“Since you’re so adamant on keeping our relationship under wraps, I shall fulfill your wish,” Michael coldly replied and stormed out of the door without even sparing a second glance at me.
I was baffled to see him infuriated. I don’t think I said anything wrong, so why is he so angry? Could it be because of that message?
As I thought of that message he sent me, I was overwhelmed with guilt once again.
I hurriedly shook my head to get rid of any thoughts relating to Michael and directed my attention back to continue with dinner preparation.
Nonetheless, he did not return when dinner was ready. I sat at the dining table and waited for him, yet he never appeared even after two hours.
Every night, we would eat dinner together in this house without fail. That had slowly become a habit of mine. As such, I could not get used to his absence that night and only ate a few bites before going for a bath and then to bed.
I had always told myself not to hold Michael in a special place in my heart and to learn to be indifferent and composed so that there was no way I would fall in love with him.
After all, the one who got aroused first will be the loser between the two of us.
That night, Michael did not return. I was worried and had no idea where he went, but I suppressed the urge to call him.
In the next few days, he did not set foot at Birchwood either. I had only seen him in the company during the day. I desperately wanted to ask if he had gone to the mansion, or perhaps he had gone to some other woman’s house instead.
Nevertheless, I knew that I was in no position to ask those questions because I was the one who had asked him to keep a distance. Thus, my question would only add to his displeasure.
I grabbed a document, headed toward the CEO’s office, and chanced upon an opportunity to knock on Michael’s room door when no one was noticing me.
I waited till his voice sounded from inside before I pushed open the door and walked in.
I came in to see Michael, with his head lowered, focused on going through the documents. I was a little hesitant as I came in front of him, unsure of what to say.
When he finally raised his head to look at me after a long time, he furrowed his brows as he asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Umm… I need you to look through this document and sign it too.”
The moment we exchanged glances, I forgot everything that I had wanted to say as my mind went blank. It took me a long time before I recovered from my stupor.
“That is the work of a secretary. Why are you, an employee from the design department, sending the document and asking for signature?” Michael exposed me mercilessly while looking at me coldly.
I only wanted to find an excuse to get in his room, so I did not think much else at all.
“I-I…”
“Tell me. What’s the matter?”
I had wanted to explain myself, yet Michael did not give me a chance to do so. He did not spare me another glance after saying those words to me.
“Were you staying at the mansion for the past few days? You haven’t been back at Birchwood…” I hesitated for a long time before finally putting those words out in a low voice.
“It’s within working hours now. Do you think it’s appropriate for you to discuss private matters now?”
Michael’s gaze turned colder and I could sense that suffocating chill from the look in his eyes.
“I…”
Panic rose in my heart instantly as I did not expect him to lose his temper. I wanted to explain myself but was interrupted by him.
“Get out of here!” he snarled.
My eyes flickered. When I finally regained my senses, I felt sad as I could not believe Michael would let out his frustration on me.
Tears welled up in my red-rimmed eyes, but I forcefully held my tears back even though I felt indignant about it.
I turned and hurried out of the CEO’s office and returned to my desk.
On my way back from the CEO’s office, many eyes swung at me, all of whom held a trace of ridicule on their faces.
Even though it felt like my insides were tearing apart, I ignored their mockery and tried to keep my composure in front of them as I did not want them to see me at my weakest state.
While in the company for the past few days, Michael did not even spare me a glance at all, let alone talk to me. Who knew it would end up this way when I finally decided to take the initiative to approach him today. Of course, I felt disheartened and miserable.
Besides, I just had a streak of bad luck recently without any reason. There had been too many unlucky incidents—I could not find my documents; the saved files on my computer went missing, and the office chair broke apart.
I had a creeping feeling that someone had been setting me up intentionally because unlucky things could not have happened continuously.
Then again, it was pure suspicions in my mind. After all, I did not have any substantive evidence to support my claims, and everything that had happened could purely be due to my crappy luck.
In the late evening, after settling my physiological needs at the washroom, I was about to get out when I realized I could not open the door at all. It felt like something had blocked it from opening.
I tried to push the door hard, but it did not budge even a little. I began to panic at the thought that there would barely be anyone visiting the washroom as it was almost time to get off work.
“Anyone there? Is anyone out there?”
I used all my might to push the washroom door as I yelled for help. However, there was no reply. There was only dead silence outside, as though no one was around.
When I remembered I could use my phone to call for help and tried to reach for it, I realized that I had left it on my desk. That meant I could not contact anybody to come and save me.
Helplessness and fear struck me once again. I did not know what I should do at that moment.
So if I can’t get out, does that mean I’ll have to spend the night inside this washroom?
“Anybody there? Please help me!”
Refusing to give up, I continued to scream for help. Similarly, no one replied from outside.
Time was ticking, but no one came to my help. It was made worse by the wind from the air conditioner in the washroom that only seemed to get colder than before.
Technically speaking, the air conditioner was usually switched off after working hours. Why is it still so cold?
I squatted near the door of the washroom, and the increasingly cold air only made me shivered uncontrollably. I could not wrap my mind around who the person was behind this incident.
No one had ever locked the door to the washroom in normal circumstances. What’s wrong today? Who is behind this?
I was now certain that someone indeed had deliberately locked me up in here. Even if I were so out of luck, it was impossible that a series of unlucky events happened to me continuously.
Even so, there was nothing I could do. I could not even get out of the washroom, and I reckoned I would not be able to hold out any longer if the temperature remained cold in there.
A long time had passed, and I could only feel my whole body freezing. The washroom was so cold that I felt no trace of warmth even when I curled myself up in a corner.
