James fed some nourishing food to Amelia and coaxed her to eat more before carrying her to the home theater.
Amelia thought the basement of this villa was a parking lot, but it turned out to be an entire theater.
Looking at the home theater, which was several times larger than an IMAX theater, she was stunned for a moment before slowly turning to James.
"Do you like watching movies?" she asked.
James glanced at her and replied, "No, I don't like it."
He had it specially modified while in the hospital because he was afraid she would get bored staying at home in the future.
After carrying Amelia to the double leather sofa, he turned on the theater and asked, "Amelia, what do you like to watch?"
She stared at the giant screen and pointed at a movie randomly.
After James pressed the play button and turned off the lights, he sat beside her. He hugged her waist tightly and watched the movie with her.
For the first few minutes of the movie, it was normal. But it became a little abnormal as it progressed, seemingly an R-rated film...
When James saw the extremely explicit scenes on the screen, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
He withdrew his gaze and lowered his head. He looked at Amelia, whose face was more flushed than usual. He grinned, "I didn't know you like watching this kind of movie."
Amelia quickly shook her head in disbelief, "No, I didn't know this movie was..."
James lifted his slender finger to cover her rosy lips, and questioned, "Amelia, do you want to try the positions they taught in the movie?"
What did he mean by that?
It was something used in filming, how could it be used as teaching material? Moreover, she really didn't know this movie was R-rated!
Amelia felt wronged and aggrieved, but James was already eager to do so. It was unfair...
After exhausting her, the man picked her up and held her close, placing a blanket over the small back of her. She was covered in sweat as he kissed her hair and asked, "Amelia, should we do it again tonight?"
Amelia shook her head weakly, remembering something important. In a hoarse voice, she said, "I didn't take my birth control pills, could you give them to me?"
Upon hearing this, his fingers tapping her back suddenly stopped, and he froze.
Waves of intense pain emanated from his fingertips, causing him to tremble all over.
He gently lifted her chin and looked into her hazy eyes. "You don't need to take those pills anymore," he said firmly.
Amelia lacked the strength to shake her head, only staring at him with a hint of doubt. "But what if I get pregnant?" she asked.
Without hesitation, he replied, "We'll keep it. I can raise as many children as you want."
Amelia furrowed her brows lightly. "Keep it?" she repeated.
Seeing that she seemed reluctant to have his child, the man's expression darkened.
"Are you afraid?" he asked.
Amelia nodded slightly. She wasn't prepared to become a mother yet, so of course she was afraid.
Thinking that she was afraid of letting Ryan find out, his heartache returned, making it hard for him to breathe. He took a few deep breaths, suppressing the pain in his fingers, and hugged Amelia tightly. As if he wanted to merge her into his flesh and blood. He used all his strength to embrace her. It was he held onto her tightly, he would never lose her.
Amelia felt that him holding her made her feel uneasy. She forced her drowsy eyes open and looked at his pale face.
"James, what's wrong?" she asked, thinking that he was having breathing difficulty.
As she reached out to touch his abdomen, the man grabbed her wrist with a crazed look in his eyes. He flipped her over and pinned her down on the leather couch. This time with a stronger force than before.
Amelia stared at him, who was unpredictable. It was as if she saw the old James. At that time, he was unpredictable as sometimes he would be good, and sometimes bad.
She was a little scared of him being like this, but she didn't choose to be silent like before. Instead, she looked for the reasons herself.
She repeatedly recalled the conversation they had just had and slowly understood...
She said to the man kissing her, "James, it's not that I don't want your children. I just haven't prepared for it myself mentally. Please don't misunderstand."
The man who had been rough on her stopped abruptly when he heard her explanation. A trace of guilt gradually appeared in his eyes.
He hugged Amelia, feeling a little powerless, burying his head in her neck.
"Amelia, I'm sorry. It's my fault..."
It was him who didn't feel secure. He was afraid that one day she would leave him without hesitation.
This uneasy emotion tortured him, making him feel unreal even when he has her.
It was as if it was all a dream that would eventually burst like a bubble. It was just a matter of time...
Seeing his unease, Amelia took the initiative to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him on the lips.
"James, I'm already with you. Please don't be anxious anymore..."
She initiated the kiss, calling out his name softly as she did before...
James was stunned, staring at the woman in front of him who was awkwardly kissing him for a few seconds before lowering his head to deepen the kiss.
Amelia was right. She was already with him, there was no need to be anxious anymore...
She woke up in a sunny room, feeling like she had slept soundly and had regained some energy. She instinctively turned her head, but she didn't see the familiar figure, only hearing the sound of running water from the bathroom...
Watching the tall figure reflected on the frosted glass, Amelia's lips curved slightly.
She got out of bed and picked up her bathrobe. When she was about to go to another bathroom to take a shower when her phone, which was scattered on the ground, suddenly rang.
