Chapter 6
And Daniel believed her. "Layla meant well for Matthew. Her methods might be a bit harsh, but her heart is in the right place.
"Mia, do you have some kind of persecution complex? Do you think everyone in the world is out to get you?"
Even though she had expected him to side with Layla, hearing him twist the truth so shamelessly made her heart sink.
It seemed no amount of time could ever change his attitude.
Mia lowered her eyes, gathered Matthew in her arms, and stood up.
As she reached the door, Daniel blocked her path. "Where do you think you're going?
"This is your home. Where do you plan to run off to with my son?"
Mia knew any explanation was useless. A sense of reckless defiance washed over her. "So what do you want?"
Her defiant tone made Daniel's face darken. "You hit Layla. Don't you think you owe an apology?"
Mia stared at him in disbelief.
She hadn't thought he could be so delusional for Layla's sake.
"Your temper is too sharp," he said coldly. "In that case, you and Matthew can stay here and continue to reflect. You'll come out when you've learned your lesson."
Daniel left with Layla, shutting the heavy doors behind them. The last light in the hall went out, plunging the room into total darkness.
In the blackness, Mia clutched her head, tears streaming down her face.
She had suffered from claustrophobia since childhood. Combined with her past depression, the condition had only worsened.
In the past, even though Daniel was a jerk, he would instruct the servants to keep candles stocked in every room, just in case.
Now, he truly did not care whether she lived or died.
Trembling with fear, Mia groped around in the dark, searching for a candle.
She finally found one, but it was broken and wouldn't light.
Seeing this, she collapsed weakly to the floor, sobbing like a child.
The candle was like their long-dead love, impossible to rekindle.
Holding Matthew, whose body was growing cold, she choked back her sobs to comfort him.
"Matthew, just hold on a little longer. When Daddy gets here, he'll save us. I'm so sorry... I am useless. I couldn't save you, and I only made things worse."
She didn't know how long she kept apologizing until, overwhelmed, she passed out from the mental strain.
When Mia woke again, she found Chloe sitting by her bedside.
Mia's first instinct was to look for Matthew.
Chloe gently stopped her. "Matthew is in the next room. He's safe, don't worry."
Mia trusted Chloe. After all, it was Chloe who had helped get Daniel to sign the divorce papers years ago.
Though it seemed Daniel still didn't know they were already divorced.
Chloe sighed. "That child... he really isn't a Smith?"
Mia's answer was firm. "No."
Chloe looked down. "I suppose that's for the best. You hated Daniel so much; why would you keep his child? What he did this time was truly excessive. I will..."
Before she could finish, Mia cut in. "Mrs. Smith, I won't let either him or Layla get away with this."
Chloe had meant to offer some conciliatory words, but seeing the depth of hatred in Mia's eyes, she fell silent.
"You were always a good girl. It's a pity fate wasn't on your side. Perhaps Daniel needs to learn a hard lesson. It might do him some good."
After offering a few more words of comfort, Chloe left.
Mia smiled coldly. She didn't just want Daniel to learn a lesson. She wanted to see both him and Layla utterly ruined.
Mia retrieved her phone and logged into her author account.
Daniel had no idea she had been quietly building a career as a comic artist, and had gained a considerable following.
The series she updated was based on her own experiences, including everything Daniel and Layla had done.
In the few days she had stopped updating, readers had sent over a hundred thousand messages urging her to continue.
Mia posted a single update on her page.
[Apologies. No updates for a while. Dealing with domestic violence.]
Within ten minutes, the topic MiaDomesticViolence was trending across all major platforms.
Despite the flood of concerned messages, Mia didn't respond. Instead, she carefully photographed the bruises on herself and Matthew, saving everything as evidence in a secure cloud drive.
She would wait until her anniversary celebration with Lincoln to release it all.
She would make sure Daniel and Layla were exposed to the world.
After doing all this, she received a message from Lincoln.
[Mia, arriving in Cyberis tomorrow. Where are you? I'll come get you.]
Mia sent him her location, and finally, her heart settled.
The moment she sent the message, Daniel's voice came from behind her.
"Who are you texting?"
Mia turned and gave him a challenging smile. "My husband, of course."
Even hearing the truth, Daniel scoffed.
"Mia, I think being locked up for a day has scrambled your brains.
"But since you gave me a son, I won't hold it against you.
"As long as you behave as my wife should and stop causing trouble for Layla, we can make this work."
"Dream on," Mia replied coldly.
She had been done with this life long ago.
Her blunt refusal darkened his expression. "Keep this up, Mia, and it's divorce. I mean it."
Daniel was certain Mia wouldn't dare to divorce him.
With the Johnson family gone and Gianna bedridden, what leverage did she have?
Mia didn't know if he was supremely confident or just foolish.
She had no more words for him. "You'll get your wish," she said icily.
Daniel laughed derisively. "Keep up the act. Just don't come crying to me later."
With that, he turned and left.
That evening, Daniel hosted a gathering with his usual crowd.
One of his friends teased, "Daniel, I heard Mia has been causing a scene about divorce since she came back. Things falling apart?"
Another chimed in, "And I heard from someone you're planning to win her back? That true?"
Daniel, holding a cigarette, stiffened slightly before replying with disdain, "Win her back? She should be the one begging me.