Loving The Temperamental Adonis
Chapter 185: The call

Chapter 185: The call

After Liam and James left Mia’s office, she dreamily sat down on her chair and re-read Neil’s message for almost thirty minutes before she changed her office to the lower office given to her as a co-host. Uncertain about her possibility of moving to Puerto Rico as Neil had suggested, Mia chose not to let her work concerns weigh her down. Instead, she eagerly anticipated Neil’s calls, hoping he would reach out to her. If he truly cared for her as he’d said in the message, she trusted he would contact her once Liam conveyed her message to him.

As the winter sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow in the sky, Mia grabbed her coat and left TalkWave Productions. Unlike Novaria and the mountain, Mirage Mesa had less snow, making the cold bearable yet still freezing. She walked down the underground parking lot where the other workers were also heading back home, but the moment she stepped out of the elevator, all eyes turned on her and some people who were about to get into their cars stopped to look towards her, some even took her pictures without permission while whispering among themselves.

Mia thought it strange that people were giving her this much attention today but then she igored it as she thought it must be because the news about her position change had spreed in the production company, unknown to her that it was much more than that.

As she was getting into her car she overheard someone say, "I can’t believe she still has the guts to show her face in public, she’s..." Mia closed her car door blocking the voices outside. She’d already decided to stay out of social media until everything about her scandal and rumors settled down, thus she’d ignore even this people. Anything that might affect her pregnancy or her mental health would be blocked out of her life. Mia decided, pulling out of the parking lot.

Reaching her residence, Mia was already exhausted and hungry, she’d never been the kind to eat much but for the past few weeks, she’d been craving food more than usual, nonetheless she’d been unable to eat well because of her longing for Neil, but now that she’d heard from him and knew how he felt about her, she decided to cook a homemade meal by herself, it had been long since she’d cooked in her kitchen in five years. And now that she felt like a load of weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she wanted to act normal at home and forget about all her problems for the first time.

Despite having numerous concerns on her mind, such as the strange incident that had occurred in the storeroom two weeks prior, where she had fainted and awoken with no memory of why she had passed out, she was adamant about not returning to the room out of fear of a similar experience occurring. She decided to set that aside until she had a clearer picture of where her life was headed.

After a brisk shower and changing into comfortable home attire, she entered the kitchen intending to listen to music while cooking. However, before she could do so, her housekeeper approached her with a worried expression. "Miss Mia," she began, her tone filled with concern. As Mia turned to face her, the housekeeper continued, "Sir Owen called to inquire about you when you were not home. He seemed...lost and heartbroken. Could you please consider speaking with him, even just once? He—"

"I have nothing to discuss with him, Sabrina. Owen and I are no longer together. I understand your loyalty since he brought you here to work for me, which I am grateful for, but I have no desire to continue the relationship. I would appreciate it if you refrain from answering his calls in the future," she stated firmly to the housekeeper, who was in her late thirties.

Sabrina had been introduced to Mia when she’d first climbed up the social ladder and had just brought her house in one of the most expensive cities in Mirage Mesa. Owen had brought the housekeeper to her, and at first she’d found the woman to be a little noisy until she’d come to realize it was just her nature, but what Mia didn’t know was the fact that Owen had brought the woman to keep a close eye on Mia and who she allowed into her home and spoke to.

Sabrina had noticed for the past month that Mia had been acting depressed, where she barely even touched her food, but tonight she’d suddenly decided to cook by herself, something she rarely did. She’d even noticed her throwing up yesterday morning which she’d reported to Owen and he’d said Mia does that at times when she was stressed. But he’d asked her to keep a close eye and see what she did at home. Sabrina didn’t know why she was ordered to do that but she was willing to do her best to get some information that might impress Owen.

"Miss Mia, do you need help with anything in the kitchen?" Sabrina asked just so she could stick around and keep a close eye on Mia like she’d been ordered to.

"No, you may leave." Mia said, unsuspectingly as she took out a pan from the cabinet. However, Sabrina wasn’t prepared to do so, she looked around for random topics to fish out information that might be useful to Owen. "Um, I noticed you were throwing up yesterday, are you unwell?"

