Chapter 432 Plans With Michael
As soon as those words left Yuval’s mouth, I could see Natalie’s face lit up. Natalie can’t even hide her emotions, and it’s obvious she can’t wait to get married.
“I see. When you get married, don’t forget to send me an invitation. I will definitely send you a huge monetary gift to congratulate you!”
I felt glad to see how blissful Natalie seemed. Although my marriage was a flop, I hoped they would have a good one.
We went on to chat a little more before we dug in. Even though it was not a fancy restaurant, the food was yummy. I was impressed by Natalie’s pick.
Halfway into the meal, Natalie suddenly stopped and looked at me hesitantly.
“I invited someone else today, Anna. But I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you would get mad at me,” Natalie murmured while cautiously looking at me.
Immediately, I frowned. I did not know who Natalie meant or who was the person I would hate to meet.
“Who is it? Why aren’t they here yet?” I asked quietly.
“When I called him, he was in the middle of a meeting, but he said he would be here after it ends.”
Natalie looked guilty and could not meet my eyes.
“Who did you invite? He sounds like a diligent person to still have a meeting at this hour.”
I started to get curious about the man that Natalie mentioned. After all, we did not share many mutual friends. Even among those friends, none of them were close to us. I did not think Natalie would invite those people to such an intimate gathering.
Natalie looked even more uncomfortable after my question. She stared at me for a long time, as she was too afraid to speak out.
Seeing the way Natalie acted, I had a bad feeling in my guts. I stared back at her in confusion.
“Natalie, stop trying to keep me in suspense. Tell me already! How could I guess who the person is?”
My curiosity only continued to peak as Natalie did not usually stutter.
“It’s… M-Michael.”
Finally, Natalie managed to name the person. Instantly, my heart almost stopped beating.
“Michael? Why the hell did you call him and invite him here?”
I looked at Natalie in shock as I did not expect her to invite Michael over. She knew what happened between Michael and me, so why would she torture me like that?
In response to my accusing glare, Natalie lowered her head in guilt.
“Anna, although you told me what the Shaw family did to you a year ago, I still think Michael was true to you. I can tell that he truly loves you,” Natalie earnestly met my eyes and stated.
I was speechless when I heard what she said. Given my relationship with Michael, I had been trying to avoid him. Yet, Natalie took the initiative to invite him here. It was akin to handing me over to him on a silver platter.
At that moment, all I wanted to do was to leave the place, for I had no desire to see Michael.
“Natalie, the last time we met, I told you in detail everything the Shaw family did to me last year. So how could you do this? Don’t you know how much it hurts for me to face him?”
My emotions got the better of me as I lashed out agitatedly. I did not blame Natalie as I know she was only trying to help me. However, it was still hard for me to accept it.
“Anna, I think he had nothing to do with what happened in the past. You have no idea how he acted after you disappeared. He tried to look for you like a crazed man, and he came to my house every other day to ask about you. I could sense how genuine he was then,” Natalie explained.
“The day you went missing, your face was all over the news. He offered a five million reward to anyone who knew where you were. If he did not love you, why would he go to such lengths to look for you, especially after your breakup?”
After I heard what had happened, my heart thumped. I did not know these things had happened after my departure. If Natalie did not tell me about it, I would have assumed it was all a lie.
My eyes widened, and I stared at Natalie in shock. It took a long while before I could regain my composure as I felt a mix of emotions.
At the same time, someone entered the restaurant. It was a handsome man dressed in a black suit. Expressionless, he looked dark and mysterious. The man looked around before heading for our table when he noticed us.
Although we shared the same bed last night, my heart still fluttered.
I could hear his footsteps getting louder and louder. Soon, he stopped at our table and sat beside me.
We were sitting so close together that I could feel his breath.
Initially, I thought I would not have to see him over these few days. Little did I expect for him to appear before me again.
Feeling uncomfortable, I sat there in silence. The atmosphere had changed since Michael came.
At the same time, I shot Natalie a death glare. Although I did not blame her, I still felt annoyed with her. It was not easy to make Michael promise that he would not see me again for the next few days. Yet, Natalie purposely set us up to meet each other.
Natalie felt awful seeing how quiet I became. She explained, “Anna, please don’t blame me. I did this for your good. I know you still love Michael, so I thought both of you could take this time to clear up any misunderstandings you had.”
What is going through her mind? Of course, I know what happened. However, no one else can understand what I went through over the last year better than I did. I might still love him, but we can’t ever be together anymore. I can’t get back with a man who had hurt me before.
I was not as forgiving as to give him a second chance. After all, I did not want to go through so many hardships in a relationship. Getting hurt once is enough to haunt me for the rest of my life.
“Forget it. Let’s not talk about it and eat up. After the meal, I still have to return to the office to work overtime as I have many documents to deal with.”
Initially, I planned to spend the night chatting with Natalie. Since we had not seen each other for a year, there were many things we had to catch up on. However, Michael’s presence made me want to leave as soon as possible.
