My Perfect Lady 137 The Annoying, Unreasonable Wife

She needed to say a word or two to Ben too. She was mommy, after all.

Also, she had had it with this weird intimacy. She was going to intrude!

Just when Miya was about to intervene the warm chatter between Jim and Ben, the young master ruffled Ben's hair and said, "Understood, then? Now go apologize to your mommy, champ."

Ben nodded enthusiastically.

Jim helped the little boy off the headboard, and the baby ran off to his mother. Then smiling brightly while he tucked at the hem of her sleeve, he said, "Mommy, I'm sorry. I will never say your angry words again."

The boy's bright smile disoriented Miya completely, and her heart thumped and turned to jelly. She turned helpless and immediately picked him up and cuddled him in her arms. Her own face lit up with the purest of smiles.

"It's alright, baby," she cooed at him, "As long as you understand. Promise you won't say them again?"

Ben kissed his mommy's cheek.

"Promise, mommy!"

Miya swore to herself to limit her own usage of cuss words too, especially in front of Ben. While she was busy embracing Ben, Jim supported his elbow against the headboard and rested his head on his palm. He was smirking.

His wife was completely useless when it came to being strict.

Between them two, it was probably him who was going to play the part of the firm, slightly demanding parent.

Because the missus was completely in awe of her own child.

The thought made Jim chuckle deeply, and he shrugged in mock distress.

Miya adjusted Ben in her arms. Then thinking of something, she said excitedly, "Ben, do you want mommy to cook for you? Let's have your favourite dishes for lunch today!"

Ben smiled back, but then shook his head.

"No, mommy. Jimmy said I have to get ready fast. He wants to take me someplace."

That was not the answer Miya had expected. Frowning, she looked at the child and then stared for a short second at the smirking young master. Her gaze then returned to her son.

"Where to, Ben?" she asked seriously, trying to keep her tone light.

"I don't know, mommy. But I have to get dressed. Can I go now?"

The question disoriented Miya again, and she nodded slightly.

"Let me help you then," she said.

Ben pursed his lips, then stared at Miya for a while. He rigorously shook his head after a second and said convincingly, "No, mommy. I want to get dressed myself! It's a surprise for mommy."

What?

With that, Ben ran off towards Jimmy again. The young master grinned at the boy, ruffled his hair once more and then the two high fived. Jim whispered something to him again, and Ben left the room grinning.

Miya watched the entire sequence of events, stunned.

What the f*** was going on?

And she slapped herself mentally thrice.

d.a.m.n it! She had just sworn not to curse again!

And somehow, she ended up swearing yet again.

This habit was going to be hard to change…

The girl sighed deeply.

When Ben had left the room, Jimmy was still grinning ear to ear, looking at the door wherefrom the little guy had just escaped. Miya walked to him, somewhat distressed. She didn't get herself right then – she liked seeing Ben and Jimmy together, but she also was suddenly afraid. She made a mental note to sort out her emotions bit by bit later.

Jim was still watching the door when Miya approached him.

"Where are you taking Ben?" she demanded.

It was when her voice sounded so close to him that Jimmy frowned, then glanced at her. He shrugged with a small, "Huh?" too, surprising the girl.

Jimmy was lost deeply in thought. What in the world was going on?

"Jimmy, I asked where you're taking Ben," Miya repeated herself patiently.

"Oh, that," Jim shrugged, "To school. It's time we got him admitted to a proper inst.i.tution."

Albeit Jim had said the words with extreme nonchalance, Miya's jaw almost dropped to the floor. Her heart beat too fast in her chest, and then fell to the pit of her stomach. Her face was an array of emotions when she whispered, "S-School?"

Jim raised his brows.

"Yes."

"Oh."

Miya's heart crashed. The idea of school somehow scared her to the point of wanting to pa.s.s out. She had never been to a school herself! When she was young, Tao and Kanas.h.i.+ had never bothered with her education. Even though Granny Kai had taught her a thing or two about holy texts and scriptures, she had only learnt to read and write from the Freemans. She had also found her pa.s.sion for reading there and had done her best to educate herself through public libraries, and with time, the internet.

