As much as I was against the idea, he was the only one I could rely on until Steven regained his ability to walk. Pursing my lips, I lost myself in a train of thoughts.
Michael broke the silence and repeated himself, “You need to make up your mind soon because you’re running out of time.”
I was certain I was about to get on his nerves for real after remaining silent for such a long time. I looked at him and asked in return, “Before I give you my answer, can you answer a query of mine first?”
Michael stood upright and asked with a straight face, “What is it?”
“Of all the women available, why me? Why have you chosen to stay in touch with me when you can get someone else for the role?”
Michael was surrounded by a bunch of exceptional women. More often than not, many of them would try to hit on him, but he had never once taken them seriously.
Truth be told, I was way more inferior to those exceptional women who tried to hit on him. Thus, I couldn’t figure out the reason why he would dismiss others without a second thought, and instead, chose to maintain a relationship with me.
Smirking while staring at me in the eyes, he remarked sarcastically, “Will you believe me if I tell you it’s just because of your amazing skills in bed?”
I felt a strong urge to throw the pillow I had with me in his direction when I heard his reply.
Has he no shame at all? Is sex all he ever thinks about?
Irked by his remarks, I shot daggers at him and asked, “Michael, can you take this seriously and tell me the truth?”
“What? Are you saying that I lied to you? I am serious and I have told you the truth,” he asserted in all seriousness.
I would have been deceived by him if it weren’t because I knew it was just one of his many attempts to pull my leg.
Since he has no intention to tell me the truth, I guess I’ll just have to leave it alone for the time being. After all, it’s not like I can force him to tell me. I can’t risk offending him as of now.
Once again, he urged me to make up my mind, “Anna, instead of bringing up irrelevant topics, why don’t you make up your mind now because my patience is running out.”
Staring at him in the eyes, I lost myself in another process of thoughts.
Coming to the conclusion that what he offered seemed to be the only viable option I had left, I announced, “It’s a deal, then.”
My mother had been holding a grudge against me ever since Steven was rushed to the hospital. She wouldn’t forgive me if anything were to happen to him. In contrast to my relationship with my parents, my dignity and honor were nothing.
I couldn’t stand my mother considering me as an outsider. Otherwise, my life would be worse than it already was.
“Great.”
Michael responded with a gleeful smirk and marched his way out of the room as soon as he put on his coat.
I was frustrated by his response. He made it seemed as though we weren’t affiliated apart from the time we spent in bed.
In the end, I cursed him over and over again in my mind to vent my frustration.
When I thought he had departed, he entered the room once again and announced, “Since you’re still not feeling well, just take it easy for the rest of the day and have a break.”
“I can’t. I need to check on Steven. He has just gone through a major operation, and I don’t even know if he’s fine or not.”
I started searching for my clothes as soon as I finished my sentence.
Now that my mother was already resenting me, if I failed to show up to my brother’s post-operation, she might pick on me for not being mindful.
When Michael heard me, he answered with a frown, “Just take it easy. His surgery was successful and I have gotten my secretary to send a caregiver over to look after him. Your parents will be fine without you.”
Has he gotten everything sorted out beforehand?
Michael’s actions had taken me by surprise. As it turned out, he had taken everything into consideration and sorted out everything on my behalf.
Humans would grow fond of those who helped them when they were at their most vulnerable. And that happened to be my case. I felt as though I could resolve everything as long as Michael was around me.
“Thank you, Michael.”
I was glad he had resolved the issues on my behalf when I was in desperate need of help. However, his upcoming reply took me by surprise and sent me into a vicious cycle of despair.
“There’s no need to thank me since I’m just returning the favor. At the end of the day, our relationship is nothing more than a deal.”
My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach upon hearing that.
He might have deemed our relationship as just another one of his many deals, but that wasn’t the case for me.
Although he might see me as just another tool to satisfy his urges and needs, he was an important figure in my life. After all, he had rushed to my rescue twice when I needed someone the most. The sort of affection I had for him was no longer the same after the series of incidents.
As a result of his reply, I felt my eyes prickling as though I was about to weep again. I looked elsewhere because I couldn’t stand his cold and emotionless gaze on me.
Michael, who had always been an observant man, noticed the change in my expression, but he chose to dismiss me as though he couldn’t be bothered.
“Just get some rest. I’ll get my secretary to send you something to eat in the afternoon.”
Once again, he marched out of the room once he finished his sentence.
I didn’t hear him leaving the place. Thus, I reckoned he must be in the living room.
As I lay on the bed, I couldn’t bring myself to sleep anymore. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t shrug Michael’s remarks off my mind.
Is our relationship nothing more than a deal for him? Doesn’t he feel anything else?
I couldn’t get Michael’s handsome countenance out of my mind. After some time, I heard someone ringing the doorbell. My first thought was that it was Michael’s secretary bringing us something to eat.
A few minutes after the doorbell rang, Michael showed up in the room and saw that I wasn’t asleep. He instructed, “Come out and grab yourself something to eat. I’ll be leaving for a meeting in the afternoon after the meal.”
After getting dressed, I joined Michael in the dining hall. He started savoring the food his secretary brought us in an elegant manner.
It was a relatively simple meal with a few dishes. Seated opposite him, I started having my meal in silence as there was no topic of conversation that came to mind.
Perhaps it was because of his words earlier, I felt something had changed in the dynamic of our relationship.
