Chapter 0004

Hunter pressed his lips together, his dark eyes shifting toward Summer. "She was in a car accident?"

Suddenly, he remembered the call Mia had made to him last night.

What if it was true…

At that moment, the hospital room door swung open, and Mia walked in, her demeanor cold and distant.

Jenna’s eyes flickered with a hint of malice, but she quickly covered it up. She spoke urgently, “I just heard you were in a car accident! Come here and let me take a look. Are you hurt? Is it serious?” She tried to sound as concerned as possible.

Hunter’s expression darkened.

Mia and her friend must have teamed up to deceive him.

Mia stepped forward, pulling Summer behind her. “You should head out. I’ll handle this.”

Summer quickly said, “I didn’t do anything! She hit herself!”

Mia cut her off, “I know. Just go.”

She wasn’t sure how Hunter would react, and keeping Summer there wouldn’t help.

Summer bit her lip, her eyes red as she turned and left the room. Sam glanced at Hunter before following her out.

The room quickly fell silent, leaving just the three of them.

Mia walked over to Jenna’s bed, standing over her. “I heard you were hit. Is it serious? Did you get checked out?”

Jenna's face still had faint finger marks, but they were barely noticeable and not enough to warrant a formal report.

Biting her lip, Jenna looked at Mia with a pitiful expression. “She hit me in places you can’t see, so there’s no point in getting checked out. But if you don’t believe me, then don’t.”

“Are you stupid?” Hunter snapped at Jenna, raising his voice. “She hit you, and you didn’t say anything? What if something’s really wrong?”

Jenna’s eyes welled up with tears. “I didn’t want to cause any problems between you and Mia. I figured since I wasn’t seriously hurt, there was no need to mention it.”

Hunter’s expression darkened. “You can’t even handle your own situation, and now you’re worrying about me and her? What’s wrong with you?”

His tone was cold, but there was a hint of affection in it.

Mia stood there, feeling like a complete outsider. She and Hunter were supposed to be the closest people to each other, but at this moment, it was clear she didn’t belong.

It reminded her of how she felt within her own family, like she never really fit in.

It hurt.

Jenna pouted and gave Hunter a playful look. “Your relationship with Mia is falling apart, and you’re always so grumpy around me. It affects my mood too! Of course I’m worried about you!”

“You’re full of excuses!” Hunter snapped, his face hardening. “Stay out of my business from now on.”

“Who wants to be involved in your business, anyway?” Jenna huffed, still pouting.

Hunter gave her a look. “I’ll get the doctor to check on you.”

He pressed the call button as he spoke.

Mia took a deep breath, trying to push down the pain in her chest.

She thought back to earlier that year when she had been seriously ill and spent two weeks in the hospital. Hunter hadn’t visited her once.

At the time, she convinced herself that he was just busy, that he didn’t have time.

But seeing him now, so attentive and concerned about Jenna, she couldn’t lie to herself anymore.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have time. It was that she wasn’t Jenna, and that was why he didn’t care.

*

When the doctor came to check on Jenna, Hunter grabbed Mia’s hand and pulled her out of the room.

Jenna watched them leave, her hand clenching tightly under the blanket.

Outside, Mia yanked her hand free and faced him. “Hunter, we need to talk!”

“Fine, let’s start with the trending news from last night.” Hunter’s eyes were cold, completely devoid of any warmth.

Marrying Mia three years ago had been out of necessity. Even after three years of sleeping with her, he hadn’t developed a shred of affection.

He could tolerate Mia being jealous, but he would never allow her to use that jealousy to spread rumors and damage Jenna’s reputation by manipulating the media.

Mia’s brows furrowed as she spoke coldly. “I told you already, I didn’t spread that story! I’m not admitting to something I didn’t do.”

The trending topic had already been buried, and there wasn’t a trace of it left online. Yet here Hunter was, still bringing it up. Wasn’t that a little much?

“I’ve made up my mind, and I won’t change it! You have half a day to think about it. Let me know your decision by the end of the workday,” His tone was firm, and Mia could tell that no matter what she said, the outcome would be the same.

Looking at his cold, detached expression, Mia felt a chill spread through her entire body.

“You’re condemning me without a shred of evidence. Isn’t that a bit much?”

Her voice was steady, but her eyes were cold. Wasn’t Hunter being just a bit too cruel to her?

“Jenna just won an award, and any negative press could ruin her. This is final.”

Mia let out a bitter laugh. “So you’re willing to throw me under the bus to protect Jenna? Did it ever cross your mind what that would do to me?”

Of course, it hadn’t.

If it had, he wouldn’t be saying any of this.

Hunter pressed his lips together. “I give you twenty thousand dollars a month for spending money. Isn’t that enough? Why do you need to work? This is the perfect chance to quit your job and stay home to take care of me properly.”

Mia’s face turned pale, but she responded firmly, “That twenty thousand you give me goes toward household expenses. I don’t spend a dime of it on myself! And I love my job and I’ve never planned on quitting. If you think I’m not taking care of you well enough, then hire more staff to help.”

Hunter did give her twenty thousand dollars a month, but with the high household costs, there was barely anything left. Most of her salary went toward covering her grandmother’s medical bills.

If she quit her job, relying on the money Hunter gave her wouldn’t even be enough to cover her grandmother’s treatment. Quitting wasn’t an option.

Hunter pushed her up against the wall, his gaze intense as he looked down at her, his presence radiating danger. “I married you so you could take care of me completely, not so I’d have to rely on staff to do your job. If twenty thousand isn’t enough, I’ll give you an extra twenty this month.”

His words felt like charity to Mia.

A deep sadness welled up inside her.

After three years of marriage, it was clear Hunter had never truly seen her as his wife or part of his life. She was nothing more than an accessory to him, just someone to satisfy his physical needs in bed.

“When you quit, you’ll have plenty of time to socialize with the other wives. Build relationships with them, so it’s easier to help with future business deals.” In Hunter’s mind, all women in high society spent their time like this, and as his wife, Mia should be no different.

Mia took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Why don’t you tell Jenna to stay home and act like a proper widow?”

Even though Jenna was married to Hunter’s older brother, she was always out competing in dance competitions.

If anyone was putting themselves out there, shouldn’t it be Jenna?

“You and Jenna are different. Jenna has her own stage, and when she’s on it, she shines. You, on the other hand, just have a job. Whether you keep working or not doesn’t really matter. You’d be better off focusing on being Mrs. Jasper.” Hunter tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze.