Chapter 80
When Michael brought me to the seaside, I finally realized he was serious about this.
"So, what do you think?" Michael looked at me with a smile.
I shrugged. "If Mr. Johnson arranged it, then it must be perfect. There's no way it could be wrong."
The sea breeze hit my face. There were quite a few tourists around - families, young couples, tour groups - all of them smiling. Somehow, it gradually lifted the heavy mood I'd been carrying lately.
Michael took my hand and led me in another direction.
As we walked, there were fewer and fewer people around us, until we finally entered a private beach.
"This is..." I was a bit surprised.
"I bought it specially. You haven't been in a good mood lately, so I wanted to bring you here to relax."
Seeing Michael's sincere expression, I smiled.
My fingertip traced across the tip of his nose with a certain flirtatious air. Michael suddenly swept me up in his arms and carried me forward until he set me down on the only lounge chair on this beach.
Thanks to the umbrella, the sunlight wasn't harsh. Michael crouched beside me, resting his chin on my hand, and said slowly, "Nancy, this is our weekend together. Just relax and stop worrying about all that stuff, okay?"
I couldn't bring myself to argue with Michael.
On the contrary, seeing Michael like this, so gentle, my heart melted.
I nodded, and sure enough, I saw the smile I wanted on Michael's face.
I leaned closer. "Mr. Johnson, when reasoning with me didn't work, you went straight to using your charm, didn't you?"
Michael didn't deny it, and I didn't mind.
But less than ten minutes later, Michael was already lying on the lounge chair with me.
There was only one chair, naturally not big enough for both of us, so we ended up one on top of the other. I sat on Michael, looking down at him on the chair. His arousal was obvious. I smiled faintly and moved my hand toward it.
"Nancy." Michael's gentle voice became rough and urgent as he called my name.
I stared at him intently, not wanting to miss a single expression on his face.
The weekend passed pleasantly. When we went to work together on Monday, we happened to receive news about John's mother.
"Ms. Smith, Mrs. Brown has sold quite a lot of her treasured jewelry to cover Mr. Brown's debts."
I raised an eyebrow.
I had thought John's mother would definitely divorce John's father, but I didn't expect her to be so indecisive.
Helping a gambling addict like that would only make him sink deeper.
Things turned out exactly as I thought. I attended a party organized by a friend, and John showed up too.
Around me, everyone was discussing the Brown family's recent situation.
"Did you hear? The Brown family is in trouble. Mrs. Brown was beaten and hospitalized, and Mr. Brown misused company funds. It's quite a mess right now."
"You know what, a friend of mine bought some jewelry Mrs. Brown sold. She treasured those pieces so much, I can't believe she was willing to sell them."
"Say less - don't you see John over there? If he hears us, he'll come looking for trouble."
Everyone was gossiping.
"Maybe before, but now we don't need to take John seriously at all. What can he do to us?"
...
Everyone laughed, clearly agreeing.
Listening to their gossip, I felt quite pleased.
John probably never imagined he'd face a situation like this.
But I didn't expect John to still have the nerve to approach me.
"Do you need something?" Seeing John come over, I raised an eyebrow slightly.
John clutched his phone. "Nancy, you still haven't forgiven me?"
I found his words ridiculous. John seemed to think I'd forgive him eventually.
But how was that possible?
I stared at John, my tone mocking.
"Why should I forgive you?"
John seemed at a loss, and after a long pause, said, "Nancy, we were together for so long. Can you really just let go like that?"
"But I already have a fiancé, one I chose myself, one I like." I crossed my arms and looked at him.
This seemed to tear away his last pretense. He looked at me and shouted, "You said you loved me too, that you'd be with me forever."
"Who doesn't run into an idiot in their lifetime?" I shot back.
Seeing John about to come closer, I quickly stopped him.
"John, if you dare come near me and my fiancé sees it, he'll be unhappy again. With the Brown family's current situation, you can't afford to offend the Johnson family anymore, right?"
At these words, John stopped in his tracks.
But his "affectionate" gaze remained fixed on me, giving me goosebumps all over.
John was quite the actor!
But now it seemed John still had too much free time; otherwise, why would he have the energy to think about all this nonsense?
In that case, maybe I could prepare a gift for John!
With a plan in mind, I naturally had to execute it.
At lunch that day, I pulled Michael out to eat with me.
"Nancy, why the rush to bring me here?"
As soon as I sat down, Michael pressed close to me and wouldn't let go.
I smiled.
"Of course it's to bring you to watch a good show."
Just then, two men walked toward us. I tilted my head slightly, deliberately hiding my face.
John was probably too anxious to notice my presence.
After they passed behind me, I straightened up.
Michael kept looking back.
"Just sit here and listen!"
The gift I prepared for John naturally had to be delivered to him personally.
Behind me came John's urgent voice.
"What's going on with that project you told me about? I've got the money ready, and now you won't let me join!"
"Don't worry. The main issue is that you don't have enough money. Opening up the deal just for your amount would be too much trouble for us," the other person said mysteriously.
John: "You promised me before. How can you go back on your word?"
...
"Stop it!" Noticing Michael's hands getting a bit too bold on me, I quickly scolded him in a low voice.
After speaking, I felt I'd been too loud, afraid John might hear. I covered my mouth with my hand.
But Michael found it amusing. Just as he was about to reach for other parts of my body, I quickly slapped his hand away and moved it aside.
Fortunately, John was too anxious right now to pay attention to any sounds around him.
Seeing Michael about to press close again, I put one hand between us, but accidentally touched his chest.
I applied some pressure, my fingers unconsciously squeezing his chest muscles a couple of times.