Chapter 348: Remarrying

Chapter 348: Remarrying

Mia jolted awake from her dream once again.

Opening her eyes, she immediately checked the space beside her—empty.

She reached out, her palm meeting cold sheets, as if no one had ever been there.

Was it just another dream?

Panic surged in her chest. Stripped of her composure and didn't have time to think.

She threw off the covers and rushed out of the room barefoot, stumbling in her haste.

Just as she reached the bedroom door, it swung open from the outside.

James appeared in her line of sight.

At the sight of him, Mia's eyes were instantly filled with tears. "James!"

Without a second thought, she threw herself at him.

Even though it had been a long time since she'd jumped into James's arms like this, the muscle memory remained ingrained in her bones.

The moment he saw her rushing toward him, James instinctively extended both arms, one hand anchoring her waist, the other supporting her bottom, catching her firmly.

Mia was equally practiced, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, clinging to him like a koala.

James adjusted her position, shifting her down until their eyes were level.

His affectionate gaze locked onto hers as he leaned in to kissed her her—tender and meticulous. While kissing her, he murmured soothingly, "Honey, it's not a dream. I’m really back."

He understood her anxiety.

Last night, she had barely slept.

She kept calling his name in her half-asleep state.

He'd comforted her for most of the night before she finally drifted into a deep sleep.

He felt regretful—he knew that incident had traumatized her.
She was so anxious. He shouldn't have left her alone to prepare breakfast for her.

He should have held her and waited until she woke.

Then she wouldn't have woken up to find him gone and gotten scared.

Mia responded softly.

But she didn't want to get down from him.

She just kept her arms around his neck, hanging on him and kissing him.

Deep kisses, light kisses.

After kissing for a while, Mia finally stopped and prepared to get down.

"Let me carry you."

But James didn't let go. He carried her straight to the bathroom.

Just like before, he'd already squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush and prepared her mouthwash.

At the sink, James changed his hold, hugging her from behind as he watched her brush her teeth and wash her face.

After she finished, he carried her out of the bathroom, all the way to the dining room, and sat her on his lap.

Mia offered no protest, and James enjoyed every moment of it.

Two breakfast plates were already set on the table.

They fed each other.

Very lovey-dovey.

But neither of them tired of it.

After breakfast, James picked her up again and went upstairs.

He placed her on the bed, and seeing her yawn, he kissed the corner of her lips and said, "Sleep a bit more."

It was still early. James planned to wait until Mia was deep in asleep before heading to the company.

He didn't take Uri seriously at all.

"Okay."

Mia was indeed tired and lay back down under the covers.

"Sleep. I'll wait until you're asleep before I leave."

James leaned down and kissed her forehead, sitting on the edge of the bed holding her hand.

Mia didn't ask him about the Smith Group.

From the moment he came back, the burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

She had one hundred percent trust in James's abilities.

With him here, the Smith Group would never fall into Uri's hands.

She cooperatively closed her eyes.

She fell asleep quickly.

Sitting beside her, James heard Mia's breathing become steady. He got up and tucked in her blanket.

He lowered his head and kissed her one last time before quietly leaving.

As the bedroom door closed, the tenderness in James's eyes faded. He put on the suit Robert had sent over early that morning and left.

Robert was waiting downstairs, looking energized.

The moment James appeared, Robert's eyes visibly reddened with excitement.

Last night when he received James's call, he had lost his composure with excitement, crying and laughing.

It felt so unreal.

Early this morning when he came to deliver James's clothes, he'd only caught one glimpse before Mr. Smith closed the door.

Now, seeing James alive and well, Robert's eyes instantly filled with tears.

"You've worked hard, Robert."

James patted Robert's shoulder before stepping into the car.

Everything else was understood without words.

...

The moment James left, Mia, who had supposedly been asleep in bed, opened her eyes.

She threw off the covers, got up, and called Lily to ask her to look after Pax for one more day.

After hanging up, Mia started preparing.

Once everything was arranged, she drove away from Luxe Haven.

...

The Smith Group

At 9:30 sharp, Uri appeared at the conference room.

His assistant helped him push the conference room door open.

All the shareholders were present, including Victor, Beatrix, and Clea.

"Uri, you're here."

Clea, sitting next to Beatrix, was the first to stand up when she saw Uri, helping him pull out his chair.

Uri ignored her. He sat down glancing at the empty head seat.