Amelia and Neil had been in contact for the past half month. However, James didn't allow Neil to come over. So, the two could only communicate through their phones.
After Amelia walked out of the bedroom with her phone, she asked Neil, "Has the person in charge at the National Space Administration been replaced?"
Foreigners seem to work rather slowly. After Ryder was fired, the National Space Administration planned to change the project leader.
However, half a month had passed and it still wasn't done, so Amelia didn't start designing.
She needed to communicate with the other side clearly about what style was required in order to design according to the customer's requirements.
This project was not like the award-winning work her sister did in a competition, which could be designed freely.
Neil replied, "It's been changed. I'll go to the National Space Administration to communicate with them today. When it's confirmed, I'll send you all the requirements."
Amelia nodded, "Then I'll go buy some paper and some tools to prepare for the sketch."
Neil responded, "Okay."
When he was about to hang up the phone, he seemed to remember something all of a sudden. He uttered suspiciously, "It seems that Ryder didn't get fired, but disappeared. The people at the National Space Administration reported it to the police, but they still haven't found him..."
Amelia was shocked when she heard this and turned to look in the direction of the bedroom. On the night when Ryder drugged her drink, she vaguely saw James kick Ryder and said something to him.
However, she was not conscious at the time. She also did not hear what James ordered the bodyguards to do...
She had always thought that Ryder was just being taught a lesson and then got fired, but she didn't expect him to disappear.
Amelia had some understanding of James's methods, but she didn't want to dwell on it and simply continued, "Maybe he left Washington."
Neil didn't care about this and just replied to her with "bye" before hanging up the phone.
As soon as Amelia exited the contact list interface, Eva called her on video.
Amelia answered the call and saw Eva was holding a cigarette in one hand and her phone in the other, leaning against a bar in the video.
"Amelia, you've been in Washington for over half a month. Do you miss me?" Eva asked with a grin.
"Of course," Amelia replied with a smile, noticing the cigarette in her friend's hand and advising her, "Eva, you should smoke less."
Eva had a heavy smoking habit. She had only quit for a few days before starting again. It was better for women to smoke and drink less, but Eva didn't care about that.
"I only smoke good quality cigarettes, which won't harm my body. Don't worry," Eva explained with a raised eyebrow.
Amelia sighed deeply and asked, "Eva, have you been okay in the past half month?"
Eva glared at her with her bright eyes. "You only remember me now? I don't even know what you've been doing during this time. I messaged you and it took you half a day to reply..."
Amelia felt a little embarrassed and lowered her head. "I..."
"Wait!" Eva interrupted her.
Eva looked like she had discovered something as she stared at the exposed neck of Amelia through the screen. Her eyes widened. "What are those red patches on your neck?"
Amelia's face turned red instinctively upon hearing this and she hurriedly pulled up her nightgown to cover her neck. However, the nightgown seemed to be against her and just as she pulled it up, it became loose and fell down.
Eva had sharp eyes and saw how embarrassed Amelia was, so she deliberately teased her, "Were you bitten by mosquitoes?"
Amelia opened her mouth to explain but Eva interrupted her meaningfully, "I didn't expect the mosquitoes in Washington to be so big."
Amelia laughed at her teasing, and her shyness faded a bit, but she didn't know how to bring up the topic to Eva..
Eva knew that James was in Washington, and could see from Amelia's expression what had happened between the two during this time. "Have you two made up?"
Amelia, who was seen through by Eva, no longer concealed it and nodded slightly at the video. Seeing this, Eva felt relieved because she knew that Amelia still loved James, and that he loved her too.
They had cleared up their misunderstandings and barriers. Sooner or later they would be together. However, while Eva was happy for Amelia, she also had some worries. She was afraid that Amelia would be hurt again.
After all, someone like James would find it difficult to stay in a marriage.
But Eva didn't say her thoughts out loud. She always felt that James loved Amelia so much that he would overcome all difficulties and marry her.
Putting aside her worries, she looked at the hickeys on Amelia's neck and advised her, "Be moderate and don't come back with a son-in-law for me."
The blush that had just faded from Amelia's face was instantly brought back by Eva's words.
"Eva, can you please not be so casual about it?"
With her sharp, manicured fingernail, Eva pointed at Amelia's neck on the screen and retorted, "Look at yourself, who's the casual one?"
Amelia's face turned as red as a tomato. She was about to argue with Eva when a familiar figure appeared on the video.
The man in the white suit reached over and took the cigarette from Eva's hand, crushed it, and threw it into the trash can before looking down at her.
"How many times have I told you not to smoke? Why don't you listen?" he argued.
When Amelia saw Paul suddenly appear on the other end of the video, she froze in place.
Eva was even more surprised than she was. She didn't expect Paul to come to the nightclub, let alone speak to her.
