Free Web NovelChapter 100: He Could Finally See Her Again
Wendy felt a whirl of complicated emotions. It had been five years. In the past five years, she had been thinking about how she could come back here and get revenge on Michael. But when she saw him in the flesh, all she wanted to do was run away.
The incident from five years ago had caused her too much trauma. She frequently had nightmares. Because of how much she had suffered, she just wanted Michael to feel the same.
After spotting her, Michael took big steps in their direction. When Jill Lynn saw Michael approaching, she immediately stepped forward and greeted him with a smile, "Hi, Mr. Lucas, we meet again."
Michael tilted his body, wanting to avoid Jill. However, his vision of Wendy was completely blocked. At the same time, Wendy took the chance to run away and blend into the crowd.
She kept her back to Michael. Then, she grabbed a champagne glass from one of the waiters and looked in Michael’s direction every now and then. She did not want to run into him right now.
She wanted him to see her on stage as "Corrine," instead of spotting her ahead of time.
Michael thought that he saw someone who looked very much like Wendy. However, he grew uncertain after Jill kept blocking his view. When he looked over again, he no longer saw the same person. Even though the look on his face remained neutral, he had been anticipating Wendy’s appearance.
"Mr. Lucas?" Jill shook her glass at Michael when he continued ignoring her. "What are you looking at, Mr. Lucas?"
Michael came to his senses. He raised his glass and offered her a toast. At that moment, the emcee’s voice rang out from the stage, "Now, let us welcome Mr. Michael Lucas, the president of MC Enterprise..."
The crowd broke into applause. Everyone turned to look at Michael. A waiter walked over just in time for Michael to place his half-empty glass on the tray that he was holding before walking onto the stage himself. Once he was on stage, he took the microphone and started looking through the crowd for Wendy. However, there were too many people present at the party tonight. Moreover, the lights were dim, and it was difficult for him to be able to spot her immediately. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Michael remained quiet for a long time on stage.
When the emcee noticed this, he nudged Michael gently, "Mr. Lucas, you should address the crowd."
Holding the microphone, Michael said solemnly, "I would like to thank everyone for being here tonight. However, I’m not the star of the tonight’s party. Instead, I would like to introduce a world-renowned designer named Corrine. I’m sure that everyone knows that MC Enterprise and HG Enterprise are working closely together. The party tonight is dedicated to the success of this collaboration, and to officially welcome the beloved staff members of HG Enterprise. Now, a round of applause for Corrine!"
Most of the people present at the party had heard of Corrine. However, no one had ever seen her. Nobody knew what she looked like.
The moment Michael said those words, they all looked around expectantly, waiting for the legendary Corrine to take the stage.
Naturally, Michael was the most excited one among them. He scanned through the crowd, his gaze landing on Jill. He wanted to see if she would take the stage. If she did not, that would only prove that his theory was right, and that she was not the real Corrine. Michael silently prayed that she would remain standing where she was.
After some time, Jill really did remain standing where she was. She did not move an inch. When Michael saw this, he grew even more convinced.
He was right about her impersonating Corrine after all. In this case, it was clear that the real "Corrine" was his wife, Wendy Stewart.
His heart pounded as he grew increasingly agitated. His hands were trembling too. He could not believe that he was finally going to see his wife again. It had been five years, after all. He could finally see her again.
Everyone was looking around for Corrine. At that moment, Wendy started making her way through the crowd. Her lips were curled into a smile. She cocked her head slightly, looking proud and confident. Soon, everyone in the room was looking at her.
Five years ago, Michael brought her to her first party. She had been nervous and terrified.
Today, she no longer felt the same fear as she looked around at all the significant people in Lake City gathered here tonight. Soon, the crowd cleared a path for her to walk through.
Wendy remained the center of attention as she walked slowly toward the stage. Then, cameras started flashing. Right now, all eyes were on her.
When Michael finally spotted Wendy in the crowd, he froze. He thought he would be so moved by the sight of Wendy that he would dash forward and hug her. However, he did not do that. Instead, he simply remained standing where he was, unable to move anywhere.
All he could do was watch Wendy take one step after another, getting closer and closer to him.
His heartbeat accelerated, and it grew increasingly difficult to breathe.
Wendy maintained a smile on her face when she met Michael’s eyes. However, an imperceptible trace of hatred surfaced in her gaze. When she arrived at the stage, she nodded politely at Michael. Then, she took the microphone from the host. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Turning around, she bowed deeply before the audience. She said, "I want to thank everyone for being here tonight, as well. I never expected MC Enterprise to go to such great lengths for me, definitely feel appreciated. I know that everyone here today is an influential figure in Lake City, and there are many talented designers here too. As such, I would appreciate it if you guys would help to guide me along."
After that, she bowed again. Before she could say anything else, Michael came to his senses and grabbed her hand.
