Chapter 248: Mia is Stopped by James
Uri walked up to Victor and Beatrix and stood still. "Dad, Mom."
He solemnly introduced Mia to them. "This is your future daughter-in-law, Mia."
"Mr. Victor Smith, Mrs. Beatrix Smith."
Mia handed over the gift Uri had prepared earlier. "Mr. Smith, just a little something. I hope you like it."
"I love it, love it. This is the best gift I've ever received."
Victor's face crinkled with smiles.
He was speaking to Mia, but his eyes were fixed on Fox the whole time.
Material gifts didn't matter - what mattered was that she had brought the best gift of all.
Victor had always favored sons over daughters.
Neither of his two sons had children.
A grandson was what he wanted most.
Now his wish had come true.
Of course it was the best gift.
Mia noticed and took the initiative. "This is Fox. Fox, say hello to Grandpa and Grandma."
"Grandpa, Grandma."
Fox was very well-behaved. His greeting made Victor so excited his eyes turned red.
"Fox, Fox, what a lovely name."
He reached out with trembling hands to hold him.
Fox wasn't shy at all. He stretched out his arms around Victor's neck and called out again, "Grandpa."
Before coming, Uri had specifically instructed him to act like he really liked Victor and Beatrix, and to make sure Victor and Beatrix really liked him.
Beatrix was also very excited.
If this were nine years ago, she would never have approved of Mia, much less allowed a woman with no background to marry Uri.
But now, with Fox here, plus all their scheming over the years.
Without relying on outside help, control of the Smith Family would eventually return to their hands anyway.
Clea watched this scene unfold.
She was so angry she could have ground her teeth to dust, but she had to maintain her composure and didn't dare show it in front of the constantly flashing cameras.
Uri completely disregarded her. She was standing right there, and he didn't even acknowledge her.
He ignored her completely.
She never imagined that Uri, that sickly man, had been pretending all along.
The information she got was that he couldn't even get out of bed.
Damn it!
How could James not know about something this important?
Why didn't he tell her!
Clea shot James a vicious glare from a corner where the cameras couldn't catch it.
But James didn't receive that glare.
He stood beside her, his gaze fixed on Mia the entire time.
Not avoiding it at all.
In his eyes, he could only see Mia.
Although everyone present was full of curiosity, they were all tactful given the occasion.
They cooperatively stepped back a bit, giving space to the family.
Clea patted Lavinia's hand reassuringly, standing on her other side, signaling that she would stand up for her.
Lavinia's eyes were red-rimmed. She looked at Clea with grievance, and her eyes grew even redder.
Clea quickly adjusted herself and stepped forward, saying gently, "Victor, everyone's here now. Don't keep the guests waiting too long."
The birthday banquet should start soon.
She'd take this opportunity to finalize Lavinia and James's engagement.
Uri's high-profile return, bringing a child back with him.
Clearly he was going to compete with James for power.
She would never allow it.
No matter what she was thinking inside, her face remained gentle and considerate.
When she saw Victor's face darken because of her, her voice became even more gentle and thoughtful. "I'll have the servants prepare Uri's room right now. Should we have them stay at the house tonight?"
These words hit exactly what Victor wanted to hear.
"Yes, yes. Uri, Mia, you and Fox will stay at the old house tonight."
Having just met Fox, Victor naturally didn't want to be separated from him.
He wished he could hold him and never let go.
He was used to giving orders, and these words were a final decision that wouldn't be refused.
When Mia heard they had to stay here tonight, she instinctively looked at Uri.
Her face didn't show it, but their clasped hands tugged at his, signaling him to refuse.
Uri knew Victor's personality well.
Once he decided something, how could he let anyone refuse?
He deliberately squeezed Mia's hand reassuringly, telling her not to panic, and went along with her by speaking up. "Dad—"
"That's settled then!"
As he expected, Victor cut him off as soon as he opened his mouth.
Beatrix played along perfectly, reaching out to hold Mia's hand and saying gently, "Mia, today is Victor's birthday. Will you stay here with Fox tonight?"
"Okay."
Mia felt like she was being forced.
"Mia already agreed, so don't upset your father on his birthday."
