CHAAPTER THIRTY SIX
“Mark…..”
“Don’t, Chloe, just leave me alone now.” He ordered, and she retracted her hand but didn’t budge from her spot.
She wasn’t going to leave him like that.
“I won’t, Mark. You need to calm down; it’s okay.”
Mark spun around and glared at her, which made her halt in her sentence. She watched as a muscle in his jaw ticked and the fire in his eyes as he glared at her.
“It’s okay? You weren’t even going to tell me if I hadn’t forced it out of you. Why didn’t you call me yesterday, Chloe? It could have been dangerous.” His voice raised at her, and she felt her temper rising.
“But I managed, and anyway, you were busy.” She snapped, and Mark’s eyes went to hers.
She sounded like a jealous girlfriend, but she couldn’t help it.
“I was busy, huh? So you didn’t want to disturb me, or you were angry because I left with her?” He took a step towards her, and she looked away, immediately taking a step back.
It continued until her back hit the wall, and she had nowhere to go.
“Tell me, Chloe, why are you so angry at the thought of me with some other woman? Why does it affect you?” He whispered, and she glared at him, but that was when she realised their proximity and felt nervous.
“It doesn’t affect me.” She tried to sound stern, but the voice was foreign to her own ears.
Mark chuckled, but there was nothing humorous in it. It was a wry chuckle.Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.
“Still stubborn, so it won’t affect you if I flirt with any woman?” He questioned her, and she nodded hurriedly, looking down, but his eyes stayed on her.
“It won’t affect you if I hug someone else.” He asked her again, and she gulped and nodded without looking at him.
“It won’t affect you if I kiss someone else.” He kept asking, and he noticed her clenching her jaw and shutting her eyes tight, but in the end, her head moved sideways as she denied it all.
“Alright, Chloe.” He said loudly and moved behind while her eyes snapped open as she watched him move away from her, creating much distance between them.
“So from today on, I, Mark, won’t come after you ever. I promise our relationship will only be work-related, and outside this place, you’ll only know me as a stranger.” And with that, he walked out from there, while Chloe kept staring at nothing particular.
Why did her heart suddenly feel heavy all of a sudden?
“And now Bryan is ready to meet his father.” Mia grinned at Bryan, who had just played with his hands, blinking up at her.
She picked him up, and he nibbled on his hand while humming something. Mia wanted to visit Alex at his office, and from there, she would leave for her orphanage.
She left the penthouse and hired a cab, not wanting to go in any of Alex’s cars.
One hour and thirty minutes later, she reached her destination and thanked the driver before moving inside.
“Excuse me, I’m here to see Mr. Alexander Ian.” Mia informed the receptionist at the desk, and the lady looked up.
Bryan chose to play with his mother’s hair while she sought their way to meet his father.
“Do you have an appointment, ma’am?” The receptionist asked politely, and Mia pursed her lips.
“Well, I don’t,”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you can’t meet him without an appointment.” She apologised, and Mia sighed, nodding her head.
She understood that the receptionist was only doing her job, but how was she supposed to go inside then?
“Ma’am?” She turned around and saw a similar face, but couldn’t quite remember him.
Seeing her confused face, George knew she didn’t remember him.
“I’m Alex’s secretary; please come; I’ll take you to him.” He smiled at her, and she realised where she had seen him.
With a smile, she followed him to Alex’s cabin.
“I’ll just inform him.” George said as they reached outside his cabin, but Mia stopped him.
“No, it’s fine. I think he’ll like this as a surprise.” Mia indicated at Bryan, and George’s eyes widened with a smile and a nod. He went away, but not before lightly pinching Bryan’s cheek.
Mia was about to knock on his door when she heard his voice.
“Mr. Paul (the lawyer), now that my grandfather’s condition mentioned in the will has been fulfilled either way, can we finish the formalities so that I can acquire the property?” The authority in his voice was clear, even though he was asking a question.
Mia frowned in confusion, wondering what condition he was talking about.
“Yes, of course, Mr. Ian. I will just need proof of your marriage, and we will go ahead.” The lawyer was already terrified, as he stammered because of the cold look that was directed at him when Alex cut him off.
“I don’t need to give you proof of my marriage because that wasn’t on the paper. As for having an heir, my son is already four months old, and that alone is enough for you to be convinced that I have fulfilled the old man’s condition. Anything else?” The warning was clear, and Mr. Paul wasn’t a fool to dig a grave for himself.
