Unwanted Marriage: Honey, No More Divorce!

Chapter 340: She Could Sound It Out

Yonina Collins’s words struck Michael Lucas deep.

He knew that she was right.

Taking a deep breath, Michael raised his phone once more.

He punched the familiar digits into his phone.

Seconds ticked by as he waited for Wendy Stewart to pick up.

Wendy heard her phone ring once more. She stared intently at her phone.

After much thought, she picked her phone up and tapped the green button on her phone screen.

Naturally, her tone was acidic as she spoke, "Mr. Lucas, to what do I owe the honor of you calling me on the night of your engagement party?

"Does your fiancée know about this?"

"Wendy, I have something I need to tell you," Michael placed his quivering hand on his desk and swallowed, "It’s-"

"With our current relationship, I don’t think there’s any reason for us to be on the phone at such a late hour in the day, should we?" responded Wendy sarcastically, "Mr. Lucas, please don’t make such a call behind your fiancée’s back.

"If she checks your call log tomorrow, wouldn’t that be bad?"

Wendy’s sarcasm made Michael wince uncomfortably. His heart ached.

"Wendy, I just have a few things to tell you. Two minutes would be more than enough. Can you give me some time?" Michael pleaded.

"There’s nothing worth mentioning between us, Mr. Lucas," Wendy responded almost rudely, directly challenging every ounce of Michael’s pride, "Mr. Lucas, even if you don’t care for your fiancée, I, Corrine Swift, would like to look out for myself.

"The only reason I picked up your call is to tell you not to call me anymore.

"I don’t wish for my boyfriend to know that I am still in contact with my ex-husband. Got it, Mr. Lucas?"

The mention of ’boyfriend’ pained Michael.

Agitated, he stood up and slammed his palm against his table.

In a sterner tone, he spoke, "You cannot get together with Todd Lewis-"

Now that Michael was well aware of the relationship between Christian and HG, he had suspicions about Todd as well.

After all, Todd was groomed by Timothy Woods.

"You’re overstepping your boundaries, Mr. Lucas," responded Wendy snidely, "We aren’t legally married anymore, so with what authority do you make such a statement, Mr. Lucas?"

"Wendy, I know you’re angry at me. You hate me. But you don’t love Todd, do you? Why would you get together with someone you don’t love just to get back at me?"

"You’re thinking a little too much, Mr. Lucas, whoever I get together with, is none of your concern!" Wendy asserted icily, "Moreover, I am not angry at you, nor do I hate you.

"I’m here in Rheinsville City, while you’re over in Lake City, let’s keep our distance.

"Also, stop telling me who I can be with and who I can’t, it makes you sound crude."

Each sharp word Wendy spoke pierced Michael’s heart.

Closing his eyes tightly, he sighed, "Wendy, the boss behind the scenes at HG Enterprise is Christian-"

Before he could finish, the line was cut off.

Michael was in a daze as he looked at his phone.

Did Wendy hear what he last said?

Yonina nudged Michael, "Call her again!"

She had been hoping that Michael would get to the point earlier.

Yet he was caught up in his idle chat with Wendy.

The situation was urgent.

Seeing that Michael did not budge, Yonina snatched the phone from his hands.

As expected, the call was cut off.

Yonina persisted and dialed again.

...

With the phone ringing relentlessly, Wendy Stewart was left exasperated.

She picked her phone up and considered blocking Michael Lucas’ number entirely.

But, she thought, if she did so, Michael could always use a different number to call her.

It was a short-term measure that did not solve matters.

Gritting her teeth, Wendy picked up the call again.

She was determined to make her message to Michael clear.

Once she picked up, Wendy bellowed rudely, "Michael! You have issues! What do you want?

"You’re engaged, for goodness sakes, why would you care if I date anyone else?

"I’m telling you, if you dare call once more, I’ll file a police report against you for harassment!"

Yonina, who was on the other end of the line, widened her eyes in surprise.

She hurriedly stuffed the phone back in Michael’s hand, motioning for him to tell Wendy what they wanted to.

She had intended to speak with Wendy personally.

But after receiving a taste of Wendy’s indignation, Yonina backed out.

Michael retrieved his cell phone while Yonina mouthed, "Keep to the point!"

