Chapter 9

At this moment. Patricia tugged at Mia. “We’re in no rush to do that. The rest of your brothers and

cousins are on their way here, so you can head home after you’ve met them. Home is where your

family is, right?”

Dominic gave Patricia a grateful look. If not for her love and care for Mia, Mia’s life would’ve been even

tougher. He said respectfully, “I’ve already booked us rooms here. Let’s have dinner at the restaurant.”

Mia walked together with Patricia as Dominic led the way. She noticed he wasn’t much of a talker and

seemed rather unapproachable. Still, he seemed to be quite rich!

They headed downstairs from the hotel’s rooftop. The place was lavishly decorated; Mia had never

been somewhere like this before.

Dominic’s heart twisted painfully at the thought of the old, rundown apartment Mia was going to return

to.

She looked at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. There’s just something in my eye. Mia, do you want to move somewhere else?” Dominic had

prepared several homes. He had to pick the grandest villa possible for Mia!

She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’m happy with my old home. That’s where I grew up; no villa can

compare to it. I wouldn’t swap it for the world.”

Dominic swallowed the words that were about to roll off his tongue. It made sense, really. He was the

one who’d lost Mia all those years ago, and he hadn’t fulfilled even a single one of his duties as her

older brother.

This was why she wasn’t interested in staying in the villas he had.

He said gently, “Alright, then. We’ll go with whatever you want.”

If Mia could stay there, so could he. He decided to stand by her no matter what.

Maybe he could buy the whole building, then evacuate the other units so they could have some maids

stay

with them. That way, they could serve Mia at any time.

It sounded like a perfect plan.

As they arrived at the lobby, Dominic glanced at his phone. “Mia, I’m getting a call from my wife. You

guys can

head over to the restaurant and take your seats.”

He walked to one side and answered the call. A woman’s bright and jovial voice rang out on the other

end of

the line. “Honey, I’ve brought a stack of deeds, some pearls that I’ve treasured over the years, limited-

edition

bags, and your brothers’ favorite cars. We can see what your sister likes.”

Dominic sighed. “I think we’ll have to set those aside for now.”

“Why?”

“Mia’s not as easily coaxed as I thought. Or at least, she can’t be persuaded with money!”

“I told you so, Dominic Lane. I told you to wait for me, but you insisted on heading over earlier to pick

her up. Do you think that mouth of yours is capable of spouting nice things? You guys have lost Mia for

so many

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“She must be resentful of you, and you aren’t the best at explaining things. Your presence there doesn’t

do anything!”

Dominic rubbed his forehead. “What should I do now?”

He’d just been too anxious. It just so happened that he’d been in the city for a business trip, so he’d

hurried over as quickly as possible.

“What else can you do? You’ve already ruined things. It looks like a pitiful act is the only thing that can

save you now.”

“What pitiful act?”

“I don’t know. Think about it yourself. Whatever it is, don’t let Mia know that while she’s been suffering,

you and your brothers have been enjoying life.”

On the other hand, Mia and Patricia headed to the restaurant.

Patricia felt awkward. She said lowly, “Your brother seems to be really rich. I guess that means you

won’t have to suffer anymore.”

“Things aren’t so straightforward with people from rich families, Aunt Patricia. I don’t even know why I

was abandoned. I might just be getting out of the frying pan and into the fire,” Mia said.

“Hush, don’t say that! A fortune teller once said you’d live a wonderful life.”

Mia linked arms with Patricia. “Since he sent the helicopter to pick me up, I’m guessing that means he

knows about me and Timothy.”

“No, he doesn’t. I told him you were working part-time at the villa. I knew you didn’t want to publicize

your

relationship with Timothy, so I didn’t tell anyone.”

Mia sighed in relief. That was good.

Suddenly, her adoptive parents, Mary Lancaster and Bob Bowen, burst out of nowhere and started

yelling at her. “You’re a heartless ingrate, Mia Bowen! €1

“You used to be an unwanted orphan; we were kind enough to take you into our home. But now, you’ve

found

your rich family, and you want to rid yourself of us. We’re your saviors, you know!”