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Chapter 860  Prodigal Wife

News of their arrival had spread like wildfire, and a throng of reporters, their faces a hungry mix of concern and sensationalism, pressed against the security barriers.

"Vanessa! Mrs. Rosewood! Over here!" A cacophony of voices clamored for her attention.

Mia shrank back instinctively, her eyes darting from the blinding flashes to the eager faces holding microphones. She knew without a doubt that Henry had let word out about their arrival, hence they were there.

He had claimed he had suitable clothes for her to change into, yet had given her nothing. Here she was, still dressed in the sleeping clothes she had worn to bed at Tom\'s and an in-house slippers.

Henry, the dutiful husband, had a practiced smile plastered on his face as he draped his jacket over her shoulders, shielding her from the barrage of questions and the intrusive lenses.

"Thank you all for your concern for my wife\'s well-being," he boomed, his voice cutting through the din. "As you can see, she\'s a little overwhelmed by the warm welcome."

A sympathetic murmur rippled through the crowd. "We just want to know she is alright, Mr. Rosewood," a voice called out.

"She is. Although, she has been through a very difficult ordeal, and your support means the world to us.," Henry replied smoothly, his hand firmly on her lower back, guiding her towards a waiting car. "But this trip has taken its toll, and she needs to clean up and get some rest before she can face everyone. Please understand."

The car pulled away, leaving the disappointed reporters in its wake. Mia, still hidden under the cloak of Henry\'s jacket, clung to the leather seat, her heart hammering against her ribs.

Somehow, being here in Husla, thousands of miles away from everyone who loved and cared for her, made her familiar companion— fear, to return.

The familiar route to Henry\'s mansion stretched before her, each landmark a stark reminder of the life she had desperately tried to escape.

As they approached the gates, Mia grimaced when she saw a festive banner proclaiming "Welcome Home, Vanessa!" hung across the gate.

As the car drew closer, laughter and chatter filled the air, and music thrummed from within, letting her know a party was going on inside.

"How generous of me. I prepared a feast to celebrate the return of the prodigal wife," Henry whispered to her.

Mia ignored him, and watched as a throng of people came out of the house with wineglasses in hand.

"Surprise!" the crowd roared as the car came to a halt.

Panic clawed at Mia\'s throat. This wasn\'t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be a quiet return, so why did he do all of this? What did he hope to achieve by inviting them all here while making sure she was so shabbily dressed?

Amidst the throng, Mia recognized some faces from galas and charity events– the wives of Henry\'s business associates, his family members were present too.

Henry, ever the gracious host, pulled her out of the car and turned to the crowd. "Calm down, darling. Don\'t be scared. No one is going to harm you. They are all here to welcome you home. Say hello, honey," Henry said softly as though he was talking to a mentally unstable patient.

Amidst the throng, Mia recognized some faces from galas and charity events– the wives of Henry\'s business associates, his family members were present too.

Henry, ever the gracious host, pulled her out of the car and turned to the crowd. "Calm down, darling. Don\'t be scared. No one is going to harm you. They are all here to welcome you home. Say hello, honey," Henry said softly as though he was talking to a mentally unstable patient.

Mia plastered a smile on her face, a mask that felt heavy and suffocating. Greetings were exchanged, and Mia felt like a puppet on strings, mechanically responding to the endless stream of well-wishes and veiled questions.

As Henry ushered her into the house, she could hear some ladies talking some feet away.

"How lucky she is to be married to such a devoted man," one of them said.

"Who would have thought that she was crazy? Henry must be a saint," Another whispered and Mia gritted her teeth, shutting their voices out.

Almost as soon as they walked through the door, her parents emerged from nowhere, "Oh, my darling daughter. I thought I lost you for good," her mother cried as she went to embrace her, and Mia stood stiffly as her mother\'s arms went around her.

Henry remained by her side, a doting smile on his face as he looked at Mia, leaving everyone there with no doubt in mind that he adored his wife.

"You are welcome home, Vanessa. We will talk after you have settled in," her father said.

The reporters, some of whom had managed to slip into the party, hovered on the fringes, their eyes never straying far from her. Henry, ever present at her side, kept a tight grip on her arm, a subtle reminder of who was in control.

