Mia couldn't help but feel anxious when she saw Laura and Sharon on the couch. They seemed intimidating. Didn't Timothy say Laura would only visit after two days?"Mia, you're home! Come here!"Laura waved at her passionately. Flashing a smile back at her, Mia changed her shoes as she calmly handed her bag over to Holly. Fortunately, she didn't come with a suitcase. Otherwise, she would be caught red-handed. Mia beamed at Laura as she strode over to her, taking a seat beside her. Holding her hand, she felt like her hands were much colder than before. It seemed like what Timothy said was true. Laura hadn't been feeling well lately. Laura took Mia's hand and said, "Initially, I was worried that both of you might not get along with each other. But I feel assured now when I see your wedding photo in the living room."Only then did Mia notice her wedding photo with Timothy on the wall. She froze for a second, her expression turning slightly awkward.She only designed it to
Timothy was speechless.Mia hurried up to help Laura out of the mansion, whereas Sharon slowed her pace. She glanced over at the wedding photo on the living room wall and couldn't help but feel annoyed. "Tim, didn't you kick her out?""Mom, we're just putting on an act.""I have to inform Ms. Lane about asking her brother to perform surgery on your grandma as soon as possible. Otherwise, there won't be an end to such chaos."Timothy didn't budge. Instead, he turned around and glanced over at the wedding photo. He felt somewhat complicated. When Mia returned to the hall to send Sharon off, she also glanced at the wedding photo. As Timothy approached her, he said, "I hope you perform your role well before Grandma has her surgery.""I will. Since Grandma went back, can I go back now?"Timothy frowned as he asked, "Why are you in a hurry to go back? Is there anyone who's waiting for you?""Of course it's someone important," Mia replied. Patricia had been waiting for her.
Mia nodded. "Alright. I promise."It wasn't a big deal to proceed with the divorce. After all, she had signed the divorce agreement. After Maya left the studio, she called Connor. However, the call didn't go through. What happened?She called him the night before, and the call went unanswered, too. He also didn't reply to her texts. And now, even his phone was turned off. Maya called her assistant immediately. "Find out Connor's schedule. Is he doing volunteer work overseas for the Red Cross again?"She had to convince him to come back as soon as possible to perform the surgery. Otherwise, Mia would use Laura's health as an excuse to keep bugging Timothy. …Meanwhile, Mia seemed quite distracted. Her mind was occupied with what Maya said earlier on. She regretted not recording what she said earlier. It was such a pity that she couldn't show Maya's true colors to Timothy.She missed the opportunity. Thus, there was no way that Maya would admit despite anything she said.
The dark look in Timothy's eyes grew intense as he stared at Mia. She was familiar, yet unfamiliar to him at the same time. A hint of mixed emotions flickered in his eyes. As the three of them took their seats in the private room, tension hung in the air. Timothy took out his phone and saw the text she sent this morning. She was asking whether he was free tomorrow. He replied, "Yes."Mia's phone lit up. She thought Connor and Liam were here, so she hurriedly grabbed her phone. Yet, her hand froze midway. She sneaked a glance at Timothy, who was sitting right across her. Was he replying to her message now?With an indifferent expression, Timothy set his phone aside. He acted cool as if he wasn't the one who was replying to her messages earlier on. Mia was bewildered. She had no idea what was going on in his mind. All she did was ask whether he was free to proceed with the divorce. Yet, he made it seem like they had something between them. Maya put down the menu and asked
Mia took her phone and glanced at it. It was indeed a text from Connor that said, "Mia, I've got something urgent to attend to at work. You guys can go ahead and eat first."It turned out that he couldn't make it. Connor was probably busy with his work at the hospital. After all, he was a doctor, and saving lives was definitely more important than their meeting. She glanced over at Liam and said, "Let's eat."Liam saw Connor complaining in the group chat that he came across an accident, so he had to go and do his job. Well, it was better for him not to show up so Liam could have Mia all to himself. After a while, the food came. Maya smiled and said, "Let's eat as well."However, Liam was too quick on his feet. He took the largest prawn in the dish and gave it to Mia. "Mia, you should try this. It's refreshing.Mia, try this. The first piece tastes the best.Mia, are you thirsty? I'll go get some drinks for you."Soon, the plate before Mia was piled with food. She
