Loving The Temperamental Adonis
Chapter 200: His mistake of not contacting her

Chapter 200: His mistake of not contacting her

Few hours ago before the time of the Wallace birthday party.

In the dimly lit study of one of Neil’s sprawling estates in a city far away from Mirage Mesa, the clock ticked relentlessly, marking the passing of yet another sleepless night for him. Hunched over his desk amidst piles of papers, he rubbed his tired eyes, feverishly preparing for the impending meeting with his investors the next day.

The day he was released from prison, he’d fallen sick for the first time in his adult life. Shivering throughout his journey from Novaria to his destination, he was aided by Annalise Martinez and Liam. Annalise had gone out of her way to arrange his attorneys on Kai’s request, expediting his release. Despite leading people to believe he was in Mirage Mesa, he actually went to another city where a team of doctors awaited his arrival upon learning of his illness.

He remained unconscious for two days before recovering from his intense fever. Upon waking, he contemplated calling Mia immediately. However, realizing he no longer possessed his wealth as Neil Wayner, he refrained from contacting her, unwilling to return to her empty-handed. Despite yearning to be with her, he couldn’t bear the thought of appearing before her as a diminished version of himself, lacking the resources to protect her.

He’d missed her terribly and wanted nothing but to go to her at that moment, but then he didn’t want to go to her as a number two with no wealth and power, but the publicity of his Injustice.

He wanted to go to her when he’d taken back his position as top one from Owen Sullivan, he wanted to return to her when he’d established the Galverra Enterprise back to its original position.

Because of his absence, his company had gone down terribly, all thanks to the Rodrigo Enterprise and the OSG company. He didn’t want to give them a reason to bully his woman when he had no powers to do anything. If he wanted to show himself to the world again, he wanted to do it as Xavier Galverra.

He’d told his bodyguards to keep a close eye on Mia and protect her in his absence. He’d have called her if he could trust himself not to run to her the moment he’d heard her voice. He wanted to focus on his work without distraction and then he’d go to her and explain his reasons.

Neil sigh and glanced at the framed photograph of her that was on his desk. Just by looking at her smiling face in the photograph made a faint smile grace his lips. Looking at her not only made him happy but also gave him the strength to keep working. His desk was filled with stacks of papers and folders that he needed to go through today, he had a very important meeting tomorrow with some investors that would help his company in a huge way. And after tomorrow, he would fly back to his woman, Neil decided and resumed to work despite his exhaustion.

His once immaculate appearance now bore the unmistakable signs of exhaustion; dark circles etched beneath his eyes, and his usually sharp demeanor dulled by fatigue. Yet, he continued to work without leaving his study room for any lunch breaks as he planned to finish everything today then have the meeting tomorrow morning and then go back home. Home, he thought with a smile, was something he never had in the past twenty years but now he planned to build that with Mia and their child.

The glow of the television in his study room cast a soft, flickering light across the room, the volume muted as he didn’t want to be disturbed by it. However, if he’d looked up or turned up the volumes, he’d have noticed thirty minutes ago that the channel was talking about Mia’s scandal, which he was completely unaware of and hadn’t been informed by anyone. With a weary hand, he reached for his coffee, his thoughts consumed by the relentless stream of tasks demanding his attention. But then, as if drawn by an unseen force, his gaze drifted to the screen, and he froze when Mia’s photos with several men were on display.

Automatically, he reached for the remote and turned up the volume.

"...she hasn’t denied nor confirmed any of the scandals and we all have enough evidence to believe that she was the one in the videos. Miss Harrison has proven herself unworthy of Neil Wayner and Owen Sullivan’s trust. People are now demanding for her downfall..."

Everything the reporter was saying next blurred away in Neil’s head as he reached for his phone and searched on the net for the videos they were speaking of.

And when he found one of them after a long process of agreeing he was an adult, he couldn’t believe his eyes. His fingers tightened around his phone with his knuckles turning white. The veins on his forehead throbbed in rage. He was so mad he wanted to find the bastard who’d dared frame Mia of such act.

Everyone might believe this shit he was watching, not him. He’d memorized Mia’s body and knew every little detail of her body when they were in the cabin, he’d bathed with her and laid in bed with her naked. And from that, he knew a hundred percent without a doubt that this woman making out with men wasn’t his woman.

And the thought that someone had done this to ruin her made him so angry. He’d only woken up a day before yesterday and he’d not watched the news nor had he bothered to check the net because of how everyone were trying to reach to him, if he’d checked it, he’d have known sooner that Mia was subjected to such humiliation. And now...