Since their last unpleasant encounter at the nightclub, they hardly spoke to each other. It seemed like they had become strangers.
But after several months, Paul had condescended to visit her nightclub again and had taken her cigarette just like before.
This made Eva feel puzzled...
In fact, she had seen him at the hospital with a beautiful woman who seemed pregnant. Him being extremely careful to support her was a clear sign that he had impregnated her and was accompanying her to the gynecology to have an abortion.
Although he changed girlfriends frequently, he was always very focused on his current girlfriend. Why would he come to her if he already had someone new?
Eva was full of doubts, but Paul didn't show any expression. He just glanced up at Amelia on the video.
"Ms. Garcia, I'm going to borrow your friend for a bit."
He hung up the phone as soon as he finished speaking.
Amelia slowly came back to her senses as she looked at the end of the call screen...
The situation between Eva and Paul was complicated to say the least.
Amelia had asked Eva about her thoughts on Paul, but she had only said that it was a chance encounter.
But after three years of being together, was it really just a chance encounter?
Amelia thought about it, and decided that she should not interfere.
She put down her phone and supported herself on the revolving staircase as she went downstairs.
Her body was almost falling apart these past few days. Her going down the stairs even made her legs ache.
Step by step, she moved to the living room downstairs and found two servants who were cleaning. She began asking them about some shops nearby.
When the servants noticed that she wanted to leave the villa, they hurriedly asked her, "Ms. Garcia, what do you need? We can go buy it for you."
Amelia knew that James must have instructed them not to let her leave the house alone. Thus, she didn't say much and just told the servants everything she needed for her drawing.
After hearing her list, the servants respectfully replied, "Ms. Garcia, Mr. Evans' study has all these things, you can just go there to get them."
After hearing that everything she needed was in the study, she thanked the servants and headed towards the study.
When she opened the door to the study, rows of bookshelves and cabinets appeared in her eyes. She was shocked.
It seemed that James was well-educated and knew many languages, which had a lot to do with the cultural influence he had received since childhood.
After admiring for a moment, Amelia walked to the bookshelf and searched for the drawing tools she needed.
She couldn't find them after a few rounds, so she turned and walked towards the row of cabinets, opening them one by one and looking down to find what she needed.
She couldn't find them until she opened the last cabinet.
The top shelf was filled with all kinds of drawings, pens, and rulers that she needed.
She picked a few and was about to leave, but when she closed the cabinet and noticed something familiar on the bottom shelf.
Amelia put down the tools in her hand and proceeded to open the bags. She noticed the things she had lost before immediately.
An album of her sister, Neil's golden paintbrush, bank card, and various sketches...
As these things appeared before her eyes, Amelia was completely stunned in place...
With clear and bright eyes fixed on the objects, Amelia looked stunned for a moment before she reached out and closed the bag. There was not a hint of hesitation on her rosy fair face. It seemed that once she made a decision, she would not easily change it over something trivial.
She was well aware that the reason James didn't hand the lost items he found to her right away was because he didn't want her to leave so soon. Plus, she had already made up her mind when he disregarded his own safety to protect her and showed concern for her.
Since they had chosen to give each other one more chance, there was no need to pay attention to these small details...
After placing the bag back in its original position, Amelia returned the drawing tools she had found back to the bookshelf.
If she took these tools away, James would definitely find out. So she pretended that she hadn't seen anything.
Amelia was nowhere to be seen when James came out of the bathroom. He panicked and went downstairs in no time.
A group of servants saw his frosty appearance and were frightened, cowering to one side and not daring to make a sound.
James surveyed the surroundings but still didn't see Amelia's figure. His handsome face turned pale with anger. "Didn't I tell you not to let her leave alone?"
His cold yet angry tone made the servants understand why he got angry out of the blue. "Mr. Evans..."
The servant who had just spoken to Amelia trembled while stepping forward. "Ms. Garcia hasn't left. She's in the study looking for drawing tools."
Upon hearing this, James' anger subsided, replaced by extreme panic. He clenched his fists and headed towards the study quickly, where he saw Amelia walking out. His footsteps faltered, and he suddenly dared not approach her. The panic in his eyes made him look dull and lifeless.
Amelia's serene and gentle face didn't show much emotional fluctuation, but the corner of her mouth lifted upward, smiling gently at him.
"I was told that there were drawing tools in the study, but I searched everywhere and couldn't find them. Can you help me look for them, James?"
Upon hearing this, James' tense expression slowly relaxed. His tightly clenched fingers loosened bit by bit. He walked over and hugged Amelia, tucking her body into his. His anxious heart was still unable to calm down.
He lifted her up and pressed her against the wall. He lowered his head and kissed her lips fiercely, with his hazy eyes full of affection for the petite woman in front of him.
"Amelia, remember, no matter what happens, I'm doing this because I love you."