Chapter 365
One of the guys Mia had picked looked at her, confused. “Mia, who’s this guy?”
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Another tried to shove Herbert away. “Hey, man, first come, first served, right? She only picked us three.”
Herbert’s face twisted with embarrassment and anger.
Aurelia saw things were getting out of hand and immediately stepped protectively in front of Mia, trying to pry Herbert’s hand off her. “Mr. Norman, what do you think you’re doing? Let go of my friend!”
“Ms. Corin, this is between me and her. Stay out of it,” Herbert said, shoving Aurelia aside.
“I’m afraid that’s not happening,” Aurelia stood her ground, her voice unwavering. “Until I know what’s really going on between you two, I’m not letting anything happen to my friend.”
Mia protested, “I don’t know him!”
Herbert shot back, “We’re married!”
Aurelia was left speechless.
‘Wait, did I just hear that right?‘ Aurelia thought, her mind spinning.
Mia’s eyes went wide as she stared at Herbert. “You’re the one who said it! I didn’t say a word!”
“I’ll send you the money in a minute!” Herbert gritted his teeth, his voice tight with anger.
He forced himself to stay calm and turned to Aurelia. “Just some married couple stuff to discuss. Don’t worry, Ms. Corin. I’m not some abusive husband.”
Without waiting for Aurelia to respond, he scooped Mia up over his shoulder and strode out of the room.
Aurelia followed after them for a few steps.
Mia managed to lift her head and called out to Aurelia, “Babe, you go ahead and have fun. I’ll be back in a bit, don’t worry about me.”
Jessica chimed in, “Honestly, if they’re married, it’s not really our business. Let them handle it themselves.”
Aurelia had no choice but to stop.
Herbert dragged Mia out of the private room, moving so fast she felt like she was on a rollercoaster. Every step jostled her like crazy.
“Put me down! I’m seriously gonna hurl!” Mia yelled, her stomach flipping from all the bouncing. Herbert’s shoulder was digging into her belly, and with her upper half basically hanging upside down, her head was spinning from all the blood rushing to it.
Herberthadn’t even managed a reply before Mia suddenly retched.
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Chapter 365
She puked all over his jacket.
When Herbertfinally set her down, his face was pitch black. He looked absolutely furious.
He was a total clean freak.
But that was his problem, not hers.
Serves him right for hauling her around like a sack of potatoes.
Herbert yanked off his jacket and chucked it straight into the trash can.
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When he turned around and saw Mia in that tight little dress, his face went cold in an instant. “Who said you could wear something so slutty? Change it!”
‘Slutty?‘ Mia thought, raising an eyebrow.
She glanced down at her flat chest and thought, ‘Seriously? He’s got to be kidding. I’m basically a board up
top.‘
‘Or maybe he’s just confusing me with that busty cow, Leonie,‘ she grumbled to herself.
Mia shot back, her voice full of indignation, “Why do you care if I’m sexy or not?”
‘We’re just a contract couple, and the deal’s almost up. Why is he acting like he owns me?‘ Mia thought, rolling her eyes.
Before Herbert could say a word, Mia cut him off, her tone impatient. “Isn’t this the time you should be with Leonie? What are you doing here?”
‘Seriously, what a buzzkill,’ Mia grumbled to herself.
“Since when do you get to tell me what to do?” Herbert shot back, never one to beat around the bush.
Mia let out a cold laugh. “Then why do you care what I do? Our contract’s almost up anyway. Let’s go our separate ways and live our own lives. Let’s keep it fair. No one gets to tell the other what to do.”
He had got his precious Leonie.
She hadgot her pretty boy models.
That should be fair.
It was a pity that Herbert was a walking double standard, and he didn’t even try to hide it.
He could be all over Leonie in public, but the moment Mia so much as talked to another guy, he’d flip out.
Just classic male entitlement.
Even though he didn’t love Mia.
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“Clearly, you didn’t bother to read our contract. Just so you know. While we’re still under this agreement, you’re not allowed to cheat on me. If you do, you’ll owe me ten times the penalty, just like it says in the contract,” Herbert said, his voice icy.
He shot Mia a cold, mocking smile as he reminded her.
‘Money, money, money!‘ Mia grumbled to herself. ‘Of course, it’s always the fucking money!”
But she was broke and had no backbone, so Herbert could always push her around.
Seeing Mia stay silent, Herbertknew his threat had hit home. His tone softened a bit as he said, “Grandma’s in Ashmont. You’re coming home with me.”
