Loving The Temperamental Adonis
Chapter 195: His release

Chapter 195: His release

Days went by after the mall incident, and Mia had not heard from Neil in nearly a week, nor had she received any updates on his case. The growing difficulties she faced in the city led her to isolate herself further in her house, and the more time she spent indoors, the more she felt herself sinking into depression.

She was forced to switch off her phone due to the threatening messages she was receiving from various unknown people claiming to be her fans who now wished for her demise. The threats were so severe that she constantly felt the need to watch her back, and for safety, she requested the bodyguards assigned to her to remain close to her residence.

She had no idea that by going on a press conference to speak up for Neil would cause her this much loss, but even if she knew, was it going to stop her from speaking up and supporting Neil? No, definitely it would never stop her. Nothing would stop her, not even when Neil had broken her heart then. And now that he’d confessed his feelings, she had no regrets whatsoever, she’d continue to stand by him even if the world would turn against her and make her the villain.

Her main concern now was the upcoming banquet. The Wallace birthday banquet was just four days away, and although she had purchased a dress that she loved, she felt nervous about attending. She knew that there would be many celebrities and elites present on that day, whom she had easily mingled with in the past. However, now that her reputation was being tarnished, she feared they would look down on her and make her feel even worse.

Before she became a part of the elite circle and celebrity world, she used to envy the lives of the wealthy. However, upon entering that world, she realized that there was nothing extraordinary about them. They thrived on gossip and rumors, often talking behind each other’s backs to impress one another. She thought back to her first Met Gala event in New York City – it had been a mix of beauty and unpleasantness. Many of the celebrities from Mirage Mesa made sure to highlight her background and criticize her outfit, insinuating that it was obvious from her outfit she wasn’t raised in money but had climbed up the social ladder with the murder case of Neil Wayner.

However, the rest of the celebrities had been super nice to her, and knowing that the Wallace influence went deeper than most of the wealthy family, Mia was certain they’d invite many celebrities from their country. Nonetheless, she couldn’t afford to miss it when Rayne Wallace was her best friend and the host of the birthday party. She’d put all her efforts to make it perfect and Mia couldn’t miss it for the world.

Mia sighed for the hundredth time in that day as she curled up on her couch trying to concentrate on the movie she’d been watching to keep herself from thinking unnecessary thoughts, but no matter how much she tried, the movie wasn’t registering in her head, thus she picked up the remote and was about to turn off the TV and take a short afternoon nap when the house landline went off.

Mia hurriedly scrambled to her feet to reach the phone thinking it might be Neil calling since he was supposed to call yesterday but hadn’t. She reached the phone before Sabrina, who’d rushed out of the kitchen to pick the call, and answered. Her anticipation to hear his deep voice was drowned away when Rayne’s panicked voice rang out,

"Are you at home?" She asked and before Mia could answer, Rayne said, "Tell the men at your gates to let me in immediately!"

Mia heard the panic in her friend’s voice and nearly fell when she hit a button on her wall to speak to the bodyguards outside to allow Rayne in. She hadn’t told them to stop anyone from entering but it seemed Neil had and so they were making certain no one would enter without her permission.

"Let my friend in."

When the bodyguards allowed Rayne to pass through the gate after they’d heard Mia’s words, she glared at them and slammed on her brakes and brought her car to a screeching stop in front of Mia’s house, cursing when her seatbelt got stuck. Leaving her purse in the car, she ran up the sidewalk, opened the front door without knocking as it wasn’t locked, and walked into the living room where Mia was pacing about.

"What’s wrong?" Mia asked the moment Rayne rushed into the room.

"Turn on your television," she said breathlessly, "you need to watch the Livestream of the courtroom!"

"Rayne, what courtroom?" Mia said shakily, sensing that her friend’s tense face and the way she was frantically searching for a particular television channel both had something to do with Neil’s case. "Don’t do this to me! Tell me what happened! It’s Neil’s case, isn’t it? Is it bad?"

