Chapter 8

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Mia slowly sat up from the back seat and straightened her clothes. Then, she pried away Noah’s big hands that were wrapped around her waist and carefully rubbed her stomach. Did the baby feel pain? Mia thought, ‘Dad has already discussed going to Jenny’s house in front of me yet is still protesting his innocence. This is really incomprehensible.’

After the banquet that day, Mia started to get busy. She consciously avoided Noah and tried her best to avoid spending too much time in the same room as Noah. On one hand, she was afraid that Noah would not be able to control himself from having sex with her. On the other hand, she was also afraid that Noah would discover the changes in her body. After all, as time passed, Mia’s stomach started to show.

Hence, Mia was on her way to the art studio and hospital every day. She even started packing her luggage when Noah wasn’t home.

When Mia started to pack her things, she realized that there weren’t many things that truly belonged to her in this house. After living here for so many years, she only had a few clothes and a few cards.

One of the bank cards was given to her by Noah’s grandfather. Ever since he found Mia, his grandfather had always felt guilty. He was always worried that Mia would be too embarrassed to open her mouth if she lacked something, so he took the initiative to give Mia a card so that she could use it as her pocket money. However, the amount in the card was too large, and Mia didn’t have anything to spend money on, so this card was kept in the cabinet and never touched.

The other card was from Noah. Noah said it was for her living expenses. But Mia had been working at the gallery all these years. Her paycheck, though little to Noah, was actually enough to cover her daily expenses.

Neither of these cards belonged to her, so Mia had no intention of taking them with her. Mia, not intending to take any of the other luxury items or gowns with her, simply packed a few of her own clothes, so in the end, she only packed a small bag full of her belongings from the past few years.

After packing her things, Mia sat by the bed and roughly calculated the money in her card. She had saved quite a bit, at least enough to pay for the childbirth period. After doing this, Mia felt a little better, and the baby wouldn’t suffer too much.

There were a few photos spread out on the table in front of her. They were photos of Mia and Noah, including their wedding photos. In the years since Mia and Noah had been married, the number of times they had taken photos together could be counted on one hand.

Because she was afraid Noah would be unhappy, Mia had never hung their wedding photo on the wall. She had only secretly gone to print out one and had hidden it.

Mia then recalled her first meeting with Noah. At that time, she was extremely shy. She had just reunited with his grandfather not long ago, so she still felt insecure and did not dare to look at anyone directly. Noah was five years older than Mia. At that time, he had just graduated from university overseas for advanced studies. When he came back, he realized that he had a fiancée. Noah’s expression was very unpleasant back then.

At that time, Noah was especially dazzling. He was outstanding, confident, and his every move was especially attractive.

It was the first time in Mia’s life that she’d met someone like that. She’d fallen in love the moment she’d laid eyes on Noah. When he’d seen the look on Mia’s face, his grandfather had been ecstatic. He’d immediately set a date for their wedding.

At that time, Noah could not defy his grandfather, so he did not say anything.

But in the days and nights that followed, Noah never took a close look at Mia. He used his actions to let Mia know that she was really despised.

Mia yearned for Noah, as if she was greedy for the bright sunlight. She wanted to get closer to him, but she did not know that the light from the sun would burn people. Now, Mia had no choice but to recognize reality and give up on this person who could not be hers.

At that thought, Mia fought back tears and carefully put the photo away.

She had just finished packing her things when she heard a series of urgent knocks on the door.

Mia hurriedly stood up and wanted to open the door, but she didn’t expect to lose her balance and her leg hit the side of the bed after getting up so quickly.

The piercing pain came immediately. Mia could barely stand and began to moan.

Noah, who was knocking outside, lost his patience when he saw that no one came to open the door. He kicked the door open with a bang.

“Mia, what are you doing…?” Noah said angrily as he walked over.

Before he could finish, he saw Mia half kneeling by the bed while clutching her leg and moaning. Noah’s expression changed and he hurried over.

“What’s going on, Mia? What happened to your leg? Let me see,” Noah said anxiously.

“I’m fine… I bumped the side of the bed. I’ll be fine,” Mia said in a slightly choked voice.

Noah, who was beside her, half-knelt beside Mia. He lifted the hem of her skirt and examined it carefully. After confirming that she was really fine, he felt relieved. Then, Noah stretched out his hands and carried Mia up before placing her on the bed. “Rest well. Don’t go to the hospital or the drawing room these two days.”

“I’m really fine. It’s just a little bump. I’ll be fine tomorrow,” Mia said urgently. She was now afraid of spending too much time in the same space as Noah.

Noah’s face fell slightly, but he did not say anything. He stood up and walked to the washroom to get a towel to apply to Mia’s leg.