He was undeniably agitated, which made it difficult to conceal the excitement on his face. He said, "Wendy, it’s really you. I knew that you were still alive."
The sudden impact of Michael’s actions made Wendy frown. Displeased, she said, "Mr. Lucas, please take note of where we are."
"Wendy, it’s me. I’m Michael Lucas, your husband," said Michael. He knew that Wendy had some deep-rooted misunderstandings about him and that she probably hated him. He did not blame her for treating him so coldly.
"Mr. Lucas, you must be kidding. As far as I’m aware, I’m single," said Wendy as she retracted her hand forcefully. She stepped back, putting more distance between herself and Michael before continuing, "I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to claim to be my husband in front of so many people and smear my reputation like that. Moreover, this is a welcome party for me. Don’t you think that your actions are a little..."
She deliberately stopped halfway.
The lights from the camera continued flashing below the stage. Before Michael had publicly announced Wendy’s identity like that, nobody had recognized who she really was. Everyone simply thought that she was the legendary designer, Corrine. After all, Wendy’s appearance at Michael’s party five years ago had been brief and forgettable.
On top of that, he had abandoned her mid speech and turned her into the biggest joke in Lake City. Most people thought that Wendy was merely Mrs. Lucas in name and that there was no substantial bearing on her status. Hence, they did not pay extra attention to anything involving her.
Moreover, most people had heard about the kidnapping five years ago and they all thought that she had perished after getting thrown into the sea. This was why nobody connected the dots and realized that she was Wendy Stewart.
However, Michael’s words prompted people to recognize her again.
"ls that really Wendy Stewart?"
"Wendy Stewart? Do you mean Mr. Lucas’s wife from five years ago? I remember meeting her at a party back then, and now that you mention it, they do look quite similar. But didn’t she die in a kidnapping accident five years ago?"
"You’re right, I heard about that too. But I also heard that Mr. Lucas refused to believe that she was dead and has been searching for her all these years."
"l don’t remember what Wendy Stewart looks like anymore, but I vaguely remember how timid she had looked then, like a sheltered girl. Moreover, I heard that she was from an insignificant and ordinary family. Conversely, the woman standing on the stage is so elegant and graceful, it’s obvious that she has been rich her entire life. Her aura cannot be compared to Wendy Stewart’s."
"Is Mr. Lucas mistaken about this? Corrine is denying his accusations."
"That’s possible. I heard that Mr. Lucas’s mental state has been in decline ever since the demise of his wife. Perhaps he’s mistaking Corrine for Wendy Stewart because they look quite similar, and he misses her too much."
...
Since they were gossiping quietly among themselves, it was impossible for Wendy to hear them from the stage. Michael continued standing where he was, looking dumbfounded.
He never expected Wendy to refute his claims. He was certain that the woman standing right before him was Wendy Stewart in the flesh.
This was her voice, just like the one he had heard on the phone yesterday, and this was her face indeed.
At that moment, Michael no longer cared about how he looked to others. He stepped forward.
Grabbing Wendy’s hand again, he said solemnly, "Wendy, do you know that I’ve never stopped looking for you for the past five years? Everyone told me that you were dead, but I refused to believe them. And I was right, you are still alive."
He grew increasingly emotional as he spoke.
He feels like his tears want to pool in his eyes. Nothing else mattered to him as long as Wendy was still alive.
Wendy looked terrified. She started trembling, acting as though she was genuinely afraid. She also tried retracting her hand, but when she failed to overpower Michael, she immediately turned around and called out, "Security? Where’s security?"
Her reaction was practically akin to slapping Michael in the face in front of all the important figures in Lake City. of course, the security guards could not get to her. Mr. York stopped all of them from going on stage. Since the person standing on stage was Michael Lucas, the president of MC Enterprise, no one dared to obey Wendy’s instructions.
In fact, Mr. York was Just as surprised. He also thought that the woman beside Michael resembled Wendy very much.
"Mr. Lucas, what exactly do you want from me?" said Wendy with the same terrified look on her face. Then, she raised her voice as though she wanted everyone to overhear their conversation, "Are you holding a grudge against me because I asked someone to impersonate me? I can explain that. After all, I am a renowned designer. I was afraid that I would attract too much unwanted attention if I made a show of my appearance. That is also why I only chose to show myself at tonight’s party. This way, everyone will find out that I’m working with MC Enterprise at the same time. I just wanted to make sure that our partnership can take place smoothly and without any hiccups."
Her words made perfect sense. Many others like her chose to keep to themselves and stay under the radar instead of allowing the public to know too much about their lives. On the other hand, she also understood what Michael meant. He wanted her to admit that she was Wendy Stewart. But why would she do that?
She had already thought about what she would do long before she returned to Lake City.
"Wendy..." Michael felt disappointed at Wendy’s persistent refusal to admit her identity.
Sensing his distraction, she took advantage of the situation to free her hand from his grasp.
