Loving The Temperamental Adonis
Chapter 68: The presence in her room

Chapter 68: The presence in her room

Mia made her way to her mother’s eatery, where the comforting aroma of home-cooked meals enveloped her. She found her mother serving a customer, her smile widening upon seeing her.

"Mia, sweetheart! How was your day in school?" Elizabeth smiled warmly as her daughter walked into the eatery.

"It was fine, Mom." Mia replied with a smile of her own and took a seat on one of the chairs in the eatery. She watched as her mother exchanged a few words with her custumers before walking back towards her.

Wiping her hands on her apron, Elizabeth said, "Good to hear. You hungry? I can fix you something."

"Not right now. I just wanted to check on you."

As usual Elizabeth’s expression looked concern as she noticed a little weariness in her daughter’s expression. "Everything okay, dear?"

Mia smiled, "Yeah, just a bit tired. You know, school stuff." She was actually tired from all the moving around in the mall with Rayne and Jason. And she knew her expression betrayed her weariness.

Elizabeth, placing a hand on Mia’s shoulder, said, "Well, if you need anything, I’m here. Did you happen to see Owen today? He hasn’t come by the eatery, and I was wondering if you two were having one of your little spats again."

What happened last night was nothing like the little spats they used to have in the past. Mia thought, but knowing that her mother didn’t know about it, she decided to keep it that way. Setting boundaries was what she wanted to do with Owen. And knowing he would finally come around to visit the eatery, Mia didn’t think too much about him and said, "No, Mom, I haven’t seen him today."

Elizabeth looked a little concerned that he hadn’t come to her today as he rarely missed visiting her in the morning before school and coming to assist her after school. But then she thought he might be busy with something, and dismissed his thoughts.

Mia, who was about to speak again, was drawn to a snacks jar on the table of the chair she was sitting on. It was her favorite snack since she was little. "Mom, did you make these?"

"Oh yeah, by the way, I made it for you. Thought you might enjoy them as a side snack in school. Take them with you when you’re going back to the house."

"Thanks, Mom. That’s really sweet of you." She hugged the snack jar and beamed up at her mother who was thoughtful enough to make the snacks for her. It had been her favorite as a child and it would forever be.

Mia didn’t immediately return to the house because she helped her mother wash the dishes before picking up her snack jar and made her way back home. It was already evening around 8; 30 P.M. she would go back home and take a shower before coming back by 9:00 to help her mother close the eatery.

As Mia entered the apartment, humming to herself, she headed towards her room. The room was dim since she hadn’t turned on the light, but she was taken aback to find that the window, which she always closed after Mr. Ice Cube’s warning, was now open, with the curtains swaying in the breeze. She hesitated to enter, as she could feel a presence in the room, causing the hairs on her arms to stand on end. She didn’t know whether to simply turn back and go wait for her mother or to brave it and walk towards the light switch.

"Robby, kitty kitty. If you can hear me, come to Mama," Mia called out to her cat, hoping to have some company as she would walk towards the light switch. She couldn’t tell if someone had entered her room through the window or if it was just her imagination, influenced by all the horror movies she used to watch which mirrored her current situation where the victim would return home and encounter a serial killer or some demonic being waiting in their room to kill them.

Why was she even scaring herself for no reason?! Demons weren’t real, and no serial killer was on the look out. Apart from her psychopathic professor, no idiot would climb up to her window on the top floor. And her professor was sick at home so she was probably imagining things at this moment. There was nothing in the room and she would walk to the light switch and turn it on!

Mia thought. However, despite that, she didn’t move away from the doorway to enter the room. She laughed nervously, hugging her snack jar to her chest, "If you are here to scare me, you better think twice ghost. I am not easily frightened and_"

"Then why don’t you walk inside?" Came a deep smooth masculine voice from her bed. Before she could register the fact that the voice sounded familiar, Mia had already let out an ear damaging scream that made the person on her bed frown and glared towards the doorway.

"Shut the fuck up and turn on the damn light, woman!" He ordered with a hint of irration in his voice. Why do women always like to scream instead defending themselves against whatever frightened them first?

Hearing the voice again this time, Mia was about to prepare for another scream when she quickly shut up as she recognized the voice. What was he doing in her room?! She would be stupid not to recognize his authoritative tone and arrogant voice!

Mia, flustered by his sudden intrusion, fumbled toward the light switch, her hand slightly shaking as she turned it on.

