Free Web NovelChapter 59: Last Chance
Since Michael was being so shamelessly persistent about staying, Wendy did not kick him out. However, when she woke up the next morning and opened her eyes to see someone lying beside her in bed, she screamed in fright.
"Good morning," said Michael with a smile on his face, evidently in a good mood. He had expected a reaction like this from her.
Wendy swallowed dryly, pointed at him, and said, "What... What are you doing in my bed?"
She recalled Michael sleeping on the couch the previous night. She had been worried that it would be uncomfortable for him to sleep there, and that he would wake up with a backache.
She never expected him to climb into her bed in the middle of the night, though.
"The couch was too uncomfortable to sleep on. I rolled over and fell onto the floor in the middle of the night. Since your bed is so big, I decided to sleep beside you. Also, you only just woke up, which means that I didn’t disturb your sleep," said Michael with a hint of pride in his tone.
This apartment consisted of three bedrooms and one living room. One of the rooms had been turned into a study, but the other two remained as bedrooms. However, Michael rarely returned home and had only stayed overnight in this apartment a handful of times in the past few years. Even when he came home drunk, he never bothered to stay the night. Because it was never used, the spare bedroom was in disarray and there was nothing in it besides a bed.
Consequently, Michael was unwilling to sleep there.
"You said that you’d sleep on the couch, how could you break your promise?" Feeling uncomfortable, Wendy started to complain.
"Did you want me to be terribly sore from sleeping on the couch?" Michael decided to play the victim.
Wendy snorted, glaring at him. Then, she got out of bed and said, "There is another bedroom in this apartment. I’ll get it sorted out so that you won’t have to sleep on the couch anymore."
With that, she went to the bathroom for a shower.
Staring at Wendy’s back, Michael shook his head with a smile on his face. He wondered why he had never noticed how adorable Wendy was before this.
...
After leaving work in the evening, Wendy came back home first. Michael had to work overtime, and she decided not to stay and keep him company. She did not know if he would even be returning home tonight. Even though she claimed that she did not want him around, the truth was that deep down, she still looked forward to the idea of him coming home.
After arriving home, Wendy cleaned up the spare bedroom and put clean sheets on the bed.
Finding the room to be a bit too spacious and empty, she put in the effort to order some fresh flowers for decoration. After arranging the flowers in a vase and displaying them in the room, everything felt livelier. Unfortunately, despite Wendy’s efforts, Michael did not return home.
She waited until after midnight but there was still no sight of him. As she looked around the empty room, her heart felt hollow. Unable to stop herself from sighing, she whipped out her phone and thought about calling Michael, then hesitated.
In the end, she decided not to.
When Wendy arrived at the office the following day, Michael was already there. After brewing a Cup of coffee for him, she hesitated before asking him, "Where were you last night?"
Delight surfaced in Michael’s initially exhausted face when he heard her question. He reached out to grab Wendy and pulled her onto his lap, asking suggestively, "Why, did you miss me? I thought you didn’t want me around?"
"Michael..." Wendy’s tone was slightly irritated as she knew that Michael was deliberately teasing her.
"I worked overtime last night, and it was very late by the time I was done. I didn’t want to wake you up, so I decided not to go back," said Michael. "I’ll be very busy during this period. You don’t have to wait up for me at home."
Wendy opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Mr. York’s voice rang out, "Mr. Lucas, you asked me to contact..."
Before Mr. York could finish talking, he entered the office to see Wendy sitting on Michael’s lap.
Feeling embarrassed, he instantly put on a blank, neutral expression and said, "Er, I’ll just come back later."
Wendy immediately stood up. She coughed softly and smoothed her outfit. In a low voice, she said, "Please go ahead." With that, she turned around and left.
Michael smiled as he watched Wendy leave. His smile instantly faded when he redirected his attention to Mr. York. He said, "Go on."
"Mr. Lewis has agreed to sell his shares of the company to you on the condition that you sign a five-year contract with him," said Mr. York.
"Arrange a meeting with him tonight."
Mr. York nodded in acknowledgment. He knew he should leave after having given his report to Michael, but after thinking about it, he decided to be a bit nosey and added, "Mr. Lucas, as your assistant, I’m really happy to see you get along with Mrs. Lucas."
Michael raised his eyebrows and glanced at Mr. York when he heard those words. He asked, "Do you prefer for me to get along with Wendy?
"That goes without saying," Mr. York decided to express his honest opinions. "Even though Mrs. Lucas does not necessarily seem to be the most outwardly attention-grabbing, I find her to be tough, smart, tolerant, and strong. If she hadn’t decided to become your wife instead, I believe that she would be very accomplished in her career."
Mr. York’s evaluation of Wendy surprised Michael greatly. He thought, is Wendy really as good as he claims? Why haven’t I realized this about her before?
Afraid that he had said too much and that Michael would be unhappy about it, Mr. York nodded slightly and said, "I’ll get back to work now."