Liam stepped into the living room and said, "I've already sent Patricia over. Actually, you can just leave those things behind. We have all the appliances there."They specifically renovated the house so Mia could simply move in without any hassle.Mia nodded with a smile as she replied, "I stayed back because I wanted to get rid of these. Once Aunt Patricia sets her eyes on the furnishing in the new house, she'll forget about coming back to retrieve these."Liam ruffled her hair as he urged, "Let's go."Before she left the place with her suitcase, she took one last glance at it. Then, she turned around and strode off without a trace of hesitation. She shouldn't linger in the past now. All she had to do was to look forward to her future. This would be the case for both the house and her relationship. After an hour, the car came to a stop at their new residential area. Mia descended from the car with Liam and headed straight to her house. Patricia, on the other hand, was ext
Mia was utterly puzzled. What did Timothy mean by that?In a hushed tone, he continued, "Why? Am I right? So you can't deny it, can't you? And I thought you're always so good with your words."Mia attempted to break free from his grip. Yet, his strength was too overpowering for her to struggle her way out. Well, she would just play along, then. She could no longer care less. Tugging on his tie, she snapped, "Mr. Barrett, I wasn't two-timing! I've never asked you out.""Didn't you text me yesterday? Did you forget about it?""Oh, that," Mia replied as she glanced up at him. "That's different.""How is that different? Go on, try and talk yourself out of this again. The rumors are circulating all over the internet. Do you think I'm blind?"She tilted her head to the side, her fingers twirling around his tie as she said, "If that's what you think, there's nothing I can do either."Timothy was dumbfounded. That sounded like what he always said back then.Nonetheless, he glared
After a while, Timothy turned and glanced at Heath. "Didn't I tell you to check up on Linden Lane? Tell me about him!"Linden had been getting incredibly close to Mia. Did he just completely ignore him?"Mr. Barrett, he's one of the Lanes in the Nord City. He's also Ms. Lane's cousin. His family is well off, so he only debuted out of his love for acting."Timothy loosened his tie and scoffed. "Men in the entertainment industry are nothing but filth. Are there any scandals about him?"Heath hesitated for a while. "H-He doesn't really have any. Even the netizens agree on this. Aside from acting, he had always kept a low profile. Even his manager can't find him sometimes."Feeling flustered, Timothy asked again, "Does he have any ex-girlfriends?""Nope. He's been single throughout the years, and he's very mindful of the entertainment industry. Although he debuted years ago, he had no scandals at all. "His first scandal was when he attended the Fleur International Design Compet
None of the major shareholders was a fool.After that, Mia was busy handling Barrett Group affairs and barely had time to rest.With an exhausted look, she returned to the hospital.Mia looked at Timothy and said, "I'll run away if you don't wake up soon.""No… Please don't go…" Timothy grabbed her hand. His gaze was deep.Mia's eyes reddened as she gazed at the man who had just regained consciousness. Timothy finally came out of his coma.After that, everything was back to normal. Those who caused trouble quieted down.Sharon visited Timothy and told him that she was going to settle down overseas and would not come back anymore.Timothy bought her a property and gave her a huge sum of money before sending her away from Bern City.As for Maya, it was discovered that she was not the granddaughter of the Prime Minister of Yellow Island but merely his caregiver. Yet, she had been deceiving people outside.After Maya was exposed, she ran away dejectedly. Nobody knew where she was
Sage stood beside Timothy in silence.Soon, news that Timothy was hospitalized spread, and Barrett Group's stock plunged.The relatives of the Barrett family requested to hold a board meeting to elect another CEO.On the day of the board meeting, Mia brought her two children to Barrett Group.They managed to keep everyone on a leash as Sage bore a striking resemblance to Timothy.Mia marched into the meeting room, sat in Timothy's chair, and glanced at everyone present. "Let's begin. Didn't you all want to have a meeting?"One of the middle-aged men said, "Ms. Lane, this is the Barrett Group board meeting. It's not appropriate for you to be here.""That's right. Though the kids are Mr. Barrett's children, they're still young and do not have any shares. You all shouldn't be here."Mia flung a document onto the table. "This is an agreement signed by Grandma Laura to authorize me to manage Timothy's shares.""Anyway, we still need to elect a CEO to handle our company affairs.""