"Mia..."

As the gravity of the situation sunk in, Neil’s heart clenched with regrets of not reaching out to her when it was obvious she was subjected to such Injustice.

The weight of his stupid idea of not contacting her until he’d made everything right suffocated him with a sense of helplessness and guilt. In that moment, the papers on his desk and the looming meeting with his investors faded into insignificance, as he kicked his chair away and stood up.

If everything he’d read online was true, then Mia would probably be thinking he believed the rumors and had not reached to her because of it. She’d hate him for this.

Those thoughts fueled his determination to get to her before it was too late. He called Liam and James who were working in the study room next to his, but when none of them heard his thundering call, he kicked the door open startling the two men busying before their computers.

"Whoa, man. What was that for?" Liam asked, standing up from behind his desk as Neil strode in carrying his suitcase.

"I have to leave immediately," he said to Liam before turning to James to order, "Call Zephyr, I need to know where Mia is at this moment."

James didn’t question anything and called the head of the bodyguards assigned to Mia but the phone rang and the man didn’t pick up, he tried to call the others but still the same, they didn’t pick up. He then looked at Neil with frown, "None of them are picking up,"

"Damnit! I will make sure I fire them all for their incompetence!" He thundered angrily.

Leaning back against the sofa, Liam stretched his legs out and studied the dark blue suit Neil was wearing with a frown. "Of course you would. By the way, what about the social gathering you invited the new investors to this evening? You can’t miss it when some of them are already arriving. It just isn’t done that way."

"I forgot about the damned gathering," he said, glowering out the window at his own guests who were just arriving. He’d decided to have the gathering to make more connections rather than continue avoiding every social gathering like he used to do in the past. However, at this point where his woman needed him more than ever, he didn’t care less about the gathering.

"Stand in for me, will you? Tell them something urgent came up and I have to attend to it personally. Can I borrow your pilot?" he added, absently putting his suitcase down and tying his tie. "My plane is not available at the moment."

"Just my pilot?" Liam said, glancing up at James, who’d perched on the arm of the sofa and was trying to get information on Mia’s whereabout at the moment. "Not my plane?"

Neil turned aside as his housekeeper rushed in to give him two briefcases she’d packed at his instructions. "I need your plane and your pilot," he said impatiently upon realizing he’d need the both.

"That depends on where you want him to take you."

Satisfied that he had everything he needed for his journey, Neil finally turned his full attention on his friend who looked for every opportunity to annoy the hell out of him. "Where the hell do you think I’m going?"

"How should I know. If it’s Mirage Mesa, Zen, don’t you think you should call Mia first?"

"No, I don’t know how she’ll react when I’ve not contacted her in almost a week. I don’t want her taking off somewhere to avoid me. If I fly commercial, it will take me hours longer to get to her." He said, "Liam I’ve fucked up big time for not reaching out to her sooner."

"Well, is it the right time for me to tell you that I told you so? You’ve let her wait for a week after your release. I told you relationships aren’t done that way, you have to make sure she’s your first priority in everything. I told you to call her and tell her about you plans, but you—"

"I don’t have time for this bullshit, Liam." Neil cut him off, then he stopped as his driver spoke from the doorway behind him. "I’ve got the car out in front, ready to go, Sir. And I talked to Jerry on the car phone. He says the plane’s fueled and ready to fly. When are you going to be ready to leave?"

"I think," Liam joked dryly, "he’s ready now."

Giving Liam a disgusted look, Neil pulled his suitcase and turned to James, "Have you found it?"

"Wait a minute..." James said, then few seconds later he exclaimed in excitement, "Yes. She’d just arrived at the Wallace birthday party. It’s posted all over the net. She should be there right now."

"Thank you," Neil said with quiet sincerity.

"You’re welcome," James replied, beaming at him. "Please give my regards to Mia."

"Send her my heartfelt affection," Liam replied, getting up and becoming serious as he extended his hand to shake Neil’s. "Best of luck."

They watched him stride swiftly out the door, then James looked at Liam and said, "That man loves her so much that he doesn’t care that many people will think he’s a fool for wanting her after the scandals and rumors. All that matters to him is that she loves him."

"I just hope she still feels the same way about him. Women can be difficult to understand, and if he hasn’t reached out to her in a week while she’s going through a tough time, she might be furious when they reunite."

James gave him a stern look. "You speak as though you are an expert on women despite never having been in a committed relationship."

Liam grinned boyishly. "I may not be committed, but I understand women because I enjoy their company. One doesn’t need to be in a serious relationship to comprehend their thoughts and emotions."