Beatrix looked at Uri with mock anger.
Uri was about to speak again, wanting to take all the blame.
Still conveying to Mia that he didn't want her to do anything she didn't want to do.
Mia tugged at him.
Signaling him to stop talking.
Uri looked down at her.
Mia looked back at him.
To others, this was another loving gaze.
A few seconds later, Uri smiled and said, "Alright, I'll listen to you."
That settled it.
Suddenly there was a crisp sound of breaking glass.
Mia didn't want to pay attention, but his gaze was too insistent.
James, though he hadn't done anything inappropriate to her again, had kept his eyes on her the whole time.
As if no one else existed.
Like a shadow.
Not knowing what it meant to be discreet.
Hearing the sound, she instinctively looked over.
Her gaze locked precisely onto James's position.
Their eyes met across the space.
His eyes were full of deep pain, hurt, and disbelief.
She saw heartbreak in his expression.
His gaze and emotions were too intense. After just one look, Mia instinctively looked away.
Looking down, she saw his bleeding hand.
He had crushed the glass with his bare hand.
The glass had cut his palm, and there were still shards in it, but he seemed unaware.
His hand kept tightening.
Blood was dripping from between his fingers.
He acted as if he felt no pain.
His gaze remained fixed on her.
"James."
Tears welled up in Lavinia's eyes. She immediately tried to pull him away to treat his wound.
"I'm fine."
James said flatly, not letting Lavinia touch him. He casually pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around his palm without expression.
His gaze still on Mia.
The pain in his hand was nothing.
It couldn't compare to her deliberately hurting him, stabbing knife after knife into his heart.
'Bastard!'
Clea cursed inwardly at the sight!
She looked up and signaled for tonight's birthday banquet to officially begin.
Victor looked even more radiant than when he first came out. When he went up to speak, Clea instinctively stepped forward to follow.
But she saw Victor avoid her hand and let Beatrix take his arm instead.
He gave her a look.
That look clearly said: This is not the right occasion for her to go up.
Clea's lips trembled with anger.
If Uri hadn't shown up with Fox, tonight wouldn't have turned out like this.
"Victor, don't forget about James and Lavinia's engagement."
She couldn't stand beside Victor as his rightful partner.
But this was only temporary.
This time, she would make sure they had no chance of making a comeback.
As long as James married into an alliance with Lavinia, and Lavinia was the daughter of the Cox Family, with the Cox Family's support, James's position in the Smith Family would be rock solid.
So what if Uri had a son? James would have one soon too.
Want to make a comeback? Dream on.
"There is no engagement."
James suddenly spoke up.
His voice wasn't loud, only audible to these few people.
Including Lavinia's parents.
James's earlier loss of control when he ran to hug Mia had already made their blood pressure spike with anger.
It was Lavinia who persuaded them to suppress their rage.
They never expected that after they swallowed their pride for Lavinia's sake, James would push his luck even further.
"James, what nonsense are you spouting?"
Clea was the first to react, gripping James's arm again, signaling him not to talk nonsense!
Had he lost his mind!
Now that Uri was back, without the Cox Family, could he still hold onto his position as president of the Smith Group?
"I'm very sorry."
James looked at Lavinia's parents, then finally at Lavinia, expressing sincere apology.
What he owed her, he could only repay in other ways.
Lavinia's face turned extremely ugly.
Tears quickly filled her eyes.
They had clearly agreed to announce their engagement tonight.
Yet he suddenly backed out at the last minute.
Why he backed out was all too obvious.
She struggled hard to push back the tears that had already reached her eyes.
She absolutely couldn't cry in front of Mia.
She hadn't lost yet.
Whether Mia was pretending to have amnesia or truly forgot about James.
She would never let Mia steal James from her again.
Lavinia held back her grievance and stopped her parents who were about to explode, saying softly, "Mom, Dad, today is Mr. Smith's birthday. He's the main character. My engagement with James can be discussed slowly later."
James looked at Lavinia's reddened eyes and ultimately didn't say anything more.
These matters weren't appropriate to discuss now anyway.
If this weren't a public occasion, Clea would have slapped James hard across the face.
He was completely bewitched by Mia!
