Chapter 83

In all honesty, I wasn’t sure where James stood on this entire ordeal. Here, David was basically giving him an easy way out of our relationship—all he had to do was burn the marriage contract and it would be as though none of it had ever happened. Surely, his family would come up with some excuse to give to the media on my behalf.

David had insisted I follow his housekeeper, Lacey, back to my room in the meantime. Slowly, I watched the sun sink beneath the horizon. Without my phone, I felt useless. But at some point, there came a knock on the door. A small group of maids, along with Lacey, came in and told me that they were to help me get ready for dinner.

I glanced at the long gown that one of them held up and my stomach flipped. Without a fuss, I allowed them to help me into the dress and do up my hair. I insisted they keep the makeup light and not bother with any accessories.

“Is any of this truly necessary?” I asked them.

“Apologies, Miss, the boss has insisted that we make you look extra special.”

“He says that tonight marks a special occasion.”

“What occasion?” I asked pointedly.

Not a single one of them answered me, causing a whole new wave of anxiety to crash over me. I couldn’t fathom the need to get so dressed up for just a damn dinner. It wasn’t as though we were even leaving the house. Knowing David, the man wasn’t going to take the risk of letting me out in public given the situation.

The halls were empty with nothing but the simple click of my heels hitting the marbled floors. The dining room was encapsulated in a dim glow from all the candles that were lit throughout the room.

‘My, my, isn’t this a romantic setting,’ I thought tensely.

If I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought that this was some kind of a set-up date. But no. I noticed the three place settings.

‘Wait. Why are there three?’

“You look beautiful,” a deep voice spoke out.

Startled, I snapped around to find Michael standing in the doorway with a wondrous look on his face.

“Michael? What are you doing here?” I questioned with surprise.

“David called me. He told me to come back to the house. Said it was important, so I rushed back as soon as I could,” he said. “But what are you doing here?”

A spark of anger scored through me as I recalled overhearing David and James’ earlier phone call. How, apparently, David had heard through the ‘grapevine’ that my relationship with James hadn’t been going well. There was no way that David could have possibly known that if someone hadn’t told him.

And the only person I could imagine relaying that sort of message was Michael.

“David kidnapped me.” Michael’s expression fell to the floor in shock. “Apparently, he somehow found out that James and I haven’t been doing well.”

The realization seemed to hit him like a metaphorical slap to the face. “Mia, I—”

“Ah, I see you two found each other,” David said with a chipper tone. “Come, let’s take our seats and have dinner.”

A majority of the meal was carried out in silence. But as soon as the plates were cleared away, the room began to fill with unbreathable tension.

“Alright, fake pleasantries aside, tell me the truth,” I said sharply. “I’ve had this unsettling feeling since you brought me here. Why did you bring me here? Because something tells me that it has more to do than just you, thinking you need to fix James and I’s marriage.”

I caught the slight smirk that touched the corners of his mouth. That devious smile sent an unsettling spark of fear down my spine.

“Clever girl,” he commented.

For the first time since dinner started, Michael had finally spoken out. “David, what the hell is she talking about? You can’t possibly have another reason for keeping her here.”

“She’s right, I do.”

“Tell me,” I demanded.

“I believe it’s high time you were matched with someone who I know will not put you at risk. Someone who I know will unquestionably put you first and you’ll never have to fall prey to the parasites of the media ever again. Both you and your child will be undoubtedly safe from people like Edward,” David stated.

My brows furrowed in bewilderment. “Wait...You’re looking to pair me up with someone else?”

“Yes.”

My voice filled with skepticism. “Someone of your choosing, I’m assuming?”

“Of course,” he confirmed. “I will not begrudge you of your previous marital arrangements. I think we would both agree that they were brought on by pressured circumstances.”

“James never pressured me into anything,” I said.

“Really?” he said with doubt. “He didn’t hold the financial security and ensure the safety for your child over your head like some sort of bargaining chip?”

Fucking hell...How did he know that?

“You don’t know anything that’s gone on between us,” I said quietly.

“You’d be amazed as to what I can figure out simply by how you react to my questions,” David argued.

“That’s enough,” Michael hissed. “Stop antagonizing her.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “So who is it then?” I questioned harshly. “Who have you deemed worthy of essentially taking James’ place?”

I glanced from David to Michael to see if he had any clue who this so-called mystery bachelor was. But Micahel appeared as lost as I was. Another wave of uneasiness surged through me when David started to chuckle with clear amusement.

“You’ve been sitting across from him this entire time,” he confessed.

If my eyes had gotten any wider, they would have surely popped right out of my head. I practically sputtered over the words I struggled to get out.

“W-What?!”

I snapped my head back to stare at Michael, who looked as lost and dubiously astonished as me.

“You can’t be serious...Michael?! You want me to marry him?”

David merely gave me a curt nod. Suddenly, the sound of his phone went off and David glanced down to check the incoming message.

A devious smile curved his mouth. “I’ve just been notified, your soon-to-be-ex-husband has just arrived.”