Chapter 70: A Human Life
The preview of the text message that Michael saw from Yvonne read like this, "Michael, if you don’t come to me right now, I promise that you won’t see me again in this life..."
Even though the following content was not displayed, the meaning was obvious. Yvonne had said something similar to Michael in the afternoon. At that time, he did not take her words to heart as he assumed that they were out of spite. But now, Yvonne had called and texted him. He felt slightly worried that she would really do something stupid.
His call to Yvonne quickly went through. However, the voice that he heard on the other end sounded rather weak, "Michael, you’re finally calling me."
"Yvonne, stop messing around," Michael was whispering, but it was not difficult to hear the anger in his voice.
"I’m not messing around," Yvonne’s voice sounded choked-up. After a moment, she chuckled, "I know that you’re at a party right now, and you intend to announce to the world that Wendy is your wife. I won’t stop you because I don’t have the right to do that. But I also told you that I won’t be able to go on living if I lose you. So, if you really want to go ahead with the announcement tonight, I can only send the both of you my blessings from heaven."
"Yvonne Taylor!" Michael closed his eyes, suddenly feeling a little weak. He said, "Listen. to me-perhaps your feelings for me stem from reliance rather than love, like how I’ve always seen you as my little sister and you’ve always depended on me. Don’t worry, I’ll still pamper you as much as I did in the past. I’ll be sure to give you anything that you want."
"I just want you to love me," Yvonne’s tone grew increasingly agitated. "I’ve said this many times-I just want you to love me. Do you understand that? I don’t know whether your love for me is platonic or romantic, but I am certain that my feelings for you are romantic."
"Yvonne..."
Yvonne did not wait for Michael to finish speaking. She continued in an agitated manner, "You don’t believe that I’ll really kill myself, right? Michael, if you don’t, you should look at the photo that I sent you via text."
"It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I..."
Before Michael could continue, Wendy approached him. The truth was that she felt extremely reluctant to do so. She did not wish to influence his decision. Rather, she had hoped that he would arrive at one on his own. If he still chose Yvonne over her at this point, then Wendy could only admit that she had failed completely.
However, her rationality did not manage to gain full control over her feelings and actions. She still wished to fight for this.
When Michael saw her, he reached out with his other hand to cover his phone. At that moment, he felt like a husband who had been caught doing something wrong by his wife. His eyes flashed with panic. Flustered, he said, "Why are you here?"
"I just wanted to remind you that it’s already 8 P.M.," said Wendy as she glanced at the stage. "The emcee for tonight will be inviting us on stage any minute now."
According to the program booklet, the emcee would proceed to invite Michael and Wendy, the stars of tonight’s party, on stage after his speech. Yet, Michael was still on the phone now.
"Alright, I’ll be there in a moment," said Michael.
His tone sounded both apologetic and guilty.
Yvonne was emotionally unstable right now and Michael was afraid that something bad might happen to her. After all, he understood her personality very well and knew that it was very possible for her to resort to something extreme.
Hence, he had to try and comfort her as much as possible.
Wendy’s gaze landed on the phone in Michael’s hands. He continued gripping it tightly. She bit down on her bottom lip lightly, feeling indignant.
She thought, is he still not intending to hang up? Does he have to talk to Yvonne even still?
When Michael saw Wendy remain standing there with seemingly no intention to leave, he sighed softly and said in a much gentler tone, "Don’t worry, Wendy, I will definitely announce our marriage to the public tonight."
Michael’s promise did not make her feel at ease.
But since he had already said so, it would be meaningless for her to continue standing there.
Even after she turned around and walked far away, her gaze remained fixated on him. She only saw him bow his head and continue talking on the phone with a worried expression.
"Michael, was that Wendy talking to you?" Even though they were talking through the phone, Michael could distinctly feel Yvonne’s hostility toward Wendy.
"You already know the purpose of tonight’s party. You should also know that since I’ve already decided to announce Wendy’s status as my wife, I’ll definitely do it." Michael tried his best to convince Yvonne, saying, "Even if I don’t do it by tonight, there’s tomorrow and the day after tomorrow... It’s not difficult for me to host a party."
"I don’t care, I won’t let you do this tonight," Yvonne cried over the phone. "As long as you announce Wendy’s identity to the public, I promise you that you’ll never see me again in this lifetime. And I mean what I said!"
Michael was furious about Yvonne threatening him with her life repeatedly, but he also felt helpless. After all, he had once promised someone that he would take good care of Yvonne for the rest of his life.
Even though it was not Michael’s fault that he was not in love with her, he would end up being responsible for the loss of two lives if she really committed suicide over this. He pinched the area between his eyebrows, feeling extremely conflicted. He had never felt this way, even when he signed contracts worth millions of dollars.
...
