Free Web NovelChapter 49: Shopping
Wendy left Zen’s house with Michael.
She followed behind him, taking her time to do so. When they entered the elevator, Michael glanced at the suitcase and laptop bag that Wendy was holding. Afterward, he reached out to take them from her. Wendy reflexively withdrew her hands when she felt the abrupt warmth of Michael’s.
When she looked up and realized that Michael only intended to help her carry those things, she felt moved and said in a small voice, "I’ll carry these myself."
"Let go," said Michael in a concise manner.
"I..." Wendy wanted to say something else, but when she met Michael’s gaze, all she could do was obey and let Michael take her things from her.
As she stared at Michael’s face, she suddenly felt the feelings she had suppressed start to stir again. Her rationality told her that she could not fall for Michael again. She had suffered enough in the last three years and could not possibly give up halfway through just because he made some small gestures that touched her tremendously.
Wendy forced herself to avert her gaze. Bowing her head slightly, Wendy stared at her toes instead. Her emotions were very complicated.
"We’re here." When the elevator arrived at the second floor, Michael stood between the doors. He saw Wendy in a daze and said loudly, "Come out."
"Ah?" Wendy returned to her senses and immediately stepped out of the elevator.
"What were you thinking about?" Even though Michael’s tone was still unpleasant, it was no longer as impatient as before. He said, "You didn’t even realize when the elevator stopped."
"No... It’s nothing," replied Wendy. She kept her head bowed, not daring to meet Michael’s gaze.
After all, she could not possibly tell him that there was a fracture in her determination just because of the small gestures he made over the last few days.
Michael decided not to pursue the topic. When they reached the apartment, Michael unlocked the door with his key and switched on the lights inside. The dark apartment was instantly illuminated.
Wendy felt a sense of déjà vu as she looked around the place she had stayed for the last three years.
Michael placed the suitcase and laptop bag on the ground as he entered the apartment. He poured himself a glass of water and chugged it. Then, he made his way to the couch. Glancing at Wendy with his eyebrows raised, he said in a calm voice, "If you’re not too tired, you can cook dinner."
"Ah?" Wendy felt slightly surprised. She thought, does this mean that Michael wants to stay for dinner tonight? I called him many, many times in the past, but he rarely came back. Now, I no longer wish to sit at the same table as him.
"Do you need me to repeat myself?" Michael frowned slightly.
Wendy exhaled slowly. She thought, I’ll just cook if he wants me to, it’s not a big deal.
When she opened the refrigerator and saw no ingredients inside, her eyes lit up. She said, "There is no food left to cook with. Why don’t you just eat out?"
Wendy was trying to tell Michael that her inability to cook dinner for him was not of her own free will. Rather, the lack of ingredients left her with no choice. However, Michael unexpectedly walked over to the refrigerator and opened the freezer compartment. He pulled out a slab of beef, and then walked around the kitchen and magically found some noodles. He said, "Just cook some beef noodles, then."
"But the beef is frozen," said Wendy. If she recalled correctly, Michael never ate anything that was frozen. He only ate fresh produce.
"Do you want to go get groceries now?" Michael glanced at the time and said, "It’s pretty late, almost 9 P.M. It will be even later by the time you buy more ingredients, come home, and cook. What do you think?"
What else could Wendy say? Michael’s attitude was clear-he wanted her to cook for him right now. In that case, she would comply and cook beef noodles for him using the frozen meat.
After all, Michael did not even care that the meat was frozen anymore. Hence, Wendy did not care either. However, she was reminded of the last time she had forced Michael into having dinner with her using their divorce as a bargaining chip.
Back then, she had proudly declared that it was the last time she would ever cook for Michael.
Thinking about it made her feel suspicious. Wendy walked into the kitchen she was so familiar with and started preparing the food.
Soon, she served up two piping hot bowls of beef noodles. Michael was indeed famished. He picked up his fork and finished half of it within a few minutes. Wendy’s heart pounded as she watched Michael, unable to guess what he was thinking. His behavior recently was just too different from how he used to act toward her. If not for Yvonne, Wendy would have believed that Michael had fallen in love with her.
Sighing to herself, Wendy bowed her head and started eating her own noodles as well. Soon, the room quieted and there was nothing to be heard besides slurping as they ate their dinner.
After dinner, Wendy watched as Michael sat down on the couch. He showed no signs of wanting to leave. Frowning, she spoke up first and interrupted the silence, "Michael, it’s getting late."
Wendy really wished that Michael would understand what she meant by this, even though the apartment technically belonged to him.
Michael, on the other hand, was not dumb either.
He understood her implication. He said, "Do you want me to leave that badly? Didn’t you pine for me to come home often in the past?"
"The past is the past, and we’re in the present," replied Wendy. "I cannot spend the rest of my life chasing after you when you’re someone who will never be unattainable." freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"The past is the past and we’re in the present?" Michael sneered. "You’re only saying that because you didn’t have Christian in the past."
