Chapter 24
The girl looked a few years younger than us, with a sweet and innocent appearance.
But somehow, I always felt she had this inexplicable hostility toward me.
Jeffrey noticed where I was looking and introduced the girl to me. "Nancy, this is Bianca, my little sister."
I reached out my hand to Bianca Adams and responded politely, "Hi Bianca, I'm Nancy."
Bianca glanced at me, her eyes clearly showing disdain.
Seeing that Bianca was acting weird, Jeffrey immediately scolded her, "Don't be rude."
As he spoke, Jeffrey was the first to grab my hand, gesturing to me. "Sorry about that, Nancy. She's been spoiled by the family."
At those words, Bianca gave a fake smile and started making pointed remarks. "Ms. Smith, you really are quite charming. So many people like you."
My initial suspicion was confirmed the moment she said that.
I realized that Bianca definitely had feelings for Michael.
Since she was being rude to me, I didn't need to be polite either. I just ignored what she said.
As the atmosphere got awkward, Michael took the initiative to invite me. "Nancy, we're just about to eat here. Want to join us?"
Hearing this, I instinctively glanced at Bianca's expression. Seeing her face written all over with reluctance, I cheerfully agreed. "Sure, I didn't really eat much earlier anyway. I'm hungry now."
Seeing me agree, Michael put his arm around me and led me to the reserved private room.
After the food was served, Michael took care of everything for me. I barely had to lift a finger for things like peeling shrimp, serving food, or pouring water.
Throughout the whole meal, all I had to do was tell Michael what I wanted, and he was happy to oblige.
Seeing how close we were, Jeffrey couldn't stand it anymore and started teasing. "Michael, look at yourself. You're acting like Nancy's going to run away or something. You're being way too much."
Hearing Jeffrey's words, I couldn't help but laugh.
Jeffrey's personality was really nothing like his appearance.
Michael didn't even look up. He put the peeled shrimp on my plate and shot back. "Can't help it. Nancy likes being taken care of by me. A single guy like you wouldn't understand this kind of happiness. You can talk when you get yourself a girlfriend."
When Michael said this, I could hear the happiness in his voice.
Bianca was off to the side, totally jealous, and kept giving me the evil eye.
Maybe she couldn't stand it anymore, so Bianca deliberately played weak. "Michael, you're so good to Ms. Smith. Not like me—nobody treats me this well. I love shrimp too. Could you peel some for me?"
Nobody expected Bianca to pull this move, and the atmosphere suddenly went quiet.
I deliberately stayed silent, watching to see how Michael would react.
Faced with this low-level two-faced trick, I was curious how he'd handle it.
"Do you not have hands or a brain? If you can't peel shrimp yourself, then don't eat it." Michael's response came out almost instantly, sharp and direct.
Bianca's face immediately turned pale. She probably didn't expect Michael to give her no face at all.
Hearing his answer, I felt secretly pleased. That mouth of his didn't disappoint me.
But who would've thought that even after being shut down by Michael, Bianca would keep trying.
Bianca put on a pitiful, wronged look and tried to stir things up again. "But Michael, you used to peel shrimp for me before. Now that you have Ms. Smith, do you hate me? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have affected your relationship with Ms. Smith."
I shook my head but still didn't say anything.
Michael reacted quickly, clearing things up right away. "Hey, my fiancée is right here. Don't say things that make her misunderstand. That time I peeled shrimp for you was because Jeffrey had hurt his hand and couldn't do it himself. He asked me to help. Don't flatter yourself."
After saying that, Michael looked at me urgently, explaining over and over. "Nancy, you have to believe me. Besides you, I've never peeled shrimp for any other woman. You're the only one in my heart."
Actually, I would've believed Michael even without the explanation, but seeing him so anxious was kind of cute.
Seeing that I didn't answer, Michael immediately shot Jeffrey a look.
Jeffrey got the signal and joined in explaining. "Yeah, Nancy, Michael's reputation wasn't great before, but all that stuff was fake. He's never actually done anything inappropriate. The shrimp peeling was just something he did while taking care of me."
Then Jeffrey's face got more serious as he scolded Bianca. "You're a grown person, yet you speak so carelessly. Michael and Nancy have a great relationship. Why are you butting in? Is this something you should be getting involved in?"
Suddenly being scolded by Jeffrey, Bianca looked all wronged, but she held back and put on an innocent look to explain to me. "Ms. Smith, I didn't explain it clearly. Please don't misunderstand Michael. I said the wrong thing."
Thinking about how good Michael was to me in my past life, I waved my hand and said with a smile, "It's fine. I trust Michael. You guys don't need to explain so much."
After getting my answer, Michael visibly relaxed.
The rest of the meal was peaceful, and Bianca was smart enough not to cause any more trouble.
After dinner, Michael personally drove me home.
He'd had a bit to drink today, so he sat in the back seat with me and had the driver take the wheel.
On the way back, Michael's hands kept wandering toward my legs.
Worried the driver might see, I slapped his hand away and warned him, "Stop it."
But Michael grabbed my hand instead and deliberately brought up Jack. "What's the deal with that Jack anyway? I know he likes you, but I don't want you having too much contact with him."
Hearing his childish tone, I couldn't help but tease him. "You're even more petty than I thought. I just ran into him by chance. Besides, I already rejected him. You're still jealous?"
Michael just snorted and said, "He has feelings for you. I have to be on guard."
Seeing him acting so childish, I tried to soothe him. "Okay, I get it. I won't meet with him anymore."
With my promise, Michael felt a bit better, though he was still somewhat sulky.
Seeing we were almost at my place, I looked at the sulking Michael, cupped his face, and planted a deep kiss on his lips.
Feeling me take the initiative, Michael immediately held the back of my head, not giving me a chance to pull away as he took control.
I pushed him away, feeling a bit embarrassed. "There's someone else here. Don't do this."
As soon as I finished speaking, the driver in the front seat raised the partition with impeccable timing.
Seeing this, Michael became even bolder. He came at me again, nibbling on my collarbone.
The atmosphere grew increasingly intimate.