Free Web NovelChapter 46: It’s All In The Past
Michael looked up at her with an icy gaze, "I’ll pay you twice of what he offered. Is that enough for you?"
"It is," said Wendy. That was exactly what she wanted to hear him say. After all, she knew that the two brothers were rivals, and she had deliberately mentioned the exact figure Christian paid her to provoke Michael. If Michael found out that Christian paid her 50,000 dollars a month, there was no way that he would offer any less. Wendy beamed delightedly. She picked up the cup of coffee and said, "The coffee has gone cold. I’ll make another cup for you."
When Michael saw Wendy’s heartfelt smile, he went into a trance. He rarely saw Wendy smile like that. In the past, he told Wendy that he hated seeing her look sad, so she would force herself to smile every time they saw each other.
However, her forced smiles only made him feel even more repulsed.
Wendy came back with a fresh cup of coffee.
Michael took a sip of it and realized that it tasted the same as it always did. He rarely drank the coffee she made for him in the past because he hated her and did not want to touch anything that she made. However, he had to admit that Wendy was very familiar with his preferences, and she made very aromatic coffee.
However, there was no way that Michael would tell her those things.
Placing the cup back on the table, Michael asked, "Are you in need of money?"
He had just witnessed Wendy smiling so happily because of the salary that he offered her. This was not the same Wendy he had known, in his impression. She never cared about money in the past. Even when he docked her pay, she never complained about it.
Wendy replied with a smile, "Of course, who doesn’t need money?" Gazing at Michael, Wendy no longer felt as timid as she was in the past. She said, "Even though l am the wife of the president of MC Enterprise, I am very poor. Michael, do you know why I used to be so skinny?"
Without waiting for Michael to respond, Wendy continued with a bitter smile, "it’s because I skipped meals often. You found so many reasons to dock my pay, and I saved up what little money I had left to buy ingredients so that can cook for you on the rare occasions that you decided to come home. I don’t want to continue living that way anymore, it’s too torturous."
The suffering extended beyond her physical body to her emotional state. To Wendy, her pregnancy was an opportunity. It gave her a reason to give up on Michael. At least right now, she no longer led a life centered around Michael, and she no longer feared his wrath. Wendy’s eyes grew damp as remembered the past.
She tilted her head back slightly, sniffled, and said with a smile, "What’s the point of telling you all this?"
Wendy thought she must be going mad. Michael did not care about her, much less how she used to live in the past. If Michael ever felt any pity for her, she would not have had to go hungry all the time working at this company. Not wanting to let Michael see how sorry she looked right now, Wendy turned her back to him, "Thank goodness, it’s all in the past."
Those words were targeted at Michael, but it felt like Wendy was talking to herself.
Michael’s face had remained sullen the entire time she spoke.
He knew that it had been hard on Wendy all these years. However, he never regarded her as much of anything in the past. In fact, the more miserable she was, the happier Michael felt. But now, as he heard her talk about what she had to go through, Michael felt his heartache. He could not bear to continue remembering how Wendy looked in the past, with her ashy complexion and her bony body.
"It’s all in the past," said Michael with a long sigh.
When Wendy heard those words, her smile grew even more bitter. She thought, he never cared about me, so it doesn’t make a difference whether it’s in the past or not.
"I’ve packed up your office. Please let me know if you need anything," said Wendy. "I’ll go back to my office now." With that, she started walking away.
Wendy had just taken one step when Michael stopped her, "Hold on."
Michael took out a black card from his drawer. He approached Wendy and handed it to her. Wendy knew what this card was. This was a limited-edition credit card with no spending limit. Michael had handed it to her before to buy a jade bracelet for Mrs. Lucas’s birthday.
She thought, what is he trying to do now?
Wendy did not take the card. She looked at him with a frown. "Mr. Lucas, what do you mean by this?"
"I admit that I treated you badly in the past. You can take this card and buy yourself whatever you want to go forward," said Michael. As Wendy did not take the card from him, he stuffed it in her hands. Michael wanted to tell her that this was his way of compensating her. However, the words got stuck in his throat.
The golden stamp on the black card made it look magnificent. Yet, Wendy felt suspicious holding it. She thought, is Michael really giving this card to me?
Her gaze was filled with curiosity and doubt. This did not seem like something Michael would voluntarily do. After all, he would not even give this card to Yvonne. Wendy could not help but think about what Michael had told her the previous night about being willing to cut off all ties with Yvonne if Wendy was willing to do the same with Christian. She thought, could it be that Michael has really changed his mind about me?
"Buy yourself some nice clothes and jewelry," said Michael.
Wendy opened her mouth but did not know what to say to him. After thinking about it, she returned the card to Michael, "Forget it, I don’t want the card. Just pay me on time."
"Wendy Stewart, if I’m asking you to take the card, you should just take it," Michael stuffed the card into Wendy’s hands again. Then, as if he was afraid that she might refuse him, he immediately turned around and walked back to his desk. He sat down and kept his head bowed as he read through his documents. "I have other things to attend to. You can go back to your office."
