"Why are you here?"

Mia couldn’t help but frown when she saw her.

"I came to see you, of course. My brother is busy, so he couldn’t make it."

"How did you know?"

"My brother just told me. Didn’t he tell you? It’s fine, though. Me telling you is the same thing."

Shannon Preston was all smiles, but her words grated on Mia’s ears.

"Honestly, my brother... no matter how busy he is, he should still think of you. You just had surgery, after all. I told him to come see you."

"There’s no need. I’m fine on my own."

Mia cut her off directly.

"I’m going to sleep. If there’s nothing else, you can leave."

"Alright, then. I’ll come see you again tomorrow morning, sister-in-law."

Shannon left with a triumphant look on her face, her mood exceptionally cheerful.

「The next morning」

Mia opened her eyes to the unexpected sight of Owen Sinclair sitting by her bed.

"Owen? Why are you here?"

She tried to push herself up but pulled at her wound, causing her to suck in a sharp breath of pain.

"Don’t move."

Owen quickly stopped her, his voice gentle.

"You didn’t come to the studio at all yesterday. I was worried about you. I didn’t even know you were hospitalized until Rosalyn told me. Why wouldn’t you tell me about something this serious?"

Having been hospitalized so suddenly, she had handed off many of her urgent tasks to Rosalyn.

"It was just a minor surgery. No need to make a big fuss. I’ll be discharged in a couple of days."

"But it was still surgery. You can’t be careless. My mom specially made some black chicken soup this morning. It has wild ginseng, red dates, and goji berries to replenish your energy and blood."

"Oh, that’s too much trouble."

’That kind of soup takes precise timing and one or two hours to simmer. She must have woken up at the crack of dawn to buy a fresh black chicken and cook it.’

Mia was overcome with guilt.

"It’s no trouble. My mom has always been fond of you, ever since you used to come over for dinner back in our school days. She doesn’t have a daughter and once wanted to adopt you as her goddaughter. She still thinks about it. I just mentioned last night that I was coming to see you; I had no idea she was going to get up early to make soup."

"Here, try some. See if it’s good."

Mia took a sip. It wasn’t greasy at all; most of the fat had been skimmed off. The broth was light, delicious, and very nutritious.

A warm bowl in the morning made her stomach feel cozy.

She didn’t eat too much, worried it might be hard to digest.

"What about your boyfriend? What time is he coming?"

Owen asked subconsciously.

"He probably won’t be coming. He’s very busy."

Hearing this, Owen’s expression darkened, clearly displeased.

"What kind of boyfriend is that? You’re in the hospital and he doesn’t even come to see you? It’s not like you’re in a long-distance relationship. That’s obviously just an excuse. Mia, you should break up with a guy like that sooner rather than later."

Just as Mia was about to respond, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure at the door.

Speak of the devil. Adrian Preston had actually come.

"President Preston?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

she called out.

Owen turned around and saw Adrian at the door.

"Adrian? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting a friend."

Adrian rubbed his nose, looking a little awkward.

"What a coincidence. I wonder what happened to your friend. Nothing too serious, I hope?"

Mia’s tone was casual, but the two of them knew exactly what she meant. Her words were dripping with sarcasm.

’It’s not that I don’t want to go public now. It’s that Adrian himself said we barely know each other!’

Adrian pressed his lips together, not saying a word as he stared deeply at her.

Just then, a nurse came in.

"A family member needs to come with me to the director’s office to pick up a report."

Owen immediately stood up. He felt that among those present, no one was more suitable to go than him.

"I’ll go get the report then. Adrian, can you watch Mia for me? I’ll be right back."

With that, he left.

"President Preston, you should hurry and go take care of your friend. I’ll be fine by myself."

"Don’t you have anything to say to me?"

He lifted his eyes, and his deep, profound gaze met hers, throwing her into a momentary panic.

It felt just like back in school, when you’re secretly playing on your phone and suddenly look up to see the homeroom teacher staring at you through the window with a grim expression.