The previously harmonious atmosphere was suddenly ruined when Christian’s name was mentioned.
Not wanting to fight with Michael, Wendy said, "Michael, I don’t wish to talk about this with you anymore. You were the one who asked to come home, and you were the one who asked me to cook for you. I don’t want to fight, I’m tired and want to rest."
Michael did not wish to fight either. However, he could not help but think about Christian whenever they arrived at this topic. Taking a deep breath, Michael suppressed the rising fury in his chest. After a moment of silence, he said, "You can just stay here in peace. Even if we get divorced, the house still belongs to you. So, you don’t have to worry about me chasing you out again." Then, he took out a car key and placed it on the desk, and he said, "You can continue using the car too." With that, he got up and walked away.
Inexplicable feelings took over Wendy as she watched Michael walk away. There was nothing between her and Christian. If she had to be precise, aside from their affiliation as brother-in-law and sister-in-law, all Christian did was threaten her.
Wendy touched her abdomen. She looked down at her flat stomach. She hoped that Christian could keep his promise after one month and help her conceal the news of her pregnancy so that she could leave Lake City. However, Wendy suddenly felt worried. If this were like before she was sure that Michael would not go looking for her after her departure. But now, she did not know if Michael would still let her be if she left.
Sighing, Wendy decided it was best not to think about such frustrating things. She would just take it one day at a time. She believed that she was just an ordinary woman to both Christian and Michael, one that was defenseless in the twisted game that the brothers were playing.
....
As it was the weekend, Wendy did not set an alarm. She slept until after 11 A.M. and felt much more rejuvenated after she woke up. She felt hungry but recalled there was nothing much left in the house to cook. So, she dug around the cabinets and managed to find a packet of biscuits and some milk for breakfast. After her meal, she received a call from Michael. She hesitated for a moment before answering the phone.
"Come downstairs," said Michael succinctly.
"Huh?" Wendy did not understand what was going on.
"I’m waiting downstairs for you, so come down right now," said Michael. His command was authoritative and left no room for negotiation.
Although Wendy did not wish to go downstairs, she knew Michael’s personality too well. Since he was already here, he would just come up to the apartment if she refused to meet him. After acknowledging his request, Wendy hung up.
She changed her clothes and put on some light make-up before heading downstairs.
When Michael saw her appear in an alight-yellow dress and her long hair around her shoulders, he found himself suddenly unable to take his eyes off her. He could not deny that Wendy was very beautiful. Back when she was in school, she stood out not only because of her talent for design, but also because of her looks. Everyone thought she was the prettiest girl in school.
After she married Michael, she often skipped her meals. Thus, her complexion became sallow, and she became incredibly bony, which dulled her beauty.
Ever since Wendy found out about her pregnancy, she had been nursing herself back to health. In the past two months, she had gained some weight and her skin was fair and delicate.
Her looks were eye-catching.
Getting into the car, she asked, "Why did you ask me to come down here?"
When Michael heard Wendy’s voice, he looked away from her and put out the lit cigarette in his hand. He said, "You’ll find out when we get there."
Michael had personally come here to pick her up and he wanted to bring her somewhere.
Wendy felt completely puzzled about his actions.
Michael’s recent behavior was becoming increasingly difficult for her to comprehend. He drove leisurely, and they gradually arrived at a large shopping mall.
...
After parking the car, Michael took the lead and walked in front of her.
Wendy, who followed behind Michael, could not help but wonder if Michael had brought her to this mall to buy things for her. However, she swept away that thought as soon as it surfaced.
Even though Michael had been much nicer to her recently, she did not think it was likely for him to personally take her shopping. Sure enough, Michael took her to the supermarket on the first floor. He pointed at a shopping cart and instructed her, "Take that."
Wendy could only obey. She took the shopping cart and continued to follow behind Michael. He went straight to the live seafood section, but when he saw the stock, he frowned. He grabbed a plastic bag and started picking out some prawns, imitating what the people beside him were doing. As the prawns had been placed on ice, they were icy to the touch. Michael had just grabbed his first prawn when something pricked his finger. Even though it did not hurt, the suddenness of it made him retract his hand.
This was his first time experiencing anything like that. He had visited the supermarket in the past, but never personally touched live seafood.
When Wendy saw what was happening, she approached him and said, "Let me do it."
She took the plastic bag from Michael’s hand and started picking out the prawns. After making her selection, she placed the bag of prawns in the cart and said, "What else do you want? Let me know and I’ll get it. We can measure the final weight of all the products at the end."
Michael nodded. Under his guidance, Wendy picked out many kinds of seafood until the shopping cart was filled to the brim. She could not help but remind him, "I don’t think I can finish all this food by myself within the next two weeks. After all, fresh seafood cannot be kept for long."
Wendy had had a vague idea of why Michael had brought her here. He probably wanted to restock her refrigerator after seeing how empty it was the previous night. Michael raised his eyebrows and said, "Who said that you’ll be eating everything by yourself?"