Mia wasn't here.

Robert wasn't here either.

From the beginning, the outcome was already decided.

Because James was dead.

He was just waiting, waiting for the best moment.

Waiting for the shareholders to accept that James was really dead and wouldn't come back.

Without lifting a finger, the Smith Group would fall into his hands.

After James worked hard for nine years, in the end, he would reap the benefits.

This was his punishment for taking the company from him.

What didn't belong to him would ultimately be returned.

"It's already 9:30. Since Mia hasn't shown up, she has officially forfeited her position."
"She never had the right to take over the Smith Group anyway. Uri is the eldest son of the Smith Family. It's only right that he takes over the company. I vote for Uri!"

As James's biological mother, she was the first to stand with Uri, supporting him for the chairman position.

With Clea taking the lead, several shareholders who had been planted in the company over the years by the lady of the house, hiding in plain sight, immediately voiced their support.

The rest weighed the pros and cons.

With James gone and the entire Smith family supporting Uri, they had no choice but to turn their backs on Mia.
Profit came first. Choosing Uri was the right choice.

The situation was settled.

With majority support, Uri stood up. His assistant had already pulled out the head chair for him.

He walked toward it.

Once he sat down, he would officially take over the company.

The first thing he would do was cut off all of Mia's support.

James's friends—he would deal with them one by one.

Without her protective umbrella, Mia could never escape from his grasp.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Uri walked to the head seat and was about to sit down.

The conference room door suddenly pushed open from outside.

Everyone's eyes quickly turned to the door.

The first person they saw was Robert.

He pushed the door open and respectfully stepped aside, revealing the person behind him.

The first to react were those who firmly supported James.

Seeing James, they stood up excitedly, their eyes full of joy as they called out, "Mr. Smith, we knew you'd be okay!"

Uri, with his back to the door, heard this. His pupils contracted in shock as he quickly turned around.

Seeing James alive and well, he exclaimed in shock, "You're not dead?"

James laughed coldly, "Sorry to disappoint you."

He stepped forward, walking into the conference room.

The door closed behind him.

He walked up to Uri with commanding presence and stopped in front of him. "What? Want to sit in my seat?"

"You're not qualified!"

James's gaze was contemptuous.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was extremely insulting.

As his words fell, he walked directly to the head seat and sat down naturally.

One sitting, one standing.

Uri had been "looking down from above," holding all the advantage.

But James's presence was too powerful.

Sitting in the chair, his commanding aura was fully displayed.

In his presence, everyone else faded into the background.
Uri was furious with humiliation, his eyes vicious. "I'm not qualified? James, this position was always mine!"

"Is that so?"

James ignored Uri's anger. He rested one hand on the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface, his tone casual. "Since you say this position was always yours, all the shareholders happen to be here today. Let those who support you speak up."

"As long as you have majority support, I'll hand this position over to you. How about that?"

"Let's begin!"

As his words fell, James's gaze swept across the faces of all the shareholders.

No one lifted a hand in support.
"James, now that you're back, how could they possibly...!"

Uri got halfway through his sentence and suddenly fell silent.

Those words were like slapping himself in the face.

Deep down, he knew what Mia had said was true.

The Smith Group's current status was all built by James's efforts.

In nine years, these people had long been convinced of James's abilities and methods from the bottom of their hearts.

Putting him and James on the same scale, he had no chance of winning.

James didn't respond either, the corners of his lips maintaining a half-smile.

Not much damage, but extremely insulting.

Without doing anything, he had directly stepped on Uri and ground him into the floor.

A crushing defeat.

"Meeting adjourned."

The result was obvious. James didn't waste another word.

As soon as he spoke.

The shareholders immediately stood up, especially those few that Beatrix had left in the company—they ran particularly fast.

Soon, the huge conference room had emptied out.

Only five people remained.

"James, I'm not dreaming, am I? You're not dead, you really came back. While you were gone, they bullied me to death. You have to stand up for me."

From the moment James appeared, Clea's back had straightened.

Her support had returned.

As soon as the shareholders left, Clea rushed toward James with tears and snot, ready to throw herself at him.

His ice-cold glance stopped her in her tracks.

Although he'd only returned last night, on the way back, Robert had already told him everything about the company's situation.

Including everything Clea had done.

Since childhood, she'd treated him as a chess piece, a chess piece that could give her a good life.