She had, till date, never stepped into a school.

Of course she had been wanting to gather enough funds to let Ben into a private inst.i.tute. Her boy was too smart to not be part of the elite schools – but then with Tao's medical bills and her own lousy jobs and constant threats and her moving from place to place – a lot had been compromised upon.

She had always had the option to do it the easier way – Kang Sheng had offered support for Ben. But Miya had walked out, almost burning down the whole place.

Now that she thought about it, it was for the best.

But the feeling that she was an utter failure didn't escape her mind. Miya thought about every second of her life, and all she could remember was the vehemence in it. She had been unable to support Ben's education till date. Her own savings were too little – and all the money she had was from Jimmy Hunter's fund of 50,000 dollars. Now, the man himself was going to support Ben and his education.

The thought constricted her throat and Miya felt hatred seep into every inch of her body. What had she been doing, all these years? This moment, when she wasn't even able to support her own kid – all her life had lead to it.

Her voice was grudging, poisonous when she muttered out loud, "It's so f***ing useless, how things have turned out. Don't you hate it, how incompetent I am?"

Jim was watching Miya carefully, but he couldn't point out why her thoughts had lead to such a conclusion. He stood up straight and walked to her in worry.

"What happened?"

The girl shrugged. She didn't look up at him, but her voice was full of spite when she said, "It's detestable how I haven't done a single thing right in my life."

Jim frowned, but replied platonically, "I'm sure that's not true."

Miya scoffed.

"I didn't even f***ing know what to do when Ben swore. You did the job for me."

The statement made Jim's gaze harden. He looked down at her head, as she muttered viciously to the floor, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And you're never going to improve, if you don't want to," he said harshly.

The words caught Miya by surprise.

She blinked and then looked up at him, matching his eyes. Jim's eyes were harsh and steady.

"If you're not going to improve your habit of cursing, of course you can't reprimand your child. He learnt it from you. What defence do you have? He, on the other hand, has reason to use the words."

Eh?

Miya frowned at the words. Why was this person making it sounds so… mathematical?

Jim huffed.

"What else about your life are you dissatisfied about?" he asked sternly.

Somehow, the hatred dwindled in Miya, and she was fl.u.s.tered again. Under Jimmy Hunter's angry, commanding gaze, she swallowed and whispered inaudibly, "I haven't done anything useful with it till date."

"I don't understand."

"I – I've only ever been involved with the dark side of the world, and – and I've been very irresponsible towards Ben too. I wanted to collect the funds to send him to the best of schools, but with Tao's bills and my meagre jobs, it never happened. And look, I still haven't done it. It's you who's stepping up."

Oh. So that was the problem.

Jim's gaze softened, and he sighed.

"You did keep him wonderfully educated, dear. I doubt any kid his age is as smart as him."

"Yes – but that's because Ben is a smart child. He has a very high IQ!"

Jim pinched the s.p.a.ce between his brows.

"Then why're you not doing anything about yourself right now, huh? If you want to be capable of reprimanding him, then you have to let go of your wrong habits, at least a bit. This little thing, for example. I swear a lot too, but I have sense of place and time. You want to know why I'm good with kids? It's because of my experience with Zaila. She was a handful to take care of, and I got extremely good at the job. It's called learning."

Oh…

Miya's throat clenched when Jim uttered his little sister's name. She looked into his eyes, noticed that they seemed a little unsettled, but the sternness never left them.

"Miya," Jim said with utmost calm, "If you keep staying stuck in the past, nothing will ever improve for you. If you don't move at all and stand still, how can you even expect change in your circ.u.mstances? If you're dissatisfied with something, try to work on it, not cry over it endlessly. In your case, for one, I do not understand why someone like you, who clearly has a good mind and is self-educated, worked to clean toilets at some restaurant."

The words. .h.i.t Miya hard.