He immediately nodded and passed him the documents that needed his signature to complete the formalities.
Mia felt as if she had been slapped across the face. The reality was in front of her, and she couldn’t turn away from it even if she wanted to.
Bryan was born not because he wanted an heir for his company but because he needed to acquire his grandfather’s property. And she was used to achieving his goal.
“Ba ba ba ba…” Bryan babbled, looking at his mother, who seemed frozen on her spot. He hummed, touching her face, and Mia looked at him finally, which got him grinning. He squealed, and that is when she came back to reality.
Taking a step back from the door, she shook her head before marching out of there with Bryan in her arms. She couldn’t go back to the penthouse, and she didn’t want to.
All she could think about was his words and his motives. Alexander Ian is a dangerous man, and she never wanted to be associated with him.
Mia sat in her room at the orphanage home, staring at the wall in front of her.
Bryan was fast asleep beside her, and she had time to think about what she was going to do.
Can she just hide herself and Bryan from him forever?
She knew she had made a deal with him for selfish reasons, and he even completed his part of the deal, but so did she.
She gave him Bryan, even though she never questioned him why he wanted a baby because that was not her concern in the first place. She had accepted all his conditions, but now she was terrified.
He had gotten what he wanted, and practically, she wasn’t even in the picture. It is always about him and Bryan.
What if he decided to divorce her? What if he decided that she wasn’t needed now and threw her out of Bryan’s life? She cannot live without her son. Is she strong enough to fight for her rights? So many questions ran through her mind, but all she could do was cry in silence.
She stared at her son and laid down beside him, pulling him close to her.
Bryan clutched her collar in his tiny fist, and she melted at his touch. She will fight for his happiness, because he isn’t her weakness but her strength.
At night, when Alex reached his penthouse, he found his room empty. Neither Mia nor Bryan were present in the room, and it made him unsettled.
He searched for them everywhere and even asked the servants, but no one knew.
In the end, he called George, asking him to conduct a search operation for the two of them.
“But sir, ma’am had visited you in the office earlier today. Why will she disappear all of a sudden?” George’s question alarmed Alex, and he repeated his words.
“She came to visit me? When? And why wasn’t I informed about it?” His icy tone made George gulp his saliva as he clutched his phone a little tightly.
“Around five, sir, and she refused to inform you because she wanted it to be a surprise.” He stammered, and Alex racked his brain for the missing link.
Meeting with the lawyer.
That’s right, she was there; she might have heard everything.
“Next time, you inform me about everything because you work for me and no one else.” He hung up without waiting for any reply and picked up his keys, dashing out of the penthouse.
It took him thirty minutes to reach the orphanage, and he took hurried steps to reach inside.
One of the caretakers opened the door, and he entered inside, ignoring her.
“Where is Mia’s room?” He turned to the woman, and she just pointed towards the room before scurrying away from there.
Alex opened the door and found the duo sleeping peacefully.
Unknowingly, a sigh of relief escaped his mouth, and he was relaxed. They were safe.
He walked closer and stared at Bryan, who was almost hidden in Mia’s arms, but it seemed like the little guy didn’t mind it because he snuggled more into her.
Mia’s head shifted down in her sleep as she breathed unevenly. She is a wonderful mother, and he never doubted it, but she was also too naive and impulsive.
He had never imagined that he would be married to someone.
Relationships weren’t his cup of tea, but here he was, married and now a father. It was all for Bryan and always for Bryan.
Yes, he had wanted him first because he wanted to acquire the property, but he never understood the emotions that built up in him because of the little guy.
It was because of him that he married her, and it was because of him that he would never try to separate a child from his mother.
Mia stirred in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes to check on Bryan, but he was sleeping peacefully. Her eyes then fell on him, and her eyes widened slowly.
Alex covered her mouth before she could make any noise and disturb Bryan’s sleep. He stared deep into her eyes, and she couldn’t help but stare back, stunned.
But his efforts went in vain when Bryan stirred and rolled on his back in his sleep.
They stared at him in shock as Mia tried to push his hand away. When he didn’t budge, she stopped and glared at him, but he only stared at her, amused.
Removing his hand, he stood up straight and watched as she too sat up and looked away in anger.
“We need to talk,” he whispered, and her head snapped in his direction. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, but he stared right back, as if challenging her.
Then he did something that made her gasp in shock.