His stare made her skin crawl.

"Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? Don’t *you* have anything to say to me?"

’My conscience is clear. What is there to say?’

’But him, with those shady intentions he has with Shannon... would he dare admit to them?’

Adrian pursed his lips. Of course, he wasn’t about to admit that he had come yesterday, and had even brought delicious food with him.

’She’s sitting here, savoring the chicken soup Owen brought her. How could she possibly know how disappointed I was when I left yesterday?’

"My actions are open and aboveboard. There’s nothing to say."

Mia nearly exploded when she heard that.

’Open and aboveboard my ass.’

She didn’t want to see him for another second.

"Just go. I don’t need you here."

"Right. You have too many people fawning over you here."

"That’s right, I do! So what? I’m not lacking for one more!"

The thought that he hadn’t shown up at all yesterday made her furious.

’Even friends would rush over the moment they found out. Hell, even that heartless bastard Chase Lockwood came to visit. But him? He shows up in the morning, leaves right away, and then disappears for the rest of the day.’

’And he left Shannon here to be all sarcastic and weird. Just thinking about it makes me mad.’

Adrian’s brow furrowed tightly when he heard her words.

He turned to go. Mia thought he was leaving, but instead, he closed the door and even locked it from the inside.

She was a little confused, and a growing sense of unease filled her heart.

’What is he planning to do?’

"Why are you locking the door for no rea— Mmph..."

Soon enough, she understood Adrian’s intention. He had locked the door to kiss her.

She didn’t dare move, or her wound would ache. Besides, Adrian was holding her so tightly that she couldn’t struggle anyway.

His kissing technique had improved rapidly. He skillfully pried her lips apart and plunged inside, conquering her territory.

She could hardly breathe. Furious, she wanted to bite his tongue, but he seemed to see right through her and bit her lip instead.

It didn’t draw blood, but it left her lips red and swollen, exacerbated by the force of their passionate kiss.

Her lips were now a luscious, dewy red, full and glistening.

Just then, the sound of Owen trying to open the door came from outside.

The doorknob rattled noisily.

"What’s going on? Why won’t it open? Mia? Adrian?"

Owen called out, worried.

Only then did Adrian release her. He stared at his handiwork, his eyes dark and unreadable.

He gently caressed her lips with the pad of his thumb, making them ache slightly.

Her breathing was ragged, her chest heaving, as if she had just been passionately ravished. A dazed look clouded her eyes.

"I’ll get the door."

As Adrian moved to open the door, Mia’s heart leaped into her throat.

’Why do I feel so guilty? It’s like I was caught having an affair behind Owen’s back.’

"Then you can tell him what our relationship is. I don’t have the face to say it."

Adrian nodded and went out. Owen was already sweating with anxiety, about to find a nurse to force the door open.

"Are you okay? Why didn’t you open the door? You scared me to death..."

Owen came in and looked at Mia with concern, but he immediately noticed something was wrong.

’Why are her lips swollen?’

"Mia, your lips..."

"Owen, I haven’t had the chance to properly introduce you. This is my wife, Mrs. Preston."

Owen felt like he was hearing things. He stared at the two of them in disbelief.

Mia met his gaze and, in that instant, felt she had been awful, deceiving the senior who had always been so kind to her.

"Owen, I’m sorry. He’s the boyfriend I mentioned. Actually, not my boyfriend... we’re already married."

Owen’s face turned pale.

"Adrian, let’s talk outside."

Owen’s voice was trembling. As the two men left, Mia’s heart was in her throat again, wondering what they would say to each other.

But she couldn’t get out of bed easily right now, otherwise she really would have followed them to see.

The two went to an empty area behind the hospital. Owen stopped and swung a heavy punch at the man behind him.

With Adrian’s skills, he clearly could have dodged it, but he didn’t. He took the hit squarely, his mouth bruising as blood trickled from the corner.