I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind-Chapter 109 - 107: They’re All Here to Join the Family
"..."
Mia Grant quickly lowered her head.
Out of sight, out of mind.
She shouldn’t have even asked.
"Hm? Why are you suddenly pretending you don’t know him?" Yates Donovan, who loved to stir the pot, continued to tease her. "Weren’t you the one calling him ’Ethan’ this and ’Ethan’ that...?"
Mia, slightly embarrassed, pinched him and grabbed his arm. "Shut up and let’s go!"
"What’s the rush?" Yates deliberately slowed down, letting her drag him along at an unhurried pace, like an old man on a stroll.
"Leaving without saying hello is just too rude, don’t you think?"
"I’m begging you, my lord! Stop provoking him! You alone are enough of a headache for me." ’If I didn’t need something from him, I would never have brought him here, not in a million years.’
"Besides, my older brother is here. Among you guys, only my second brother is low-maintenance. If we add Kian Keller to the mix..."
"Isn’t that perfect? We were short one for a mahjong table. Add him, and we’ll have a full set."
"Should I leave, then?"
"You can be the referee. Though I can’t say if there’d be any shady dealings, seeing as you have such double standards."
Mia turned and stomped hard on his foot.
Yates yelped. "Angry already? Just think of it as getting acquainted in advance. After all, we’re all here to join this big family. We’ll have to coexist peacefully in the future."
"Don’t worry, I’ve always been magnanimous. I can tolerate them."
’...Peaceful coexistence my ass.’
Mia’s mouth twitched violently. "The lot of you together would be enough to blow up the planet!"
Yates raised an eyebrow, amused by her description. "And whose fault is that?"
"Yours."
"Why is it my fault?" He clicked his tongue. "It’s not like I’m the one who made you get involved with them..."
"If you hadn’t broken off the engagement in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this situation."
"..."
Mia pulled him toward the exit, not breaking her stride.
She had only said it casually, not noticing at all that as the words left her mouth, the smile on the face of the man behind her froze.
In an instant, the smile vanished. He stared at her back, his expression unreadably complex.
Yates remained silent all the way to the car.
Mia was looking down, composing a message for Hayes Hughes.
Her attention was completely on her phone, and for a moment, she missed the unrestrained, fiery gaze of the man beside her.
Yates stared at her, his gaze so scorching it felt like it could burn a hole right through her.
Even so, she didn’t spare him a single glance.
Mia sent the message, then finally found a moment to look at him.
"Is something wrong?"
Yates shook his head. "You do your thing."
"...Then can you please stop staring at me?"
"No," he said. "I’m desensitizing myself."
Mia thought she’d misheard him. "What?"
He didn’t answer. He just propped up his head and turned to the side, facing her with a lazy posture. His eyes, like the brilliant stars outside the window, were fixed on her face.
Even after being caught, he didn’t look away.
He was brazenly direct.
He wasn’t sizing her up; he was simply looking.
Mia felt goosebumps break out on her skin.
She didn’t know what he was up to, and she couldn’t be bothered to ask again.
"We’ll go to the hotel first. Don’t let the Hughes Family find out I’m in Portia. Tomorrow afternoon, my older brother will be at the bidding conference with your second uncle."
"When the time comes, you need to find a way to get me in. I need to see him."
Mia pointed to the car following them. He hadn’t asked a single question, but she couldn’t just say nothing.
"The reason I had you bring people with us is simple. The moment the Hughes Family finds out I’m here, they will definitely make a move against me."
"So that ride-share car in Jynsia last time... that was the Hughes Family too?" Yates’s reaction was swift.
"Yes," Mia nodded. "They were that brazen in Jynsia. I’ll be in even more danger here in Portia."
Seeing his thoughtful expression, she paused before saying softly, "I know this isn’t exactly fair to you. You can still go back now."
"Isn’t it a little late to be telling me to go back now?" Yates laughed. "If you truly didn’t want me involved, you would have said so long ago. There was no need to wait until now."
"You little rascal," he said with a laugh. There was no blame in his voice, only a hint of affection.
He had seen right through her, but she wasn’t even embarrassed. Mia just rubbed her nose. "Well, what can I do? I really can’t handle this on my own."
"Last time, if I hadn’t been taken away by your second uncle’s men by some strange twist of fate, I’d already be dead."
"You’ve probably heard about the Hughes family’s old master and his methods. Once he’s decided to kill someone, he won’t let them go."
"If you know it’s dangerous, why come? Do you really expect to save Silas Grant by yourself?"
Yates sighed, a helpless look in his eyes. "Sometimes I really don’t know what goes on in that little head of yours."
"The entire Hughes Family is counting on Silas. Do you really think the old master would kill him?"
"I don’t know."
"But it’s a fact that he’s injured right now."
After a moment of silence, Mia turned to face him. "The dream I mentioned earlier, do you remember it?"
The man nodded.
"In the dream, the lion’s wound... it was in the exact same place as the wound you described on Silas."
"So?"
"So, I’m worried their fates will be the same."
Yates blinked.
Mia pressed her lips together. "I know it sounds absurd, and you probably think it’s just a dream and I’m overthinking things, but you have to believe me, I..."
A male voice cut straight through her flustered words. "I believe you."
Mia’s eyelashes fluttered as she looked at him in disbelief.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He tilted his head, the corners of his mouth lifting. "I’ve always been a firm believer in a woman’s intuition."
He hadn’t asked any questions.
She had wanted to do this, so he had simply come along.
No reason given.
And none was needed.
"Of course, even without the dream, I wouldn’t have doubted you."
Hearing this, Mia swallowed hard.
Across from her, Yates had a smile in his eyes, still wearing that same flippant, punchable expression.
And yet, this was the kind of person who, in this very moment, didn’t make her feel the slightest bit of unease.
Instead, she had the distinct feeling that no matter what choice she made at the next crossroads, he would walk that path with her.
Even if it were a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, he would laugh and jump in with her.
’She even found herself thinking that if Yates had been there on the sea that day, if he had watched her jump... even if he could have saved her, he probably wouldn’t have reached out a hand in the end.’
’He might have even smiled and congratulated her. Congratulated her on finally escaping her sea of suffering.’
’Then he’d wave and say casually, "See you in a bit."’
He was just that kind of crazy... romantic.
Mia suddenly realized something.
Was it possible that in this world, it was everyone else who was abnormal, not Yates Donovan?
He had been normal all along.
It was just that when murkiness becomes the norm, clarity becomes a sin.
"Speaking of which, I think I’ve dreamed a similar story myself."
"Huh?" Mia snapped back to reality. "What did you dream about?"
Yates thought back carefully. "I don’t remember the details clearly," he said after a moment. "I think there was a woman."
"And then?"
"And then? Same as your dream. She died."
"How did she die?" Mia sat up straight, tense.
But she only saw Yates grin, his well-defined fingers tracing a line across his neck. "Like this. With one slice from me..."
