THE CEO FACE BLIND BRIDE: CONTRACT WIFE FOR MARRIAGE

Adoption The day Eva became a billionaire daughter I became a thief . The courtyard smelled like old soap and wet concrete. Kids were running around, but most of them clustered around one spot under the mango tree where Mia sat, alone thinking about her mother.then a little boy voice cut in. “Again, Mia! Tell the story about the stars!” a little boy begged. Mia smiled, her voice soft. “Once, there was a girl whose mother said that if you made a wish on the stars , your wishes would be granted” Before mia could finish a voice came through. “Miss Clara says dinner’s ready!” Sister Agnes called. The kids cheered and ran off. Even Sister Clara ruffled Mia’s hair . “You’re a good girl, Mia. Too good for this place.” Mia just nodded, fingers brushing the thin gold necklace at her throat. The only thing her mother gave her before she died. "Don’t ever lose this." "Mia" Eva stood there, arms crossed. Six years old, same age as Mia, but her eyes never looked soft like the others. “ Can you please lend me your necklace,” Eva said. Mia blinked. “Eva? "It’s… it’s the only thing I have from my Mom. I can’t" " we’re best friends, right?” Eva’s voice got sweet. “Just let me try it on for five minutes. I’ll give it back, I promise.” Mia hesitated. Eva was her best friend. Her only friend, really. If she said no, maybe Eva would hate her. “Okay,” Mia whispered. “But you have to give it back before bed time. Eva took it but She never gave it back. Three months later. A rich woman in a black coat walked into the orphanage. She didn’t look at the kids playing. She looked tired, desperate. “I’m looking for my daughter,” she said to Sister Agnes. “She has a birthmark on her shoulder. And she was wearing a gold necklace with a small ‘M’ engraved on it.” Then mia walk pass the the two speaking. The woman stopped when she saw Mia. Her breath caught. Same eyes. Same face. She stepped forward, tears welling.Mia look exactly like her when she was younger. But then her eyes shifted. Eva was calling out Mia's name behind her, wearing the gold necklace. The ‘M’ caught the light. The woman’s face changed. Not hope anymore. in Confusion. Eva noticed Mia walks out to go clean the corridor which sister Agnes had to go clean Eva followed suit. Mia and Eva was cleaning when a Little boy of the same age voice came through. " Eva sister Agnes calls for you" Mia was outside, sweeping the corridor. She didn’t know why Sister Agnes had called Eva into the office. Inside, Eva stood frozen behind the half-open door, listening. "I want to adopt both of them,” the rich woman said, her voice thick with emotion. “Mia looks exactly like I was when bi was younger,she reminds me of my past .And this one, Eva, she has my lost daughter’s necklace. I can’t leave either of them here.” Sister Agnes smiled. “That’s a blessing, madam. The girls are close. It would be good if they stayed together.” Eva’s fingers curled into fists. "Both of us? Never " She’d waited 6 years for someone rich to come. If they adopted Mia too, the woman’s attention would split. The money, the love, the new life… it wouldn’t be hers alone. Her eyes dropped to the gold necklace on her neck. Mia’s necklace. The one Mia gave her months ago and she never returned. An idea came, slow and cold. Outside, Mia kept cleaning, humming a song. She had no idea that in the next 10 minutes, her only chance at a family would be stolen by the girl she called best friend. While the rich woman and sister Agnes went back to her car to get documents, Eva slipped into the office. On the table sat a diamond brooch. She grabbed it, heart pounding, and ran to the dorm. Eva walks into Mia room.Mia’s old school bag sat by the bed. No lock. No one watching. Eva shoved the brooch inside and zipped it up Ten minutes later, panic filled the office. “My brooch! It’s gone!” the rich woman said. Sister Agnes’s face fell. “We’ll search every bag. No one leaves this room until we find it.” One by one, the children’s bags were emptied on the floor. Clothes, books, broken toys. When they opened Mia’s bag, the diamond brooch gleamed against her faded shirt. The room went silent. The rich woman stepped back like she’d been slapped. she turned to Mia and held her hand leaning down. " child , did you take it" . "I know you didn't". Mia sobbed" it wasn't me I didn't do it" " if you didn't do then who did it ,Mia ". she turned to the rich woman. I would suggest you only pick Eva she has a good reputation, we wouldn't want our orphanage to given any bad reputation by our parents " Then the rich woman turned to sister Agnes" it would have been an misunderstanding,I would adopt also if your orphanage don't mind ". "our orphanage has strict rules we don't give out children with bad reputation a child with bad reputation is going to banned from adoption and put in child development for a while" Eva lowered her eyes, pretending to be shy. “I didn’t want to say anything about Mia, ma’am. She’s my best friend.” That was all it took. The rich woman had to adopted only Eva that day. She left Mia standing at the gate, watching the car drive away, clutching her empty bag. A year later. The orphanage phone rang twice a month. Maybe. “Calls and mail!” Sister Agnes called out. Kids scrambled forward, shouting names, hoping for sponsors, relatives, anyone. Mia stood at the back, mopping the floor. She didn’t run anymore. “Anything for Mia ?” she asked quietly when it quieted down. Sister Agnes checked the list. “Nothing, dear. Not this month either.” Mia nodded. She didn’t wait anymore. It had been a year since Eva was adopted by Mrs. Victoria Cole. one of the most richest woman in the country. The kind with drivers and a house bigger than the whole orphanage. Eva had hugged Mia goodbye and whispered, “I’ll call you every week. I promise.” Mia had memorized the number Eva scribbled on her palm. She’d begged Sister Agnes 4 times to use the phone. Each time, the line was busy. Or “too expensive.” But Eva never called first. Not for Mia’s 7th birthday. Not for Christmas. Not even when the orphanage flooded and three kids ended up in the clinic. Sister Agnes sighed. “Some people move on fast, Mia. Don’t wait for her.” Mia looked out the window. “I’m not waiting,” she said. “I’m remembering.” Mia was walking home from running an errand for Sister Agnes. That's when she heard it. A scream. A little girl on a small bicycle had lost control. Her mother was jogging behind her, too slow. The girl was about to hit the curb and fall face-first onto the concrete. Mia dropped the basket and ran. She grabbed the bike before it tipped, pulled the girl back, and fell with her onto the grass instead. The girl burst into tears. “Mummy!” The mother rushed over, checking her daughter. When she saw the girl was fine, she turned to Mia, breathless. “Thank you. Thank you so much. You saved her.” The father arrived a second later, pale. “Are you alright? What’s your name?” “Mia,” Mia said, brushing dirt off her knees. They watched her. The way she comforted the crying girl.The way her eyes were kind but tired. "where do you stay?, how is your parents?" The two leaned down asking Mia Mia smiled." I stay at the orphanage near to the other street st Mary's orphanage". Later that week, they came to the orphanage. “We want to adopt Mia” the woman said to Sister Agnes. “She has is very lovely girl.” Sister Agnes hesitated. Then she opened Mia’s file. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Mia can’t be adopted. She has a record of stealing. It’s in here. We can’t risk it.” The couple froze. Mia, standing in the corner. became unhappy because it might actually be her last chance getting adopted The woman held Mia hands, then at her husband. “A thief?” The man stepped forward. “If she stole, why? Kids don’t steal for no reason. If she’s ours, we’ll teach her. We’ll make sure she never needs to steal again.” They didn’t believe Mia could do it. Not after seeing how she saved their daughter. That’s how Mia got adopted by the Jason family. Not because she was perfect. But because someone finally chose to believe she could be . who are the couple adopting Mia? Will the rich woman find out Mia is her daughter ?