Speaking about Mia, her little face that was usually indifferent appeared emotional. From that alone, you could tell that this woman named Mia had a deep influence on her.
He smiled faintly as he looked at her, a dim light hidden in his eyes flashing.
She was absent-minded for quite a while, then she snapped back from her memories. Gazing up, she said to him with a sincere and earnest gaze,
"So, you must respect my best friend from here on too."
"Your friend is my friend. Obviously, I'll treat her well," Xavier stated before pausing. Then, he continued,
"As for those gatherings, if you don't feel comfortable the next time, just don't go. After the New Year, Vice President Lin will take on handling the company's advancement into the showbiz industry. I've also given him the file that you passed to me to arrange altogether. Are you sure you won't have any problems here?"
The file...
About Johns Media 20% of shares?
When he mentioned this, her smiling face instantly darkened. Evidently, she did not forget all the unfortunate things that bubbled as a result of that. She just did not know if Kristina and Victoria would still go looking for Arianna despite her vicious warning. She really hoped for Arianna to live peacefully. If she could let go and move on from her relationship with her father and start anew with someone else, Arya would be extremely happy.
However, Arianna...
When she thought about this, she felt her heart sink. She lowered her gaze and thought about it for a while before sighing softly,
"I'm fine. Just leave it to me. You just do whatever you need to do. Don't worry about me."
In reality, perhaps only by having Johns Media in their control, they could hold them back. If that was really the case, she would not back off and give up on Johns Media.
Xavier nodded. Noticing her twinkling eyes dim, his gaze eased as his slender and fair hand gently reached over and pat her head like he was consoling her without a word. He gently pulled her into a hug as he turned to look out the window quietly with his profound gaze.
She fell silent too and leaned into him without uttering a word. Her calm eyes followed his line of sight and looked out the window too. Then, she noticed that at that moment, the world was basking in the magnificent, warm sun.
All of it was all so clear. As she watched the scenery, she suddenly felt something blossom in her heart. It was something that could be called hope.
.....
It was not sure how long passed before she felt that the frigidness all over her had been completely chased away by the faint warmth from his chest. Feeling much better, she retreated from his embrace and whipped her phone out to look at the time. After that, she did not hesitate to call James to come right away.
Not too long after they hung up, James rushed over. By then, it was already almost half past four in the afternoon.
At the entrance of Maple Residence, Arya handed the heavy briefcase to the tall and handsome James as she said,
"James, check again whether all the documents are complete. I've prepared an extra copy of the contract. They're all in the briefcase."
"Okay."
James opened it to check everything another time, then he nodded.
"All here, Missus."
Even though Xavier just made James call Arya "sister-in-law", James still addressed her as Missus. He was fond of this Missus very much although he did not know why. He just felt like when she and his Master stood side by side, they looked extremely compatible. In fact, it felt oddly comforting.
"Be careful on the road," Arya advised. Suddenly, there were sounds of footsteps from behind her. Subconsciously, she turned around and saw the man walking out from the inside in huge strides.
When he reached Arya's side, he suddenly stopped.
"It's cold outside. Go back in. I've heated the food in the pot up. Eat by yourself and I'll call you when I arrive."
Arya nodded. "Mmm, okay. You get into the car too and be careful on the road. I'll go back inside now."
Just as she was about to turn around, he suddenly yelled her name in a hoarse tone,
"Arya!"
"Hmm?" She subconsciously responded, looking up at him in puzzlement.
He did not say anything. His long fingers lifted and gently touched her fair face. Then, he smiled to himself and suddenly turned around to get into the car.
Quickly, the car started and soon drove away from Maple Residence in the cold winds of the night.
Arya still had not quite reacted as she watched the car drive further and further away. When she thought about his odd smile, she realized that he really was hard to fathom.
Without a certain person's presence, the huge Maple Residence instantly felt empty and became extremely quiet.
When she went back, she made her way straight to the study room and continued to work on the South River project.
Once she got busy, she forgot to have dinner until it was late at night when she received his call saying that he had reached New Jersey City. Only then, she got up exhaustedly to have a simple meal before washing up to go to sleep.
The next morning, Arya was woken up by a knock on the door. In a daze, she got up to open the door, and when she saw Bella standing outside, she was extremely shocked!
Arya stared at her with a stunned expression at the loving Bella before her and cried out involuntarily,
"Grandmother? Why are you here? And so early too?"
Bella beamed as she watched her, her smile filled with kindness.
"Did I wake you up? Last night, Xavier called me to say that I should come over to visit you if I have time. He was worried that you wouldn't be used to being alone, so I woke up early this morning and since I've got nothing much to do, I decided to come over. I made you breakfast too. Oh, Grandfather is coming over too later to take a look at that vacant space in the backyard of Maple Residence and revamp it. In a few more days when the weather gets warmer, he'll sow some flower seeds and plant some flowers. You young people don't like doing all of those..."
When she started talking, Bella became a chatterbox that did not stop. She rambled on and then realized that she had awoken her granddaughter-in-law. With a smile, she said,
"Okay, that's enough. I'll stop. You go and wash up first. Breakfast is ready, so when you're done you can come downstairs to eat."
Arya then nodded and replied,
"Mmm, okay. I'll wash up and come down right away."
"Go, go!" Bella shooed with a smile before turning to leave the room.
When she saw her figure disappear outside the door, Arya then fixed her messy hair and went back to her bedroom.
By the time she was done washing up and had gone downstairs, Bella had already prepared the bowl and chopsticks. David had come over too, and he was busy doing something at the sofa.
"Good morning, Grandfather!" She greeted.
"Oh, you're awake? Morning!"
Her sudden voice instantly startled David who was working on something and he stopped for a moment. He looked to where the sound came from and his face broke with a dear and kind smile.
"Are you getting used to living here?"
"It's going pretty well. What's this?"
Arya walked over and looked a little puzzledly at the bag that David was fumbling with.
"Last year, I collected some flower seeds from the backyard of the old residence. The flowers that blossomed looked pretty nice. Your grandmother rather likes it, and since I've got nothing to do, I'm planning to help you revamp the land in your backyard. When it blossoms, the house will be livelier," David enthused.