Chapter 229: "Get lost"
James had only just been discharged and brought home.
The man who once wore emotional restraint like armor had become volatile, snapping at everything and everyone.
The smallest inconvenience set him off.
That morning, he erupted again over breakfast.
Just as he sent his plate crashing to the floor, his phone rang.
The familiar, customized ringtone sliced through his anger. James’s eyes narrowed; the storm in him faltered.
He reached for the phone on the nightstand, the fury draining from his face.
Looking at the incoming call labeled "Wife" on his phone screen, His thumb hovered above it, slow, almost reverent, like he was brushing the curve of Mia’s cheek.
Even though they had long been divorced.
Even though he had just personally cut off any future between them.
He still never thought about changing the contact name.
Because in his heart, Mia was the only woman who had ever been his wife.
Ever since he’d told her it was over, and she’d accepted it in that quiet, devastating way.
He had wanted to call her every second.
He needed her voice.
He needed her.
But he couldn’t.
Time after time, he’d grabbed his phone in a frantic impulse, only to fling it away in the next heartbeat.
In that short time, Robert had already replaced several new phones for him.
So when Mia’s name appeared on the screen, his emotions twisted violently.
He knew answering was a mistake.
But instinct moved faster than thought.
His long fingers slid across the screen, accepting the call.
His pulse kicked wildly, his breath shallow.
What made her call?
What could she possibly want
He couldn't help but hope.
Though he didn't know what he could still hope for.
As the phone reached his ear, Mia's voice, calm to the point of cold, sounded in his ear.
"James, you still have some things at my place. I just sorted them all out and packed them up."
She got straight to the point, not a single unnecessary word.
Decisively drawing a clear line between them.
A dull ache stabbed through James’s chest.
His hand clenched the bedsheet until his knuckles whitened, his expression growing darker.
Those items, he had left them intentionally. Pieces of himself he’d hoped she wouldn’t send away
The moment he said it was over, she’d boxed them up.
Was her home suddenly so small?
How much space could his things take? Did they disgust her that much?
Whatever fragile hope he had been clinging to shattered under her words.
"If you think they're taking up space and bothering you, just throw them away."
Every muscle in his face tensed.
Those things were nothing to him, materially meaningless.
Yet hearing her speak of discarding them felt like she was discarding him.
"If you want to throw them away, you do it yourself."
Mia shot back without courtesy.
To James, it sounded like fear, fear that if she threw them out, he might find a reason to contact her.
James's heart felt angry, blocked, and hurt all at once.
Gripping his phone, his lips opened and closed, and after a long while he finally managed: "Just find a corner to put them in, I'll pick them up when I have time."
In his condition, he couldn’t face her. Not like this.
"I don't want to drag this out. I'm bringing them to your place now."
Mia's words were even more decisive, final.
Not giving James a chance to refuse, after speaking, she forcefully ended the call with a strong attitude.
The abrupt disconnection echoed in his ear.
She just hung up on him like that.
This move, James used to use all the time.
Between them, he was used to being domineering and forceful.
In their daily interactions, he almost never gave her a chance to object, whatever he said went.
Now their positions were reversed.
Mia did it with great ease.
Not caring at all about what James's reaction was on the other end after she decisively hung up.
She picked up two paper bags and left.
Just as she closed the door, her phone rang again.
She glanced at it—it was James.
Just one glance, and Mia put her phone on silent, tossed it back in her bag, and let it ring.
She went downstairs.
The car she'd called was already waiting at the community entrance. She bent down to get in, "Brookside Gardens."
This was James's new residence after their divorce.
She'd only been there once.
That time when Amelia set her up, drugged her, and James brought her here.
It was also where their inexplicable one-night stand began.
It was about half an hour's drive from Silver Oak Manor.
She arrived at Brookside Gardens quickly.
Cars couldn't enter the community. From her first visit, James had already given instructions.
When she appeared, the security guard didn't stop her, and she entered the community without obstruction.
She walked very slowly, taking over ten minutes to reach the building where James lived.
She entered the password and went in.
The password was still the one from Luxe Haven, he hadn't changed it.
She knew because one night when they were doing it, while he was teasing her, he told her.
Revealing it to her, hinting that if she ever missed him and he hadn't come to find her, she could come over anytime and surprise him.
Mia knew he wasn't really playing around with surprises.
He was making a statement to her.
No matter when she went to his place, she could.
He was absolutely loyal to her, even though they hadn't officially established a relationship.
Soon, Mia appeared at James's door and raised her hand to ring the doorbell.
The door opened from inside.
When she saw that the person opening the door was Lavinia, Mia was slightly startled.
But she quickly composed herself, nodded at her as a greeting.
Looking at Lavinia with one hand on the door and one hand on the doorframe, clearly not planning to let her in.
She looked past her, glanced inside, and got straight to the point: "I'm looking for James."
"I know, James mentioned it to me. Mia, you're here to drop off some things."
"Thanks for making the trip, Mia. Just give me the things. James and I aren't convenient to receive guests right now, so we won't see you out."
As she spoke, she smiled broadly and reached out to take the paper bags from Mia's hands, verbally showing her out.
Her hand came up empty.
Mia dodged and walked right past Lavinia into the apartment.
"James."
Her gaze swept around and finally stopped at the master bedroom where she'd slept last time, and she walked toward it.
"Lavinia, who told you to let her in. I said I don't want to see her again, tell her to get lost."
Inside the room, James heard Mia's footsteps approaching and scolded coldly from within.
Lavinia took several quick steps to catch up, flashed in front, and blocked Mia's path.
Her expression turned cold, her presence commanding.
"Mia, didn't you hear what James said?"
"Aren't you here to drop off things? Now that you've delivered them, you can leave."
Seeing Mia unmoved, Lavinia's eyes grew colder, her tone helpless, "Ms. Wilson, James has been with me this whole time."
"Mia, it's just men and women having fun, part on good terms. James has made everything very clear to you. What's the point of coming here and pestering him like this?"
"Please leave."
Lavinia said "please," but taking advantage of James inside not being able to see, her actions weren't polite at all—she raised her hand to push Mia out.
"This is between James and me, it has nothing to do with you!"
The force in Mia’s gaze froze Lavinia completely, her arm suspended midair.
By the time she snapped back, Mia had already brushed past her, pushing open the bedroom door.