Page 115 of Surrendering to the Obsession

The anger softened. Her eyes warmed. Her mouth fell open in surprise before curling into a bright, dazzling smile—as if she hadn’t just threatened to marry Sawyer’s sister two minutes ago.

She turned to Mia sweetly.

“Oh! Hi! I’m his wife, Ellie. Nice to meet you.”

Mia blinked, taken aback by the sudden transformation. But Ellie’s smile was so radiant and harmless that Mia couldn’t help smiling back.

“Hi,” she replied shyly, returning the smile.

***

“So… after that night, when you looked out the window the next day, he wasn’t there anymore?” Hazel asked. She walked beside Mia, their arms brushing as they moved down the busy street, both of them carrying shopping bags.

Mia shook her head, her fingers tightening around the handles. “No. Thankfully. He stood there all night… in the rain. I don’t know if he got sick.” Worry trembled in her voice as she spoke.“When I woke up in the afternoon and looked for him, he was gone.”

“Oh, he should be fine! A little rain isn’t gonna kill him,” Hazel chided lightly. Then she frowned. “So you’re not living with Alexander now?”

“No,” Mia answered. “I stayed at Sawyer’s house for two weeks… and then I moved out. I rented an apartment. I’m living there now.”

Hazel’s steps slowed. Her voice softened. “That must’ve been terrifying for you.” She hesitated. “Did you ever find out why—or how—he even got those photos?”

Mia’s throat tightened. “I don’t know. And honestly… right now, I don’t want to know.” Her voice wavered. “I married him, and he never once told me he knew me before. But he clearly did. Just thinking about it makes me angry. I can’t trust him anymore.” She sighed, looking defeated. “I even stopped going to work because I’m scared of running into him. I just… don’t want to deal with him.”

Hazel nodded, sympathetic—until her eyes dropped to the shopping bags dangling from Mia’s hands.

Max Mall. Printed in bold, shiny gold letters.

Hazel blinked.

“Hold on.” She pointed at the bags. “If you don’t want to see him or talk to him… then why are you buying all this with his card? Weren’t you trying to distance him completely?”

Mia blinked at her, wide-eyed and clueless. “Because I don’t want to hurt his business.”

Hazel froze. “…I’m sorry, what?”

Mia nodded earnestly. “I know that everything is not good between him and me right now, but I cannot harm him or his business.” She let out a slow breath. “He asked me to do this favor… to keep buying at least fifty things a day from Max Mall to help him. In exchange, he let me stay at his home when I had nowhere to go. I don’t want to harm his business. He did help me when I was in trouble… so I have to repay the favor.”

Silence

Hazel stared at her, stunned. A deep frown pulled between her brows, a mix of appalled disbelief and confusion tightening her expression.

Before Hazel could say another word, Mia adjusted her bags like a hardworking ant carrying groceries and wandered toward the restaurant across the street, completely unbothered.

Hazel stared after her, blinking.

“…Fifty things a day,” she muttered. “I should marry Alexander’s brother.”

With a sigh, she hurried after Mia before she disappeared into traffic.

By the time Hazel caught up, Mia was already pushing the restaurant door open. Hazel followed her in.

The restaurant was quiet when they entered—only a few scattered customers and the soft clinking of cutlery. They found a table near the window and sat down. But within minutes, people began pouring in. The peaceful room transformed into a busy crowd, conversations rising, chairs scraping.

By the time their coffees arrived, the entire place was packed.

Hazel took a sip of her macchiato. “Why don’t you talk to Alexander about those photographs? “Did he never mention to you that he knew you from before?”

“No,” Mia replied, brows knitting together. “He only told me that the day we met, I fainted in front of his car and he brought me home.”