Chapter 197 Michael Is Sick

Chapter 197 Michael Is Sick
Michael and Jennifer weren't alone at the villa—a group of college students were throwing a party!
Jennifer’s roommate pulled out her phone and showed Lia the receipt: "We paid 500 dollars to rent this venue for the party. If you have a problem with it, take it up with the landlord!”
As it turned out, all of this had been exactly as Michael had anticipated.
He had deliberately spread the word to lure Lia in, hoping she would walk right into his trap.
On the surface, it was a private date between Michael and Jennifer, but it was actually part of a larger scheme that Michael had set in motion.
He intended to use this opportunity to drag Lia down and reclaim his rightful position.
After three sweet days, the two returned to their real lives.
Michael began going all out against Lia, and Jennifer wasn't sitting idle either. She continued investigating her family’s murder and discovered that it was connected to many of the Kowalskis' secrets.
At this stage, their relationship was quite fragile.
Michael genuinely cared for Jennifer and would protect her, but Jennifer could never let go of her hatred. Whenever she softened toward Michael, she was reminded of her dad.
Lia was no pushover, either. She has been maneuvering within the family for years and had many supporters.
She spread rumors claiming that Michael neglected his duties for a schoolgirl and was unworthy of being the heir. She also sent people to follow Jennifer, hoping to find something to use against her.
Once, Jennifer nearly got kidnapped by Lia’s men, but Michael arrived just in time to save her.
However, Jennifer wasn’t grateful. She believed that Michael only saved her because her life belonged to him, and no one else could touch her.
The two continued to test and hurt each other.
Michael knew Jennifer was investigating him, but he didn’t confront her about it.
Jennifer knew Michael was wary of her, but she played her part when necessary.
During this time, Jennifer stole Michael’s medical records from the hospital, hoping to find his weakness. However, Michael caught her red-handed.
He didn't lose his temper. He just stared at her coldly. "Did you find anything? Do you want me to help you?”
That question left Jennifer speechless.
She realized that she was finding it hard to figure him out. He clearly knew everything, so why was he indulging her?
As it turned out, Jennifer wasn’t from an ordinary family. Her family had once been well off, but Michael’s family had driven them to ruin.
Jennifer’s mother had raised her in secret, hoping she would seek revenge one day.
Jennifer discovered that the events of that time were linked to Michael’s father. However, the evidence of Michael’s direct involvement was unclear.
She was torn. If he was one of the perpetrators, she had to make him pay. If not, how could she face him?
Once, when Jennifer was drunk, she cried out to Michael, "Did you harm my family or not?"
After a long silence, Michael answered, "There are some things I can’t tell you right now. But I can assure you, I never did anything to harm your family.”
Jennifer felt even worse after this ambiguous answer; she didn’t know whether to believe him or continue her investigation.
Just then, a man who claimed to know the truth about what happened back then appeared.
He arranged to meet with her, saying he would tell her everything.
Jennifer went, only to discover it was a trap—a scheme set by Lia to lure her to a remote location and kill her.
At the critical moment, Michael appeared again.
He brought men to rescue her, but he was injured in the process.
Looking at Michael’s bleeding wound, Jennifer finally realized that she cared about him.
With tears in her eyes, she asked, "Why do you always have to save me?"
Michael replied, "Because you're mine. Even if someone wants to kill you, they’ll need my permission first.”
His words were both ruthless and affectionate, leaving Jennifer completely bewildered.
Michael launched a full-scale counterattack against Lia.
He had evidence of all the unscrupulous deeds Lia had committed over the years, including embezzlement, colluding with outsiders to betray the family, and secretly teaming up with competitors.
He released the evidence bit by bit, causing Lia’s supporters to defect one by one.
Desperately, Lia tried to drag Jennifer down with her.
She sent men to kidnap Jennifer’s mother, forcing Jennifer to come alone to rescue her.
Jennifer went, and she nearly got beaten to death, but Michael and his men burst in and saved her.
In front of everyone, Michael declared, "Anyone who lays a finger on her will have their entire family buried with them.”
This statement acknowledged Jennifer’s status.
Previously, the two had kept their relationship secret, but from that moment on, Michael no longer hid the fact that he was protecting her.
