I had been rebuffing Michael and keeping him at a distance in the past two days, so he was sure to have sensed it.
At his question, I averted my gaze in a panic to avoid looking him in the eye. “There are too many people at the office. It’ll be bad if they discover our relationship, so I’d better take the subway.”
“Just do whatever you like, then!”
Michael didn’t coerce me, but I could tell that his voice was colored by rage. Plenty of women would kill to hitch a ride with him, but I rejected him twice in a row. As such, it was only natural that he was incensed.
After saying that, he left with huge strides. While I breathed a sigh of relief, an inexplicable sense of disappointment enveloped me.
I was still wondering whether he had another woman out there, the question of the perfume and lipstick stain on him plaguing me endlessly. I knew full well that I had no right to bother about that, but I simply couldn’t control myself.
I was really afraid that I would lose myself to him, terrified of the devastation I would face if I truly fell in love with him.
After spending the day in the office, I received a call from Natalie before it was even time to get off work. Without a shadow of a doubt, I knew that she wanted to know what was going on between Michael and me.
As things had come to this point, I was aware that I could no longer keep her in the dark. Besides, I didn’t want to keep any more secrets from her either since she was my best friend.
When I had gotten off work, I went to the agreed-upon café to meet Natalie. By the time I arrived, she was already waiting there.
I sat down across from her, but I was momentarily at a loss for words. Surprisingly, Natalie was silent as well.
“Anna, we’re best friends, aren’t we? So I hope that you won’t keep secrets from me. I want to know about your relationship with Michael Shaw. What exactly is going on between the two of you?” Natalie finally demanded after a long silence.
She pinned her gaze on me, the look in her eyes puzzled and frantic.
Nonetheless, I continued stirring my coffee for a moment before I lifted my head and looked at her squarely.
“Natalie, it was Michael who paid for my brother’s medical expenses. In return, I agreed to his stipulation of being his lover,” I answered solemnly.
“What? You actually agreed to such a stipulation? Have you lost your mind, Anna? Do you know how badly your reputation will be affected if this matter gets out?”
Upon hearing that, Natalie abruptly shot to her feet and gaped at me in shock.
“Keep it down, Natalie. People will hear you if you shriek so loudly.”
She was very loud, so I darted my eyes around worriedly. It wasn’t until I was certain that no one was looking at us did I finally breathe easier.
Realizing that she was too emotional earlier, Natalie sat back down and regarded me anxiously.
“Anna, are you aware of the price you’ll have to pay when you do something like this? Do you know that your reputation will be in tatters if word spreads about this?”
Natalie stared at me with trepidation etched on her face.
However, I was very calm in the face of her concerns. “I considered all that, but I had no other choice at that time. Nat, you know my brother needed the money for his operation. Likewise, you know that I could never manage to raise that much money. Therefore, my only recourse was to agree to Michael’s stipulation.”
I then lowered my eyes as despondency engulfed me. In truth, my illicit relationship with Michael was a thorn in my flesh.
“Truly, you were too foolish. You only thought about saving your brother, but have you ever considered yourself? Michael will be fine if your relationship with him gets out, but what about you? It’ll ruin your entire life. I really don’t know what else to say right now.”
Natalie seemed exceedingly distressed after learning the truth about my relationship with Michael. I knew that she was worried about me, but it was no longer of any use now that things were already set in stone.
“Alright, don’t worry about me. I’ll be sure to keep my relationship with him under wraps. Besides, such a relationship between us won’t last all that long. After all, men get bored easily after some time.”
I only said that because I discovered traces of another woman on Michael.
“Jeez, I really don’t know how else to dissuade you from your current course of action.”
Sighing, Natalie looked at me helplessly as words eluded her. In reality, she knew that nothing she said would make a difference now as what was done was done.
“Okay, stop being so pessimistic. Perhaps Michael will lose interest in me a few days later. At that time, I’ll be free again,” I blurted nonchalantly at the despair on her face, grasping her hands.
Truth be told, I was more bothered about it than anyone else, but that didn’t matter anymore. As things had been set in motion, there was no turning back.
“Hopefully so.”
Natalie sighed again, knowing that she could only hope for the best since it was now too late to do things differently.
After parting ways with her, I was a touch distracted as my thoughts drifted. Michael may very well get sick of me soon, huh? And now that he has a new lover, my novelty will probably wear off in no time.
As I ambled along the street, I was entirely preoccupied. Even when I crossed the road, I failed to look at the traffic light.
All of a sudden, an ear-piercing honk pierced the air. When I noticed a bright red Ferrari hurtling toward me, my mind went blank as all my thoughts scattered. Seeing that it was about to hit me, I screwed my eyes shut in resignation. Inwardly, I kept fretting, Oh God, I’m done for this time! Even if I don’t die, I’m going to end up crippled!
Screech!
The sound of car tires against the gravel was so deafening that even my heart leaped to my throat.
When I felt no impact after a long moment, I opened my eyes in mystification. Noticing that the car had come to a stop a few inches from me, I breathed a sigh of relief. Phew! That was a close call!
I wanted to move to the sidewalk, but my legs felt as though they were shackled to the ground, weighing a ton. All at once, my knees buckled from the fright.
By then, the owner of the Ferrari had alighted from the car. A man’s tall and slender figure entered my line of sight, but I couldn’t quite see his countenance since he had on huge sunglasses.
“Are you okay, miss? Why didn’t you look at the traffic light before crossing the road?”
As the man walked over to me, he wore an anxious expression on his face. His voice was mellifluous and seemed rather familiar to me. Nonetheless, my mind was a chaotic mess at present, so I simply hadn’t the mental capacity to contemplate anything else.
“I’m fine. Sorry, I was a bit distracted earlier,” I murmured in embarrassment as I looked up at him.
Under normal circumstances, I would definitely be enraged at almost having been mowed down. But this time, I was the one who flouted the traffic rules.
“It’s you?” he exclaimed in surprise while staring at me.
“Do I know you?”