The room was immediately bathed in a soft glow, revealing the man sitting casually on her bed as if he owned it. His imposing figure was enhanced by the black business suit he was wearing, its jacket carelessly tossed aside on her bed. His tie was loosened with his white dress shirt unbuttoned at the top, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his toned inked forearms that were bulging with muscular veins. He looked like a business tycoon ready to dominate the world with his overwhelming presence.

His black hair looked a bit messy like he’d ran his fingers through them several times. He looked intimidating without even trying. The only thing that gave away his weary expression, were the dark circles under his eyes. He looked like someone who hadn’t slept for weeks. His gray eyes were abnormally narrowed into a slit as he glared at her as if she had committed an unforgivable sin.

Mia subconsciously swallowed hard as she felt a nervous shiver down her spine. He continued to regard her with a nonchalant intimidating attitude, as if she were the one trespassing instead of the other way around. Wasn’t she supposed to be the one giving him that look for entering her room without her permission? How did he even open her window when she made sure to lock it?!

Putting her hands on her hips, Mia demanded furiously, "What the hell are you doing in my room, Professor Bennett?" It was completely inappropriate for him to enter her room in her absence and sit on her bed like he had the right. She wouldn’t have gotten the backbone to speak if she wasn’t in her house. The last time she used his things, he had gotten furious as well.

Neil raised an eyebrow, a cold smirk playing on his lips. "Your scream nearly shattered my eardrums, Harrison. Thought I’d save you from the horror of darkness. Plus, you left your window open even though I warned you to always keep them close." He remarked nonchalantly.

Neil had returned to Zen in no time because he had used his private jet. He had wanted to go straight to that bastard Jason and make him regret ever sending him those pictures and video of him and Mia, but then realizing that Jason had purposely sent him those images to irk him into confronting him, Neil had thought twice about going to the Wallace mansion and causing a scene that could affect his disguise. Despite the strong urge he was feeling to beat some sense into Jason, Neil had held back.

And since he had used every bit of will power to stop himself from going to Jason, he had found himself driving towards Whispering way instead of going home. He didn’t like the fact that someone else, not to mention someone like that idiot Jason Wallace, was hitting on his childhood little sweetheart. He might not be the same boy he was Fifteen years ago, but once he had his eyes on something and was determined to figure that thing out, he hated it when someone else puts their filthy eyes on it as well.

Mia Harrison, Neil thought with dry amusement, was a woman he was determined to figure out. He was determined to know what mystery laid behind her and what was wrong with her memories. She was his to figure out for as long as he was Leo Bennett, and the fact that Jason was starting to put up shit to irk him made Neil want to make sure that she would never look past him and fall for someone as stupid as Jason Wallace. And she dared not fall for him as well, because he was going to break her along with her heart.

Neil Wayner didn’t do love, he did things for his amusement and curiousity, and not until that curiosity was satisfied, he’d never walk away.

Mia glared at him, irritation mixing with the relief of seeing that his forehead wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it to be. But she wasn’t going to overlook the fact that he invaded her room. "Breaking into my room more than once is starting to be your favorite thing to do, right, Mr. Bennett?"

A humorless chuckle roared out of his throat as he looked away from her and relaxed his tired back against the pillow behind him. "I needed a place to crash for awhile. Your place seemed as good as any, Harrison. Close the door behind you before Owner comes rushing in to check on you after your screaming a moment ago."

Mia crossed her arms stubbornly against her chest. "This is not a hotel nor hospital, Mr. Bennett. You can’t just waltz in whenever you please. By the way, his name is Owen not Owner."

Neil closed his eyes, looking unfazed. "Well, here I am. Deal with it. And I don’t care what his name is." He said in a calm arrogant voice.

Mia sighed, realizing arguing with Mr. Ice cube was futile, he was an arrogant man who would do as he pleased without a care in the world. And it seemed today he had decided to turn her place into a hotel just like he had turned it to a hospital days ago. She closed the door behind her and locked it from the inside so no one would barge in to find her professor resting on her bed.

As Mia walked back into the room, she couldn’t help but ask, "Why didn’t you come to school today?"

Without opening his eyes, Neil replied, "None of your business, Harrison."

Mia rolled her eyes, muttering, "Unbelievable," as she thought again how arrogant he was. She hoped he wasn’t planning to spend the night in her room. Not that she would mind it that much, but_of course she would mind! She was a woman and a man, who wasn’t her boyfriend or anything, wasn’t supposed to enter her room as he pleased!