"The boss behind the scenes at HG Enterprise is Christian Lucas," Michael spoke bluntly.

"What does that have to do with me!" Wendy responded without thinking and hurried to hang up.

However, when she pulled the receiver a distance away from her ear, Wendy realized what Michael had said to her.

Michael had just told her that the boss behind the scenes at HG Enterprise was Christian?

Christian was the hidden authority of HG?

"What did you just say?" Wendy placed her phone at her ear once more and questioned Michael in disbelief.

"Christian is secretly the boss behind HG Enterprise," Michael reiterated, "Wendy, I just found that out today.

"Remember how we wondered where DR Group got funds from to deal with Collins Group?

"The money came from HG Enterprise.

"Christian left for Rheinsville City since he was little and we missed this point from the beginning.

"We were repeatedly at a disadvantage against Christian because we could never imagine that he would be backed by such a large organization."

Wendy held her phone and was left in her thoughts.

HG belonged to Christian?

How could this be?

If this were true, then, had she been earning money that went into Christian’s pocket all these years?

This could not be true.

"Michael, are you spinning outrageous lies now?" Wendy feigned composure as she sneered, "Are you doing this just because you don’t want me to go back to work at HG?

"I’m curious, though, my return to work at HG doesn’t seem to have anything to do with you.

"Why would you go such lengths to come up with such a story?"

"I’m telling you the truth," Michael explained, "not many know about this, I’m just telling you so that you realize that you’re working for Christian at HG Enterprise.

"Your clothing designs are raking in profits for Christian.

"I know you dislike him too, I would rather you find out sooner than later since you’re giving it your all at work.

"I don’t want you to eventually regret it."

"Is that it?" probed Wendy.

"Yes, that’s all," Michael was still not ready to tell Wendy the whole truth.

For now, all he needed was for Wendy to avoid returning to work at HG Enterprise.

Subconsciously, his grip tightened around his phone.

Wendy’s heels clicked as she took a few steps back.

She only came to when her back brushed against the wall.

Wendy was no fool.

If what Michael was saying was true, Timothy Woods’ rescue in the past was unlikely a coincidence.

How else would there be such a coincidence?

It so happened that she was kidnapped, thrown into the sea, and saved by the CEO of HG Enterprise who was coincidentally passing by?

Moreover, how could it be a coincidence that the boss behind the scenes at HG Enterprise was Christian Lucas?

Wendy pieced the events of the past together.

Timothy Woods had mentioned that he was on a business trip in Lake City and was on a yacht discussing a deal with a client when he coincidentally saved Wendy after he saw that she had fallen into the water.

***

Wendy was in a coma at the time and didn’t know what was going on. She had never doubted Timothy.

Timothy had taught her without reservation and even used all the resources from HG Enterprise to train her. On top of that, he took Leah and Jake in and saw them as his own grandchildren. He had saved her and nurtured her. How could Wendy believe that the mentor whom she respected so much, had approached her with ulterior motives from the beginning?

"Wendy?" Michael called out worriedly as the line fell silent on the other end, "are you alright?"

Wendy swallowed and forced herself to calm down.

Finally, she asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"You’re working so hard to make money for HG Enterprise. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to accept it if you found out in the future," Michael repeated his explanation.

Wendy took a deep breath, "You know this is not what I meant."

Michael had asked her to wait six months for him. Now, he’s telling her that HG Enterprise belongs to Christian.

So, what was all that about?

A vague explanation emerged in her mind.

That can’t be... She shook her head.

If there was nothing going on between Michael and Yonina, what about that one time when she witnessed them on the same bed? How would she explain that?

Even if what they had was feigned, one thing for sure is that Michael still had feelings for Yonina. But Michael did betray her, didn’t he?

Wendy closed her eyes. Her thoughts were in a mess. What Michael told her had disrupted all her plans.

Naturally, Michael knew what Wendy’s question meant. He also knew that she was growing suspicious of his relationship with Yonina. However, now was not the time to come clean.

Clenching his fist, Michael started, "Christian and I are foes, and you hate him too. I just really don’t want to see you helping him."

"Ha..." Wendy felt like she was going crazy.

Why doesn’t he just tell her everything if he was going to let her in on this? Was it to protect her? Or, that he simply didn’t trust her?

