Chapter 54: Believe
"Michael..." Yvonne’s voice rang out from a distance. She had arrived at the mall some time ago, but as she did not know exactly where Michael and Wendy were, she could only try her luck and walk around in hope of bumping into them.
At first, she thought that they might have already left, but unexpectedly, she ended up running into them after all.
The happiness that Wendy felt disappeared in an instant. When Michael saw Yvonne, the smile on his face gradually faded too. Yvonne quickly ran up to him. Noticing how close they were standing together, she calmly wedged herself between them.
Wendy’s face darkened as Yvonne pushed her away. However, before she could say anything, Yvonne grabbed Michael’s arm and whined indignantly, "Michael, why didn’t you visit me in the hospital?"
"Why are you here?" Michael glanced at Wendy before reaching out to free himself from Yvonne’s grasp. He stopped her from getting any closer.
Yvonne could tell that Michael was deliberately keeping his distance from her, and she did not dare to push his limits. She explained herself, saying, "I kept calling you, but your phone was switched off. I was afraid that something might have happened to you, so I had no choice but to leave the hospital and look for you. I spent such a long time looking for you, but I finally found you."
"How did you know that I’m at the mall?" Michael narrowed his eyes, questioning her.
"..." Yvonne had prioritized coming to the mall to look for Michael as she wanted to disrupt his
time together with Wendy. However, she had not given much thought to what excuse she might use. Michael’s question put her at a loss.
"I ..." she tried her best to think of an excuse, "I requested tailoring services for my purchases here recently and they’re finally ready, so the shop called me to come and collect them."
There was no better reason she could have come up with within that short period. Michael looked Yvonne up and down, and it was impossible to tell if he was convinced.
"Michael, you said that you’d visit me in the hospital when you had time, but I’ve been waiting for you over the past few days," Yvonne sniffled pitifully as though she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.
"I told you that I’m busy and don’t have time to do that."
"You obviously have time, you’re shopping with Wendy right ..." Before Yvonne could finish making her accusations, Michael’s icy gaze landed on her. She bit down on her bottom lip, not daring to continue.
"I’m busy, I have to go now. If you’ve recovered from your injury, you should go home. If not, you should go back to the hospital," said Michael.
With that, he turned around to look at Wendy, signaling for her to follow him. Wendy did, but when she walked past Yvonne, she felt her glare at her with hateful eyes.
Wendy had planned to ignore her. However, Yvonne did not intend to let Wendy go just like that. She suddenly reached out to grab Wendy’s hand, then fell to the ground suddenly, shrieking "Wendy Stewart, why did you push me?"
Wendy turned around, her face blank. However, she came to her senses quickly. Yvonne was up to her usual tricks. She self-consciously glanced at Michael. He had already turned around after hearing the commotion, but Yvonne was quick as lighting and had released Wendy’s hand in the split second that he took to look back.
Yvonne sat on the ground, crying with increasing pitifulness, "Wendy Stewart, I know that you don’t like me. But you know that my leg is injured, so how could you still push me? Are you trying to make sure that I never recover?"
Wendy did not wish to explain herself, but then she thought about how much nicer Michael had been to her recently. Unable to help herself, she said, "I did not push her, but it’s fine if you don’t believe me."
In the past, Wendy would desperately beg Michael to believe her whenever something like this happened. However, now she knew that the more desperate she was, the more Michael despised her. Now, Wendy no longer wished to force Michael to believe her words if he did not want to.
"Michael ..." Yvonne decided to rely on her old ways as she stared up at Michael with her big, watery eyes. This was a trick that used to have a 100% effectiveness rate, but now, it had becoming increasingly useless. However, she had no other choice.
Michael’s gaze alternated between Yvonne and Wendy. Yvonne appeared pitiful, whereas Wendy looked indifferent. He could not help but glance at Wendy a few more times.
She noticed Michael looking at her but could not figure out what exactly was going on in his head. If he chose not to believe her again this time, there was simply nothing she could do about it.
"Michael, I think my injury has been aggravated. Can you please help me up?" Observing Michael’s silence, Yvonne continued to put up a weak front. If this were like before, Michael would have adhered without another word. But now, he only glanced at her faintly.
Michael saw Mr. York from a distance. He waved at his assistant. He had arrived at the mall after Michael’s phone call to help him transport his shopping bags home. However, he did not expect the number of luxury goods that Michael had bought. He noticed Michael summoning him and quickly ran over.
Pointing at Yvonne who was still sitting on the ground, Michael said, "Send her back to the hospital. Before her injury recovers fully, don’t let her wander around again." On the surface, his words sounded like they were coming from a place of concern. However, he was in fact restricting her movement.
"Michael ..." Yvonne stared at Michael incredulously, evidently stunned that he would do such a thing. She thought that even if he did not believe her, he would at least send her back to the hospital personally.
"Recuperate well in the hospital," said Michael.
With that, he took Wendy’s hand and walked away from her.