When she learned that chess piece had died, while being fully aware Uri was responsible, she didn't hesitate to side with him for her own sake.
Even worse, knowing how important Mia was to him, she insulted Mia.

When he married Mia, he'd made it clear that Mia was his only wife. He wouldn't allow Clea to appear in front of Mia or do anything to hurt her.

As long as she could stay out of each other's way, she could continue being a rich person.

But now she'd crossed his line.

"James, the Smith Family can't fall into outsiders' hands."

Victor glanced at James, explaining his actions.

In the past, the Smith Family had been his sole domain.

But since he fell ill, although the Smith Family was still nominally under his control, Victor knew in his heart that the Smith Family had long belonged to James.

James just gave a cold laugh.

He'd long known what kind of people they were.

He'd never expected them to love him, or to extend that love to those he cared about.

Selfishness was deeply ingrained into their very nature.
He didn't want to waste time here.

Disgusted by these people, he would much rather leave and spend time with his wife and son.

He stood up casually and looked at Uri, saying coldly, "Your car accident had nothing to do with me. I don't owe you anything."

"As for this incident of mine, I'll settle that score with you slowly."

With that, James left the four people in the conference room and strode out.

As soon as he left the conference room, Robert came up to meet him.

"Mr. James Smith, Mrs. Mia Smith is waiting for you downstairs."

Hearing that Mia had come, the cold air around James immediately dissipated.

Robert had been by James's side for years, and they'd long formed an understanding.

Robert understood with just one look from James.

"Mr. Smith, I'll handle the rest."

...

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor. James dashed out, taking the stairs two at a time.

As he exited, he immediately saw Mia leaning against the car.

Seeing him, Mia walked up to meet him and hugged him.
Even though they had only been apart for less than three hours, she had already missed him terribly.
Holding him, her heart finally settled.

The two hugged quietly for a while, then Mia took his hand and walked toward the car.

As James pulled open the passenger door for her, Mia motioned for him to get in.

"I'll drive."

After he got in, Mia followed.

Once in the car, Mia didn't start driving right away.

As he leaned over to fasten her seatbelt, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

After kissing for a while, Mia finally pushed him away.

She fastened his seatbelt, then put a sleep mask on him. She kissed his lips and said gently, "You barely slept last night. Sleep for a bit. I'll wake you when we get there."

"Okay."

James thought they were going to pick up Pax.

James felt quite exhausted. Hoping to greet Pax with full energy, he willingly shut his eyes and rested.
Mia turned on some music.

In the soothing music, James soon fell into a peaceful sleep.

He slept deeply.

When he woke up, James found himself leaning on Mia's shoulder, his nose filled with her lingering scent.

Still wearing the sleep mask, he leaned in and began planting soft kisses along her jawline.
Mia noticed James had woken up. As she lowered her head to kiss him, she pulled off his sleep mask.

James gently bit her lips, kissing her deeply and lightly for a while. Sucking on her lips, he said hoarsely, "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I couldn't bear to."

Mia sucked on his lips in return.

James's heart swelled with overwhelming joy and contentment.
This incident had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Although Mia hadn't mentioned remarriage yet, he could feel that she'd already accepted him in her heart.

After kissing for a while, James finally sat up and looked at Mia affectionately. "Honey, let's go home."

He unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed open the car door to get out.

Only after getting out did James realize something was wrong.

This wasn't their new place at all. This was... the marriage registration office.
Mia had brought him to the marriage registration office!

James quickly stuck his head back in the car, so excited he could barely speak coherently to Mia, who had just unbuckled her seatbelt. "Honey, you brought me to the marriage registration office, you... I..."

This surprise was a bit too much.

So much that he could hardly believe it.

"If you keep dragging your feet, I might change my mind at any moment."

Mia's eyes sparkled with a smile.

She took out both their documents from the glove box and deliberately waved them in front of him.

That wave caught James's eye.

His pupils contracted sharply.

Before Mia could pull her hand back, he grabbed her wrist.

He looked at her ring finger, where she wore the ring he'd personally designed for her four years ago.

[When you feel I'm worth your trust and you're willing to give me another chance to become your other half, put on the ring and we'll remarry]

Every word from the letter he'd written before his accident came from his heart, carved into his bones, deeply impressed in his memory.

Mia had put on the ring.

Which meant she'd truly decided to remarry him!