After Mr. York left, Michael could not help but think carefully about what he had told him.
Perhaps he should get to know Wendy again, from a fresh perspective. Just as Michael had told her, he remained very busy during this period.
Sometimes, he only reached home in the wee hours of the night. Every time he did, he would wake Wendy up. Consequently, he decided to just rest in his office instead of going home.
Work demanded so much of his attention that Wendy went right back to how her life used to be-working as Michael’s assistant during the day and going home alone at night.
Today, Wendy had received a call after brewing some coffee from Michael and returning to her office. A familiar voice greeted her over the phone-it was Christian. He said, "Hello, Wendy, do you still remember me?
Of course, Wendy remembered him. "Why did you call?"
Christian had not shown up in her life again since the night that Michael found him in their apartment alone with Wendy.
"I feel fortunate that you still remember me after all," said Christian. His voice sounded a little tired, but it was still laced with delight, "I thought that you would have forgotten I existed a long time ago, since you’re on such loving terms with my brother now." Even though there was no other meaning to his words, he sounded jealous and ambiguous.
Frowning, Wendy said in a distant manner, "Christian, the agreement between us has long ceased to exist, so please don’t contact me anymore."
"This is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about, Wendy. It’s been two months, and I wanted to ask if you still plan on leaving Lake City? If you do, I can arrange for someone to take you to a place where my brother can never find you. Alternatively, if you’ve fallen in love with him again and wish to stay because you think that he now feels the same about you, you can. However, my offer will be rescinded, and I won’t help you leave this place after today."
Wendy’s grip tightened around the phone. Now, she felt reluctant to leave. However, she did not know just what exactly Michael felt about her.
She thought, if Michael is just playing with feelings, I’ll surely meet with a miserable end if choose to stay. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Sensing Wendy’s hesitation over the phone, Christian continued, "If you choose to leave now, I’ll arrange a job for you so that you can afford to support yourself and your child. On top of that, I’ll make sure that my brother never finds you. Wendy, this is your last chance."
Wendy felt moved by Christian’s words. She touched her abdomen. She had been pregnant for over three months, and even though it was not obvious yet, she knew that it would take at most two more months before her belly would start to show. Before that, if she chose not to leave Michael’s side, she had to first ensure that he would be able to accept their child.
Wendy’s heart was in turmoil. She did not know if she should take this gamble. It was risky to leave the fate of her baby up in the air like this, and she was unwilling to do so. However, Christian’s words were perfectly clear-he would not offer to help her again if she did not take this opportunity. Instead of urging Wendy to make a decision quickly, Christian waited patiently for her response over the phone.
After a long time, Wendy took a deep breath. As if she had made up her mind, she said, "Regardless of the grievances between you and Michael, I must thank you for offering me this opportunity. However, I choose... not to leave."
After saying those words, her heart felt much lighter. After all, she was still in love with Michael. Now that his attitude toward her was improving by the day, she could not remain as decisive as she was in the past. She decided to take one last gamble on him. If this was the right decision, she and her child would be happy for the rest of their lives. If not, she would do her best to protect her child, even if it meant having to sacrifice her life.
Christian was not surprised by her answer. He chuckled lightly over the phone. His laughter was filled with disappointment and helplessness, as well as a trace of heartbreak.
He said, "Wendy, you landed in my brother’s trap after all. You really are so stupid."
"It doesn’t matter if I’m stupid or not. From now on, we will have nothing to do with each other. I hope that you won’t tell Michael about our past agreement, either," said Wendy pleadingly. She knew what Christian was thinking and that to him, she had always been a tool that he could use against Michael. However, Christian had also offered to help her leave Lake City from the start, which was something that she appreciated.
At the end of the day, she was an impartial person who knew how to be grateful.
She knew that Christian had his own motives, but she was still thankful for the help that he had offered.
"That will have to depend on my mood," said Christian as he laughed again. "Since you have chosen my brother over me, we will now stand on opposite sides. And now that I have something to blackmail you with, I might need your help in the future. There’s no way I would just let such an amazing opportunity go."
His honesty made Wendy feel both surprised and worried. It was likely that he would use this to threaten her. Her relationship with Michael was just starting to feel stable, and it would be easy for things to go wrong if Christian chose to sabotage them. However, it was true that they did have an agreement between them. Even though it never fully materialized, Michael was bound to be angry if he found out about it.
Hearing no response over the phone, Christian smiled and said faintly, "Right, I called today to bid you farewell. Soon, there might not be a place for me in MC Enterprise any longer."
Feeling surprised by this, Wendy asked, "What do you mean?"
"I guess you don’t know about it yet," said Christian secretively. "’Since my brother hasn’t told you about it, you should just wait and see. It might happen tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow."
His response made Wendy feel even more confused. She thought, Anthony Lucas was the one who decided to let Christian into the company. If Christian is getting kicked out of the company, does this mean that Michael is gaining full control over MC Enterprise and expelling his father?