It suddenly clicked for Mia.
‘No wonder he left Leonie behind and came after me,’ she thought.
‘So it’s just because Grandma showed up and he can’t handle her alone. He needs me there to help him out.
“The doctor said Grandma’s blood pressure’s been up these days, so don’t give me any attitude,” Herbert said, sounding a little less harsh than before. “Come on, let’s go.”
With that, he turned and walked out.
Mia swallowed her anger, but in the end, she trailed after Herbertanyway.
There was no other reason. She was only doing this for Grandma.
Aurelia hadn’t been waiting in the private room for long when her phone buzzed with a message from Mia.
Mia: [Babe, I’m not coming back to your place tonight. Don’t worry about me, I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.]
Aurelia thought for a moment, then replied: [Stay safe.]
Aurelia just couldn’t figure out how Mia had gotten herself mixed up with the Norman family from Northvale, and even ended up married to their head, Herbert. It was honestly beyond her comprehension.
“This is just ridiculous,‘ Aurelia thought, still trying to process it.
With Mia gone, Aurelia had to play the drinking buddy and keep Jessica company.
She hadn’t hit the party scene in years, so her alcohol tolerance was pretty much nonexistent now.
Jessica noticed right away and laughed, “You used to say you could drink a thousand shots and never get drunk. I was so jealous of that! You know how it is in our business. Sometimes being able to hold your liquor
is a real asset.”
Aurelia nodded. She totally agreed with Jessica on that one.
If you could hold your booze, it was basically a secret weapon at business parties.
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Heck, in some circles, there was even an unspoken rule: knock back three shots, and the deal was as good as signed.
“I’ve been busy with classes and stuff these past few years, not really handling my own deals. Not much drinking, so my tolerance totally tanked,” Aurelia said.
She turned to Jessica and added, “Being able to drink is definitely a business superpower, but you gotta take care of yourself too. Back then, I totally wrecked my stomach from drinking too much.”
Jessica let out a sigh. “Yeah, that’s true, but honestly, in the business world, who can really keep themselves untouched by all this?”
Then she looked at Aurelia, curious. “So you actually trained yourself to handle your liquor? Got any tips or tricks? Maybe I can teach my crew a thing or two.”
Aurelia thought back for a moment, trying to recall.
After a brief pause, she said, “The key is to know your own limits. If you pace yourself and stick to what you can handle at business events, your body will gradually build up resistance to alcohol, and your tolerance will naturally improve.”
Jessica looked a bit troubled. “But when you’re at a business dinner, everyone’s busy talking business. Who actually keeps track of how much they’ve had, or what they’re drinking?”
That made Aurelia stop and think for a moment.
She had to admit, it was easy to overlook that.
Back then, it was Cassian who always reminded her when she was about to reach her limit.
So yeah, you really needed someone to watch out for you and keep track of that kind of thing.
During the time she was building up her alcohol tolerance, Cassian was always there with her at those business events.
It wasn’t until she could drink without ever getting drunk that she finally started going to those parties solo.
She hadn’t really noticed it back then, and only now did it hit her.
All these years, Aurelia had pretty much shut out anything to do with Cassian.
But today, it seemed like everything and everyone kept reminding her of him, bringing back memories she’d tried to bury.
She couldn’t shake off a vague sense of frustration, so she kept refilling her glass.
“Jessica, I’m gonna hit the restroom,” Aurelia said, swaying a little as she got up.
One of the model guys immediately chimed in, “Aurelia, let me walk you there.”
There was a bathroom right in the VIP room, but Aurelia wanted to get some fresh air and sober up a bit, so
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Chapter 365
she headed out to the one down the hall.
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When she came out of the bathroom, she saw the model guy still waiting for her. Leaning against the wall with a lazy drawl, she said, “You can head back. No need to stick around. I’m just gonna get some fresh air.”
With that, she started walking toward the balcony, but the guy just kept following her.
Aurelia swayed a little. “Seriously, you don’t have to follow me. I’m not drunk.”
But as soon as she said that, she stumbled and almost took a spill.
Just then, a strong arm hooked around her waist, steadying her.
“Thanks,” Aurelia mumbled, her eyes hazy as she turned to look at him, squinting a little.
The light was behind him, so she couldn’t really make out his face, just a vague outline.
She gave a lazy smile and said, “You know, you kind of look like my ex.”
AD
