103 The Three Magical Words

Jim was starting to get worried.

Miya had been in the bathroom for a long time now. Ben had got ready, he himself had changed, and they had been waiting for her to come out for the past twenty minutes. Jim had an uneasy feeling in his heart.

He counted to forty in his head, and when the missus still hadn't come out, he got up worriedly and walked to the door.

Had he scared her that much?

But she hadn't looked so afraid.

In fact, he had seen her blush!

Why had she then locked herself into the bathroom?

Jim's heart pounded unexpectedly, and he knocked lightly at the door.

"Miya?" his voice was soft.

Miya felt the young master's knock beside her ear. Her throat was dry, and she was trembling severely. When she heard his voice, her first instinct was to hide.

What did he know?

Jimmy Hunter… how much had he found out?

Albeit she considered the high possibility that Simon Hunter knew about her past too, considering he knew about Mochi, but when it came to Jim finding out, the thought disturbed her.

Shook her to her very core.

When the knock became slightly harder, Miya clutched at her chest again and steadied her heart. Then swallowing, she said in a hoarse voice, "I'll take some time. Go f-first."

Miya's voice sounded strange.

Jim frowned at the words, but couldn't help but ask.

"Are you alright? Do you need help? We'll wait."

"N-No. I'll be in a while. Go!"

She pleaded to God he would.

Jim heard the urgent plea in her voice, and his own expression darkened. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach at his next thought.

Was she avoiding him now?

Now that she knew what he felt for her, was he going to be driven away?

But it was just an emotion!

It wasn't like he was planning to work on it! Did she have to be so extreme?!

"Miya," his voice was determined now, but before he could continue, the wife's voice came from the other side again.

"Jimmy, please. Go."

It was such a meek request, that the young master could only grudgingly oblige. He clenched his fists and motioned to Ben to come along. Then holding the boy's hand, he walked out.

For all he knew, his wife could be on her period.

Maybe that was why she was being so weird.

When Miya heard his retreating footsteps, relief spread through her entire body. She didn't hear the door of the bathroom close, the place was soundproof after all, but after multiple seconds had passed, she unlocked the door and slowly walked out.

The air conditioning was at its maximum, and yet, she was sweating profusely.

If they knew everything, but of course, there would have been consequences.

Miya pulled out a drawer from the headboard of the bed, and found Jim's pack of cigarettes and his lighter. Lighting one, she drew in a puff and then breathed out a curl of smoke. Relief instantly spread through her body.

She could sit here and jump to conclusions for hours at stretch, but the truth wouldn't come to her anyhow.

There was but one way to find out.

Ask.

She had to talk to Jimmy now.

Smoking, as a dark expression spread on her face, Miya lightly bit her lip. If Jim indeed knew about her, the bigger question was, why was she still living in the Hunters' house? Shouldn't she have been ousted?

Which was preferable under the current circumstances. But it was a hint that they either couldn't know everything, or had simply refused to find out.

Jimmy, she could still understand. But why was Simon Hunter suddenly on her side?

Or was he?

Miya's heart pounded harshly.

The smoke had almost finished, and she was feeling a lot calmer. And the only conclusion that she could draw was that she needed to confront Jim.

About everything.

The thought scared her sh*tless, but she would have to do it anyhow.

And if against all odds, their deal still survived, then she had a lot to ask to Jimmy about himself too.

His one worst memory, which he had said was his own mother, for one.

It was only fair she knew about him too.

Miya clenched her fists, hurriedly changed her clothes, and then walked out of the room as well.

Inside Simon Hunter's parlour, the atmosphere was grim.

The old man's face was stern when he watched Miya enter the room, and it deepened to a scowl when he saw her dress.

She looked apologetically at the older man, when Simon Hunter simply stood up, and said in a loud voice, "The meeting will happen tomorrow morning, when all of you are in your right mind and know how to dress. For now, I don't think any of you are worth wasting my time. Jimmy, take Miya back to her room. And tell her she's grounded for the next week. All of you other gentlemen, deal with your faces first, you look like you're ready to kill each other."

Miya, who had been lost in her own world, frowned at the Chairman's words. Then she looked at everyone staring at each other and then at her with a rather weird look. Jim simply stood up, held her arm and dragged her out of the room.

His face held worry, but his voice was also stern.

"What is wrong with you?"

Miya frowned further at his words, suddenly uneasy that he was clutching harshly her arm.

Jim sighed.

"Miya, seriously. What happened? Are you alright? And if you're worried about the thing you felt just minutes –"

"No!"

Jim was alerted by her straightaway retort, but he shrugged. Then looking pointedly at her clothes he said, "Then what is this all about?"

Miya looked down at the white shirt she had worn.

What was wrong with that?

She was again about to retort, when realization dawned on her.

Oh f***…

She was wearing Jimmy's shirt!

Somehow, she hadn't noticed it before, but the shirt she had put on was not her own. It was oversized, and Jim's! And while the upper two buttons were wide open to reveal some of her cleavage, the sleeves hung out of her very hands. The shirt covered half her thighs. And to top it all, she hadn't paired it with jeans or pants.

She had paired it with a goddamn skirt.

Miya' throat tightened, as she realized in what condition she had made an appearance before the Chairman. And the strangers who were Jim's friends.

Her mouth went dry.

When Jim saw the missus's expression, he immediately wanted to laugh. He couldn't believe it, but it looked like the woman didn't even know what she had worn. She had been so lost in her world, it apparently had escaped her notice.

Jim could only hold in the laughter that threatened to erupt from his throat.

Coughing, he lightened his hold on Miya's arm. And seeing her in his own clothes, he couldn't resist a rather shameless urge.

Straightening her hair, which was dishevelled in places, Jim smirked slightly as he gave her half a hug. Then he dipped his head to whisper close to her ear, "I won't say I'm not tempted, my dear."

His eyes had glazed. His voice was heavy by now.

"With you dressed like that," Jim said huskily, "I'm ready to fall on my knees and say the three magical words. Want to know what they are?"

Miya froze under his grasp.

Oh no.

This wasn't happening.