While My Husband Cheated, I Married His Powerful Brother

Chapter 164 Mia’s Curiosity

Chapter 164: Chapter 164 Mia’s Curiosity

The heavy silence in the private room felt thick enough to choke on.

Xander’s question was still sitting right there between us, sharp and heavy. Him or me?

I looked him straight in the eyes. I kept my voice flat and even, not giving him a single thing to hold onto. "I’m not worthy of the honor."

Xander narrowed his eyes, his jaw tightening so hard I could hear his teeth grind. "What honor?"

"Being your wife."

He just stared at me. I could see his fingers trembling against the wood of the table, his breath coming in low and rough. "You’re rejecting me. Again."

"Yes."

The palm of his hand slammed down onto the tabletop so hard the water glasses jumped. The heavy ceramic plates rattled, and Mia let out a small gasp, pulling back.

Xander leaned over the table, getting right in my space. "Then tell me about Dr. Harrison. What’s your real relationship with him?"

"I’m not going to discuss that," I said, keeping my tone entirely blank.

A dark red stain crept up his neck and into his face. "Why the hell not?"

"Because it’s none of your business."

His hands curled into tight fists. His chest heaved, and for a second, I thought he was about to rip the room apart. He was right on the edge of blowing up.

Then the heavy door pushed open.

A waiter stepped in carrying a massive tray loaded down with hot steaming dishes, soup bowls, and big platters of meat.

Xander swallowed whatever rage he was about to spit out and forced himself back into his seat. His voice turned ice-cold as he looked at the worker. "Put it on the table."

reached down, set everything out as fast as he could, and practically sprinted back out the door.

Xander grabbed a pair of chopsticks. He began stuffing food into his mouth, his jaw working overtime, not saying another word to anyone.

Nobody talked while we ate.

Xander shoved his food down fast, his movements sharp and aggressive, keeping his eyes glued to his plate the entire time.

I picked at a piece of fish, but I couldn’t really force myself to swallow much. My stomach felt like it was tied in tight knots.

Mia had the paper contract laid out in front of her. Her index finger moved along the fine print line by line, her lips moving silently as she checked every clause.

Finally, she turned over the last page and took a small breath. " layout is fine," she whispered, her voice still a little shaky. "Everything is legally in order."

I turned to her. "Are you completely sure?"

Mia paused, real worry written all over her face. "I think so. It looks right, but my nerves are still shot."

I reached over and laid my hand gently across her arm. "It’s going to be fine, Mia."

She looked up at me, her eyes wide. "Are you really sure?"

"Yes."

I pulled the contract toward me, clicked open my pen, and wrote my name across the bottom line. The dark ink soaked right into the thick paper.

I pushed the papers back across the polished table. "Your turn."

Xander dropped his chopsticks onto his plate with a loud clatter.

He pulled the papers toward himself, scanned the bottom page, and signed his name with a few harsh strokes. Then he shoved the document back into the middle of the table.

I pulled out my phone, tapped open my banking app, and put through the wire transfer. Half a year’s rent up front. Two hundred and seventy thousand dollars.

The screen flashed green with the confirmation code.

A second later, Xander’s phone buzzed on the tablecloth. He pulled it up, checked the notification, and gave a stiff nod. "The money is through."

I slid my phone back into my bag and zipped it up. "Then we’re done here."

Xander stood right up, pulling down his jacket to smooth out the wrinkles. "When you finally open the shop," he said, staring down at me, "let me know. I’ll make sure to send a flower basket."

"Thank you," I said flatly.

He turned and headed for the door. As he walked past Leon, he stopped for just a second. His eyes went cold and mean, and his voice dropped low. "You’re lucky she’s standing right here."

Leon didn’t even blink. He just stared straight ahead and said nothing at all.

Xander pulled the door open and walked out into the hall.

The moment the door clicked shut, Mia let out a long, heavy breath. Her knees gave out completely, and she crashed back into her chair like a sack of rocks.

"My legs are like jelly," she groaned, clutching her knees.

I looked down at her. "Are you okay?"

"I don’t even know." She rubbed her forehead, her hands visibly trembling. "I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my entire life."

I pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. "He’s gone. It’s over."

"I know he’s gone. But it still feels like he’s going to pop out from around the corner."

I put a firm hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "He won’t. We’re safe."

Mia took a few deep breaths, trying to pull herself together. She nodded her head slow and steady.

Then she turned her head and looked right at me, a strange look in her eyes. "Veyra," she said softly. "How do you even do that?"

"Do what?"

"How do you stay so calm when you’re dealing with someone like him? He looks like he could snap a person in half."

I went quiet for a second, looking at the empty tea cup in front of me.

"Because I know how to handle him," I said. "As long as his mother is still breathing, he isn’t going to pull anything crazy on us."

Mia blinked, looking confused. "His mother?"

"He needs Dr. Harrison. His mother has a bad heart, and it could fail on her any day. If Dr. Harrison isn’t there to manage it, she won’t make it."

Mia’s eyes went wide as she put the pieces together. "So he actually needs you."

"Exactly," I said, keeping my voice steady. "That’s what gives me leverage."

Mia sat there in silence for a moment, letting that sink in.

Then she shook her head, a faint smile touching her face. "You really are something else."

"I’m just doing what I have to do."

Mia let out a tiny laugh. It was nervous, but it was genuine enough to break the rest of the tension in the room.

She leaned back in her seat and looked at me, her eyes softening up. "You know, I had no idea you were actually married."

My eyebrows went up. "What?"

"You never said a word about it. Not once before today."

I looked down at my hands on the table. "I wasn’t trying to hide anything," I said quietly. "It just never really came up."

Mia tilted her head, watching me closely. "So who is he, really?"

I hesitated. I wasn’t sure how much I should actually spill to her right now.

"My whole life kind of flipped upside down recently," I said, trying to find the right words. "I used to just be normal, living an ordinary life. But things got complicated really fast."

Mia was hanging on every word, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Complicated how?"

I opened my mouth to explain, but nothing came out, so I closed it again. I didn’t even know where to start without making myself sound like I was out of my mind.

While My Husband Cheated, I Married His Powerful Brother

Please describe your opinion