After Jennifer’s mother was rescued, Jennifer met with Michael.
Jennifer didn’t know what the two adults discussed.
However, she noticed that Chloe’s attitude toward Michael had changed from hatred to a complex silence.
Later, Chloe told Jennifer, "Sweetheart, I only wanted you to seek revenge, but now I want you to live a good life.”
Those words shook Jennifer to her core.
Was revenge really that important? More important than her own life or the life of the man standing before her?
Soon, the truth about what had happened all those years ago finally came to light.
It was indeed the Kowalski family who had harmed her family, but not Michael. Rather, it was a group of men under his father’s command. At the time, Michael was just a child and played no part in it.
Moreover, after learning what had happened, Michael secretly avenged Jennifer’s family by dealing with those men.
However, Michael was too proud to explain. He felt that there was no need to take credit for it.
After learning the truth, Jennifer was stunned.
The man she had hated all these years was the one who had avenged her family.
The man she had always wanted to outwit had been protecting her all along.
She asked Michael, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
He replied, "Would you have believed me if I had? You would have thought I was making excuses. It was better to let you find out for yourself."
Jennifer asked again, "Then why did you keep me by your side? Weren’t you afraid I might really kill you?”
Michael laughed. "What's there to be afraid of? If you kill, I’ll just accept it.”
She let go of her hatred and embraced this man with all her heart for the first time.
However, although Jennifer had let go, would Michael’s family accept her?
After all, her past actions—checking records, planting tracking devices, and contacting Lia’s people—were on record, and many in the family viewed her as a potential threat.
First came opposition from within the family. Some shareholders felt that Jennifer’s background was shady and that she was too calculating. They demanded that Michael send her away.
Michael’s stance was firm—he would marry Jennifer.
However, Jennifer didn't want to put Michael in a difficult position.
She suggested leaving for a while, until the storm had passed.
Michael refused, and the two had a heated argument about it.
Then came the external threats. Although Lia had fallen from power, she still had supporters who wanted to get revenge on Michael by harming Jennifer.
Jennifer found herself in danger several times. Though she escaped unscathed each time, she realized that being with Michael meant facing many dangers.
She thought to herself, Can I handle this? Am I willing to live a life where I could lose my life at any moment for him?
Jennifer had lied to Michael so many times. Although Michael said he didn’t hold it against her, once the seeds of suspicion were planted, it would take time to truly dispel them.
On one occasion, Jennifer discovered that Michael had sent someone to follow her. She was so furious that she had a huge argument with him.
He said, "I don't distrust you. I'm just worried about your safety."
Jennifer retorted, "That's control, not protection!"
The argument helped them cool down.
They realized that love alone wasn’t enough and that they also had to learn how to get along.
Michael was too domineering and Jennifer was too stubborn. Both were accustomed to protecting themselves, which made it difficult for either of them to truly open up.
Later, Michael was the first to back down. He withdrew his tail and said to Jennifer, "I'll try to trust you, and you try not to run away, okay?"
Michael cried.
It was the first time she had seen him cry.
She was no longer just the one being protected. She started her own career, leveraging her status as a winner to build her own resources and network.
Although Michael remained assertive, he learned to respect her.
On the family front, Michael silenced the dissenters with his achievements.
He secured several major projects, proving himself to be the most suitable heir.
Now, anyone who dared to gossip could be told to get lost.
But someone had uncovered hidden truths about Jennifer’s background. The murder of her family seemed to have a mastermind behind it who was even more concealed than Michael’s father’s group.
Who was this person? Why had they remained hidden all these years? Was their target Michael or Jennifer?
Additionally, Michael’s health began to deteriorate.
He suddenly collapsed out of the blue and kept it a secret from Jennifer.
But Jennifer wasn’t stupid.
She noticed that he had started taking medication frequently and that sometimes he would get up in the middle of the night when he thought she was asleep.
One night, Jennifer woke up and saw the bathroom light on. Through the door, she heard Michael’s suppressed coughing.
She knocked and asked what was wrong. He took a long time to open the door; his face was wet, and he claimed he’d been taking a shower. But the bathtub was dry.
Jennifer didn't call him out on it, but panic began to set in.