Chapter 82: Don’t Be Like That
When Wendy felt tired from sketching, she took a break and scrolled through the internet on her phone. The moment she unlocked her phone, a news notification popped up. The headline read, "The President of MC Enterprise Has Been Secretly Married for Three Years to an Ordinary Woman." When she saw that, she immediately opened the article.
She scanned through the content and found it to be consistent with the headline. The article was an introduction to her relationship with Michael.
However, what was revealed in the article could not be any further from the truth. According to the article, Michael was a very devoted husband who would return home to spend time with his wife every single day after work, when the truth was that he had rarely ever done that in the last three years.
Things were better now, but in the past, Michael only stepped into this apartment when he was drunk and would force her into getting divorced. The press release described her marriage with Michael as a very loving one.
Wendy snorted after reading everything. She soon realized that the news was also going viral on other media platforms. Suddenly, tons of people were talking about her relationship with Michael.
In the past, commenters often criticized her for being the third party. But now, their reactions were vastly different. Instead of taking a negative stance on Wendy, the public only felt jealous of her life.
However, Wendy had already completely given up on Michael. She felt completely indifferent about his public announcement of their relationship. In fact, she felt that this publicity was unfavorable for her, as it would make it even more difficult to get a divorce. It appeared that Michael had made up his mind against it.
At this moment, her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. Wendy answered.
However, it was Christian’s voice that came through from the other end, as he said, "Wendy, congratulations. Are you happy that my brother has finally revealed your identity to the world?"
He knew that there was no way that she would answer his call if he had used his old number. After all, she had drawn a clear line, ending their relationship.
Wendy, for her part, felt that Christian was a very dangerous person and wanted nothing to do with him. She replied, "I believe that my affairs with Michael have nothing to do with you."
"That’s not true," Christian chuckled. "Wendy, I heard about what happened the last time you tried to leave Lake City. The truth is, I’ve been wanting to ask if you still want to leave. Perhaps I can help you."
They did have an agreement about this before, but the deal had fallen through. Wendy felt skeptical now that Christian was offering to help her again.
"That won’t be necessary," said Wendy.
"You should know that my brother’s decision to publicize your relationship now means that he will never let you leave him," said Christian. "Right, I also wanted to tell you that Yvonne came to the office to see Michael today."
When Wendy heard that name, her face grew sullen. However, she replied, "Thank you for letting me know, but I don’t care." It was clear to her that Christian’s words were meant to sow discord. However, she did not even think that her relationship with Michael required any interference when it could not get any worse.
Even though the press release today came as a surprise to Wendy, her heart remained unmoved.
Her feelings for Michael had completely faded after everything that happened. Right now, she just wanted to get divorced and leave Lake City. She hung up on Christian.
When Christian realized that she had hung up, his smile dissipated. He had expected Wendy’s response. He thought, everything about Wendy is so wonderful, but she was just too smart for her own good.
Then, he dialed another number. This time, it was the phone number of the hospital dean...
...
Michael got home before it was officially time to get off work. This time, he did not buy a bouquet of roses like he did previously. He now knew that Wendy was not fond of red roses anyway.
Instead, he bought some lilies. After stepping into the apartment and not seeing anyone around in the living room, he went straight to the study. Wendy seemed busy these days and spent most of her time sketching in the study.
Michael did not understand design at all, but he could tell that she had improved drastically since the first time he saw her sketches.
Wendy heard the footsteps behind her and knew that Michael had returned. She also smelled the fragrance of the lilies. Not wanting to disturb Wendy, Michael found a vase outside the study and transferred the lilies into it. Then, he returned to the study quietly and placed the vase on the desk. When Wendy saw the lilies, she turned to look at Michael impatiently.
"I didn’t get you roses this time. Do you like lilies?" asked Michael with a smile. "If you don’t,
I’ll get something else next time. Maybe you can tell me what flowers you like?"
"I won’t like anything as long as it’s from you," said Wendy mercilessly.
If this scenario happened a few months ago and Michael treated her as well as right now, she would have burst into tears from feeling so moved. Now, it was all too late. "Take them away," she said coldly.
"Wendy, can you try not to act so distant to me?"
Michael’s mood grew increasingly foul in response to Wendy’s attitude. He tried his best to suppress his anger, saying, "Can’t you tell how hard I’ve been trying to make you happy? I am the dignified president of a huge company, but I’ve humbled myself repeatedly to do so many things for you. What else do you want from me?"
Wendy laughed in anger when she heard those words. Standing up, she looked straight into Michael’s eyes and said, "Michael, you can’t stand this anymore, right?" When she observed the helpless and angry expression on his face, she continued, "Your attitude toward me in the past was way worse than this. I put up with that for three whole years, but how long has it been for you?"
