Nick spent the entire night in Xena’s room.

Mia hadn’t gone out of her way to notice this but Mrs. Zimmer, the housekeeper, had eagerly pulled her into the backyard early that morning to share this “important information” in hushed tones.

“Ma’am, you’ve got to start paying attention!” Mrs. Zimmer said anxiously. “That shameless little vixen, Miss Quinn, is clearly here to seduce Mr. Ford! You wouldn’t believe what she was wearing last night. I couldn’t even look!”

Mia smiled faintly. “You’re overthinking it. Miss Quinn and Nick grew up together, and he holds her in high regard. Please don’t speak badly of her again. Nick wouldn’t be happy if he heard you.”

Mrs. Zimmer froze, her expression bewildered. She looked Mia up and down before hesitantly asking, “Ma’am, what’s going on with you?”

“I’m fine,” Mia replied with a smile. “I’m doing great.”

But that smile looked like a mask welded onto her face.

She would keep smiling. She wouldn’t cry anymore.

“No, something’s definitely off with you today!” Mrs. Zimmer said with certainty. “You used to call Mr. Ford affectionately as ‘Nicky,’ but now you’re using his name—Nick!”

Mia lowered her long, dark lashes and stayed silent.

In truth, when she first got together with Nick, she didn’t call him “Nicky” either. Like his friends, she used to call him “Nick.”

It wasn’t until their first night together that he made her call him “Nicky.”

That night, he had pinned her to the bed, blindfolded her with a strip of black cloth, and, while roughly pulling her hair, demanded she call him “Nicky” over and over.

For the longest time, Mia thought “Nicky” was a special name just for her to use, a sign of their intimacy. The thought had secretly made her happy for quite a while.

It wasn’t until yesterday, when she heard Xena call him “Nicky,” that she realized the truth.

No wonder he had blindfolded her that night.

Her eyes didn’t look like Xena’s.

But her voice sounded similar, so he made her call him “Nicky,” over and over again, as if that was all that mattered.

“Mrs. Zimmer,” Mia said softly, resting a hand on her shoulder, “in a place like this, the most important thing is to focus on your work and keep your thoughts to yourself. Please don’t say anything bad about Miss Quinn anymore.”

She would be leaving soon, and Xena would take her place as the lady of the house.

If Mrs. Zimmer offended Xena, she would certainly pay the price later.

After advising Mrs. Zimmer, Mia went upstairs to grab the divorce papers and then headed to Nick’s study.

Nick was busy working but scoffed when he saw her walk in. “Finally realized you were wrong?”

“Yes,” Mia said flatly. If he said she was wrong, then she would let it be. She was too tired to argue, especially since it would all be over in a few days.

“If you’d figured that out sooner, none of this would’ve been necessary!” Nick said irritably, his tone sharp. He pulled a finely crafted gift box out of a drawer and tossed it onto the desk in front of her. “Here’s a belated birthday gift. Open it.”

Mia wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but her instincts told her that if she refused, Nick would only get angry.

She still needed him to sign the divorce papers, so it was better not to provoke him. Silently, she accepted the gift without a word.

Just then, Nick’s phone rang. Out of the corner of her eye, Mia saw the caller ID—Xena.

Nick glanced at her, then pulled a pair of headphones from the drawer and put them on.

He answered the call, and the cold indifference in his eyes was immediately replaced with a smile. His tone softened, a stark contrast to how he spoke to Mia.

Mia placed the divorce papers on the desk in front of him. “Please sign these.”

Without so much as glancing at them, Nick scribbled his signature and went right back to his call with Xena, his voice warm and affectionate.

Mia frowned slightly, hesitating before asking, “Aren’t you going to check what you just signed?”

“No need,” Nick replied impatiently. “It’s just about hiring foreign specialists for your mom’s treatment, right? Take care of it yourself. If there’s anything that needs my signature, just give it to Assistant Wilson to pass on to me. And stop calling me over nothing. Do you have any idea how many important calls I missed last time because you wouldn’t stop blowing up my phone?”

Mia’s mother, Charlie Larson, had passed away a week ago.

She had been in the late stages of brain cancer. Despite Nick’s arrangements for her to stay in the best hospital in the country, her condition continued to deteriorate day by day.

Her moments of clarity grew shorter, and her confusion lasted longer. Most of the time, she couldn’t even recognize Mia.

The attending doctor had warned that they couldn’t delay any longer. A surgery was necessary. Otherwise, Charlie might not make it through the week.

Mia didn’t know what to do. She called Nick, hoping to get his advice.

The first three calls went unanswered, and when he finally picked up on the fourth, he lashed out before she could even speak. “Why are you calling for no reason? I’m busy! Stop bothering me!”

The attending doctor, knowing Mia was Nick’s wife, suggested having Nick bring in foreign specialists to collaborate with the domestic team for a medical consultation. This would increase the chances of a successful surgery.

Mia thanked the doctor, then sat in the hospital corridor with her phone, counting the seconds and minutes until 6 p.m.—Nick’s usual time to leave work.

Summoning her courage, she called him again.

He didn’t pick up. She reasoned he might be working late and decided to wait a bit longer.

This time, she waited until midnight before calling, but no matter how many times she tried, the line wouldn’t connect.

It took her a moment to realize the truth. Nick had blocked her.

For the next week, Nick didn’t come home. Her calls didn’t go through, and her messages went unanswered. Meanwhile, Charlie missed the optimal window for surgery and passed away.

Was Nick really that busy?

So busy that he still found the time, in that same week, to pick out welcome-home gifts for Xena and order her a birthday cake?

