Chapter 981 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“I just thought….”

“You thought what? That I was not being a good enough father because I didn’t want to interfere in Benne’s private life? That man was a bad father to me but you expect him to be a good grandfather to my kids? Am I that incapable to you?” Desmond asked and Evelyn stepped forward.

“No, Desmond! I swear I never thought of any of that,” Evelyn said as she tried to touch him, but Desmond turned around and left the room angrily and she immediately followed him.

“I’m sorry,” Evelyn pleaded as she tried to catch up with him and Desmond stopped abruptly and turned to face her.

“I’m very much upset and I want to be left alone right now. I don’t want to say any hurtful words to you that I might regret,” Desmond said as calmly as he could before walking away.

Away from there, Jeff rose very quickly from his seat on the couch when Mia walked into the house that evening and he looked at her with a worried frown.

“Where have you been all day? I kept trying to reach you but it seemed your phone was turned off,” Jeff said as he approached her and then paused when he noticed that she was not very steady on her feet. I think you should take a look at

“Why?” Mia asked as she very slowly made her way to the couch so she wouldn’t fall on her face.

“Are you drunk?” Jeff asked in surprise as he stood still while watching her.

“Just a little bit,” Mia said and Jeff frowned, wondering what had come over her.

She had left the house earlier that morning without his knowledge and he had been so worried about her that he had gone to Alicia’s to see if she was there and when he didn’t find her, he had called Bryan to enquire if she was with Sonia.

It wasn’t like her to go out without saying a word hence he had been very worried, and seeing her so drunk made him feel even more concerned about her.

What was the deal with her? Since they moved in together he had noticed that she was either out at night meeting strangers on a blind date or she was in her bedroom crying in the middle of the night.

He looked at her for a moment without saying a word and then left her there and went into the kitchen.

By the time he returned a short while later with a mug of warm honey water, Mia was lying on the couch with her eyes closed and he sighed as he dropped the mug on the table and crouched down in front of her.

“Mia,” he called softly as he shook her shoulder to rouse her and she opened her eyes to look at him.

“Leave me alone,” she said as she pushed his hands off her shoulder and Jeff moved back a little because of the stench of alcohol on her breath.

Ignoring her protest, Jeff took her by her shoulders and lifted her so that instead of lying on the couch she sat upright, and then he picked up the mug of warm honey water and sat down beside her.

“I will leave you alone after you drink this. It will help you not to feel like shit in the morning,” Jeff said calmly and Mia reluctantly opened her eyes to look at him.

“Why do you care? Why should you?” Mia asked, and he frowned as he raised the mug to her lips.

“Because you are my housemate and I have to look out for you. Now drink this and stop talking. I fear I might get drunk just by inhaling the alcohol on your breath,” Jeff said and as she opened her mouth to speak again, he placed the mug between her lips so she would drink instead.

Mia who was feeling thirsty, took the mug from him and gulped down the content because it was warm and sweet and once she was done Jeff took the mug from her and placed it on the table.

“Come, I will escort you to your room,” Jeff said as he rose and reached for her but she shook her head.

“I can go on my own. I’m not that drunk,” she said without budging.

“Alright,” Jeff said as he rose and picked up the mug while Mia looked at him from under her heavy lids as he headed for the kitchen to rinse and keep the mug.

The conversation with Harry earlier had left her in a scattered state of mind and she had resorted to alcohol to get herself out of the pit the painful memories had thrown her into.

But she still wasn’t feeling any better. Perhaps she was not drunk enough yet, Mia decided as she rose to get herself a bottle of wine.

As Jeff stepped out of the kitchen, he saw her by the dinning taking out a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and snatched it out of her grip before she could open it.

“What?” She snapped at him in annoyance.

“I didn’t give you the honey water so you could get even more drunk. Go to your bedroom and sleep off whatever is bothering you,” Jeff ordered and she glared at him.

“Do I look like your daughter or wife that you can order around? I bought that wine with my goddamned money and I can drink it whenever I want to!” She yelled at him, and Jeff frowned, slightly taken aback by her unexpected outburst.

“I’m not ordering you around…”

“You are not? Are you sure about that? Because you sounded very well as though you were trying to tell me what to do with my life!” She said, and he frowned.

“Mia, you are drunk…”

“I can be drunk if I choose to! It has nothing to do with you. Absolutely nothing. So get your butt out of my business and leave me the fuck alone!” She said as she snatched the bottle of wine from him and he let her have it.

“Did I say something to upset you?” Jeff asked, not sure what was going on with her.

She had seemed pretty drunk when she walked in, but she didn’t sound so drunk right now and he had no idea why she seemed so mad at him like he had offended her.

Mia said nothing as she raised the bottle of wine to her lips and took a long drink, not minding that most of it was pouring on her dress.

She inhaled deeply and let out a deep breath as she dropped the bottle of wine on the dining table and sat down while Jeff continued to watch her.

Seeing as she was not retiring to her room yet despite the fact that she seemed upset, he thought she might want to talk so he took the seat opposite her.

“Are you hungry?” He asked, and Mia raised her head to look at him in confusion.

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