Mia stopped, turning over her shoulder, she said, "You saw me throwing up?" That had been in her bathroom where she was sure no one was in the room, but now her housekeeper had proven her otherwise. The last thing she wanted was her pregnancy being known to the world when the father of her child was still a fugitive, she didn’t want anyone to know about it yet, not because she cared what they think but because she didn’t want her child to be tainted with bad rumors.

"No I didn’t see you, I mean I heard the sound from outside your room when I was passing by," Sabrina said, then as if recalling she had something to do, she added, "I will be in the laundry room if you need me." Then left.

Mia stared at the woman’s departing back for awhile before she resumed to do her thing in the kitchen with a little frown between her brows.

****

Two days had passed, and yet Mia had not received a call from Neil, nor had she heard from Liam since the day he had left her office with James. Feeling a bit under the weather, she had stayed at home for the past two days. However, she now felt the urge to go outside and get some fresh air. She decided to take a stroll around her neighborhood to clear her mind of the constant overthinking.

Mia had been overanalyzing everything, starting to doubt if Neil truly cared for her as he claimed. The only thing that kept her believing in his love was his message, which she had read repeatedly, committing every word to memory. She even found herself sleeping with her phone clutched to her chest, longing for his presence. Mia was aware that overthinking was an unhealthy habit she needed to break, but she couldn’t help herself.

She’d considered driving to Liam Thompson’s house, but the constant paparazzi following her every move prevented her from doing so, always ready to turn her actions into headlines. The rumors surrounding her relationship with Neil had elevated her fame to a level where she longed for her old life before she went to Novaria.

Mia walked the streets of Shellington Villas, where her house was located, until she could no longer continue. The winter wind was picking up, and her coat was not thick enough to shield her from the cold. Deciding to head back home, she hoped Neil would reach out to her soon before she’d go insane overthinking why he hadn’t. If he didn’t, she knew she would have to find a way to contact Liam.

The phone call Mia had been waiting and hoping for came at the last place she expected to receive it. Immediately she got back home, and was about to walk to her room,

"Oh, Miss Mia," Sabrina called out when Mia walked by her in the kitchen,"A Mr. Bennett called you on the house landline last night when you were asleep and I forgot to inform you about it."

Mia glanced up a split second before the name hit her, and when it did, she froze. "What did he say?"she asked, alarmed by the breathless desperation in her own voice at the realization that Neil had called her using his disguise name in Ivy Grove.

"He said something about wanting to talk to you about some media matters. But I told him you were asleep and I’d never wake you up for such reason, he then got angry and called me useless then ended the call."

"Why in heaven’s name did you tell him that? Why didn’t you just wake me up?" Mia exclaimed in frustration, but she kept her voice calm as to not to disrespect the housekeeper who was only watching out for her.

"I said that because I heard that you don’t want to be disturbed by any media people. Anyway, he called back a moment ago and said he needed to speak to you urgently and when I told him you went out he cursed at me again and hung up. He should have called your personal number if he wants to speaks to you urgently, but he seems to be a demanding short tempered man. Do you know him?"

In a flash, Mia realized Neil was being cautious of calling her personal number in case her phone was tapped by the authorities, that he hadn’t gotten through to her when he tried two times, and that he might not try again, and it was all she could do to keep her frustration and temper from lashing out at the lazy, nosy housekeeper.

"If he said it was urgent," Mia shot back with an uncharacteristic fury, "why didn’t you call my phone and tell me to come back?"

"Well, Mr. Owen had warned me when he assigned me as your housekeeper to not disturb you with any calls unless it’s urgent and unless it’s from him."

"That was urgent! I pay you, Sabrina, not Owen. You work for me and I have the right to know if someone needs to speak to me!" Mia said, her nails biting into her palms to control her anger. She could fire the woman at this point of her anger, but then she knew it would be cruel of her to do when the housekeeper probably had no other means to feed her family but to work here.

"Did he say whether he intended to call me back again?" She asked, gentling her voice.

"No."