Chapter 34

Ever since Chris called, informing me about our mysterious Uncle’s sudden interest in my personal life, I haven’t been able to properly focus. It was like there was this ongoing gnawing in the back of my mind that I couldn’t get rid of.

The more I replayed the conversation in my head, the more anxious I became. What business was it of David’s that I am married to James? Not to mention, why had he reached out to Chris instead of me, considering I was the main topic of conversation?

This loss of focus really started to have a negative effect on my work ethic and my mentality. I noticed that throughout the day, I’d make careless mistakes on documents and even forgot to reach out to James for a few needed signatures.

I hated the grueling feeling it left inside of me. This horrible bout of distraction made me appear incapable and terrible at my job. For the first time ever, I was actually thankful for the schedule that James had made for me to follow. Without it, I felt too lost to function.

If I had the ability, I would have reached out to David myself and demanded answers; however, I didn’t actually have any way of reaching him. I didn’t have the man’s number and I didn’t know where he was currently living.

So, there I was, left to mentally stew in my harrowing thoughts with not a single idea as to what to do. David's presence felt like a phantom in my life. Whenever he’d make an unscheduled appearance, it always left a dark mark on the people involved.

Because of his random reach out to my brother, I wasn’t entirely where it left me...Was he planning on making a random appearance?

That same unsettling feeling I always had when I was around him was starting to sink back into my chest.

I couldn’t fathom why the whole thing bothered me so much—it shouldn’t have mattered at all—but it was the feeling that it placed in my stomach and a shadow in the back of my mind. The feeling was just too unsettling, too sinister to let go of.

Worst of all, I could tell that my newly frantic, discombobulated state was distressing the hell out of James. The man must have asked me at least ten times about the phone call as well as if I was truly okay or not.

I knew I looked rough and worn from exhaustion. But each time he asked me, I could only manage to respond with ‘I’m fine’ or ‘It’s nothing to worry about’.

But I could tell that James was getting exceedingly tired of that response. And with my condition growing worse by the day, it was only a matter of time before one of us finally broke...

That evening, I was heading to the library to hopefully catch up on some light reading as a means to cool my nerves. However, I was quickly confronted by an aggravated-looking James.

His features were pointed and tense as he came to stand in front of me.

“Alright, enough of this silent-shit treatment,” he hissed.

My eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

“I know that there’s something that’s been bothering you these past few days. So you’re going to tell me exactly what’s wrong and then I’m going to find a way to fix it,” he stated firmly.

I gently shook my head as my nerves started to twist and coil. James reached out to curl his fingers under my chin and lifted my head up to look at him.

“Yes, Mia. You need to tell me what it is,” he prompted. “It’s no mystery that whatever it is has been eating away at you. For fuck’s sake you’ve been losing sleep and it’s wreaking havoc on your body. It’s not good for the baby and it’s not good for you.”

“I told you it’s nothing,” I said weakly. “Look, my head hurts. I’m going to read in the library for a little while.”

I was not a fan of being hassled. My temper was already short as it was due to the lack of sleep I was getting. But it was clear that James wasn’t going to leave the issue alone.

“I refuse to be left in the dark,” he muttered with a grimace.

“Well, not that I’m trying to prove a point, but it sucks not knowing everything, huh?” The words came tumbling out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them. My heart slammed in my chest as his eyes darkened. Oh, shit.

Something inside of James must have snapped. He let out a sharp snarl and bent down to grab me by the waist. He lifted my feet off the floor and practically tossed me over his shoulder while storming off in the direction of the bedroom.

The second he slammed the door shut behind us, he marched over to the bed and tossed me down. A shallow yelp tore from my throat. “James! What the h—”

His eyes were burning with frustration. “Two things are going to happen. One, you’re going to tell me exactly what the hell has been bothering you these past several days. Two, you are going to catch up on all the sleep you’ve been losing.”

A long contemplative pause went by before I opened my mouth and began to explain. I told him about the call I got from Chris and what little I knew about my uncle. I told him how bothered I was by the idea of someone trying to stick their two cents into my life.

“I’m worried at the idea that David is just going to show up one of these days and cause trouble,” I said. James remains attentive through the whole thing.

By the end of my rant, he circled an arm around me and pulled me close. “Should he decide to make an appearance, then we will deal with it together. Now, you really need to sleep,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been struggling to relax in order to fall asleep properly. This whole thing has kept me on edge.”

James’ gaze grew lustful. “I know exactly how to make you relax...”

He pressed a firm hand against my abdomen, pushing me back into the mattress. He pulled himself back and came to kneel at the end of the bed.

My eyes grew wide while he grew hooded with desire.

“James...”

“Relax for me,” he hushed.