, he said to her first, full of apology: "Mia, about yesterday, I'm sorry."
Mia: "What?"
For a moment, Mia wondered if she had eaten too much and was a bit dizzy, which was why she didn't understand what he was doing now.
Not long ago, he had acted all shameless about having slept with her yesterday.
Where was this apology coming from?
"The person who kidnapped you yesterday was Amelia."
James looked at Mia, whose face was written with confusion, and when he said Amelia's name, his heart was pounding nervously.
He was quite afraid.
Afraid that Mia would blame him.
But he couldn't possibly hide this from her.
Hearing this, Mia's eating movements clearly paused.
She hadn't expected it to be Amelia.
She had thought Ernest had targeted her because of that incident at Luxe Hideaway.
Seeing her silent, James's tone grew heavier. "Mia, I'm sorry. It's all because of me that you almost got hurt yesterday."
"It's okay."
Mia softly replied.
James, whose emotions had just hit rock bottom, quickly looked up at Mia upon hearing this.
Mia sighed softly in her heart.
His carefulness made her feel a bit soft-hearted.
"Didn't you arrive in time to save me?"
Her casual remark instantly lifted James's spirits.
He looked at her expression and eyes.
She really didn't blame him.
"Eat."
She took the initiative to serve him food and continued eating with her head down.
In her heart, she was utterly speechless with herself.
This had been a good opportunity. His self-blame and guilt were perfect for her to use as an excuse to draw clear boundaries, but she had let it pass again.
She had eaten enough and finally drank a bowl of soup before putting down her utensils.
"I'm leaving now."
Without looking at him again, she got up.
After waking up today, she had already messed up several times in a row.
It was all because yesterday's accident made her take the first wrong step. She didn't want to stay here any longer.
"I'll take you."
James also got up.
"No need."
Mia refused.
She walked to the entrance and changed her shoes.
James, who had followed to the entrance, didn't insist. He watched her change shoes, open the door, and walk out.
After she left, James leaned against the doorway, watching her walk away. Just before she entered the elevator, he suddenly said to her: "Mia, don't forget you still owe me once. Let's make plans when you're free!"
Mia was utterly speechless.
She stepped into the elevator, and before the doors closed, she shot James a fierce glare.