She had never seen this… angry, lecturing side of Jimmy before.

"I – I tried. But with my record, too many enemies… and Kang Sheng, I had to stay low key."

The answer was dubious, and Jim wasn't satisfied. He exhaled noisily.

"Then why aren't you trying now? Aren't I backing you up?"

Jim's words were normal, almost as if he was stating the obvious. Miya swallowed again.

"Why are you, Jimmy? You do know Ben is Kang Sheng's grandson. You're enemies. And Ben –"

This woman… she really was the stupidest person on the planet!

Jim was losing his patience now.

"Miya, dear, how is that Ben's burden to bear? Just like I'm not responsible for the kind of person my mother is, Ben is not responsible for the kind of background his grandfather has. If Kang Sheng wants to come at us for Ben, he can give it a go. Why should I care about the detail first? Also, I don't really understand your connection with him right now, unless you explain, of course."

Miya actually held her head in her hands.

"You…" her voice was feeble now, almost shabby, "Why are you so good to me, Jimmy? Why are you so protective of Ben and me?" She stopped before she could say, "He's not even your son."

Jim shrugged at that, still frowning, but lightly pulled her by the elbow, and into a hug. Then patting her head like that of a child, he said, "You'd know why, if you let me say a few charming words."

Miya's voice was indignant.

"You can't be serious! You're so amazing. And we're only into this for a year!"

Now, he smirked. "Are we?"

Somehow, that irritated the girl. She clenched her fists, and said, "Don't you have any sense of who you are?"

Jim's grin widened.

"I could say the same to you. Perhaps you need a little polis.h.i.+ng, but you're good, dear."

"Jimmy –"

"Oh, and about the life thing. I think you should clearly think about what you want to do with yourself. If you have an interest in something, or are good at anything particular, I'll guide you. I swear I won't step on your pride, I'm pretty sure you'll do well by yourself too. Think about it.

For now though, get ready. I want you to come as well. We need to get Ben registered in school."

Miya was going to retort again, but Jim's warning gaze made her nod meekly instead.

Jimmy Hunter… this man. Why did he have to be so explicit about his intentions? Could he not leave her room for at least some doubt?

How would she even convince him to back off, if he kept on going the same way?!

And honestly, was he an idiot?!

She had told him about her past – about Tao and Kanas.h.i.+, he had found out about Sheng and Kasu, and the sh*tty company was even cutthroat rivals of Jimmy! What was wrong with this man?

Shouldn't he be running away from her – as far as possible?!

Jim saw the plethora of emotions on her face again and sighed. He couldn't control his urge.

"What c.r.a.p are you thinking of now?" he asked her directly. Miya almost threw a tantrum.

"I don't understand why you're so accepting! Doesn't everything about me distress you?! You should be running away!"

Jim rolled his eyes.

"I won't be the best businessman here if that's what I did. Maybe you should stop too. That's what I was talking about, dear – moving on."

"But how can you not care?"

"Because I have that much confidence in myself. I can protect what's important to me."

"But why are you not concerned –"

"Really, I don't understand what your problem is. You'd have all your d.a.m.n answers if you let me say the few f***ing words."

"No!"

"Then stop being so annoying."

"I will honestly kick your a**, Jim."

"With your height, I doubt that. Now get your b.u.t.t in the wardrobe and get ready. I swear if you're not out in thirty minutes, I'll register your name as Miya Jimmy Hunter on Ben's registration form when they ask for his mommy's details."

Miya gasped in indignation, while Jim walked out of the room to go find Ben, slamming the door shut behind him. This woman really knew how to give him a headache.

He felt like he had just dealt with two children.

Somehow, the young man felt old. With Miya around, he was sure he would die of annoyance and unreasonable love soon.

The boy was lesser trouble. Right now, he was also Jim's only solace.

Jim rubbed his head, swore quite a bit himself, and then made his way to the child.

Jimmy was so sure he was going to go complain to Ben!

His mother was a monster!