"Smile, darling," he murmured into her ear, his voice laced with a sweetness that sent shivers down her spine. "They want to see the happy Vanessa they know."

"I\'m exhausted…"

"We have guests, Vanessa. You will not leave our guests unattended," Henry said, cutting her off.

After an hour of playing the perfect host despite her out of place outfit, Henry announced that he had to take his wife upstairs to get some rest because she was very tired and sounds of aww rented the air.

Henry, the picture of solicitude, escorted her upstairs to her bedroom. And the moment the bedroom door closed behind them, the mask slipped from his face.

A cruel smile played on his lips. "Welcome home, Vanessa," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

"Why are there so many security cameras in my room?" Mia asked, looking around the place.

"I realized that I was to blame for the little stunt you pulled. I gave you too much freedom. That was the reason you had the time and space to come up with it. Now you will be on watch twenty-four hours, my darling wife," Henry said and Mia shook her head.

"You can\'t do that, Henry. I deserve some level of privacy…"

"Deserve?" He snorted with barely controlled rage, "after you dared to ask me for a divorce? You have no right to talk to me about what I can or cannot do. It is my place to tell you what you deserve and do not deserve. And I can tell you that, going forward you will be getting everything I believe you deserve. Freshen up and get some rest. Your doctor will arrive soon," he said, and turned to leave.

"Doctor? What doctor? I\'m not ill," Mia said, stopping him.

"You are ill if I say you are, and right now, you are mentally ill. Your psychiatrist will be here to see how much your mental health has deteriorated. After the examination we will determine whether or not you need to be locked away in a mental asylum or allowed to live amongst humans," Henry said with a cold smile before walking away.

The fear that had simmered beneath the surface all day erupted into a full-blown terror and Mia felt a shudder run through her at the thought of being locked away in a mental asylum.

Mia realized, with a chilling certainty, that whatever Henry had planned for her this time, would be far worse than anything she could have imagined. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

Away from there, Harry, shirtless, lay relaxed on the hammock, it\'s gentle sway lulling him into a state of blissful laziness. He looked ahead of him where Jade, a vision in a bright sundress, skipped barefooted along the shoreline.

Every now and then, a wave would crash on the shore, sending a cool spray that tickled her bare feet making her laugh happily with childish delight.

The retreating tide had revealed a treasure trove of glistening seashells and smooth, colorful stones scattered like spilled jewels across the wet sand, and Jade had made it her duty to explore as many of them as she could.

Harry was about to drift off completely when a shriek, both excited and slightly breathless, shattered his peaceful reverie.

"Jonas! Come take a look at this!" she screeched as she bounded towards him, her damp footprints leaving a trail in the sand.

Harry, a smile already tugging at the corners of his lips, reluctantly rose from his haven curious to see what she had found.

Barefooted, and dressed in just his white shorts, he walked up to her, meeting her halfway.

As he reached her side, Jade held the stone out, its surface catching the sunlight and sparking a rainbow of colors. "Doesn\'t this look like a diamond?" she declared dramatically, her voice brimming with excitement.

Harry\'s lips twitched as he looked at her. "Let me see," he said, taking the stone gently from her grasp.

He examined it with mock seriousness, turning it over in his fingers. "Hmm, nope. Looks exactly like a stone to me."

A playful scowl creased her brow. "Come on, don\'t be boring! Look closer at it! I think it\'s a diamond in disguise. Maybe a pirate hid their loot somewhere around here. Imagine it, Harry," she continued, her voice rising with each word, "a hidden chest overflowing with gold and jewels, just waiting to be discovered by us!"

Harry couldn\'t help but chuckle at her infectious childlike enthusiasm. "And what would we do with all that pirate booty?"

"What else?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. "We will take it back home with us, of course! Proof of our adventure. Then, I\'d sell some of it," she added with a mischievous grin, "and give you a tenth of the riches."

"A tenth?" he feigned surprise, raising an eyebrow. "How generous of you to give me so much. Isn\'t that too much?"

"Well, duh! You don\'t need pirate treasure. You\'re rich already." she retorted, sticking out her tongue playfully.