At that moment, the emcee’s voice rang out, "on behalf of Mr. Lucas, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to attend this party despite their busy schedules. Now..." He looked behind him, feeling lost when he did not see Michael and Wendy waiting backstage.
He did not know how to continue. According to the program, he was supposed to invite the couple on stage for their speech.
There was a slight change in his expression, but it only lasted very briefly. Smiling, he continued, "Now, please go ahead and enjoy the sumptuous five-course meal that Mr. Lucas has arranged for everyone."
He glanced behind again but there was still no sight of Michael and Wendy. In order to keep the atmosphere hyped up, he could only say, "I’m about to play some music and let everyone dance to their heart’s content."
Wendy only watched as Michael remained standing where he was. He stayed on the phone even as the emcee tried desperately to buy more time. Clenching her fists, Wendy smiled bitterly.
Was she destined to lose to Yvonne? Or perhaps she was not fated to receive formal recognition as Michael’s wife?
Her chest felt heavy as she approached Michael once again. This time, her attitude was not as pleasant as before. She did not hide her anger as she said, "Michael! If you don’t hang up right now, we can just get divorced!" It had been a long time since she raised this topic.
She thought that they had become a real couple over the past while. But now, she wondered if she had been too naive.
The word ’divorce’ instilled fear in Michael’s heart. He subconsciously moved his fingers, intending to hang up, but Yvonne was immediately heard screaming over the phone, "Ah! Michael, I’ll let you hear what it sounds like when a dagger cuts through a ski.. " Then, he heard her pitiful cries.
"Wendy, Yvonne is trying to kill herself, I cannot just let that happen," Michael tried to explain things to Wendy. "Please give me a few more minutes. Just let me talk to her, okay?"
Wendy did not believe that Yvonne would really attempt suicide. She was reminded of the provocative words that Yvonne had said to her earlier in the afternoon. Since she was not stupid, she knew very well that this was one of Yvonne’s ploys to trick Michael. Unfortunately, he was falling right into her trap.
Wendy snorted, "What if I say no?"
"Wendy, you are not an unreasonable person," said Michael. He frowned slightly when he saw the disappointment in Wendy’s eyes, "This is a human life that we are talking about. If something bad really happens to Yvonne, will you really be happy about how the world found out about you being my wife?"
"Why wouldn’t I be?" Wendy had never thought of herself as a saint. She did not have such a big heart.
However, there was no way that Yvonne would kill herself in the first place. Hence, there was nothing that Wendy would feel unhappy about. Moreover, Yvonne had always been her rival in love-she spent all her days pining after Michael.
She was a vicious and cunning woman who could come up with all kinds of schemes.
"When did you become like this..." Michael shook his head, evidently disappointed, "No matter how Yvonne treated you, she’s still a human."
"Michael, are you just pretending or are you really this stupid?" Wendy felt that this side of Michael was quite frightening.
She thought, is he really blind to the fact that Yvonne is just faking it? Or does he already know, but he just wants to let her continue behaving this way? Does he genuinely even want to make an official announcement about me at tonight’s party?
She could not help but grow suspicious and paranoid.
"I know that you resent Yvonne very much, but..." Michael was still trying to figure out what he could say when Wendy scoffed. Then, she turned around and walked away.
Wendy thought, if Michael still cares so much about Yvonne even at this point and is willing to be blinded by her lies, then I don’t want a man like him!
Yvonne clearly heard the conversation between Michael and Wendy through the phone. Even though there was only one cut on her arm, Yvonne knew that her plan had succeeded.
Some distance away, Christian’s lips curved into a sly smile when he saw Wendy walk away from Michael in anger.
He took the opportunity to approach her. Stopping in front of he, he smiled and offered his hand, "Wendy, may I have this dance?"
The emcee had started playing some music earlier and the place had become like a nightclub with many people dancing. However, Wendy was in absolutely no mood to dance.
Just when she was about to refuse him, Christian leaned in and whispered, "Hey, don’t you want to see if dancing with me will make Michael hang up the phone?"
Wendy frowned, "How do you know who he’s talking to?"
"Isn’t it obvious when he’s been talking on the phone for such a long time even at an event like this?" Christian’s smile grew wider. Those words had been deliberate.
He was just trying to remind Wendy just how important Yvonne was in Michael’s heart.
Perhaps it was because she was being spiteful, or perhaps she had been influenced by Christian-Wendy stared at his hand and hesitated for a moment before she took it. In the following second, Christian Wrapped his arm around her waist, and they started dancing.
Everyone knew that Christian was Michael’s half-brother. Wendy had attended the party with Michael tonight, which made the nature of their relationship clear to everyone present. Hence, the sight of Christian and Wendy dancing together instantly became the center of attention. All eyes were on them.
Wendy did not quite know how to dance, but she was able to get through it by following the rhythm that Christian had set. She found herself wanting to find out just how Michael would react when he saw her dancing with Christian.
