Free Web NovelChapter 44: If I Promise ...
Michael’s words resonated in Wendy’s mind. She stared at him incredulously, wondering if he could possibly be serious.
She thought, does he not mind firing Yvonne just so I can go back to working for him? No, he’s not doing this for me. He’s doing this for Christian. Michael is willing to do anything to get back at Christian.
Suddenly, Wendy felt pity for Yvonne. She thought, so what if Michael loves her? He’s still willing to fire her.
"You should fire Yvonne," said Mrs. Lucas. "Since the both of you have announced your relationship to the public, it’s time for Yvonne to stop advertising herself as your girlfriend. In the past, everyone thought you were single, so allowed Yvonne’s behavior to continue. But now, I cannot let other people treat our family like a joke."
"Grandmother, you’re right about that," said Michael compliantly. "I’ll fire Yvonne tomorrow." He then turned his head to gaze at Wendy, "Mrs. Wendy Lucas, since I’ve agreed to your condition, you should come back to working for me."
When Wendy had made her offer earlier, she had presumed that Michael would not agree to it. freёwebnovel.com
However, she could not take back what she had said now. Furthermore, Mrs. Lucas had stated her approval. It seemed that she had no room left to negotiate.
Mrs. Lucas observed Wendy’s silence and took it to indicate her acknowledgment. She waved at Wendy, signaling her to approach. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Wendy walked up to Mrs. Lucas and sat down beside her. Now, Mrs. Lucas’s tone was much gentler when she spoke, much like before, as she said, "Wendy, you know that I’m very fond of you. And I know that Michael let you down in the past, but now he has agreed to fire Yvonne, so I hope that you will stop thinking about getting divorced all the time. I believe that you still love Michael, and you’re only resorting to divorce because you feel despondent that Michael has not fallen in love with you even after three years. But, from what I see, I don’t think it’s true that Michael does not feel anything toward you at all. His refusal to get divorced is enough to show much he doesn’t want you to leave him. Sometimes, you might just need something else to help with your relationship. For example... a child. To tell you the truth, I’ve been longing for a grandchild. I hope that the two of you can work hard together and give me what I want by next year."
When Mrs. Lucas mentioned having a baby, Wendy’s face immediately blanched. She was shocked. After all, she only wanted to get divorced to protect the child that she was already carrying.
Michael did not want a child, and if he found out about this child’s existence, he would force her to have an abortion. Wendy touched her abdomen subconsciously. Biting down on her bottom lip, she bowed her head and remained silent.
Mrs. Lucas patted the back of Wendy’s hand. She sighed softly. Finally, she turned her gaze to Michael and warned him, "I’ve persuaded her for you, but if you continue to treat her the way you did in the past and she decides on getting divorced again, I won’t be able to help you again."
"Grandmother, don’t worry about it, this divorce will never happen," said Michael. He personally did not wish to get divorced, and Wendy alone did not have the power to make it happen.
"Since things are finally resolved, the both of you should stay over tonight," said Mrs. Lucas. She turned to the housekeeper and instructed him, "Prepare the guest room for them."
Even though Wendy had been married to Michael for three years, she had never spent the night in the mansion. After all, Michael hated her, and aside from Mrs. Lucas, nobody in the family acknowledged her identity. Hence, she rarely came back here, much less stayed the night.
Wendy was not stupid. She knew that Mrs. Lucas was trying to create an opportunity for them to work on their relationship. However, Wendy no longer wanted this. Instead, it had become burdensome.
"Grandmother..." said Wendy, "I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to stay."
"Do as I say," said Mrs. Lucas. "Also, I want the both of you to come back here at least once every week."
Wendy felt very reluctant to accept this arrangement. However, Mrs. Lucas’s gaze made it clear that there was no room for her to reject this offer. Wendy choked back her words after meeting Grandmother’s eyes.
Just like that, Wendy was set to stay the night.
On top of that, she had to share a room with Michael. Before Mrs. Lucas and Wendy parted ways, the elderly woman deliberately whispered into her ear, urging her to work hard and conceive a grandchild for her as soon as possible.
There were many empty rooms in the mansion. The room that had been prepared for Michael and Wendy was meant for a couple. However, they had never stayed the night in the mansion. Since all the rooms were cleaned on a regular basis, theirs was quickly prepared.
Wendy sat on the edge of the bed, suddenly feeling lost. She rose, saying, "I... I’m going to take a shower. It’s getting late, you should rest first."
She planned to wait until Michael fell asleep on the bed before shifting to the couch in the room to sleep. In the past, she always hoped that Michael would return home to keep her company. But now that they were sleeping in the same room, Wendy felt resistant to the idea. She took her time and spent over an hour in the bathroom washing her hair, brushing her teeth, and then repeating the entire process.
When she finally emerged from the bathroom, she saw Michael leaning against the headboard of the bed and reading a book.
Judging from his posture, he did not seem sleepy at all.
Wendy hesitated for a moment before she said, "I know that you don’t wish to share the same bed as me. You can take the bed tonight; I’ll just take the couch."
