Chapter 33: So Disgusting
He was with her for the happiness she brought him and how easy it was to be around her.
She was with him for the affection and care he gave her, and the free meal ticket that let her eat all the good food in Imperial City.
Until she got food poisoning and threw up for two days, panicking and thinking she was pregnant.
She didn't tell him and secretly went to the hospital to get an abortion.
When he found out, he rushed to the hospital right away.
That was the second time he saw her cry, again with silent tears.
Everyone else had their boyfriend or husband with them, but she sat alone in the corner.
Her small frame hunched over, hands pressed tightly against her belly, head down. At a glance, she looked so fragile and helpless.
So pitiful.
He stood a few steps away from her, clearly seeing the crystal-clear tears falling like broken pearls from a string.
Hearing him call her name, she looked up with eyes already red from crying, fresh tears still hanging on her long lashes.
Seeing it was really him, Mia's first reaction was to rush toward him with trembling lips and hug his waist tightly.
Facing his questioning, she choked out that she didn't want to make things difficult for him.
He simply scooped her up in his arms and carried the stunned Mia out of the hospital.
He drove straight to the marriage registration office, took the documents from Robert, and brought her to get their marriage certificate.
She became his wife.
Being an illegitimate child himself, he would never allow his own child to be born into an incomplete family.
The two of them went from dating to marriage because of this accident.
It felt as natural as if they were meant to take this step.
Except it still had nothing to do with love.
He never felt guilty about not loving Mia, never thought he owed her anything.
Because from the start, they had an unspoken agreement not to talk about love.
As for Mia not guarding her own heart, he didn't think he should be responsible for that either.
With the unspoken rule of not talking about love, he didn't need to respond to love—he just needed to be absolutely faithful and responsible to her in this marriage.
But today, he almost cheated...
How could he become the person he hated most, like Victor, being physically unfaithful and betraying his marriage.
...
James was smoking in his car when he saw the living room light turn on.
His smoking motion paused.
Why wasn't Mia asleep yet?
Didn't the housekeeper text him at nine saying Mia had already gone upstairs to sleep?
It was because the housekeeper had left and he was worried about her being home alone that he ended the dinner early and left.
Was she waiting for him?
James didn't have time to think more. He pushed open the car door and got out, stubbed out his cigarette, and walked quickly inside.
...
The side bedroom on the second floor.
As the clock passed eleven, Mia, who had been lying in bed with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them—not a trace of sleepiness in them.
Even though she was exhausted and tired.
But since going to bed at nine, she had tossed and turned until now, still unable to fall asleep.
Mia knew she was in bad shape. After one blow after another, she had been forcing herself to hold on for the child's sake.
Not letting herself break down.
The job applications she sent out at noon today had gone nowhere.
She waited all afternoon without receiving a single phone call.
Was she really as worthless as James said?
This thought took root in her mind and grew bigger and bigger.
For someone who had already endured so much, it was like adding insult to injury.
Mia sat up in bed and let out a long sigh.
She gently touched her slightly uncomfortable belly.
The baby was protesting.
She really couldn't go on like this!
She reached for her phone on the nightstand and searched for ways to help with sleep.
Among a bunch of random answers, she saw milk.
She instinctively wrinkled her nose in disgust.
She hated drinking milk.
...
A few minutes later, Mia walked into the kitchen, took out milk from the fridge's fresh-keeping compartment, and poured herself more than half a glass.
For the child, she could do it!
Holding the glass, she leaned in to study the microwave built into the cabinet.
It always looked simple when the housekeeper used it, but it took her forever to figure out how to open the door.
After putting the milk inside and closing the door, she was stumped again.
How do you heat it?
Mia let out an almost inaudible sigh. Once again, she felt useless.
In the four years with James, he had spoiled her into a good-for-nothing.
She bit her lip hard, pushing down the negative emotions once more, not allowing herself to think about it.
She picked up her phone and opened the search engine again.
Just as she unlocked it, she heard the door opening at the entrance.
James didn't even change his shoes, walking straight in with big strides. His eyes swept around downstairs, and seeing Mia's figure in the kitchen, he walked over quickly.
"It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Mia didn't look at him.
Head down, treating him as if he didn't exist.
She continued comparing the enlarged image on the search engine with the microwave, looking for similar icons.
James entered the kitchen, and seeing what she was doing, he breathed a sigh of relief.
His gaze returned to her face, seeing her stumped by warming milk, her little face scrunched up, looking as serious as if this were the hardest thing in the world.
James's tense nerves naturally relaxed.
She was like magic—around her, he would naturally relax.
This little confusion of hers, if it were anyone else, he wouldn't tolerate it.
But with Mia, he just found it adorable.
James took a few steps behind her, reached out his long arm, tapped the touchscreen a few times, and the microwave immediately started running.
...
The distance between them suddenly closed, close enough that Mia immediately smelled a scent on him that didn't belong to him. Her pupils contracted sharply.
She knew this scent too well.
It had penetrated deep into her soul, carved into her DNA.
This was—Amelia's perfume.
Her scent was mixed with James's scent.
You in me, me in you, intimately intertwined.
Combined with alcohol, known as the catalyst for romance, it formed a complete picture in her mind.
Those imagined scenes that kept her from sleeping now all became real, as clear as if they were right before her eyes.
He came home so late because he really was with Amelia.
How passionately and intimately must they have been entangled for her scent to linger on him.
So disgusting.
James was truly disgusting.
The microwave hummed, and the sweet smell of milk slowly spread through the air.
As it entered her nose, it made Mia feel nauseous.
She used all her strength to push James away, covered her mouth, rushed out of the kitchen, and into the bathroom.
No time to even close the door, she bent over and threw up.
James, who had followed quickly, casually tossed his phone on the sink outside, his face full of concern as he stepped forward, leaning down to hold her shoulders, his deep eyes full of worry for her. "Mia..."
As he got closer, Amelia's scent rushed into her nose again.
Mia threw up even harder.
All day, she'd had no appetite. What she'd forced herself to eat, she'd thrown up most of it.
There wasn't much left in her stomach to begin with.
Now, hunched over the toilet, all she was throwing up was bitter yellow bile.
It was extremely painful, forcing tears from her eyes.