Mia couldn’t let herself think about it any longer. She closed her eyes, steadying her trembling hands as she clutched the divorce papers. Without another word, she left the study.

At lunchtime, Mrs. Zimmer prepared a table full of delicious dishes. But Jenna, who had come over to mooch a meal, started nitpicking right away before even sitting down.

“Mia, didn’t you usually do the cooking? Why didn’t you cook today?” Jenna asked provocatively. “Is it because Xena moved in? Do you think you’re too important now to cook for her?”

Hearing this, Nick’s expression darkened, and he cast a cold, piercing glance at Mia, clearly waiting for her response.

How ironic, Mia thought bitterly. Even as his wife, she didn’t have the right to refuse cooking for his "one true love."

“I’m better at making spicy dishes,” Mia said softly, lowering her gaze. “Miss Quinn prefers lighter flavors. I was afraid she wouldn’t like what I make.”

“Then why not just skip the chili?” Jenna shot back, still dissatisfied.

“Jenna, don’t be like that,” Xena interjected, stepping in with a gentle smile. “Mia is your sister-in-law, and you should treat her with respect. Besides, I think Mrs. Zimmer’s cooking tastes wonderful…”

Before Xena could finish her sentence, she suddenly frowned and clutched her stomach, her face contorting in pain.

“Xena, what’s wrong?” Nick exclaimed, rushing to her side immediately to steady her.

“Nicky, my stomach hurts,” Xena whispered weakly, her face pale as she collapsed into his arms, looking delicate and helpless.

Nick frowned deeply. “How could your stomach hurt all of a sudden?”

Jenna’s face lit up with dramatic realization as she pointed accusingly at Mia. “Oh, I get it! No wonder you refused to cook today. You must’ve drugged Xena! You’ve been feeling guilty, so you stayed out of the kitchen on purpose!”

The accusation came out of nowhere, leaving Mia feeling helpless. “If I haven’t stepped into the kitchen all day, how could I have had the chance to drug Miss Quinn?” she said calmly.

“Just because you didn’t go into the kitchen doesn’t mean you couldn’t bribe someone who did,” Jenna sneered. “When I came over this morning, I saw you and Mrs. Zimmer acting all secretive in the garden. Now that I think about it, you were probably plotting to poison Xena!”

“Heavens, Miss Ford! You can’t just make baseless accusations like that!” Mrs. Zimmer exclaimed, panicked. “I’m just a housekeeper. How could I dare poison someone?”

“Then what were you and Mia whispering about in the garden this morning?” Jenna pressed, unwilling to let it go.

“I…” Mrs. Zimmer glanced at Mia nervously, unsure of how to respond. With Nick and Xena present, she couldn’t possibly repeat the conversation from that morning.

“Can’t answer, can you? I knew it! You two are definitely up to something!” Jenna declared smugly. “Xena, should I call the police for you? Tampering with food is practically attempted murder!”

The mention of calling the police made Xena’s face contort with even more pain. Clutching Nick’s hand, she cried out, “Nick, it hurts so much! Am I going to die? I’m so scared!”

Seeing Xena in such agony, Nick didn’t hesitate. He scooped her up into his arms and rushed toward the door. “Get the car ready! We’re going to the hospital now!”

Before leaving, he shot Mia a furious glare. “I’ll deal with you when I get back!”

Mrs. Zimmer, completely shaken, started to cry. “Ma’am, what are we going to do? I didn’t poison Miss Quinn. I swear I didn’t! I’m just trying to make an honest living. I would never do something like this!”

Mia knew Mrs. Zimmer couldn’t have been the one to poison Xena.

But Mrs. Zimmer was the one who cooked the meal, and unless she implicated someone else, Nick would never let her off the hook.

“When Nick comes back, just say I was the one who told you to do it if he interrogates you,” Mia said calmly. “It’s fine, don’t be afraid. Blame everything on me.”

“But how could I do that?” Mrs. Zimmer exclaimed, panicking. “Ma’am, we didn’t do anything wrong! We can’t just confess to something we didn’t do!”

Mia gave a bitter smile. She had already realized over the past few days that whether she admitted to it or not didn’t matter. Nick had already decided she was guilty. Her outcome would be the same either way.

Since that was the case, it was better to sacrifice herself and protect someone else. She couldn’t let an innocent person take the blame.

“Do as I say,” Mia said firmly, her tone unusually resolute. “Don’t worry. I have a plan. Nothing will happen to me.”

After an entire night at the hospital, Nick finally returned home with Xena in the early hours of the morning.

The moment he stepped through the door, he launched into an interrogation. “Mia, you’re pretty clever, aren’t you? You knew Xena was allergic to peanuts, so you ground them into powder and sprinkled them in her soup. Do you have any idea that if I hadn’t rushed her to the hospital in time, she could’ve died tonight?

“Mrs. Zimmer already confessed that you ordered her to do it. So, what do you have to say for yourself? I’m giving you one chance. Why did you do it?”

Mia lifted her head and glanced at Xena.

Xena’s pale face looked even more fragile as she lay on the bed, weak and pitiful. “Mia, I don’t believe you’d try to hurt me. You must have had your reasons, didn’t you?”

Mia let out a quiet laugh. Looking Xena straight in the eyes, she spoke calmly.

“Thank you for trusting me. I didn’t hurt you, and I have no idea why Mrs. Zimmer would accuse me. Why don’t we call the police? Let them investigate thoroughly. My words might not hold weight, but the findings of the police surely will.”