Page 42 of Chained to You (Dark Billionaires 6)

Finally, some twenty minutes later, when I found myself fully engrossed in the stories and the wonderful country that was Japan, which I unashamedly wanted to visit very soon if I managed to persuade James to support me in the endeavor, Eric said, “Dad, you can stop bombarding Mia with your tales now. I’m sure she’s bloody bored.”

I glanced at the brother, wanting to tell him I was not.

Eric continued, ignoring my frown. “Let’s talk about what we’re here for.”

Liam raised his brows, and I raised mine as well, in curiosity of course. Liam then leaned toward me and said, “We’ll continue with the conversation another time. For now, why don’t you take Aria outside for a stroll before lunch?”

I nodded, but of course I was very curious as to the topic of their conversation, especially one that Eric seemed so eager to get started.

“Come on, Aria,” I said, signaling for the little girl to follow me.

“Are we going out for a walk?” she asked.

I nodded. “You’ve been here before, right?” At her affirmation, I said, “Then why don’t you show me around?”

“Okay,” Aria said, suddenly excited to be my tour guide. She eagerly pulled me by the hand toward the door. As I was about to turn the corner, I shifted my eyes to James and saw him winking at me. His expression clearly told me to have fun.

I smiled back and waved at him to tell him that I definitely would.

As Aria led me outside the mansion toward the beautiful, mature garden, I once again wondered about the topic of the men’s conversation. Did it have anything to do with Liam’s bride-to-be that I had heard the brothers talking about? I didn’t know and told myself that it was none of my business and I shouldn’t stick my nose in where it didn’t concern me. But then again, the thought of befriending another woman, especially one that was going to be part of the Maxwell family, was quite enticing to me.

We were quite far from the house now, and the farther away we were, the more beautiful the garden became with various types of bright, beautiful flowers that I didn’t know the names of along with tall trees and, of course, a pond. There were even swans swimming in it.

“Oh my!” I expressed, chuckling. “Swans! Aren’t they beautiful?”

Aria nodded. “Yes, they are. I want to ask Daddy if we can have swans at our house, too.”

We came closer as I said, “But our house doesn’t have a pond, darling.”

Aria clasped her hands together in excitement. “Then we should ask Daddy if we can have a pond, too, and then we can have swans. I love animals.”

“I can see that you do, honey,” I said, smiling.

Aria led me around, and I was so fixated on admiring the swans doing their dancing and gliding on the beautiful glassy water that when Aria said, “There’s a person!” I jumped in surprise.

I flicked my gaze around to where Aria was pointing and, sure enough, saw a woman standing half hidden behind a bush. Wondering who she was and what she was doing there, hiding herself like that, I grabbed Aria’s hand and headed toward her.

Up close, I said, “Hello there, what are you doing?”

Still half hidden from us, the woman said, “Err… Nothing. Who are you?”

I cocked my head to one side, wondering why the woman sounded scared, her voice shaking.

I said softly and calmly, “I’m Mia Donovan, and this is Aria Maxwell.”

Aria asked brightly, “Are you playing hide-and-seek? Can I play, too?”

“Maxwell?” the woman asked.

I nodded. “Yes, Aria is a Maxwell.”

Aria said, “Mia is Daddy’s girlfriend, so she’s part of the family, too. She’s a Maxwell, too.”

What? In amazement, I flicked my gaze to Aria. I couldn’t believe it. How did she know that I was now James’s girlfriend? After all, I was sure neither James nor I had told her about our relationship. Needless to say, I was amazed at how perceptive Aria was. The fact that she said I was part of the Maxwell family really made my heart glow with happiness.

I grinned at her, and she smiled back. At that moment, I felt blessed to have Aria come into my life.

The woman finally moved away from the bushes, and to my surprise, it wasn’t just her that appeared before us. Behind her was a slender and very beautiful boy.

---