Chapter 33

Dinner was absolutely perfect and by the end of the night, we were headed back to the house with a better perspective of one another. I wasn’t able to actually form the words to express how happy I was.

James, like the gentleman he was, escorted me through the hallways till we reached the bedroom. He raised my hand up and placed a delicate kiss on the back of my palm. The mere brush of his lips sent a fluttering sensation to explode within my stomach.

“Goodnight, Mia,” he said softly.

I raised my brows in surprise. Wait. Was he seriously not spending the night with me?

Ever since that one heated morning, where the two of us had grown exponentially closer, James had been spending his nights in the same room as me. Granted, nothing else had gone aside from that one moment, but it was strange to think that he was going to turn away now.

“You’re really not going to spend the night with me?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Until we get the information we need from Dr. Harold, I will not share a bed with you...I don’t trust myself to not lose control.”

The corner of my mouth pulled into a knowing smirk. “James, you have the most insane amount of self-restraint I’ve ever seen on a person.”

He reached out to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear. “Not when it comes to you, Mia.”

...

The next day, James and I were back at the office. For the most part, everything seemed pretty normal...except for all of the obvious stares and glaring that I was openly receiving from people.

There was no doubt in my mind that everyone in the office, very likely the entire building, ended up hearing about the press conference and James and I’s official marriage announcement. From the moment I stepped through the main doors of Crescent Moon, nearly every single pair of female eyes were locked on me.

I should have known something like this was bound to happen. For Christ’s sake, James was the most sought-after bachelor in the city for years—suddenly, all of that had disappeared overnight because someone like me had ‘snatched’ him up.

Honestly, the gaping looks weren’t what bothered me...It was the muffled whispers and low muttering that started to drive me utterly insane.

Each time I stepped out of my private workspace to get some task accomplished, my ears were instantly assaulted by the irritating buzz of my coworkers mumbling about something somewhat pertaining to me. I hated it. It reminded me too much of high school and how people would gossip back then.

As the work day dragged on, I was able to get everything I needed done with ample enough time to consider asking James for an early leave. I knew it was a cowardly thing for me to do. But I really wasn’t in any mood to deal with people’s nosy behavior.

‘Perhaps they wouldn’t be so nosey if you’d just openly talk to them and tell them the truth,’ I thought to myself.

It was true. I didn’t want this to become the new work environment I had to deal with every day.

I released a long breath and got up from my chair.

I headed into the breakroom to make myself a cup of tea where a few familiar faces came into view. The second I started to hear the muttered whispering, I snapped my head around and calmly spoke.

“You know, you can ask me anything about what those articles wrote,” I said.

I was swiftly met with wide eyes and nervous looks before suddenly being accosted with a dozen eager questions and giggles.

‘So, when did this happen?’

‘Were you already working here when he proposed?’

‘Did the two of you seriously know each other since you were children?’

‘How long have you loved him?’

‘Did James feel the same way about you back then?’

‘Have the two of you always loved each other even though he was already engaged and married to someone else?’

Okay, maybe I wasn’t ready to answer ‘every’ question these people were willing to throw at me. I opened my mouth in an attempt to answer at least one of their questions but was hastily interrupted by Daniel who came rushing into the break room.

“Mia, your phone is ringing,” he called out.

I released a gracious breath and politely bowed my head out of the room. I quickly rushed back to my desk to find that my brother was eagerly trying to reach me.

“Hello? Chris?” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice.

“Hey, Mia.”

My stomach flipped with uncertainty as my brows drew together in confusion. Why on earth was he trying to call me now? Wasn’t he supposed to be on his way to Egypt?

“Chris, what’s going on?” I asked tensely. “Is something wrong?”

“...I’m not sure,” he started. “You see, earlier today, I received a call from one of Uncle David’s people. Do you remember him?”

My brows furrowed even more. “Uncle David...Mom’s brother, right?”

“Right. I know it’s been a while since we’ve seen him and all, which is why I found it incredibly strange that he’d want to reach out to us all of a sudden.”

“What did he say—or, rather what did his assistant say?” I questioned.

“They made some weird remark about your marriage to James. They referred to it as random and impractical,” Chris explained.

My breath caught in my lungs as my nerves started to shake. A wave of anxiety started to spiral through me. Everything in my life was going so well. Why did it feel like the earth was starting to shift beneath my feet?

“I don’t understand, why should someone like him even care about this? It’s not like he’s been a prominent person in our lives.”

All of this was, indeed, strange. If my memory served correctly, I’d only met my Uncle David a handful of times. I didn’t remember much, but I did recall the unsettling feeling that came from being in the man’s presence. Our parents made it a point to keep our distance when it came to that side of the family.

Blurry, distorted clips of my memory started to file though my head. The last time I really saw my Uncle David was when I was still in middle school. I caught him arguing with my parents. His voice was booming and demanding. It sounded like he was trying to rope my parents into some business deal that held zero potential. David threatened to shun my mother from his life if she didn’t reconsider his business offer. In the end, our mother refused him and David marched out of the house with a lethal look in his eyes.

From that point forward, no one had heard a word from the man.

“So, what does any of this mean?” I asked, worriedly. “Should I be expecting some sort of unsolicited reach out from our distant relatives that haven’t seen nor spoken to us in God only knows how long?”

“Just take a breath and relax,” Chris instructed. “I don’t know. I wish I did. But, regardless, Mia...I want you to keep me in the loop should this continue. Mom and Dad were always wary of David and for good reason. We know the man has a nasty temper at times. Whenever he decides to pop up, it’s never considered a pleasant occurrence.”

I ended my call with Chris and turned my head to find James leering at me from the doorway. His usual guarded expression was pinched with concern.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

I quickly shook the whole issue off and placed my phone down. “It’s nothing.”