Chapter 20: Blessings
"You’re here to see my brother, aren’t you? Do you want me to bring you to him?" asked Christian with an affable smile. His expression looked very gentle. The smile on his face made the receptionist question her own eyes.
Everybody in the company knew that Michael had a girlfriend, but Christian was still single. All the single women working there had their eyes on Christian.
Wendy wanted to ignore him. Her instincts and rationality told her that the further away she stayed from Christian, the better it would be for her. But Mr. York was not picking up her call.
After hesitating, Wendy said, "I suppose I will take you up on that offer."
"Wendy, please don’t be so courteous. We are a family after all" said Christian.
Wendy felt an inexplicable urge to laugh every time the word ’family’ came out of Christian’s mouth. The relationships within the Lucas family were very complicated, just like her own relationship with Michael. For Christian to call them a family, that was really far-fetched.
Christian took Wendy to the special elevator. reserved for executives in their company and they quickly reached the floor of the president’s office. When the elevator doors opened and Wendy saw Christian follow her out, she stopped in her tracks and said, "Thank you for bringing me here, but you don’t have to follow me in."
"Since I was the one who brought you here, I have to make sure that I safely escort you as well. I know that your relationship with my brother is not good. If l leave, I’m afraid that he will bully you," said Christian, acting like he was doing this solely for her sake. He urged her "Let’s go."
As he spoke, he took Wendy’s hand.
"Christian ..." Wendy had just called out Christian’s name and did not have enough time to fling his hand away yet when she saw Michael and Mr. York emerge from the office. Michael was holding a file in his hands, and although he had originally been looking down at it, he immediately froze when he saw Wendy and Christian together. Michael’s gaze shifted from Wendy to their interlocked hands. Time seemed to stop at this moment.
Wendy shook Christian’s hand off and lowered her head subconsciously as though she had been caught in the act.
She thought, wait, why am I feeling guilty? There’s nothing between me and Christian. Even if there was something, Michael and I are about to get divorced.
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Wendy grew more courageous. She lifted her head to look at Michael and said, "Michael, I waited three hours for you outside the Civil Affairs Bureau."
"Heh ..." Michael snorted. He stared mockingly at Wendy, a look of disgust in his eyes, and continued, "Are you in such a rush to get divorced because of him?"
"No, I ..." Wendy wanted to explain herself.
"You’re even holding his hand at my company, how can you still deny it?" Michael’s tone revealed just how much he despised Wendy. He said, "Wendy Stewart, I really wasn’t aware just how shameless you are. Christian has only been back for slightly over a week, and you’re already hitting on him? You truly are a disloyal pair."
The corners of Wendy ’s lips suddenly pursed as she laughed. She could not believe that she had wanted to explain herself. How hilarious. After all, Michael had never once believed what she said. What was the point of her explaining anything?
"Michael, it’s not right for you to scold her. You can scold me all you want, but how can you scold your own wife?" Christian stepped forward, shielding Wendy behind him. His intention to protect her was clear as day as he continued, "l admit that I have feelings for Wendy, but she has rejected me mercilessly. Wendy didn’t do anything wrong, you shouldn’t scold her. You should apologize to her."
"Get lost!" said Michael as his gaze fiercely swept over Christian. When Christian remained where he was, Michael stepped forward and pushed him away before pulling Wendy into his office.
A trace of delight surfaced in Christian’s eyes as he observed Michael’s rage.
"Michael Lucas, let go of me!" Wendy felt a sharp pain shoot through her wrist. Michael had grabbed her with incredible force.
He dragged her to the couch and pushed her down. Staring coldly at her, he said, "Wendy Stewart, just how did you hook up with Christian? Ah? You’re a pro at seducing men. Why didn’t I know before about what a seductress you are? You agreed to the divorce so easily this time, all because of Christian?Wendy Stewart, why don’t you think about why Christian would possibly want a divorced woman like yourself? Don’t forget, you’re just a woman that I discarded."
Wendy no longer wished to explain herself. If Michael was under the impression that she was in a relationship with Christian, then so be it. As long as he still agreed to the divorce.
"Yes, you’re right, I’ve changed my target to Christian. So, Michael, let’s finalize our divorce proceedings. I’ll give my blessings to you and Yvonne, and you can give me your blessings in return," said Wendy as she lifted her head and met Michael’s eyes directly, which was a rare Occurrence. Her tone was strong and firm, too, and she was no longer as afraid as she was in the past.
At that, Michael reached out and pinched Wendy’s chin. He was immensely forceful, and it hurt Wendy so much that she gritted her teeth in pain. But she did not shout in pain because she knew that Michael never did and would never feel sorry for her.
"Give you my blessings? Heh." Michael grinned in anger as he said, "Dream on!"
"What do you mean?" Wendy couldn’t comprehend Michael right now. She said, "Haven’t you been desperate to get divorced? As long as you agree to it, we can finalize the procedure right away.
"I won’t agree to it!" Michael enunciated each Word carefully. "You want me to give you and Christian my blessings? Over my dead body!"
Michael’s appearance made Wendy feel a little scared. Subconsciously, she touched her belly, afraid that she would not be able to keep her baby if this dragged on.
Gulping, Wendy spoke slowly. "Don’t you hate me? Don’t you love Yvonne? I trapped you in a marriage with me for three years, and I admit that’s my fault. Now that I’ve finally thought things through and decided to give the both of you my blessings, what’s so wrong about that?"