Yvonne was not the only one who felt surprised.
Wendy was equally shocked. She thought, does this mean that Michael believes me? And is he really holding my hand in front of Yvonne?
Her heartbeat accelerated as her breathing grew irregular. Even after they entered the car, Wendy had still not come to her senses.
Michael saw that her seatbelt was not fastened even though she was already sitting in the passenger seat. He leaned over to grab the seatbelt, his fingers brushing her thighs in the process. Wendy was instantly jolted back to reality. Loudly, she asked, "What are you trying to do?"
Her reaction made him frown. He said, "I’m fastening your seatbelt for you."
When Wendy saw Michael’s helpless expression she chuckled in embarrassment and said, "I... I can do it myself."
Michael did not force his way through. He retracted his hands. After he saw Wendy fasten her seatbelt, he started the engine. On their way home, Wendy could not help but ask tentatively, "Michael, do you believe that I had nothing to do with Yvonne’s fall?"
He simply replied, "Yeah."
That unassuming response was enough to make Wendy feel at ease. She thought, he finally believed me. I finally see a glimmer of hope in this marriage after three years of hard work, just when it was about to fall apart. Regardless of how he treated her, she always felt that Yvonne’s existence drove a big wedge between them.
Now, she was starting to think that Yvonne might not be that important anymore. At least this time, Michael had chosen to believe her.
Wendy thought, perhaps, it’s possible for things to work out between us?
She touched her abdomen, her heart feeling warm. She wondered if Michael would be able to accept the child if she told him right now that she had been pregnant with his baby for over two months. No matter how sensible Wendy was, the man sitting beside her was still someone she had loved for more than three years.
Wendy thought, no, I can’t do that. I can’t be so anxious. Michael is just starting to trust me. I cannot risk my child’s life before l can confirm that he is willing to accept us both. I can do without the marriage, but I cannot do without my child. If he is still unable to accept us, he will force me to get an abortion once he finds out about my pregnancy. I should wait a little longer.
She figured that she could tell Michael about her pregnancy after a little longer, when things between them stabilized and changed for the better. "Michael, can I ask you why you chose to trust me this time?" she bit down on her bottom lip while waiting for his response.
"What if I told you that I’ve known about Yvonne’s various tricks since a long time ago, would you believe me?" Michael replied calmly.
"You knew all along?" Wendy found it hard to believe.
Michael did not continue to explain himself. He merely hummed. Seeing that he did not seem interested in revealing more, she decided not to pursue the topic. No matter what, this was a good start for them.
It was almost 8 P.M. by the time they got home. Even though they had eaten a late lunch, they were famished after one entire day of shopping.
He consciously entered the kitchen and said, "You must be tired from shopping today. I’ll cook instead, what do you want to eat?"
When Wendy heard Michael’s intention, she immediately stood up from the couch, "Let me do it."
Michael rarely cooked, and she had never tried his dishes. However, she knew that he must also be tired after shopping with her the whole day.
"Just sit down and rest since I asked you to," Michael’s tone grew more domineering, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Alright, then," said Wendy. To be honest, she really wanted to try his cooking too.
Michael bustled around the kitchen whereas Wendy entertained herself with her phone. She would glance at Michael’s back view occasionally. The past few days had felt too much like a dream. There were a few times when Wendy wondered if that was actually the case. As she stared at Michael’s solid figure standing in the kitchen, she reached out to pinch her thigh. After confirming that this was not a dream, the corners of her lips inadvertently curled.
The doorbell rang. Wendy went to answer it. The moment she did, a man in his bodyguard uniform greeted her respectfully, "Good evening, we’re here to deliver your items." Then, she looked down and saw that the group of men standing before her door had their hands filled with her many shopping bags from their trip today. She immediately invited them into the apartment.
When she realized that all the luxury items could barely fit in the living room, she frowned slightly.
She did not realize just how much they had bought. Since there was nothing for her to do anyway, she started packing them. There were not many clothes in her wardrobe in the first place, but after adding her new clothes, the wardrobe became too full.
By the time Wendy was done packing, Michael was still not ready with his dishes. She could not help but check on the situation in the kitchen.
She had been blissfully ignorant all this while, but the sight of reality gave her a rude shock. The entire kitchen was a huge mess. Narrowing her eyes, Wendy said, "You haven’t cooked a single dish yet?"
Holding the spatula, Michael smiled awkwardly, "It looked easy when you cooked this afternoon, so I thought I would know how to do it too. I didn’t expect the oil to splatter everywhere when I placed the fish in the wok. Also, I forgot to flip the vegetables in that pan, so they’re all
burnt."
"You should go out and get some rest, I’ll cook instead," said Wendy helplessly.
Michael felt slightly embarrassed. After all, he had promised to cook. However, he only knew how to make simple dishes like noodles.
Everything else was uncharted territory. But if he chose to persist in this situation, he knew that it was unlikely that dinner would be served tonight.
Hence, he had no choice but to let Wendy take over.
