THE FAMILIAR anxiety swirled around her chest and mind after having sex with her husband. Zipping up the zipper of her gown while she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, Michelle could only let out a long, quiet sigh.
Her realization hit her to the core. It was wrong to mess up with a man who was not romantically inclined, let alone fall in love with him, knowing that there was a contract that prohibited them from feeling such emotions toward each other.
What’s worse was that she knew it was an unrequited love.
Michelle could feel that her own emotions had become a vortex of chaos, and it truly sucked up her heart to the extent that she felt the taste of misery.
But she couldn't allow herself to be overcome by such feelings. It was painful, yes. It was all wrong, something that should not have started in the first place, but she would do everything to cease it... and Ethan would never find out about it.
With that in mind, she started putti
"ARE YOU PLANNING to get drunk at a formal party like this?"Michelle was about to drink another shot of tequila when a familiar voice suddenly spoke behind her, making her spin around, only to see Selene Steinfield, who was currently giving her a disappointing look as the old woman raised an eyebrow, as if she was some sort of bad daughter-in-law.She could not believe that her mother-in-law seemed to have extra time to mind her. With all the cameras lurking in every corner of the event hall, the last thing she expected was a goddamn confrontation between her and Selene."There are cameras everywhere, Mom," she said, and gave her a thin smile. "I think it would be best if you smiled a bit at me so no one would suspect that you hate me.""Michelle," Megan called out to Michelle, who was sitting right next to her worriedly.Selene then smiled sweetly, seemingly getting what she meant but still refusing to give up the conversation so easily. "Can you
MICHELLE STOOD up. Her eyes looked around to find Ethan, but she could not see even his shadow among the crowd, not even in the corner where she saw him talking to Ashley earlier. She let out a sigh of defeat and turned to Nana Rose, who was already tired and sleepy.Nana wanted to go to her suite, and take a rest. Even Pops Will could not be seen. According to Nana, he might have joined his son at the casino, which was located on the other floor. Michelle had no choice but to help the old woman go to her suite instead."Come, Nana. I will take you to your suite myself," she offered.Nana Rose was happy to hear it, and immediately stood up slowly."I am sorry to be a bother, hon." She then surveyed the event hall. "But where is Ethan?""He’s probably speaking to some businessmen." She shrugged and smiled. "That’s how business-minded your grandson is, Nana."Nana Rose chuckled and nodded in response. "Oh, there’s no doubt ab
STANDING IN THE event hall's corner, Ethan sighed in defeat as, shortly after speaking with some of the businessmen his age, Ashley appeared next to him and began telling him things he couldn't understand."You are already drunk, Ash," he told her, looking down at her flushed cheeks.He had known Ashley for most of his life, and whenever the woman got drunk, her face was flushed—the same color as a strawberry, her eyes dreamy, and her mouth would not stop mumbling words that anyone could hardly understand. Ethan looked in the direction where Michelle was. His wife was busy having a conversation with Nana Rose and did not seem to notice that he was speaking with Ashley.Exhaling out loud, he turned to Ashley again while he tried to be patient."Oh, no, no!" Ashley kept waving her hands in disapproval. "I... I am not drunk. I can’t be drunk at an event like this because..." she paused and giggled while she looked up at Ethan with her eyes that w
FEELING THE HEAVINESS of her chest, Michelle had nothing else to do but cry while she was inside Jacob’s car. Without anyone’s knowledge, they left the party and traveled far away, where she could breathe and forget what she had seen in the hotel. It broke her heart whenever that particular scene replayed in her mind, and she could not help but feel sorry about herself for letting things turn this way.If only she had been more careful... If only she had stopped herself from getting too close to Ethan. That scene would not have probably hit her to the core if only she wasn’t falling so hard for him. That thought alone made her lips tremble.Jacob was silently driving the car. No one of them dared speak even a single word. He must have noticed how hurt she was that he had given her the space and time she needed in order to ponder everything inside her chest.After almost an hour of driving, the car finally stopped near the beach. Michelle was no
"LET’S FOLLOW their car," Jacob suggested in his tone full of worry as he looked at the car sprinting away from their direction.Letting out a tired sigh, Michelle held him in his arm. Jacob turned to her with a frown, and she only shook her head."Let’s not be bothered about it anymore," she said, almost in a whisper.Jacob’s eyes narrowed. He inhaled sharply and said, "They might use it for a headline.""I’m aware of that, but we know we’re not doing anything wrong." She looked at the road where the paparazzi's car drove. "And even if we tried to follow them, their car sprinted away, and we’d just have a hard time searching for them."Jacob massaged his temples and couldn’t help but wince."This will put you in trouble, Michelle."Michelle nodded as she bit her tongue. She was all too aware of what would happen. Once their pictures came out on the news, her in-laws would be really ballistic
JUST AS SHE EXPECTED, the news about her having an affair went public the next morning. Michelle woke up seeing Ethan’s dangerous stare at her, so even though she had decided not to meet the trouble halfway, she could not help but feel anxious with the way he eyed her as if she was a terrible woman."What is the meaning of this, Michelle?!" Ethan roared as he stood next to the bed where she was sitting upright.Michelle almost jumped in her stance. Ethan’s voice was so loud, like thunder that echoed in every corner of her bedroom, and it made her feel nervous to the extent that she clutched her chest as she suddenly felt it was hard to breathe."I already told you last night. We didn’t do anything wrong, Ethan," she explained, but of course, with the looks of her husband right now, she already knew he would never believe her."These pictures are telling me otherwise!"
MICHELLE WOKE UP feeling light-headed. When she opened her eyes, the unfamiliar white ceiling was the first thing she saw. The air she inhaled smelled like a combination of a high-end air conditioner and medicine. She had figured out that she was lying on the hospital bed with the sound of the monitoring machine next to her.She gathered her strength and sat upright. Her eyes looked around the room. She was alone at the moment. Sighing, she tried to recall what happened before she got into the hospital. That’s when she remembered that she was supposed to get into a cab, but she felt so dizzy that she had lost consciousness.A nurse holding a monitoring sheet came in, and was surprised to see her awake. Walking to the bed where she was, the nurse checked the monitoring machine next to her and sighed in relief."I am glad you’re finally awake. How do you feel right now?" the nurse asked politely."Confused," Michelle replied, and suddenly felt t
EXITING out of the hospital, Michelle knew that she fucked up. She had fucked up in the worst possible way, and there was no way she could get herself out of this complete mess at this point in her life.Her eyes dropped to the paper bag that contained some vitamins and other prescriptions she had to take religiously for her pregnancy, but she couldn’t feel the happiness, despite the truth sinking in her head.A tear fell down her cheek, yet she was quick to wipe it immediately. Letting out a frustrated sigh, all she wanted was to get away. There was no way Ethan would accept this baby, and with the current issue she was facing after being involved in a scandal, she doubted if her husband would actually believe that the baby was his.The sun was just starting to dip behind the ocean when the cab she was in finally stopped at the beach in East Hampton. After paying for the cab fee, she exited it and let out a sigh as she glanced over at the crystal clear wa