Chapter 52: Personally Admitted
After going upstairs, James headed straight for the guest bedroom.
He knocked on the door with his knuckles.
Mia inside ignored him.
He was prepared for this and pulled out a key to unlock the door.
Mia, who was about to read a prenatal book to her unborn baby, turned to look. Her expression clearly darkened.
James ignored her obvious displeasure and walked straight into the room.
He closed the door and said to her, "We need to talk."
His forceful entry made it clear this conversation was happening whether she liked it or not.
He was actually quite stubborn. Once he decided on something, no one could change his mind.
She knew his personality, so when they were together, to avoid arguments—
Because he treated her well, she had gotten used to listening to him, letting him make all the decisions, not wanting to upset him.
This had spoiled him into thinking she had no temper and was easy to fool.
Right now, it wasn't that she couldn't fight back, it was just—
Mia touched her belly. She didn't want to get angry again. Emotional ups and downs weren't good for the baby.
She took a deep breath and said nothing, just calmly watched him walk toward her.
She suddenly wanted to see, now that they'd reached this point—
With the bloody truth laid bare before them, what words could James possibly use to deceive himself?
...
James walked over with a deep gaze and sat down beside her.
His eyes never left her, as if trying to see into her soul. His first words were a sincere apology: "Mia, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have deceived you."
Even though it was unintentional deception.
She cared about being deceived, so if he wanted to break this deadlock, honesty was the only way.
James, skilled at reading people's hearts, was using his business tactics.
Little did he know, emotions were the hardest thing to control.
As she pressed her lips together in silence, he said honestly, "Yes, I love Amelia."
Mia's pupils shook violently at his words.
She thought James would use his best persuasive skills like last time to gloss over his love for Amelia.
She never expected him to admit it directly, catching her completely off guard.
A sword straight through her heart.
The heart she had barely patched up and stopped from bleeding at the hospital was stabbed bloody again by him.
She had positioned herself as an outsider, ready to watch James play the fool trying to deceive her.
But she never imagined he would be this honest. She became the fool instead.
She had kept emphasizing not to deceive her.
She wanted to hear the truth, but when James actually told her the truth, she discovered how painful the truth could be.
It was a fact she already knew, but hearing him admit it out loud still left her heart riddled with holes.
It hurt so much she couldn't speak. All her composure completely collapsed.
Mia quickly lowered her eyes, hiding the pain in them.
Did he come in specifically to torture her again?
James's heart clenched as his gaze remained on her.
Mia's attempt to hide her feelings was too clumsy—he saw right through it.
To resolve this matter as quickly as possible, he had to be direct.
There was no way to explain away his situation with Amelia. To make her believe there was really nothing between him and Amelia, he first had to make her believe in his sincerity.
He wouldn't lie to her anymore.
He had everything under control, except—he miscalculated that he would hurt Mia again.
Seeing her hurt, James instinctively reached out and grasped her hand to comfort her.
That wasn't his main point...
Mia immediately tried to pull away, but he held her firmly, refusing to let her avoid him. "Mia, listen to me."
"I really haven't done anything to wrong you. Not before, and never in the future."
He was making his position clear to her.
"I am absolutely faithful to this marriage. I've never crossed the line."
Even with Amelia, during those few accidents, he had stopped things in time.
After realizing things with Amelia were getting out of control, he had pulled back immediately.
He planned to truly draw clear boundaries with Amelia.
Mia, her heart aching from James's truth, laughed coldly. "Should I be moved to tears?"
"Should I thank you for leaving me some dignity?"
"Mia!" James had been trying to talk sincerely with her, but her sharp words stung him. "Can't you just talk properly?"
She wasn't like this before.
"What part of my words wasn't proper?"
Mia found the barely restrained James in front of her laughable!
When she hurt, she reflexively wanted to hurt others.
"Which part did I get wrong? Isn't that what you meant?"
"You're James—when you stomp your foot, all of Imperial City shakes. So many women want to climb into your bed."
"But you've stayed faithful for someone as ordinary as me. Even facing the woman you love, you held the line and didn't cheat during our marriage."
"Someone like you is one in a million. I should be grateful, be good, and stop making trouble. I'm just wasting your time. That's what you mean, right?"
James couldn't refute her words.
Wasn't that true?
That was exactly what he meant.
He was used to solving problems immediately when they arose.
Their marriage had a small problem because of Amelia's appearance. Couldn't they just solve these problems?
She misunderstood that he and Amelia had crossed boundaries—he explained it clearly.
About her falling in love with him because of the drunken misunderstanding—he did bear responsibility, but it wasn't intentional. It was an accident.
The misunderstanding had taken root.
It was done, unchangeable.
As long as they resolved the Amelia situation—
Her loving him wasn't a big problem. He would treat her better in the future to make up for it.
Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, his honesty clearly made her believe nothing inappropriate happened between him and Amelia.
He had stated his position too. Shouldn't they just erase everything that happened before like chalk on a board and start fresh?
Wasn't she the best at putting unhappy things behind her?
He just wanted to quickly see that Mia who was happy every day, smiling at him with bright eyes.
Not like this—sharp and cold, either ignoring him or saying hurtful things.
"James, I can't do it!"
If she hadn't fallen in love, she could have maintained a marriage without love.
But after falling in love with him, how could she continue living with a man who didn't love her at all, as if nothing had happened?
How could he so casually expect her to treat those things as dirt to be wiped away?
"Please, I'm begging you. Agree to the divorce, okay?"
"Impossible!"
James refused without hesitation!
This was supposed to be about reconciliation.
How did they end up back at divorce again!
"Mia, I'm telling you for the last time, stop bringing up divorce. I will never divorce you."
With this attitude, there was no way to talk.
He had thought that after he explained everything and made his position clear, Mia, who was usually so easy to appease, would surely soften.
But he really didn't expect—
This time would be so difficult.