"Are you really giving me your blessings? You’re just doing this for yourself," said Michael. He noticed the beads of perspiration that had emerged on Wendy’s forehead from the pain she was in.
Without thinking, he loosened his grip.
Wendy had thought that if she admitted to having a relationship with Christian, Michael would be so enraged that he would agree to get divorced immediately. Unexpectedly, he was refusing to do so.
"If you’re only refusing because of my relationship with Christian, then let me promise you this: I will never get together with him, not even after our divorce. In fact, I can leave Lake City and never appear in front of you guys ever again," Wendy promised him seriously and solemnly.
Afraid that Michael would not believe her, Wendy made the gesture of raising three fingers. She said, "I can swear on my life."
Michael felt slightly dazed when confronted with a different version of VWendy, one who was trying so hard to get him to agree to a divorce. The only memories he had of Wendy were of her submissiveness, obedience, and gentleness. He knew her as someone who was so incredibly thick-skinned that she would refuse to a divorce no matter how much he humiliated her. Yet today, her disposition was completely different from before. The Wendy before his eyes right now was a completely unfamiliar person to him.
But some entirely unexpected emotions were running wild in Michael’s heart. It made him upset and irritated.
"Is Christian that good to you?" Michael’s voice dipped as well.
No matter how much Wendy tried to promise him or swear on her life, Michael could not think of a second reason why she would want to get divorced. From his perspective, Wendy just wanted to get divorced so she could regain the freedom to meet other men, if not Christian.
"Michael, just what exactly do I have to do to get you to agree?" Wendy never expected that their roles would be reversed and that one day, she would be the one begging Michael for a divorce.
Michael did not answer Wendy at first. Instead, he stared right into her eyes. It was his first time noticing how big and clear Wendy’s eyes were.
He caressed her face, not even thinking about it.
She used to be malnourished and she had dry and sallow skin. Now, however, her skin looked incredibly creamy. Michael’s touch made Wendy tremble from head to toe. She did not know what Michael had in mind.
Wendy reached out to push Michael away as she asked fearfully, "What are you trying to do?"
Wendy’s refusal to let him touch her made Michael furious. He restrained her with one hand and said, "What am I trying to do? You’re still legally my wife, so why don’t you tell me what I’m trying to do?"
With these words, Michael lowered his head and kissed Wendy fiercely. Pain shot through Wendy’s lips. She twisted her head forcefully and tried to free her hands as if her life depended on it. Then, Wendy gave Michael a slap, the crisp sound resonating through the room. This was the first time Wendy had resorted to violence against Michael.
Michael was not the only one who felt shocked. Wendy herself was just as taken aback.
She opened her mouth and whispered, "I’m... I’m sorry..."
That slap had not been deliberate. Michael’s behavior earlier had just intimidated Wendy and pushed her over the edge. She was truly afraid that Michael would do something to her right there, right then.
"Are you trying to protect your chastity for Christian now?" Michael snorted. He continued, "Unfortunately, you’re no longer a virgin!"
When Wendy heard those words, anger surged through her body. She thought, Michael, has no filter when he gets mad.
"What are the two of you doing!" Yvonne’s eyes widened in disbelief when she walked into the office only to see Michael and Wendy both lying on the couch, with the former pressing her down. Yvonne ran over and instantly started crying, "Michael, you.. the both of you.."
Michael took a deep breath. When he stood up from the couch, there was still anger spreading through his chest. However, when he looked at Yvonne, he managed to explain himself patiently. "Yvonne, it’s not what you think it is."
"Michael, how could you treat me like that..." said Yvonne as she reached out to wipe her tears, which were falling down her face like rain.
Wendy felt the irony of this situation. She thought, I’m legally Michael’s wife, but right now it feels like Yvonne just caught us in the act.
Rising, Wendy smoothed her ruffled clothes. With the current situation, there was no way they could get divorced today.
Wendy said, "I think we should finalize our divorce proceedings as soon as possible. Otherwise, your dear Yvonne would be devastated."
As she spoke, she glanced purposefully at Yvonne, only to see he crying in a particularly aggrieved manner.
"Michael, haven’t you finalized your divorce with her? Didn’t you tell me that it would happen today?" asked Yvonne as her voice grow choked from crying.
Then, she approached Wendy to defend herself as she said, "Wendy Stewart, let me warn you, don’t try anything funny. Michael loves me and only me."
"I know, that’s why I’m giving the two of you my blessings," replied Wendy, "Please help me convince him as well"
With that, Wendy left the president’s office. As for Yvonne, wendy’s Words made it clear that Michael was now the one who was hesitant to get divorced.
Turning her head, she grabbed Michael’s arm and rested her head against his shoulder.
Sniffing, she asked in an indignant tone, "Michael, why don’t you want to get divorced?Could it be that you don’t want to marry me?"
"There are some things that you will never understand," replied Michael. He rubbed the area between his eyebrows, feeling immense frustration in his heart.
"But Wendy has finally agreed to a divorce, and if you agree, this can happen immediately. Haven’t we been waiting for this day for the past three years?"
" I told you, that there are some things that you will never understand!" Michael just grew increasingly irritated as he watched Yvonne, who only knew how to behave coyly. His tone had grown much harsher.
Yvonne was so frightened that her tears stopped. This was her first time encountering this side of Michael. She thought, could it be that he has fallen for Wendy?
Michael realized the harshness of his tone. He embraced Yvonne, and when he spoke, his voice was much warmer, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely get divorced. However, that has to wait."
