Semua Bab Revenged Love : Bab 31 - Bab 40

As if she had expected it, Mia felt her heart split in two, but she hid it behind a faint smile. "You know I wouldn’t," she said softly. "It’s been years. I’d never leave you alone. I just want us to talk. Where did you go? What happened all those years? Please… tell me." There was genuine concern in her eyes, but Axel pretended not to notice. "Why does it matter?" he said coolly. The question landed like a slap, making Mia feel like someone he had never known. "If you ever cared," he continued, "you’d be relieved I disappeared. So stop asking. You’re wasting my time." As deeply as the words cut, Mia found herself sadly happy because he was speaking to her now, at least. There had been a time when he wouldn’t even acknowledge she was there. "I am happy you left," she said at last. "But I wanted to go with you. I hated the way my family treated you." Her chest tightened as memories surfaced... the sharp sounds that had once echoed through that room, the muffled

Later that night, it was exactly twelve o’clock, and even when it was not this late, the room was never bright. It was so dim that one would strain to read anything unless they moved very close to the dying lamp beside the bed. Light. He hated it. He had grown so painfully used to the darkness that he found comfort in it. Yet within that comfort lived solitude and pain. Axel sat on the couch, his laptop resting on his lap, his knuckles pressed beneath his lips. His eyes glinted faintly as they stared at the screen, disturbingly calm, as though what he was watching was not the recording of the night his parents were murdered in their own home. But it was. Really. He did not even flinch when his father was stabbed in the neck by the same sword that had pierced Roger’s heart and taken his life. That clip was haunting. He never slept. Or maybe he did, but only when his body finally gave in, not to rest, but to unconsciousness. His eyes did not blink, not even once, even

Mia quickly turned around, and seeing who it was, she let out a heavy sigh. "Angela… why would you do that?" Angela laughed. "Did I scare you?" "Scare me? You almost gave me a heart attack!" She kept walking, Angela falling into step behind her. "Why are you here so early?" Mia asked as she reached her desk. She slid her purse off her shoulder, dragged her chair back, and dropped into it before glancing at her friend, who was already wearing an exaggerated, offended pout. "Don’t you have work this morning?" "So I’m not allowed to see you anymore?" Mia powered on her laptop, eyes already on the screen. "Don’t start, Angela." "Start with what?" Angela huffed. "I’m just trying to be the best friend ever, but clearly your precious work has replaced me." She folded her arms dramatically. Mia smirked. "Of course. My work is my baby." Angela frowned at her, pretending to be offended. "What?!" "Yep." "Fine, I won’t come here anymore!" "You know you can’t stay away." Angel

That night, Mia made sure to go to sleep early and set her alarms. The conference was at nine, so she planned to be up by seven.To avoid being betrayed by sleep, she set alarms for 7:00, 7:01, 7:02, and every minute after that until 7:30.It worked, though she still woke up at 7:15 out of pure panic.She dragged herself out of bed, her hair wild and her eyes puffy, looking like someone who had not slept enough. She needed more sleep, badly.She took her time getting dressed and applied a light layer of makeup, using concealer to hide the dark circles and puffiness that made her almost resemble a panda... minus the cuteness.Letting her hair fall around her like a curtain, she stared at her reflection, as if expecting the mirror to offer encouragement. It did not. So her eyes just roamed over her body instead.The white button-up shirt and a bright pink skirt gave her a neat, composed look.And then she noticed her weight.She was slender, not fragile, not stick thin, just naturally

It didn’t take long before more clients began to arrive. Caleb greeted each of them with a handshake before returning to his position at the head of the table, where the projector was mounted on the wall behind him. Mia moved to the second-to-last seat, as the front spots were reserved for senior staff, including Damien, who chose to sit beside her. Their gazes would occasionally meet, and they’d share a small, fleeting smile. It was the same with most of the other clients... well, except for the smiles. Some whispered comments to each other, and Mia caught a few, but all she did was inwardly roll her eyes. Were they really that desperate to know why she was here? That curious? Curious why she didn’t want to dive into her dad’s business? She almost snorted. Almost. But then Damien’s hand found hers under the table, giving a gentle squeeze. She looked at him, her mouth slightly open in surprise, then smiled at his quiet support. Somehow, the prying gazes around her didn’t b