Chapter 26

Timothy noticed that Mia ended up eating four pancakes, two slices of toast, and a bowl of cereal.

Did she always have such a hearty appetite?

Once breakfast was over, Laura abruptly held out an invitation. “Mia, I got you a spot as a contestant in

this competition.”

Mia looked at the invitation. It was for the Fleur International Design Competition.

Startled, she asked Laura, “When did you do this, Grandma?”

“Well, you sent me some interior design sketches a while back, and I just so happened to hear about

this competition, so I got you a spot,” Laura explained. “Give it a try. Mia. I think you’ll do a great job.”

Mia stared at the invitation with a look of melancholy. She considered joining this competition years

ago, but after marrying into the Barrett family, she devoted all of her time and attention to Timothy. In

doing so, she neglected all of her past interests.

Shelly strutted into the dining room and said casually, “Mia, that’s no ordinary competition. Considering

how unskilled you are, you shouldn’t bother joining.

“You’ll just be embarrassing yourself. Don’t humiliate the entire Barrett family along with you.”

Laura immediately snapped, “Shelly, you didn’t even graduate from college, so keep quiet!”

Ashamed that her own failures had been exposed, Shelly ran off in anger.

She recalled that the Lanes were the ones who organized the competition, so she quickly called Maya.

“Maya, are you in charge of the Fleur International Design Competition?” Shelly asked.

“That’s right. I’m in charge of a few things in the competition. Why do you ask?”

“Maya, Grandma got Mia a spot in the competition,” Shelly informed. “She’s so biased. You need to try

and find a way to stop Mia from joining the competition.”

Upon hearing that, Maya’s gaze turned cold. “That’s easy. Tomorrow’s the final day to register for the

competition. I’ll tell them to end registrations a day early.”

Shelly instantly smirked smugly. “That’d be great. I’ll head over there tomorrow to enjoy the show in

person. What’ll it be like to see the excited Mia being disappointed once she finds out the registration is

over? It’s going to be so much fun!”

Maya was smiling tauntingly as well.

“Go ahead. Remember to give me a play-by-play afterward,” Maya said before ending the call.

How could a woman like Mia, who came from a poor background, be worthy of competing against her

for Timothy?

After saying goodbye to Laura, Mia left the Barrett residence with the invitation in hand.

She heard Timothy’s footsteps coming from behind. It was followed by his voice as he asked in a

surprised

tone. “You know how to do interior designing?”

This explained why Laura had approached him in secret a few days ago. She had asked him to get a

spot in the competition for her, and he complied without giving it much thought.

He didn’t expect it to be for Mia,

Mia lowered her eyes and said nothing. Timothy barely knew anything about her, so she wasn’t

surprised that he was unaware of her interest in interior design.

“Cat got your tongue, Mia?”

Mia tucked her hair behind her ear and answered, “Nope, I don’t.”

“You’re lying.”

“Bingo! I’m not interested in telling you anything.” Mia retorted before getting into a cab and leaving.

Timothy was left standing alone. He tugged at his tie as he complained over Mia’s audacity for the

umpteenth time.

Heath got out of the car. “If we don’t leave now, you might be late for work, Mr. Barrett.”

Timothy stared in the direction where the cab had left. “Do you think she’s been provoking me on

purpose lately just to get my attention?”

After a pause, Heath responded hesitantly, “I think-”

“You think so, too, right? Well, same here,” Timothy stated.

He climbed into the car. It seemed like he had been wasting too much of his attention on Mia. It was

unusual of him.

Heath’s expression was a little complicated. He didn’t think Mia was putting on an act to get Timothy’s

attention at all.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Heath said, “Sir, if we stop paying for Mrs. Barrett’s uncle’s medical

bills, his life might be in danger. Are you sure you want to halt the payment?”

Timothy’s eyelids twitched. “Did I ask you to actually stop paying? Did you leave your brain at home or

something?”

He merely wanted to teach Mia a lesson.

Heath was speechless. Well, Timothy was the boss, so his word was the law.

Mia was still in the cab when she got a phone call from the hospital.

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Nervous, she answered the call, “Hello? Did my uncle’s condition worsen?”

The voice on the other end of the line said, “No, that’s not it. It’s been days since you’ve made payment

for the medical bills. Please come over to settle the payment for the upcoming month.”

The payment for the medical bills had been cut off?