Chapter 15 A Cheater #2
“I’m not exaggerating,” he said, leaning closer so their eyes locked. “I promise you… the only thing I want from you is that you never stop kissing me like this. Every time you kiss me, my heart races so much I can barely breathe. I don’t want anything else.”
Mia’s chest tightened with warmth and longing. Her cheeks flushed, and she smiled at him, gazing into his intense eyes. His gaze drew her in, magnetic and consuming. He leaned closer again, lips inches from hers, the sharp trill of his phone interrupted the moment.
Alexander’s expression hardened as his eyes landed on the screen, Allen’s name flashing across it. His lips pressed into a thin, tense line, twisting with irritation.
Mia giggled at his reaction. “It’s alright, Mr. Graves,” she said, brushing her fingers against his arm. “Take the call. It must be important if Allen is calling this late.”
Alexander exhaled sharply. “I need a quiet corner to talk properly,” he said, extending his hand toward her. “Let’s go.”
Mia shook her head, smiling. “I want to stay here for a bit… just look around. It’s so beautiful.” She gestured to the street, bustling with lights, chatter, and the glow of night life. “You can take the call and come back. I’ll wait for you here.”
Alexander’s lips pressed into a thin line, but the tension in his shoulders softened slightly.
“Alright, wait for me,” he said gently, brushing his fingers lightly over her cheek one last time before turning away.
He disappeared down the street, phone pressed to his ear, leaving Mia standing with the bouquet held tightly to her chest.
Her heart raced wildly, almost painful in its rhythm.
She had never felt a fluttering mix of euphoria and longing like this—every glance, every touch from Alexander sent shivers racing through her body.
She spun on her heels, eyes sweeping across the crowded street, lost in the dizzying thrill of the moment…
until a shadow fell over her, sudden and heavy, pulling her out of her reverie.
James was suddenly standing right in front of her.
Mia jolted back, breath catching in her throat. Shock ripped through her chest. Before she could even inhale properly, James’s eyes dropped to the flowers in her hands—then to the phone resting in her hand. His lips curled in anger, his jaw locking so tightly a vein pushed out against his skin.
In a blur, he snatched the flowers from her hands, sending them tumbling to the ground. Before she could even react, his fingers wrapped around her phone, eyes dark with contempt as he inspected it. Then, with terrifying calm, he slammed it onto the pavement.
His boot came down hard, crushing it beneath his heel. The screen cracked with a brutal snap, shards scattering slightly, the sound echoing sharply through the quiet night.
Mia finally snapped out of her shock.
“James! What the hell are you doing? Have you gone mad?” she cried, voice trembling with anger and disbelief as she watched him grind the phone into the pavement.
He lifted his foot off the broken pieces, breathing hard, chest rising and falling as though holding himself together by a thread. Then he slowly looked up at her, eyes burning, voice dangerously quiet.
“What is the use of this fucking phone?” His tone was low, cold, but full of a rage she had never heard from him. “I called you, and you didn’t answer. You didn’t even respond to my text?!”
Mia stared at him. Confused, stunned. “Why are you getting angry? I was busy.”
His jaw clenched, the muscles in his neck taut as a flicker of anger darkened his expression. “Busy? You’ve never been busy for me in the past five years! You never ignored my calls—no matter the hour. You always picked up!”
Mia went silent.
Then her eyes softened. Not with guilt, but with disbelief. She looked at him, and answered. “James… haven’t you always been like this?”
She stared into his eyes, unflinching.
“You don’t have the right to be angry at me for not picking up your calls… for being busy. Every single time in these five years that I reached out, you said the exact same words: ‘I’m busy. Handle your matters on your own.’ Isn’t that what you always said? On every call I made?”
She drew a deep, steadying breath before continuing. “This is the first time I’ve ever ignored your calls or texts… and you’ve completely lost your mind over it?” Her eyebrows arched.
James’s chest heaved as he stared at her, rage spiraling out of control.
He took a sharp breath and exploded, “And why the fuck is that you didn’t?” His voice thundered in the street.
“You’re having dinner with another man right in front of my eyes…
getting involved with some wild, filthy, disgusting fucker?
! Having an affair with some bastard? Do you really take me for a dead man while I’m still alive?