"Wendy... are you alright?" Michael sounded concerned. He could tell from her tone that something was wrong.

Wendy took in another deep breath and asked, word by word, "Michael, I’ll give you one last chance. This is the last time I’m asking you this. Is there anything else you’re keeping from me?"

"I..." Michael’s heart beat faster at her question. He lowered his head, "No, that is all."

"I get it now," Wendy hung up on him again.

She stumbled towards the sofa after the call ended. Michael’s words were still echoing in her mind as she leaned on the sofa.

Till now, she found it hard to believe that this could all be a part of Christian’s plan.

She used to think that God was looking out for her even though she had been hurt by Michael. She was bestowed with a pair of children and even got a great mentor. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

That was why she was willing to toil so much for HG Enterprise. She had wanted to repay Timothy’s kindness, and contribute to HG for all the opportunities they have given her.

She had indeed achieved what she aimed to do, doubling HG’s market value multiple times over the years.

But now Michael was telling her, all this was but a plan of Christian’s? How was she supposed to accept that?

Wendy leaned back with her eyes closed. Despite the agonizing feeling, she realized she was unable to shed any tears.

No, what if this was just a lie that Michael fabricated?

Maybe he saw that Moonlight collection was doing better by the day, and wanted to thwart her prospects by hindering her return to HG Enterprise?

Another possibility is that Christian really owns HG Enterprise and Michael is indeed together with Yonina as well.

Maybe he stopped loving her a long time ago. Or perhaps he had never loved her before.

Is that why he doesn’t want her to return to HG Enterprise to work for Christian Lucas? Perhaps, nothing is like how Wendy imagined it to be.

Wendy tried her best to calm herself down. It seems that she has to carefully think this through.

Maybe, she could sound it out?

Wendy checked the time. It was almost eleven in the morning and must be nearing midnight at Lake City.

She deliberately waited for another hour to pass before dialling Yonina Collins. It rang for a short while and got through.

"Wendy Stewart?" Yonina was surprised to receive a call from her.

"I didn’t think that Ms. Collins would recognize my number," said Wendy. Unlike her phone call with Michael, Wendy’s voice was no longer filled with anger and severity; her tone was much more natural than before.

"What’s the matter, calling at this hour?" Yonina asked.

"There is something I want to tell you," Wendy continued, "How about we meet outside for a chat? It’s late and I’m afraid our call would affect your fiancé’s rest."

"It’s alright, I’m alone in the room. Go ahead," Yonina replied subconsciously.

Her answer took Wendy by surprise.

As she guessed... Michael and Yonina were not sleeping in the same room.

The purpose of this phone call was to sound out if they were sleeping together. She had intentionally delayed the phone call by an additional hour to ensure it was late into the night at Lake City.

If they were not together at this hour of the night, it meant that there might be nothing going on between them.

Moreover, Wendy had paid close attention to Yonina’s tone. When she answered the phone, she sounded a little sleepy although her tone was normal.

In other words, Yonina was either awakened by her call or was planning to go to bed when she called. Either way, it showed that Yonina was not with Michael.

If Michael and Yonina had long been together in private, how could they be sleeping separately on the night of their engagement?

So, does it mean that Michael and Yonina are working together to deal with Christian, but she is excluded from this plan of theirs?

Ha... there was nothing worth celebrating over this discovery.

Wendy thought that they had a mutual connection and understanding that they would take on all challenges together. As it turned out, she was still an outsider to Michael.

"Wendy Stewart?" Yonina called out as the line fell silent.

Wendy took a deep breath to recollect herself, "I just wanted to ask Ms. Collins, was it true, what Mr. Lucas said today?"

"Since Michael was the one who told you, it is better for you to check with him instead," Yonina replied. She had promised Michael that she would not disclose anything to Wendy in private.

Although Yonina does not agree with Michael’s approach, a promise is a promise.

Since she had achieved her goal, Wendy doesn’t plan to stay on the phone with Yonina for much longer.

"Forget it, there’s nothing much to ask anyway," Wendy said lightly. "I wish Mr. Lucas and Ms. Collins a lifetime of happiness. Goodbye," she hung up as she finished her line.

Yonina frowned while looking at her phone. Why does she feel like there was more to Wendy Stewart’s call? However, she can’t seem to pinpoint what was odd either.