It might have taken decades for Mia to sit on Carys' bed and when she finally did sit on the bed she had this sudden urge to push herself down and take a nap right then and there.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Carys examined Mia from head to toe and finally rested his eyes on her ankle.
Mia had a blush creep into her face as she saw the blue-eyed man examining every inch of her body. She knew that Carys was only checking for more injuries on her body but it felt like something more.
"Yes. I'm sure." Mia confirmed as she pulled her legs into the bed frame as if hiding them from Carys' vision.
Carys immediately diverted his gaze from Mia's legs and cleared his throat indicating that he was not checking her out.
Maybe he was, but Mia didn't need to know that.
"I should not call a-"
"Carys!" A hoarse voice interrupted whatever he was about to say and both of them looked towards the sound of the voice.
The bedroom door flew open and Ashley was seen standing on the door panting furiously.
"Mom? Are you okay?" Carys immediately crossed the bedroom and approached his mother looking like she had seen a ghost.
"The system has been hacked!" Ashley announced without acknowledging Mia sitting on her son's bed.
"What?" Carys questioned. His voice was shallow like the ground had sucked all his energy.
His mouth was partly open in shock.
After a few seconds, it felt like Carys had come back to life. He looked at Ashley who had now covered her face in her hands, "It is okay, mum."
Ashley gave out a sigh and revealed her face. She had some of her makeup smudged but nevertheless looked exactly how she always looked, beautiful.
As Ashley smoothed her hair and clothes, her gaze fell on Mia.
Mia felt a sudden urge to stand up from the bed on which she was sitting.
"Mia. I'm sorry. I didn't see you here." Ashley's face turned embarrassed. She realized that she had been vulnerable in front of a stranger.
"No. No." Mia finally stood up on both of her feet although her left ankle was giving her a hard time.
"I'm sorry. I am the one intruding." She perfectly embodied the character of a person who was innocent.
"Mia, sit back down. Your ankle is hurt." It was very strange for Mia to notice that Carys was still thinking about her ankle when his mother had just informed him about the hacking.
"It's fine." Mia insisted. To be honest, her ankle was not fine and it was visibly swollen but it was time for Mia to go back to her house and get out of here before any suspicion.
"What happened to your ankle?" Ashley questioned. "It looks swollen."
"Just a minor twist," Mia answered.
"Please take a seat." Ashley requested. Mia could never understand the thought process of people inside Jones' family. Everyone was always warm and sweet which were the two characteristics that Mia had never witnessed in her life.
"I think I should head back to my house," Mia said as she took some small steps towards her heels lying on the bedroom carpet.
It was difficult for Mia to move but it would have been tougher to stay here when everybody would be talking about the hacking knowing that she was the reason for this mess.
"Ashley." Mark's voice echoed down the hall and Ashley immediately sprinted towards the voice.
Carys just looked at his mother and then stared at the empty space where his mother stood before running back to his father.
"Are you okay?" Mia could not help but ask Carys if he was doing fine which of course he was not, judging from the way his soul was sucked out of his voice and he was staring into space.
"Yeah. Yeah." It took 2 seconds for him to respond to the question. He turned himself towards Mia.
"We need to call this off." Mark's voice was harsh and it felt like he had just lost a battle which meant that Pericolosa had just won this battle but it felt like a loss to Mia.
"I am sorry you're hearing all that." Carys ran his fingers through his hair. The sleek hairstyle that he had going on has now turned into a mess.
"It's alright." Mia softly spoke. It was getting hard for her to stand on her feet. It felt like a nail had been hammered into her talus.
"Mia, you can rest here for a second and I will come back and help you downstairs. I really need to go and call this thing off and push all of these people out of my house." Carys chuckled at the sentence.
"I can go myself -"
"I don't think you can." Carys pointed at the swollen foot.
He had a point but staying inside Jones's house at this point could be dangerous.
"It won't take long," Carys assured.
Mia looked at her ankle and nodded.
Carys immediately sprinted towards the hallway leaving behind a very anxious Mia with a swollen foot.
Mia hopped towards the bed and took a seat, picking up her purse lying on the ground right beside her heel. She gave out a sigh before pulling her phone out of her purse. The call was still on, she put the phone to her ear.
"We're done." She whispered onto the phone.
"I am so happy!" Samantha squealed on the phone.
"Mia, is your ankle really hurt?" Tony snatched away the phone from his sister's hold and spoke in all seriousness.
"Not quite." Mia lied through her teeth. She knew that this was not some major injury that they would have to worry about.
"How soon can you return?" Tony asked as he took a glance at his watch.
"I cannot right now. You guys have heard him." Mia explained.
The anxiety had made her brain heavy. Her eyelids threatened to shut down and her body refused to sit up straight on the soft bed.
She caressed the white sheet on the bed and thought to herself, 'This is where Carys sleeps.'
"Mia, are you really okay?" Tony asked again. "I can ask Leo to escort you out if you are not feeling fine."
"Don't you dare ruin what I have achieved?" Mia dared Tony to which he went mute.
He must have transferred the phone back to his sister judging by the sudden change in voice. "Mia, take your time and come back. It is important to win Carys' trust although I know you don't need to do that because-"
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Carys' voice entered the room before his body did.
Mia swiftly slides the phone back into her purse.
"It's fine," Mia replied as she tried to stand up.
"I will help you." Carys immediately sprinted to Mia's side.
He supported Mia's shoulders as she balanced herself on both of her feet.
"Don't put much weight on the left foot," Carys advised and Mia nodded. She got hold of her bag and swung it across her shoulder.
"You want me to hold it?" Carys asked as he moved his right arm right across Mia's waist, grabbing it for support.
Mia had shivers run down her spine. She shook his head.
"Okay," Carys whispered.
Mia's body was giving up. She felt weak in Carys' arms. The warmth that radiated through Carys' arm around her waist made her dizzy.
This was a new feeling to have somebody hold her in a way she hadn't been held before. To think that somebody had her back. Even if she were to take a wrong step right now she would not fall and somebody would be there to help her stand back up again.
"I'll have my driver drop you off," Carys said as he helped Mia out of the room.
"It is fine. I'll call a cab." Mia resisted. It was too much to handle.
"No." Carys downright rejected her resistance and continued to help her.
"But-"
"Can I pick you up?" The question took Mia by surprise.
"Down the stairs." Carys pointed towards the stairs in front of them.
Mia didn't realize that they were already near the stairs because she was too busy concentrating on the way that Carys' hand clutched her waist.
"I can walk." Mia looked at the staircase and took a deep breath.
It would not be easy but she was hoping that she could pull it off.
"You cannot." Carys might have seen the hesitation on Mia's face.
"I assure you that I will never speak of it again in my life and we can forget that I ever carried you down the stairs." Carys gave out a light chuckle before gently sweeping his other arm right under Mia's knees.
He pushed down Mia's dress before finally picking her up.
"Thank you." Mia looked at Carys. It was strangely comforting. It was not creepy like Mia had imagined it to be.
She had always felt that the male touch was creepy. The male touch irked her. It made her feel naked but when it came from Carys it felt as pure as the heavens that priests talked about.