” James roared, chest heaving. “Your husband is still alive. I am still your goddamn husband, Mia Sinclair! And you dared to go on dates with another man?”
Mia looked at him, her brows furrowing sharply. “You are not my husband anymore,” she said firmly. “You don’t have any right to decide what I do, or whom I go out with.”
At once, the anger already burning inside James exploded into something darker and uncontrollable.
“You want to date a fucking man right in front of my eyes?” he snarled, taking a threatening step toward her. His rage was through the roof, his burning eyes locked on her as he growled each word through clenched teeth.
“Listen to me carefully, Mia Sinclair,” he snarled, tilting his head toward her, eyebrows furrowed, tension carved into his features. “You are never going to be separated from me. Not in your entire fucking lifetime!”
He stomped on the flowers scattered on the ground, crushing them beneath his heel.
“Who do you want to be with?” he demanded, voice rough. “Whoever you try to get together with… I will kill that fucking man.”
The voice was lethal, dark, filled with a rage Mia had never seen before. Before she could even draw a breath, he grabbed the back of her neck, yanking her toward him. His face dropped, and his lips crashed onto her mouth.
Mia twisted her head sharply, turning away. Her palms slapped against his shoulders, pushing hard, but he held her with brutal insistence. His hand clamped the back of her head, forcing her face toward him again as he tried to kiss her once more.
She kept turning away, resisting, pushing—his grip only getting rougher.
Finally, Mia stopped struggling.
She went completely still, her body loosening, pretending to become calm. James felt her sudden stillness and halted. His grip loosened slightly, his body easing just a fraction. She didn’t meet his eyes. She stayed silent, measured.
He leaned down again, trying to press his mouth to hers gently this time—but Mia turned her face away again.
That made him freeze.
Finally, James paused, chest heaving. His hold loosened slightly, his body relaxing just enough, his breath shaky.
Then, he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, voice low and trembling only slightly.
Mia’s eyes finally shifted back to his as he spoke.
“It was my fault.” He continued, voice softening, quieter now, filled with regret.
“I shouldn’t have avoided your calls all these years.
I shouldn’t have shrugged you off every time you reached out.
I shouldn’t have said I’m busy.” His thumb brushed gently against her ear, fingers lingering lightly on her cheek.
“We were husband and wife. I should have been a better husband to you.”
His voice softened even more, almost pleading. “I won’t do that anymore. I promise. I’ll call you. I’ll text. So please respond to me, alright?”
Mia kept her face composed. She gave him a small, quiet smile and nodded, not saying a single word.
Inside, her mind raced. ‘This ex-husband of mine has gone crazy. I can’t provoke him right now. He's turning into a maniac out of nowhere!’
James took her fingers in his hand and brought them to his mouth, kissing them softly.
Mia stared at him in quiet shock, her eyes wide.
He had never kissed her before. Not on her mouth, not on her cheek, not even a simple touch like this.
They had never been together in that way, never shared any kind of kiss, so seeing him act like this left her stunned.
The moment grew even more intense when he looked straight into her eyes while kissing her fingers.
Her breath caught, and she abruptly pulled her hand out of his grasp.
She stepped back, trying to create space, but he stepped forward again.
His hand slid around her waist, tightening as he pulled her close, and suddenly he buried his face in her neck, hugging her tightly.
Mia went completely still in his arms. Her body stiffened, her hands hanging at her sides, unsure of what to do. She didn’t hug him back. She couldn’t. She felt trapped, overwhelmed.
The longer he held her, the more uncomfortable she became. Just as she began lifting a hand to push him away, her relief came in the form of his phone ringing.
James finally pulled back slightly, breaking the hug but his hand stayed on the back of her head, keeping her close as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
Mia blinked. It was a brand new phone. Not the one she had seen him use for years. James guarded his business phone like it was a part of him, always careful with it since it contained a lot of important contacts… so seeing a different one in his hand made her stare in surprise.
But James didn’t seem to care at all. His jaw was tight, eyes dark as he lifted the phone to his ear.
“What?!” he snapped.
“Mr. Graves,” William’s voice came through. “The meeting we’ve been waiting for the past three months has finally been finalized. You need to come to the office immediately—we don’t have much time. I managed to secure one hour of their time.”