CHAPTER 42: LET’S START AS FRIENDS

The question pulled him back to the original plan they were here.

He had assumed the honeymoon was off after hearing she’d returned to Mistvale. But with Lyra still here in Bellwyn, he was determined to put the plan back on track.

He needed to get the private jet ready.

They would be leaving tonight.

"I have a special place in mind, but it’s a secret."

A knock sounded at the door.

Rowan helped Lyra lie down again, tucked the blanket around her, and then walked toward the door.

He eased the door open, finding Damian standing right outside.

"Dr. Chavan is here. Should I call him in to check on Madam?"

Rowan glanced back at Lyra resting on the chaise, her breathing steady as if she had already fallen asleep. Then he returned his gaze to Damian.

"Thank Dr. Chavan for me. Tell him Lyra’s already fallen asleep" Rowan said, not wanting to disturb her.

"Okay, boss," Damian replied as he stepped back.

"Oh, and tell my father I’ll join them later this afternoon," Rowan added. "I’m staying here until Lyra gets enough rest."

Damian gave a small bow before leaving.

The door closed, and Kane stepped in, guarding from anyone who might try to push their way in.

...

Julie’s employer came to apologize and promised to take strict action against her after what she had done.

Her disgraceful behavior not only crossed the line but also brought shame to the company. Their company become a laughingstock for having an employee like her.

Once police dragging Julie out, everyone slowly dispersed, tired and hungry after the chaos.

Mia still in the women’s lounge, took a moment to catch her breathe. She sank comfortably into one of the chairs.

She never dealt with anything like this before. At the hospital, if trouble happened, she just called security, and it was sorted out easily.

"Dr. Chavan, turn around a bit." Come a deep rough voice from near her.

"Excuse me?" Mia frowned, confused.

Mia suddenly remembered Theo was there. She was annoyed because he should’ve left, yet he was still lingering like he had nothing better to do.

She tried to figure out what the heck he was pointing at.

"The back of your blazer... it’s torn."

Mia’s eyes widened. "Really?"

She bent awkwardly, trying to pull it to the front, but she couldn’t see anything.

In the end, she just took it off, revealing the white halter-neck top she wore underneath.

Her slender, hourglass figure and defined, model-like shoulders were revealed. Theo whistled silently in his head.

But he didn’t pretend not seen anything. His eyes followed her every movement.

Mia checked the blazer and finally spotted a neat rip. It must have happened during the chaos.

She headed straight to the lounge’s supply drawer. There had to be needles and thread somewhere. She searched, and eventually found them.

Without wasting time, Mia began stitching.

Her movements caught Theo’s attention.

The way she leaned forward, and then her hair fell to the side.

The way she straight her body and tied it up before focusing again.

The way she concentrated on her sewing made Theo smile to himself.

"Why are you smiling?" Mia asked, glancing at him.

She got up to the mirror nearby, wondering if something looked odd on her face but nothing was there.

Then she shot Theo a warning glare before went back to sewing, ignoring him who burst into laughter.

After a moment, Mia’s brows twitched slightly.

Because of the awkward silence stretching between them plus Theo continuously staring at her.

She couldn’t pretend not to notice it anymore.

Mia start conversation, hoped talking would distract him from his strange attention on her.

"Thank you... for helping earlier," Mia said, almost forgetting to thank him.

"If I had to fix the rumors alone, I would’ve still been here until tonight."

"I didn’t do much. Just asked the company’s hackers, and everything was settled," Theo said, giving full credit to his team. "They’re really efficient with things like this."

Seeing that Mia seemed comfortable enough to talk, Theo got up and changed his seat, moving to one that was much closer to her.

"You live here in Bellwyn?" he asked.

He already knew the answer, but he asked just to keep the conversation going.

"Yes," Mia replied simply, without even glancing at Theo. She just wanted to finish the stitching as quickly as possible.

"How about you? Where are you from?" she asked in return.

"Mistvale," Theo said. "But I travel a lot. I don’t really have one specific place."

"Oh." Mia paused for a second. Something on her mind, but she pushed it back and went right back to what she was doing.

Theo smiled. She probably wanted to ask what he did for work that required him to travel so much, but since they had only just met, she kept the question to herself.

Theo was curious about her age, but he couldn’t just blurt that out. So he asked something safer.

"You’re in medicine? How long have you been doing that?"

"How long? Twelve years. And I’m thirty-five. You don’t have to do the math," Mia answered automatically.

Theo couldn’t help it and burst into laughter again. He hadn’t expected her to catch him that easily, and she was so bold for teasing him openly.

Since the wall of unfamiliarity between them had already crumbled, Theo decided to take the next step.

"Can we exchange numbers?" he asked directly. He couldn’t beat around the bush. She read him.

Mia raised one eyebrow at him.

"Sure. But that’s only because you helped me twice today and because Lyra trusts you, so I assume I can put my trust in you too," she said.

Mia rose to her feet and walked toward the floor-to-wall mirror, slipped her blazer back on with effortless grace.

Then she loosened her hair tie, letting her soft hair fall with gentle. Shake to settle it back into place.

"But..." Mia said as she turned around and walked toward the man who watched her in quiet silence.

"I’m saying this in advance. I like the idea of being your friend. I just don’t like being flirted with. So please don’t make me block you."

"Okay, okay," Theo said with a bright smile. "Friends only. I can do that."