The engagement was something Clea had proposed on the spot. Now that James insisted, Victor didn't want to ruin his own birthday.
He didn't say anything more about it either.
He went on stage with Beatrix and went through the formalities.
The banquet officially began.
Throughout, Victor brought Uri's family of three around, introducing his grandson to everyone.
Until the banquet ended.
Mia followed Uri back to the house.
That persistent, overwhelming gaze was finally gone.
She quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Victor was clearly exhausted, but his mental state was still very excited.
It wasn't until Fox was obviously tired and yawned that Victor reluctantly let him go upstairs to sleep.
"Good night, Grandpa and Grandma."
"Good night, Dad and Mom."
Uri carried the yawning Fox upstairs.
Mia followed behind and entered the room together.
...
After entering the room, Mia carried Fox into the bathroom to bathe him.
Fox was extremely tired.
Halfway through the bath, he fell asleep in the tub.
Mia's heart melted at the sight. She lowered her head and kissed his face.
She rinsed off the bubbles and carried Fox out.
She changed him into the pajamas the servants had prepared.
"Let me."
Uri had been waiting nearby. He took over the physical work and carried Fox out of the bathroom to place him on the only large bed in the bedroom.
Mia, who followed him out, saw the large bed and became noticeably nervous.
This was the first time the two of them would be staying in the same room.
"Uri—"
Mia hesitated for a moment. Just as she was about to say she'd sleep on the sofa tonight, she heard Uri's helpless chuckle.
He raised his hand and ruffled her hair. "Don't be nervous. I'll sleep on the sofa tonight."
"The sofa is too small, I..."
"So I should sleep on the bed too?"
Uri's words were somewhat testing.
Mia was speechless.
After a few seconds, she said, "You sleep with Fox. I'll sleep on the sofa."
"You're taking me seriously!"
Uri ruffled her hair again. "Go take a shower. I'll sleep on the floor."
"Say anything more and I really will sleep in the bed with you."
His threat cut off what Mia wanted to say about fighting to sleep on the floor.
"I'm going to shower."
Mia ducked her head, not daring to say more. She picked up the pajamas the servants had prepared for her and headed to the bathroom.
Uri watched Mia's retreating figure.
Sleeping in the same room wasn't because he really wanted something to happen with Mia tonight.
He had waited this long already - he could wait a bit longer.
Them staying together was his silent declaration of war to James.
Even though he and Mia still hadn't been intimate.
He still wanted to make James suffer.
He and Mia were a loving engaged couple!
Mia belonged to him long ago!
Uri thought about James's reaction at the banquet when he heard they would be staying at the house and would inevitably be sleeping in the same room tonight.
A cold smile curved his lips.
Just then, Mia's phone suddenly rang.
She, who hadn't yet entered the bathroom, immediately turned back to get her phone.
The call didn't last long. After just a few words, Mia hesitated for a moment before replying, "I'll come over right now."
After hanging up, Mia put down the pajamas and looked at Uri. "Uri, there's an emergency at the branch office that I need to go handle right now."
Receiving the call from the branch office, she felt relieved.
Although she knew Uri respected her.
Sleeping in the same room, as long as she was unwilling, he wouldn't force her.
But she just felt very uncomfortable about it.
"I'll take you."
Uri didn't try to stop her.
He knew she took her work very seriously.
"No need. Just have the driver take me. Fox is alone in an unfamiliar environment - I'm worried."
Seeing Mia's trusting eyes, Uri could only nod in agreement.
"Alright."
Uri went to arrange for a car. Mia lowered her head and kissed Fox, then picked up her bag and turned to leave.
Getting in the car, she waved to Uri, signaling him to hurry back up to keep Fox company.
After he turned to go inside, the car disappeared into the night.
The moment the car left the Smith Villa, Mia in the back seat visibly relaxed.
She looked out the car window. For some reason, James flashed through her mind.
His various reactions at the banquet...
Just as she was lost in thought, the car suddenly braked hard. She wasn't paying attention and her head hit the seat back, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.
Before she could react, the back door was pulled open from outside.
A large hand gripped her wrist, using skillful force to half-carry her out of the car.