When Michael heard this, he raised his eyebrows and stared at her. After some time, he hummed in acknowledgment. Since she had gotten Michael’s approval, Wendy walked over to the couch and lay down quietly. Her back was facing the bed. She heard Michael enter the bathroom and take a shower.
Wendy then shut her eyes and tried to make herself fall asleep as soon as she could. Perhaps it was because of her pregnancy, Wendy fell asleep not long after she laid down.
In her grogginess, she had a dream. In her dream, she delightedly told Michael about her pregnancy. However, Michael kept his arm wrapped around Yvonne’s waist and told Wendy to get an abortion. He told her that she did not deserve to be the mother of his child. In the next scene, an adorable infant instantly transformed into a bloody mess before Wendy’s eyes.
Frightened, Wendy screamed, "No, please, don’t kill him, please don’t."
When she woke up from her nightmare in shock beads of perspiration had gathered on her forehead. This was not the first time that she had such a dream. Ever since Michael told her that she was not worthy of carrying his child, Wendy often dreamed about Michael killing her baby with his bare hands. When she opened her eyes, she saw Michael standing by her side.
"Did you have a nightmare?" There was a subtle trace of concern in Michael’s voice, "What made you so frightened?"
Wendy gulped down and swallowed hard. Naturally, she could not tell Michael the truth.
She lowered her head, shut her eyes, and replied casually, "It’s nothing, it was just a bad dream."
"Who got murdered in your dream?" Michael continued asking, "Was it Christian?"
Wendy took a deep breath, feeling annoyed that Michael could drag everything back to Christian.
She looked up at him and replied, "If I told you that I dreamed that someone was trying to kill you, and that you were a bloody mess, would you believe me?"
"Is that so?" Michael sneered. "In that case, should I feel fortunate about the fact that you don’t want to see me dead?"
"It’s late, you should get some rest," replied Wendy. Not wanting to explain anything else to him, she laid back down on the couch and turned her back to him.
The couch was big enough, but Michael knew that Wendy’s body would ache the following morning if she slept there the entire night. He remained where he was and hesitated for a long time before he pulled Wendy’s blanket off her body. He said, "Come and sleep on the bed."
"It’s fine, I’ll just sleep on the couch," replied Wendy. She was more resistant to the idea of sleeping with Michael.
Michael guessed what she was thinking. He said unhappily, "I’m ordering you to sleep on the bed."
"I said I don’t want to..."
Before Wendy could finish talking, Michael interrupted her coldly, "You can sleep on the bed, I’ll take the couch."
Wendy was surprised to hear that. She thought, Michael wants to sleep on the couch? She flipped over, looked up at Michael, and realized that he was not joking. However, Michael was still part of the Lucas family. And even though Mrs. Lucas had forced them to stay the night, Wendy did not feel good about taking the bed. Pursing her lips, she said, "You can take the bed. This couch is big enough for me, but it might not be as comfortable for you."
The truth was that Wendy did not know what kind of attitude she should take toward Michael.
Sometimes, he was an extremely hateful person.
But other times, he seemed to care about her.
"Are you showing concern for me?" Michael raised his eyebrows, making his face look much friendlier. He bowed his head slightly so he could gaze into Wendy’s eyes, "It seems that you still have feelings for me."
Before this, Wendy had thought that perhaps Michael did care about her. But his words caused the gratitude in her heart to dissipate completely.
Wendy’s face darkened. She replied, "You can think whatever you want."
Seeing that Wendy was about to turn her back to him again, Michael lifted her up bridal-style.
The ceiling suddenly spun above her. Before Wendy returned to her senses and realized what was happening, she was already in Michael’s arms. She cried out in shock, but quickly remembered where they were. Fearing that someone might hear them outside, Wendy immediately lowered her volume and said, "What are you doing, Michael?"
"Since you won’t go to the bed, I have to take you there myself."
"Let me down right now!" Wendy hammered Michael’s body with punches, though she didn’t put much strength into it.
Michael placed Wendy on the bed. When he saw her struggle to get off, he threatened her, saying, "If you leave the bed, I’ll tell Grandmother right away."
"You.." Wendy’s words got stuck in her throat.
After some time, she managed to utter, "You’re horrible!"
"Wendy..." Michael sighed softly, a much more serious expression gracing his face.
When Wendy heard Michael call her by her name, she went into a daze. He had never addressed her like that. In the past, he had always called her foul names.
In that instant, Wendy found herself at a loss. She sensed that whatever Michael wanted to say next might not be something simple.
"If I promise to cut off all ties with Yvonne, can you also agree to stop associating with Christian?" Michael’s voice was very low. He expectantly waited for Wendy’s answer.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Wendy, even though she already understood what Michael was trying to say. She just did not believe him.
She thought, why would Michael cut off all ties with Yvonne? They’ve been together for so many years, and he has to hut me over and over again for her sake. He gave in to Yvonne no matter what she wanted and bought her whatever she adored. He loves her so much, why would he want to cut her off for me?