Wendy looked down at the black card in her hands, then at Michael. She still felt dazed. What exactly was Michael trying to do?
After returning to her office, Wendy kept the black card secure. Since Michael had insisted on giving it to her, she would accept his offer.
However, there was nothing much that she needed to spend on right now. She decided to return the card to Michael after some time passed. Wendy thought, he probably gave me the black card today only because he felt guilty listening to me talk about what I went through in the past. His brain must have malfunctioned at that moment for him to want to compensate me like that. I bet that he will ask for the card back when he comes to his senses.
Wendy returned to the office that she was familiar with. She tidied up her workspace. The desk opposite her was meant for Yvonne. When Wendy saw it, she became angry. Since Michael had promised her that he would fire Yvonne, Wendy decided that there was no need for her to endure this. She walked over to Yvonne’s desk, shifted all her things into an empty box, and then placed it in one corner.
This improved her mood drastically.
...
At around 12 P.M., Michael called Wendy through the office phone and said, "Get me one serving of lunch."
Right after that, he immediately added, "No, make it two."
Wendy felt suspicious. She thought, is he intending to eat with someone? However, she complied with Michael’s request and immediately went down to the cafeteria to get his food. Afterward, she took the special elevator and quickly arrived at Michael’s office.
Michael was still reading through some documents. He had always been very serious about work and often worked through the night. He also often did not have enough time to eat his lunch, and always settled his meal simply by getting a takeaway portion to eat in his office.
"Mr. Lucas, I have your food. Would you like to eat now?" asked Wendy. She glanced into the office and saw that there was no one else besides Michael. She continued, "Or are you waiting for someone to arrive?"
"Who would I be waiting for?" Michael put down his pen. He stood up, approached Wendy with his long, slender, legs, and asked doubtfully, "You tell me."
"Didn’t you ask me to get two portions of food?" asked Wendy. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"Aren’t you going to eat?" replied Michael.
Wendy was dumbfounded by the question. She thought, did Michael request an extra portion just for me? In the past, he never let me have my lunch in his office. It was always Yvonne accompanying him during meals.
"Sit down and eat with me," said Michael when he saw Wendy remain standing where she was.
"If you get any skinnier, I’m afraid you might complain to Grandmother about me again."
Wendy only complained to Mrs. Lucas on the Occasions that Michael crossed the line.
"I said, sit down. Or do you expect me to feed you?" asked Michael with his eyebrows raised.
Wendy could only follow his instructions. After placing the food on the desk, Wendy handed a pair of chopsticks to Michael. Then, she lowered her head and started eating her rice.
Michael saw that her side dishes remained untouched. He picked up a slice of fish and placed it in her bowl. When he spoke, his tone was as cold as it usually was. "Don’t just eat rice alone."
Wendy stared at the fish. When she caught a whiff of it, her stomach turned. She immediately put down her chopsticks and ran to the toilet to retch. She did not know that Michael was intending to eat with her. Otherwise, she would never have asked for the fish to be included in her portion.
When Michael saw, he unthinkingly set aside his chopsticks and quickly followed her. Since Wendy had barely eaten anything, there was nothing substantial to vomit. After rinsing her mouth, she intended to go back and tell Michael that she did not have any appetite due to an upset stomach. However, the moment she turned around, she found herself looking straight into Michael’s concerned eyes.
The suddenness of this interaction made Wendy stumble back in shock. She cried out, "Mr. Lucas.." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"What’s wrong?" asked Michael, who rarely expressed concern for her.
"I ..." Wendy decided to go with the excuse she had thought of earlier, as she said, "I have an upset stomach, so I think I won’t be eating anymore. You can go ahead."
"An upset stomach?" Michael was only half convinced. He said, "Let me ask Mr. York to send you to the hospital for an examination."
"No, that’s not necessary." Wendy quickly rejected his offer. If she went to the hospital, Michael would find out about her pregnancy.
She continued, "Perhaps I caught a cold, because I didn’t sleep well last night. I’ll be fine, I’ll just get some porridge from the cafeteria to soothe my stomach."
"Is this because you often starved yourself in the past?" Michael felt slightly guilty when reminded of how he treated Wendy in the past. If it was just as he said, then Wendy’s ailment was his fault.
Wendy wanted to say no. However, she changed her mind at the realization that Michael would probably drop this matter if she told him that was the case. Hence, she nodded, "That’s one reason why. But it’s fine, I’ll just take care of myself by eating more regularly."
"I’d still prefer to ask Mr. York to send you to the hospital for an examination," said Michael.
Feeling uneasy, he grabbed his phone, intending to call Mr. York. Wendy stopped him again. "It’s really fine. You should continue eating, I’ll just get some porridge for myself later."
Seeing Wendy’s persistence, Michael was silent for a moment before he gave Mr. York a call.
However, instead of sending her to the hospital, he said, "Have the kitchen staff deliver some nutritious porridge to my office."
This time, he did not make Wendy personally go down to get her food.
