When I heard him utter the words “go home,” my chest tightened painfully. I looked up at him in surprise as conflicting emotions surged in my heart.
I was reluctant to get into Michael’s car. The thought of him being with another woman in the past few days left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I was bone-tired right now and had no energy to put up a fight with him.
After sliding into his car, I remained silent in my seat because I truly didn’t know what to talk about.
As the car sped along the road, Michael turned to look at me and asked casually, “Did you miss me?”
“Why do you even care whether or not your lover missed you? Seeing as you were having fun with a beautiful woman the past few days.”
The corners of my mouth arched into a mocking smile as bitterness crept into my heart. Just how greedy is this guy? He already has such an exquisite beauty by his side. Yet, he still wants me to miss him?
Why did he even ask me that? Does he miss me?
Surprisingly, my sarcastic tone didn’t annoy Michael. His mouth curved into a charming smile as he inched closer to me and muttered, “Who told you I was having fun with a beautiful woman? Are you jealous, Anna?”
When his breath tickled my ear, I quickly moved away but maintained calm and expressionless. I really didn’t know what to say to him.
“Why are you avoiding me, Anna? I’ve let you off the hook a few days ago but you’re trying to piss me off again tonight?”
Michael straightened in his seat, the smile vanishing from his face. His gaze burned with barely restrained anger as he stared at me.
Instead of answering his question, I changed the topic. “Did you have fun overseas in the past few days?”
“You think I went overseas to have fun? I went there for work.”
Michael slowed the car and glanced at me with furrowed brows.
“You brought your girlfriend overseas. Obviously, it was to have fun.”
Anger surged in me when I recalled that Emma had picked up the call when Michael was in the shower. He said he went there for work? Yeah, right. More like a honeymoon.
“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” Michael asked. It would be impossible for him to not detect the jealousy in my tone. I wanted to keep a cool head, but I just couldn’t ignore the discomfort in my heart.
“No, I’m not!” I denied without missing a beat.
I was already pathetic enough in front of Michael. The last thing I wanted was for my dignity to be stripped completely by exposing my true feelings in front of him.
But of course, Michael didn’t believe me for one second. Even a fool could see that I was jealous that Michael had taken Emma overseas with him. “You’re still denying? I can practically smell the jealousy in the air.”
However, there was no use in being jealous; neither did I have the right to be. Emma was his official girlfriend, while I was a nobody.
“When do you intend to marry her?”
I lowered my head and steered the topic away. My mind was overwhelmed with thoughts about Michael and his girlfriend. I clearly knew that asking these questions would only make me feel more miserable, but I just couldn’t help myself.
Michael frowned impatiently because I kept asking stuff about his girlfriend. “I don’t know,” he answered in a clipped tone, then ignored me completely.
We arrived at Birchwood very soon. After a whole day’s work, I was completely worn out. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed. Even the thought of dinner didn’t interest me.
Since it was already late, I assumed Michael had already eaten and would go to bed right after taking a shower.
To my chagrin, Michael had other ideas. Just when I lay down in bed, he came in and announced loudly, “Anna, I’m hungry.”
“It’s almost eleven. Didn’t you have dinner with your girlfriend before coming back?”
I opened my eyes and stared at Michael, irritated by the disturbance just when I was about to fall asleep.
“I went to see you as soon as I got off the plane. Do you think I had time to eat dinner?”
I noticed the dark look on Michael’s face, probably because I kept mentioning his girlfriend. I could even see the simmering anger in his eyes.
But upon hearing his answer, my heart thumped violently in my chest. He came to see me right after getting off the plane? Does that mean he didn’t even send his girlfriend home?
My heart soared, and my mood was instantly lifted.
“It’s already so late. I didn’t buy any groceries because you weren’t home these few days. So there isn’t much left in the refrigerator.”
As I was in a better mood, my body felt more invigorated as well. Sitting up in bed, I decided to make something for Michael, but I was lacking ingredients.
“Just make something simple,” Michael replied curtly, then walked to the bed and lay down directly.
The lights in the bedroom were very bright, so I could clearly discern the exhaustion lining his features. Perhaps he was indeed working overseas in the past few days.
I shot him a glance but left the bedroom without disturbing his rest.
In the kitchen, I opened the refrigerator and found it completely empty. Two days ago, I thought Michael wasn’t coming anymore, so after finishing all the ingredients in the refrigerator, I didn’t restock anything. There was only two cups of instant noodles left.
Left with no choice, I boiled some water, then cooked the two cups of instant noodles. I was tired after working the whole day. Hence, I made do with what I had on hand.
By the time I went back to the bedroom, Michael was already asleep. As I listened to his even breathing, I observed the way the lights accentuated his chiseled face.
“Michael,” I nudged him and called out softly.
Although Michael seemed sophisticated and glamorous as the CEO of a large corporation, no one knew all the blood, sweat, and tears he poured into achieving this success. People tend to forget that he was also a human who got tired and needed to work hard like everyone else.
“Mm,” Michael responded softly before opening his bleary eyes.
I felt slightly pained to see him this tired. I initially thought he took his girlfriend overseas for a vacation, but it seemed like he really went there for work.
We went to the dining room together. Upon seeing nothing on the table besides the two cups of instant noodles, Michael’s brows drew together.
“Anna, is this the dinner you prepared for me? Junk food?”
Michael eyed me with suspicion, as though he couldn’t believe that his dinner was a cup of instant noodles.
“There were only two cups of instant noodles left. And it’s already past midnight now, so all the restaurants are closed.”
I looked at Michael awkwardly. Of course, I wanted to prepare a delicious meal to reward him for his hard work, but I had nothing to work with, so this was the best I could do.
