"Mia, do you really hate me to the bone?" Lambert walked to the edge of the bed, gently sat down, and gazed at the sleeping Mia. His thoughts were chaotic and uncertain, and he muttered to himself, then let out a heavy sigh.
He only dared to quietly watch her, too afraid to lie down beside her.
He sat there the entire night, while Gene arrived at the villa with the intention to visit, but was turned away by Lambert's people.
The next day, the warm sunlight gently fell on Mia's face. She slowly opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering. The familiar surroundings rushed into her vision. She sat up in shock—this was no dream, she was truly in Lambert's bedroom.
"You're awake?" Lambert asked gently.
"Slap." A loud slap resounded as Mia unhesitatingly struck him across the face with great force, leaving four clear finger marks on his cheek.
"Mia, you may not believe me, but at least you should give me a chance to speak. No matter how badly I treated you before, I never deprived you of the chance to explain," Lambert said. He wasn't acting out of pain from the slap, but he truly wanted Mia's forgiveness.
Furrowing his brow, his thin lips pressed tightly after speaking his plea. His hands rested gently on Mia's shoulders, not daring to apply pressure. He remembered what the servant had told him—Madam was covered in bruises.
"You want to take revenge, make me suffer—I accept it. But at least you must stay by my side to make all of that happen. Mia, how much longer are you going to torment me?" He asked in a humbled tone, sitting face to face with her, yet still seeing no emotion in her eyes.
"Take your filthy hands off me, Lambert. You don't deserve to say these things to me," Mia said, her hand on his wrist, forcefully removing his hand from her body.
Lambert had had enough of the torment. He was truly fed up with Mia's indifference toward him.
He stood up abruptly and leaned in to pin her down.
"Do I have to become even worse than a beast for you to fall in love with me again?" Lambert gripped her hands tightly, his whole body weight pressing down on hers, rendering her immobile.
"Lambert, are you crazy?" Mia spat with fury. She no longer wanted to even look at him, let alone be intimate with him.
Lambert, in the heat of his impulsive emotions, didn't listen to her words. He leaned down, his lips pressing toward hers. She turned her head to avoid him, but he was persistent, trying again and again. Eventually, he succeeded.
Filled with seething hatred, Mia bit down hard on his lip, and the taste of blood spread between them. He wouldn't let go, so neither would she.
"Mia, when will you forgive me?" Lambert finally compromised, his grip loosening as he dejectedly asked. Mia pushed him away and kicked him hard in the stomach.
She didn't even bother to put on her shoes and ran out of the bedroom, heading straight downstairs.
"Madam." The servants all called out, some even trying to approach her. But upon seeing the fury rising on her face, they cautiously backed off.
Mia ran out of the villa, and Gene was waiting outside with the car.
Seeing her in her nightgown, he realized something was terribly wrong. He rushed over, calling out anxiously, "President."
"Drive," Mia coldly commanded.
Gene opened the backseat door, helped her inside, and then got in the driver's seat. He started the car and drove off.
"President, are you okay?" Gene asked nervously, constantly checking Mia's expression in the rearview mirror.
She kept her head down, her long black hair covering most of her face, making it impossible to read her emotions. It seemed like the President had fallen for Lambert last night. It was hard to tell if that was a good or bad thing. Regardless, Mr. Wenshte was still the President's husband. Rebuilding their relationship was probably better than parting ways.
But Mr. Wenshte was cunning and unpredictable, and he had done some cruel things to the President in the past. That would remain a lifelong wound. Even if Mr. Wenshte offered his life to the President, it could never heal the hurt in her heart.
"President, Dr. Daniel was injured. He's still lying in the hospital. When should we go visit him?" Gene quickly changed the subject.
"Did Lambert do this?" Mia's voice was icy to the bone, causing the air in the car to drop several degrees.
"Mr. Wenshte lost control in a moment of desperation. Dr. Daniel's injuries are quite serious," Gene responded cautiously.
"Take me home first. I need to change before heading to the hospital." She was a bit disheveled and needed to freshen up.
"Okay, President," Gene replied, speeding up.
...
At the hospital, Mia pushed open the door to the ward. Daniel lay in the bed, unable to move. When he saw her walk in, he tried to sit up.
"Don't move, you're badly injured," Mia said urgently as she walked to the bed and gently pressed him back down. "You shouldn't go head-to-head with Lambert. He's crazy, and you're no match for him."
"Mia, are you okay?" Daniel asked, breathing heavily as he looked at her with concern.
"I'm fine, don't worry. I'm here with you. What do you want to eat? I'll ask Gene to go buy it for you," Mia said softly, picking up an apple from the nightstand and beginning to peel it.
"Don't bother," Daniel stopped her. From the moment she walked in, he noticed something was wrong. Had she been with Lambert all night?
"Mia, let's stop this, okay? Lambert is not human. If this continues, I'm afraid he'll hurt you," Daniel almost begged.
"He hurt you like this, and I won't let it go. I'm going to settle both old and new scores with him. You don't need to worry about it, Daniel. Just focus on healing, and I'll handle things. Even though Martha is in charge now, you are still the largest shareholder..."
"Mia, you misunderstood me." Daniel urgently tried to explain. If he truly cared about the assets, he wouldn't have handed everything over to her back then.
"President, there's an urgent matter at the company," Gene said after receiving a phone call, leaning in to whisper in Mia's ear. "Julie and Mr. Garcia have gone to the company."
"Is there a scene?" Mia's expression darkened, a clear sign of her fatigue.
"They're accusing you of neglecting the elderly," Gene answered truthfully.
"Heh." Mia almost laughed, letting out a cold snort. She leaned over to the bed and patiently said, "I know you're looking out for me, but you have no idea how painful the last two years have been for me. I won't forget the reason I came back. There's an urgent matter at the company now, so I have to deal with it. I'll visit you later."
"Okay, you go ahead," Daniel agreed, watching Mia and Gene leave the room.
She arranged for a nurse to take care of Daniel and rushed back to Martha with Gene.
"President, the news is already spreading online," Gene said, opening his phone. The scene of Julie and William causing a commotion at Martha was being live-streamed.
Just as Gene finished speaking, Mia's phone buzzed with a message: The boss wants to see you. Immediately.