Chapter 57

My day really couldn’t have been going any smoother.

I’d woken up that morning wrapped in James’ arms, feeling secure and happily warm. I truly thought that this week would never end. The amount of work everyone had put in as a means of resolving the problems at Crescent Moon, had me thoroughly exhausted.

I was more than happy to sleep in that morning; however, James wasn’t so lucky...

Now that we were slowly gaining back all the clients that had wanted to drop their contracts, there were new meetings popping up left and right that required his full and absolute attention.

So, unfortunately, our blissful morning was cut short when the alarm on his phone went off. James let out a sigh and begrudgingly got up. He went over to his wardrobe to select his clothes for the day and peered over his shoulder to glance at me.

“I want us to go out tonight,” he said. “There’s something really important I need to tell you.”

I pushed myself up on my elbows to get a better view of him. “Something important?” He nodded his head. “Consider me intrigued.”

James let out a chuckle and came over to press a swift kiss to my head. “I should be back around two-ish,” he said.

As he went off to work, I leisurely rolled out of bed and took a nice long shower before slipping into a flowy sundress. I threw my hair back into a ponytail and made my way out of the bedroom. I found Lily in the kitchen and she greeted me with a warm smile.

“Hello, dear,” she hummed. “I see you didn’t go in with James earlier.”

I laughed and grabbed the pitcher of iced tea. “No, not today,” I told her. “James insisted that I stay home and rest. This week has been freaking nuts.”

“Oh, I can imagine. But it seems like everything is on its way to going back to normal.”

Lily and I went on to have a light lunch together where we discussed the photoshoot.

“You have to admit, those pictures came out amazing,” she said.

“I’ll admit, I was really skeptical about the whole thing when Daniel first suggested it,” I told her. “I mean, I don’t have any of that sort of training or prior experience.”

Lily waved off my bashfulness. “You were wonderful.”

I took a tentative sip of my tea and gently shook my head. “Well, one thing that truly shocked me was that Rudolf Lawrence came to the office to speak to James,” I mused.

“I’ll do you one better,” Lilly said with a smirk. “Rumor has it that Mr. Lawrence is sending people here to pack up Monica’s belongings.”

I was stunned. “Really?”

“Oh, yes. Not sure what brought it on. But it appears that the primadonna is not very pleased with the development. She’s been hauled up in her rooms since the message came through.”

I couldn’t imagine how the day could have gotten any better than that.

As the afternoon rolled on, one of the staff members came over to us to inform us that the gardener who tends to the hedge maze as well as the smaller gardens in the back of the property was not feeling well and was looking to take a short leave of absence.

I eagerly nodded my head and told them that it wouldn’t be a problem.

“You know, I could probably help out in the gardens until the usual gardener is ready to come back,” I suggested.

Lily gave me a wary look. “I don’t know, Mia,” she said with trepidation. “I don’t think James would be too happy if someone, aside from the regular gardener, was wandering through the place. Plus, didn’t you say that James wanted you to rest today?”

“Oh, come on, Lily. I’d just be picking a few weeds here and there,” I explained. “It won’t be as though I’m changing anything.”

With that thought in mind, I got up from my seat and made my way back toward the courtyard. I headed through the large archway and went straight out to the large hedge maze.

I lowered my eyes to the ground and began scoping out for any possible weeds or dead plants. The area was rather magnificent and I could truly understand why James kept it in constant upkeep. But in the back of my mind, I always wondered why this place was kept off-limits to everyone else in the house.

As time skipped by, I ended up with a good handful of weeds and felt rather satisfied with myself. However, that bright feeling immediately diminished when a thunderous noise came from the house.

I slowly turned around to find an extremely pissed-off James crowding in the archway.

The man was steamed. “What the fuck are you doing in the garden?!”

I found myself flinching at the unexpected tone of his voice. “James, calm down. I was merely picking a few weeds.”

A menacing growl tore from his chest. “You’re not allowed in that part of the house—I told you that didn’t I?!”

“Y-Yes. But the regular gardener that usually works on it is sick and needs some time off—”

“So, you thought you had the right to take his place? You completely disregarded my instructions!”

“I didn’t do anything,” I tried to argue back.

“You had no right to be there. Don’t ever go out to that section of the house again,” he ordered harshly.

My feelings were utterly shattered. I fought back the growing tears in the corners of my eyes and threw the dead weeds in my hands to the ground. Without so much as another word, I forcibly shoved my way past him and headed back into the house.

I ignored anything James tried to say to me after that and went straight for the bedroom. I spotted my phone across the room and sent a long text out to Emily.

I wasn’t sure what her work schedule was or even if she was busy. All I knew was that I couldn’t stand to be at the house any longer. I inquired about meeting somewhere for an early dinner.

Whatever plans James thought we were going to have tonight were instantly canceled the moment he stormed into the backyard and proceeded to scream at me and belittle me as though I was a child.

Thankfully, Emily got back to me rather fast. Not only was she available, but she even recommended a new restaurant that I’d been eager to try out.

Having swiftly changed into something more appropriate, I grabbed my bag and headed for the front door.

“And just where the hell are you going?” James asked bitterly.

“Somewhere far away from you,” I said flatly.