When Wendy mentioned that, Michael bowed his head sheepishly. Indeed, he had let Wendy down. Sighing, he wondered if her attitude was still so cold toward him only because she had not come across the news articles about their relationship yet.
He dug out his phone, opened one of the articles, and held it up to Wendy’s face. He said expectantly, "Look, I’ve already revealed your identity to the public. From now on, everyone will know that you are my wife."
Wendy snorted, "So what?"
Her reaction made it impossible for Michael to know what to do next. He thought, did she already see the news articles? I thought that she would stop being angry after I announced the truth about our relationship to the media. Even if she was still a bit angry, I thought that things would at least get better. I did not expect her to still behave like that.
Michael reflected on his own actions and concluded that he had done everything he possibly could. He really did not know what else he could do. Scratching his head, he said helplessly, "Wendy, what exactly do you want me to do? Can you please tell me?"
"You can agree to get divorced and let me go," she said.
"That’s impossible," Michael immediately rejected her. "I’ll agree to anything besides that."
"But this is the only thing I want from you."
"I told you before, in this life, you will always be my wife," said Michael firmly.
Wendy had mentioned the word "divorce" multiple times in this short period. Clearly, that was the one thing she wanted the most right now.
When Wendy remembered what Christian had told her today, she shook her head with a smile.
With disappointment in her voice, she said, "Michael, do you really see me as your wife?"
The question came as a shock to Michael. He said, "I’ve already introduced to the public as my wife today, is that not enough to prove that I do?"
"What about Yvonne? What does she mean to you?" Wendy bowed her head as she waited for Michael’s response.
"Don’t worry, Yvonne will not be a problem in our relationship anymore," said Michael, feeling more relieved. He explained himself, "Like I told you, she has always been nothing more than a little sister to me, and this will remain the case in the future. If you mind my relationship with her, I can promise to keep my distance from her from now on unless there is an emergency."
"She has always been nothing more than a little sister to you? Do you even believe yourself?"
Clearly, Wendy was in disbelief. She said mockingly, "What kind of big brother would sleep with his little sister? You’re being absurd."
"Whether you believe it or not, I’ve never slept with Yvonne," said Michael. He had been hoping to find an opportunity to clarify this with Wendy because he knew that she had always been bothered by the thought of them together.
However, he also understood Wendy’s personality well enough to know that she would never believe him.
Yvonne had gone around telling everyone that she was Michael’s girlfriend for the past three years, and everyone knew that he pampered her very much. Hence, it was hard for anyone to believe that they had not slept together.
However, it was also true that Michael’s feelings for Yvonne were purely platonic. He looked after her and acted caring toward her, but he did not have any romantic feelings for her. Otherwise, there was no reason why Yvonne would have tried to drug Michael three years ago. But her plan failed as Wendy ended up getting involved and marrying Michael instead.
"Ha ha ha..." Wendy laughed out loud as if she had just heard a funny joke, "Michael, what wouldn’t you lie about? Did you also tell Yvonne the same lie, that you have never slept with me?"
"I already knew that you wouldn’t believe me," said Michael despondently with his head slightly lowered. "But I just want to tell you that Yvonne has thought things through, and she has promised me that she will stop fantasizing about any romantic possibility between us. She came to the office today to apologize to you personally. Also, she was the one who suggested that I should simply reveal your identity through a press release. I thought you would be happy..."
"Michael, do you see Yvonne as kind, beautiful, and elegant?" Wendy stared at Michael as if he was stupid. "When she threatened you with suicide, you went over immediately to save her. Now that she’s telling you that she has thought things through, you believed her? No matter what she has done before, you will believe whatever she tells you, right?"
Wendy felt pathetic. Michael never trusted a single word she said in the past three years, and he never treated her like his wife. She wondered just how stupid she was to have fallen in love with a man like that and put up incessantly with everything that he did to her. Fortunately, she had finally come to her senses. It did not matter if Michael was sincere about fixing their relationship now, she no longer wanted anything to do with him.
"Wendy, don’t be like that..."
Before Michael could finish speaking, Wendy grew enraged. She picked up the vase on the desk and smashed it on the ground. The sound of the glass shattering to pieces reverberated through the empty room, making Michael’s heart skip a few beats.
"Don’t be like that? Michael, what do you think is wrong with my behavior? If you genuinely feel that I’m the one being unreasonable and petty, then I urge you to just agree to a divorce and let me go," said Wendy as her chest heaved unevenly, "I, Wendy Stewart, am not good enough for you. Now, I just want to lead a simple life. I can’t deal with the fame that comes with being Mrs. Lucas."
Observing Wendy’s agitation, Michael knew that it was not wise for them to continue talking about this. He could only try his best to soothe her emotions. He said, "Don’t get upset, how about we change the topic for now?"