"Because to me, you're my family too," Timothy said.When Sharon heard the word 'family', her eyes turned red. Then, she turned around and left the ward.Mia walked out and asked Peyton to send Sharon to the hospital for a checkup.Looking at Sharon's back, Mia said, "I hope you don't let him down since he regards you as his family. He's the only one you can depend on now."Sharon did not turn her head around. Mia did not know if Sharon would listen to her advice.Mia immediately called her brother. "Dominic, I met Maya."She then told him everything about Maya.Dominic frowned. "I never thought she would go to Yellow Island.""Do you think she's really the granddaughter of the Prime Minister of Yellow Island?""Don't you know how good she is at lying?" Dominic said.Mia nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But I still don't know whether she's related to Yellow Island.""Don't worry, I'll find out."When Mia returned to the ward after ending the call, she saw a doctor bustling arou
Mia went straight to the hospital to ask Timothy about the matter.But when she arrived, someone had reached there earlier than her."Timothy, what do you mean? All I did was pull a few strings, but you want to humiliate me publicly. How am I going to maintain my standing in the company?" Sharon said.Mia went in with a frown. "This is funny. It's not just about pulling a few strings, but it's aimed at me. Mrs. Barrett, your actions have leaked confidential commercial information.""Stop trying to scare me. It's my son who opened doors for you. It's the Yellow Islanders who wanted to collaborate with us, and they are much better than you," Sharon retorted. Mia said with a half-hearted smile, "At first, I didn't want to pursue this matter. But since you put it this way, wait for my lawyer's letter then.""Such big talk, huh?" A mysterious-looking woman wearing a hat and a mask walked in from outside.Mia felt that the woman looked somewhat familiar. "Are you the rumored granddau
Mia glanced at the person on the screen. Without answering the woman, she turned off the laptop.After all, there was no need for Mia to explain anything.After Mia turned off the laptop assertively, she turned around and looked at Timothy. He did not say a word but started eating.Soon, Heath received a call. He left the ward and said to the woman on the other side of the phone, "She's Mr. Barrett's ex-wife. You'd better not mess with her."While Timothy was eating, Mia finished reading the proposal in her hand.She had to admit that the document was very valuable.Mia was about to leave the ward when Timothy almost finished eating, but his voice sounded behind her. "What did you say when you met her at the cafe earlier?""Did you follow me?""I followed her, to be exact. After all, the Hopkins are not good people."Mia totally agreed with that.She paused briefly before she said, "Grandma Laura asked me to talk to her because she doesn't agree with you about giving her all
"You don't know anything," Sharon said.Mia retorted, "I might not know everything, but Timothy is innocent. Before he knew the truth, he always regarded you as his mother. Even after he found out the truth, he has never mistreated you."Besides, when you said you wanted the Barrett family's wealth, he agreed. Tell me, who else could do what he did?"Mia felt that Timothy might have been hurt by Sharon's words.He seemed impressive on the outside, but his identity was a dark secret.Therefore, his relationship with Sharon became awkward.Sharon's eyes reddened. "But I also treat him like my biological son.""You're also his foster mother. Now everyone related to him is dead, and you're the only one he has. What are you afraid of?"Sharon wiped off her tears. "I'm not afraid of anything. It's just that I felt that I can't trust anyone.""Timothy is a man of his word. However, Grandma Laura said that if you remain stubborn, making the will public is her only option," Mia said.
Mia noticed Sharon's expression changing slightly when she mentioned Laura.Sharon took her cup of coffee and said, "What? Does Mrs. Barrett Senior still want to lecture me even when she's on her deathbed? She must have known Timothy's identity all along, but she conspired with her son to keep the truth from me. "She and the Barretts are birds of a feather. What else does she have to say?"Mia was not surprised by her words. She had expected that Sharon would certainly think this way.Fortunately, she managed to stop Laura when she said she wanted to meet Sharon.Sharon was emotionally unstable now. What if Laura said something unpleasant and Sharon retorted? Her words might upset Laura.Mia took a kraft envelope out of her handbag and placed it in front of Sharon. "I hope you won't regret saying those words after reading this.""What's this?""This is the will that your husband left behind, as well as the divorce agreement."Hearing that, Sharon quickly took the document out
Mia hesitated to risk exposing Laura to Sharon's potential agitation.Due to Sharon's emotional vulnerability, she often spoke impulsively. With Laura's delicate health in mind, any disruption was simply out of the question.As Laura recounted past events, Mia remained silent, absorbing her words.Upon hearing Laura's story, Mia was taken aback. She hadn't expected there to be hidden aspects to Timothy's family history.Taking a moment, she asked, "Does Timothy have any knowledge of this?""He doesn't. Some things are best kept from him," Laura replied calmly.Mia harbored some lingering questions in her mind. Unable to suppress them any longer, she asked, "Considering your knowledge of Timothy's background, what is your opinion of him?""Tim is a commendable young man, and he has never let our family down. He has achieved remarkably well for himself. To be honest, I feel indebted to him as well."At first, I only kept him around for the sake of preserving the Barrett family li
Despite her initial reluctance, Mia eventually found herself making her way to Timothy's ward.As she entered, she couldn't help but notice Timothy's expressionless demeanor as he lay there.Carrying a tray of food, Mia approached him. "The doctor pointed out your extreme fatigue. It's crucial that you increase your food intake and prioritize proper rest to reduce the risk of sudden complications."Upon hearing Mia's voice, Timothy lifted his gaze to find her seated beside him. His lips moved slightly as he asked, "What did you tell Luna?""Not much," Mia responded. "Just a sprinkle of salt on the wound and a dash of psychological pressure to make sure Luna doesn't have it easy in prison."Placing the tray of food in front of him, Mia urged, "Please, just a few bites.""I'll eat later. By the way, the kids have been here at the hospital for quite a while. You should take them home," Timothy suggested.Frowning, Mia insisted, "You should eat something first."As her words faded,