I was thrilled when I heard him regard Emma as someone he disliked. I wasn’t supposed to gloat over others’ misfortune, but I just couldn’t help it.
Whenever Michael was around me, time would pass by in the blink of an eye. It felt as if nothing else mattered as long as Michael was there for me.
In the upcoming few days, Mom stopped bothering me. Emma had stopped showing up to pick on me as well. I thought that would be the end of the incident, but that was very naïve of me.
When I was on my way to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for dinner after getting off work, a luxury car pulled over in front of me and got in my way.
I arched my brows in confusion. The moment I tried to get past the car, the passenger wound down the window. A woman in her late-forties had her eyes glued to me.
She had dolled herself up with all sorts of designer items. It was safe to assume she was a member of the upper echelon.
When she caught me staring at her, she started scrutinizing me in return. A few seconds later, she popped a question, “Anna Garcia?”
Startled by the fact she knew my name, I asked, “Huh? Do you know me?”
Who is she? Are we acquainted by any chance?
I tried my best to recall the time we encountered one another, but my effort was to no avail as I was certain we weren’t acquainted.
Instead of answering my query, she brought up something else and suggested with a deadpan look, “Ms. Garcia, care to join me for a cup of coffee?”
She was able to carry herself in an elegant manner befitting a member of the upper echelon throughout the conversation.
“I’m so sorry for being rude, but do you mind introducing yourself? I don’t think we’re acquainted by any means.”
I was taken aback by her request to join her for a cup of coffee as I couldn’t recall anyone else bringing up a similar request during our first encounter.
“I’ll answer the queries you have soon enough. There’s a café that’s just around the corner. We’ll head over and talk over a cup of coffee.”
She wound up the window the moment she finished her sentence. A short while later, the car was pulled over in front of a nearby café.
As much as I tried to figure out her identity, my effort was to no avail. After all, a country bumkin like me couldn’t possibly be acquainted with someone from the upper echelon.
Nonetheless, I ended up accepting the offer and making my way to the nearby café she had mentioned.
When I showed up, she had long taken a seat and started enjoying her cup of coffee in an elegant manner.
I brought myself to a halt before making my way over. There was something odd about her. Thus, I couldn’t stop myself from being on my guard.
As soon as I took a seat opposite her, she broke the silence and asked, “Ms. Garcia, what would you like? It’s my treat.”
I had a hard time figuring out the emotions associated with the question due to her tone.
Unable to keep my curiosity to myself, I asked with a confused look, “Why don’t you go ahead and answer my question? Who are you?”
“I’m Josephine. Josephine Blackwood. Michael’s mother.”
Josephine looked at me in the eyes and enunciated her reply.
What? She’s Michael’s mother? Why has she paid me a visit in person?
My mind was all over the place after I figured out her identity. I was afraid to look at her in the eyes and started looking elsewhere to avoid her gaze.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Shaw.”
She asked with her eyes glued to me, “Ms. Garcia, forgive me for being blunt, but are you in some sort of relationship with Michael?”
I was overwhelmed by a sense of insecurity as I couldn’t be sure if she was a friend or a foe.
“I…”
I ended up stuttering since I was at a loss for words. As a result, my eyes started flickering in despair.
“Ms. Garcia, are you aware that Michael is currently in a relationship with someone else? Emma is an exceptional young woman. To be frank, she’s also the family’s sweetheart.”
I went dead silent in response to her question. Subsequently, Josephine carried on with the conversation in a calm and collected tone.
It sounded just like an ordinary conversation, but it was evident that her statements were double innuendos—she had indicated she wanted me to sever ties with Michael.
Judging by her choice of words, it was safe to assume she had misperceived me as the one messing up Michael and Emma’s relationship.
Unable to withstand the humiliation, I rebuked, “Mrs. Shaw, I’m afraid you have misperceived the sort of relationship we have. We’re nothing more-”
“Ms. Garcia, you do realize Michael needs a spouse who’s on par with him in terms of social status, don’t you? I don’t mind him fooling around with others since he’s still a young and reckless man. However, he’s going to get married to Emma at the end of the day. I can’t afford to have Michael’s image tarnished. Are you aware of the things I’m talking about?”
Josephine interrupted me before I could finish my sentence. All along, she thought Michael hadn’t been taking me seriously and deemed him fooling around with me.
Well, she wasn’t that far off the mark either. At the end of the day, things would never work out between Michael and me. Nonetheless, it felt awful to have Josephine picking on me.
“Mrs. Shaw, I’m well aware of the things you’re talking about. You don’t have to worry because I have never tried to do anything silly to ruin Michael and Emma’s relationship.”
It was never my intention to ruin their relationship. As a matter of fact, Emma was the one who wouldn’t stop picking on me.
When Josephine heard me, she nodded in return. She wasn’t as pressing as she was a few minutes ago.
“Ms. Garcia, I believe you’re also aware of the reason I have paid you a visit in person today. Therefore, please refrain from driving them apart from one another in the future.”
She had paid me a visit in person to chase me away from Michael. Although she had made herself clear, there was nothing much I could do to turn her down.
“Mrs. Shaw, why don’t you approach Michael instead of me if you want me to stay away from Michael? I have always been the subservient one in our relationship. In other words, I’m not in a position to sever ties with him without his consent. I’m sure you know how domineering he is, don’t you?”
I had no choice but to leave Michael since Josephine had made herself clear. Otherwise, she might see me as another lustful woman.
As much as I was reluctant to leave him, I had to put an end to our relationship to salvage my almost none existent dignity.
Meanwhile, Josephine frowned when she heard me. Her frustration was written all over her face, but she chose to keep those to herself.
“I’ll deal with Michael soon, but I need you to be slightly proactive as well! It takes two to tango—it’s better to make up your mind as soon as possible to save yourself from being humiliated when the time comes.”