“What’s this?” Noah pointed to the bag on the table in front of the bathroom door. It was something Mia had just packed, and Noah had seen it before she could put it in her closet.

Mia looked up, but before she could answer, she saw Noah’s dark expression, so she tried to stay calm and said, “My luggage…”

Noah could not control his emotions anymore. He was still worried about Mia just now, but Mia had already packed her luggage. “You can’t wait to get a divorce. Why? Are you going to find Jack?”

Mia was a little afraid of Noah acting like this. She replied in a low voice, “We’ve already agreed on a divorce…”

“Just because of that matter. Okay, okay. Divorce. Divorce as you wish.” Noah was so angry that he was about to speak without thinking. After saying that, he slammed the door and left.

Noah, who had left home, went to his friend’s bar. At first, his friend in the private room called a bunch of people to accompany him to drink. However, Noah was in a very bad mood right now and did not need anyone else to accompany him. Hence, he chased all the people in the room away.

He sat on the sofa alone and drank glass after glass. However, the more he drank, the more depressed he felt. All along, Noah had felt that his wife was just throwing a small tantrum. It turned out that she was serious and really wanted to divorce him. Noah lost his wits in that moment.

Noah’s friend pushed open the door and saw Noah getting drunk. He kept drinking glass after glass of alcohol, so he quickly went forward to stop him. “Noah, what’s wrong with you? It’s not your usual M.O.”

When he saw his friend arrive, Noah didn’t know where to start, so he didn’t respond. Just as he picked up a glass of wine, his friend snatched it away again. “Make it clear. Did you have a fight with Mia?” his friend asked.

“Let me tell you, all women need to be coaxed. It won’t be long before she warms up if you coax her,” his friend said.

“But Mia wants to divorce me. What do you think I should do?” Noah finally opened his mouth to speak.

“Divorce? Oh my god, tell me quickly. Did you do something unforgivable? Why would Mia, someone with such a good personality, divorce you?” his friend asked with a gossipy expression.

“Get lost, what are you talking about? Jenny and I had a conversation that was caught on camera. The paparazzi wrote that Jenny and I were lovers, and Mia got angry and wanted a divorce. I thought it was a joke, but I didn’t expect Mia to be serious,” Noah said with a weary expression.

“Hey, that’s easy. You’re just too busy. Take some time to bring Mia overseas for a trip. Coax her well and come up with some romantic tricks. Women will definitely fall for it.” His friend suggested.

Noah listened to his friend’s suggestion and drank his wine. Unknowingly, the night passed. He did not go home the next day, as he was afraid that Mia would mention the divorce again when he saw Mia.

On the other side, Mia was also afraid of running into Noah. In the past few days, she would wake up early in the morning and go to the hospital. She would only come back at night. They were both afraid of running into each other, so they did not see each other for a few days.

After taking care of his grandfather that day, Mia left the hospital and went to the gallery again. She wanted to settle everything before she left. Furthermore, she wasn’t in a good condition right now, so she didn’t dare to travel around the gallery every day.

So Mia decided to quit her job at the gallery.

But before she quit her job, Mia had another painting she wanted to ask her boss to sell so she could prepare more money.

Two days after the painting was sent, the boss called Mia and told her that the painting had been sold.

Mia was also shocked when she received the call. “So soon?”

The boss said happily on the other end of the phone that this customer was Mia’s old client, and he had been buying her paintings. When he heard that Mia had a new painting, he immediately paid for it.

Mia was also very happy that there were people who appreciated her artworks and had been buying them. In the hospital, she was quite close to the art gallery now, so she asked the boss, “I want to thank this gentleman. Is it convenient?”

The boss smiled on the other end. “You are so serious about everyone. The customers bought your painting because they admire you. There’s no need to thank them in person.”

Mia was already walking out of the hospital when a cold wind blew her nose. Mia reached out to touch it but didn’t answer her boss.

Over the years, she had rarely been acknowledged by anyone. Under Noah’s shadow, Mia had always thought of her as ordinary, but now, she was receiving affirmation from someone else. This was something to be happy about, so Mia had to go and thank this gentleman who appreciated her in person.

After hanging up, Mia hurried toward the gallery, but when she reached it, she saw only her boss. She didn’t see anyone else. Mia looked around the gallery and was immediately disappointed. “Boss, where’s the gentleman?”

“Unfortunately, before you came, this gentleman had some urgent matters to attend to and had already left.”

Mia was even more disappointed that she hadn’t been able to meet her customer. After receiving the money from her boss for selling her paintings, Mia hesitated for a moment before asking to resign from her boss..