"If I remember correctly, you said you were rich too," he reminded her with a chuckle.

"I\'m not as rich as you. That\'s precisely why I will be needing the treasure chest. That way the treasure would put us on equal footing, financially speaking." she said with a sweet smile.

Harry threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing across the beach. "Equal footing, huh? And do you think the rightful owner of this \'treasure\' would just let us waltz off with their chest full of gold?"

"The rightful owner is probably dead and the treasure is forgotten," Jade said easily.

"How would we get this treasure chest out of here? Do you think the owners of the resort or the residents of this island would let us leave with it?" Harry asked, indulging her beautiful daydream.

Jade puffed out her chest and struck a heroic pose. "We\'d fight for it. I\'m a good fighter. You did mention something about knowing how to fight, didn\'t you?" She asked with a grin.

Harry\'s laughter intensified, tears welling up in his eyes. "Esquire, did you lure me out of my perfectly good nap to admire a rock and fantasize about pirate battles?"

Jade nodded. "Yes. Is there a problem with that?" she asked and he shook his head.

"None at all," Harry said as he reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair from her cheek.

"But you know what? You don\'t need pirate booty or whatever to be on equal footing with me financially. When we get married, all I have will be yours, and all you have will remain yours. You will be wealthier than me then," Harry said, and she grinned.

"Nah. I don\'t want to be wealthier. That won\'t be equal footing. All I have will be yours too. That\'s the only way we would be on equal footing. Add up everything together," she said and then paused her lips.

"But that would complicate things if we ever plan to get divorced," she said, and the gleam in Harry\'s eyes disappeared.

"Divorce? Do you plan to get divorced?" He asked with a frown, not liking the mention of such a term between them.

"Well, the future is full of uncertainty. Most of the couples that seek divorce were once helplessly in love…"

"Can you do me a favor and never talk about divorce between us?" He cut in.

"I\'m just being logical…"

"I\'d rather not get married at all if divorce is an option between us," Harry stated flatly and turned to leave but Jade quickly ran to block his path.

"Why are you upset? I was only stating a fact. I\'m…" she trailed off when it suddenly occurred to her that he might be reacting that way because of his father and Sara.

"You know what? Screw facts. I\'m never divorcing you. As a matter of fact, let\'s never bring up the word between us. It is prohibited from our vocabulary going forward, and our kids are not permitted to say the word either. Speaking about kids, how soon will you like to have kids when we get married? Immediately? Or a year or two after?" She asked, placing both arms on his shoulder and standing on tiptoe to kiss away the crease on his forehead.

"You\'re never going to bring it up in our discussion again, right?" He asked, and she looked at him with a mock puzzled expression.

"Bring what up? Having kids? Cause I don\'t remember bringing anything else up," she said, and Harry laughed as she had expected him to.

"Fine. Let\'s have the home all to ourselves for two years and find a balance between work, marriage, and our personal lives before having kids. That way you would have worked for sometime before going on a break again because of your pregnancy," Harry suggested.

"That sounds reasonable. But there is no reason to go on a break because I\'m pregnant…"

"You will go on a break when you\'re pregnant, sugar," Harry said and raised an eyebrow.

"Will you go on a break with me?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"You\'re the pregnant one…"

"We will be pregnant together. I won\'t go on a break. I will come to the office with you," she insisted and Harry opened his mouth to argue but shut it.

Time would tell. There was no need wasting his breath since he knew that when the time came, she would be the one insisting she didn\'t want to get out of bed herself. Thanks to Bryan\'s bragging, he had started to read on the subject.

"And how many kids would you want us to have? One? Two? A dozen?" She asked,

"A dozen," he said and she nodded.

"Good. We are on the same page," she said, and Harry looked at her incredulously.

"You really want a dozen?" He asked, and she laughed.

"I want three. Two boys and a girl," she said and Harry shook his head.

"I prefer to have all girls."

"Why all girls?" She asked with an amused smile.

"Because I want to be a proud girl dad forever," he said, and she giggled.

"Well, we will see how that goes. For now, let\'s go get ready for our sightseeing. Our tour guide will be here soon," Jade said, and hand in hand they returned to their suite.