MICHELLE HAD A HARD TIME processing what happened in the flower shop and could not sleep all night. Ethan’s words remained in her head, continuously piercing her chest and hurting her internally.Fuck. This was the part that she had been trying to avoid. That confrontation was like her biggest nightmare, yet she knew it was uncontrollable. The world may be big, but when fate wants your fears to happen, it could make the world too small. That was what happened when their paths crossed again, at that unexpected time.Michelle shifted positions, facing her daughter, who was sleeping next to her. Crying in silence, she looked at Marsha with a heavy heart. She could never blame Ethan for acting so harshly towards her. If the roles were reversed, she would surely want to hear some answers too. She could demand an explanation; perhaps try to argue with him too."I’ll do my best to protect you," Michelle murmured, and leaned forward to press her lips to Marsha’s forehead. "Everything will be
“I’M HERE FOR Mr. Ethan Steinfield,” Michelle informed the receptionist of the five star hotel where she at.It was the place indicated on the piece paper he gave. While waiting for the receptionist to confirm her visit, Michelle could already feel the wild beating of her heart. The lump inside her throat was getting bigger at each second passing, and so to distract herself her eyes roamed around the lobby of the hotel.The hotel was enormous, silver and gold-colored interior designs could be seen anywhere, complementing the expensive furniture and porcelain floor. Michelle could not help but wonder how long Ethan had been staying here.Why was he in Milan, anyway? She thought.“May I get your full name, Miss?”She turned to the receptionist. “Michelle Finley.”“Mr. Steinfield confirmed that he will have a visitor named Michelle Steinfield, his wife.”“Yes. T—That’s me...” She took a deep breath. It was foreign to hear his surname next to her name. It hadbeen six years since the last
MICHELLE FROZE in her stance, her eyes widened but never leaving Ethan’s gray eyes that were full of hatred. The way he looked at her was intense, as if he had been loathing her for ever; as if he had been waiting for their confrontation to happen so he could eat her whole. Every second passed, his breathing became sharper, and that totally weakened her."D—Don’t touch me!" She tried to pull her arm off his grip, but to no avail.Ethan held his arm even tighter. Their faces were only a few inches away. Michelle fought the urge to melt into his cool mint breath. He was damn enraged, yet his attractive features never failed to make her swoon, even in the worst situation."Come on, Michelle." Ethan tilted his head, staring down at her as if she was his long-lost nemesis. "What else would you like to say? Confess everything now while I’m still open for negotiations!""I—I just want a divorce! That’s it!" Michelle yelled at him."You want a divorce so you can allure other men freely, huh?
SHE WAS QUICK to storm out of the hotel like it was the most disgusting place she had ever stepped foot in.Michelle immediately went inside her car. The moment she felt alone, the faster her tears rolled down like a rapid river. She cried her heart out, one hand clutching her chest while the other one held the steering wheel so tightly as if it was her only anchor at the time.For normal married couples, it’s supposed to be that simple... until death, they’d do their part. Marriage happened because of the dream of two people who were madly in love. That was for their relationship to last forever.It was too late for Michelle to realize that she made the wrong decision to marry Ethan, even if it was just for a show. Their marriage was a sham to begin with until the situation got worse... as there was unrequited love involved.And now, here they were, hurting each other so deeply.Michelle’s heart bled not just for the way the situation had become, but more because she knew that Marsha
WHEN MICHELLE stepped out of his hotel suite, Ethan seemed to have already lost his mind and threw the wine glass off the wall, and its loud cracking sound echoed in the four-corner room.Rage and disappointment were the only emotions he could feel at the time. Just when he thought his wife would confess to hiding their child and allow him to claim his rights as a father, Michelle dismayed him once again. Worse, she was planning to file for divorce!Wasn’t she even considering Marsha’s welfare? Why did she have to be selfish? Those were the questions he wished he could answer, but he only ended up cursing so loudly in frustration. If only he could read what was in her head so he would know what she had been planning all this time...Michelle’s face as she cried flashed across his mind.He couldn’t figure out why guilt washed over him afterwards. After a minute of contemplation, he wanted to follow Michelle and apologize. However, he stopped in the doorway when his phone rang.It was t
SHE FELT her strength faded away. Her legs were wobbly and the next thing happened: she fell on the floor, unable to process what she had just found out.Ethan... Ethan was the man who saved her daughter, and the same man who had visited the hospital and probably paid the bill.Does he already know?Michelle desperately tried to clear her head so she could think straight, but this worst reality really made her dumbfounded, as if fate was trying to fuck her mind all over again."Mommy, are you alright?"She tried to gather her remaining strength. Her tears were about to fall at any moment, yet she blinked them away. Looking at Marsha, who was glancing back at her with her curious pair of gray eyes, Michelle became very worried."So... the man who owns this calling card is the same man who helped you when you went missing, sweetheart?"Marsha nodded in response. "Yes, mommy. He came into the hospital too."He must be crazy or something, Michelle thought as anger suddenly engulfed her ch
A HEAVY silence descended over the living room. Ethan exhaled as his eyes surveyed the house, as if he wanted to find something wrong and scold her afterwards. That was how Michelle felt as she slowly leaned her back against the countertop table, embracing herself while giving him a careful glance.A rhetorical question popped in her head—one that had been bothering her all night and kept her awake. How did Ethan find out that Marsha was his daughter?Ethan’s eyes landed on the portraits displayed on the TV cabinet. Those were the portraits of Marsha when she was still a newborn, when she turned one year old, and their photo that was taken in the flower shop—Marsha’s hands were full of soil, her hair was frantically a mess, yet her daughter looked beautiful as she smiled widely on the camera.Michelle saw how Ethan’s attention got focused on those portraits. Waves of guilt and fear engulfed her chest. She could see it from the corner of his marble gray eyes. He adored Marsha. That sta
"MICH, what the hell did you do? I missed you so much!"Michelle hugged her knees while facing the laptop. It had been six years, and she definitely missed her best friend. Megan looked very different now. She was sporting a wolf hairstyle that really suited her. She looked fresh and sexy in her wedding dress. Apparently, after six years, Megan had finally married Andrew.Michelle struggled to stop herself from crying. Now that there was a lot more to fear, Megan contacted her via email, requesting a video call, which she didn’t turn down. Relief flooded her as soon as she finally saw her best friend. She was her refuge, after all."I guess... congratulations on your wedding, Meg..." she said, sobbing and chuckling at the same time.Megan cried from the other line. "W—What happened, Mich? Where are you? Please... Please tell me before I lose my mind!"Michelle told her everything and didn’t even leave any details. If there was one person she trusted the most, it was Megan. Her tears p