Shaking her head, Rayne stepped back from the television. "It’s all over the news. Everyone is talking about Neil Wayner. They’re interrupting the regular program to announce something about him. All I know is that he turned himself in yesterday. The news channel said they’d play the video footage of the courtroom at five-thirty." She glanced at her watch. "That’s right now!"

"Oh my god! Why did he turn himself in?" Mia burst out in cold sweat at the thought that Neil would be sent back to prison. Was that the reason why he didn’t call her yesterday? Was he giving up already?

"Don’t start crying on me now. I think It’s good news," Rayne said with an anguished laugh. "Or it’s bad, depending on how you take it. Mia, he’s—" She broke off and pointed to the television as the announcer said they were interrupting their regularly scheduled programming for a special news bulletin.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,"said the news reporter on the television. "Two nights ago a criminal was caught who confessed to framing Neil Wayner on the case five years ago. Some investigation was carried out and our infamous General Wayner has been proven innocent yesterday morning. He was released of all charges and set a free man this morning."

Without realizing it, Mia reached for Rayne’s hand, squeezing it in a death grip as the reporter continued to speak on the criminal who’d turned himself in, and when the man’s face was flashed on the screen, Mia recognized him immediately. It was the same man she’d seen five years ago when she’d spied on the Da Kroll; the same man with a scar on his face. However, that wasn’t her problem at the moment but Neil.

A moan of pleasure, of torment, and of crushing longing, tore from Mia’s chest as Neil’s picture was flashed on the screen. She grabbed at the back of a chair with both hands to hold herself upright as the screen switched to the video footage of the gates of Novaria’s prison where Neil had spent five years, and she saw Neil walking out, clad in a dark suit and tie with an indifferent expression, escorted through the falling snow to a waiting Rolls Royce, while the reporter kept talking.

"Wayner left prison a free man, accompanied by his attorneys. Waiting for him in the Rolls Royce was his long-time best friend, industrialist Liam Thompson, whose unswerving faith in Wayner’s innocence has been no secret from the media or the authorities. Also standing on the sidelines was a young woman with a familiar face..." Said the reporter, making Mia realize for the first time that a tall woman was standing behind the car where Neil was heading.

"Though her famous unique eyes weren’t in evidence at this moment. But we all know her as Annalise Martinez the super model from Verdantia. From the looks of the video footage of this morning, it’s clear that there is something going on between the two as we realized Wayner has been staying in Verdantia for the past few months. Well, no man can resist such a woman," he added with a laugh, "And by what we see, the world is supporting him with the model saying he deserves the best after such Injustice, as Miss Harrison has proven herself unworthy of his love by the videos of her trending."

Mia was dumbstruck and she watched the screen like a fool as Neil walked swiftly towards the back of the car where the woman, who was known worldwide for her unique beauty, stood under an umbrella, watching him with a smile on her face. For a moment Neil stood there, looking at her, then he slowly walked over to her.

Tears raced down Mia’s cheeks as she watched Neil pull Annalise Martinez into his arms. The hug only lasted for a second before he let her go, then he vanished into the black Rolls Royce, which sped away while the reporter added, "Mirage Mesa’s reporters who’d discovered Wayner’s release raced to the airport terminal in hopes of getting a statement from him. However, he left with Thompson on his private jet. Our reporter learned that his flight had landed this morning at Mirage Mesa in a five star hotel, although no one knew the exact hotel..."

Choking on her tears, Mia looked at Rayne and said hoarsely, "I know Neil has nothing to do with that super model..."

"How did you know? From what I just watched, it seems_"

"That he was grateful to her for something," Mia said quickly, "Annalise Martinez, she is the older sister of Kai Martinez, his prison cellmate who’d helped him with his escape. She must have assisted him as well with some issues on her younger brother’s request..."

Rayne frowned," Then why are you crying if you trust that he isn’t cheating?"