Chapter 11
Michael's words touched me deeply. I never imagined he would stand up for me to this extent.
I squeezed his hand back and softly replied, "I trust you."
After I said this, Michael's expression showed a hint of emotion.
The distance between us unconsciously closed.
After the police got a general understanding of the situation, they didn't bother us further.
The hospital room was suddenly left with just Michael and me.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say, and the atmosphere became awkward.
Fortunately, Michael didn't mind and continued to take care of me attentively.
I never thought anything would happen between Michael and me. After all, I'd always had a bad impression of him before.
Now, it seemed he was different from how I remembered him.
I could even sense from certain details that Michael loved me more than I had imagined.
The room fell into a strange silence until Michael couldn't help but break it first.
He sat by the bed, looking at me with eyes full of guilt. "I'm sorry, Nancy. You got hurt because of me."
Hearing his words, I reached out to touch his cheek and comforted him with a smile. "Someone wanted to hurt me—it has nothing to do with you. I should thank you. If you hadn't saved me in time, I can't imagine what would have happened."
My words seemed to lift his mood slightly, but he was still caught up in guilt.
Seeing him like this made me feel bad too.
Just then, someone knocked on the door, followed by a woman's voice.
"Ms. Smith, may I come in?" It was Sarah.
"Yes." With my permission, Sarah pushed the door open. She first put down the fruit basket she was carrying, then expressed her concern. "Ms. Smith, are you okay? I heard about what happened yesterday."
Though her words sounded caring, I detected a hint of schadenfreude in her tone.
I forced a smile, but my eyes were cold. "I'm fine. Luckily Michael saved me. Why do you look disappointed?"
Whether she noticed my mood or felt guilty, Sarah immediately started making excuses. "No, I just feel responsible. After all, I was the one who took you to the restroom yesterday. If I had waited for you, maybe none of this would have happened."
As she spoke, Sarah pretended to casually observe Michael, but he didn't even give her a proper look.
I saw all of this.
Seeing her fake act, I was too lazy to keep playing along. "I was wondering if you planned the whole thing yesterday. After all, you were sitting next to me, and you were the one who took me to the restroom. Don't you think it's all too much of a coincidence?"
When I exposed what happened yesterday, Sarah's face turned ugly, but she still refused to admit it. "It is quite a coincidence. Ms. Smith, are you suspecting me? Yesterday was the first time we met. I have no reason to hurt you."
After seeing Sarah's attitude, my suspicions were pretty much confirmed. Her answer didn't really matter anymore.
She wouldn't admit it now anyway, but once we found evidence, she wouldn't be able to escape.
But before I could respond, Michael spoke up for me first. "Sarah, given what you did, isn't there reason to suspect you?"
After Michael called her out, Sarah's expression became even more complicated, and she couldn't say a word in her defense.
Without giving her a chance to continue, Michael showed her out on my behalf. "Nancy needs rest. Don't disturb her."
Without giving Sarah an opportunity to respond, Michael ushered her out.
Seeing Sarah's reluctant look as she was kicked out, I found it hilarious.
Once the room was quiet again, I finally spoke. "Michael, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."
I knew my own body, and honestly, I didn't like lying in a hospital bed.
Sensing my mood, Michael tentatively suggested, "Nancy, if you don't want to stay in the hospital, once you've rested up, I'll take you shopping. How about that? It'll help lift your spirits."
Hearing this, I immediately perked up. After all, what woman didn't love shopping?
"Sure! Let's go this afternoon then."
I didn't even notice that my eyes were sparkling when I said this.
Michael pinched my cheek, his tone full of affection. "Okay, rest for a bit first. We'll go this afternoon, and you can buy whatever you want."
As he spoke, Michael thoughtfully tucked in the corners of my blanket.
That afternoon, after I'd slept enough, Michael handled my discharge paperwork.
As soon as I was discharged, he personally drove me to the mall to shop.
I really hadn't gone shopping in a long time. Even the clothes in my closet at home were outdated.
I randomly picked a luxury brand store. Before I could enter, Michael got a work call.
I didn't want to interfere with his work, so I went in first.
As soon as I entered, the sales associate started sizing up my outfit, seemingly judging whether I could afford to shop there.
Noticing her gaze, I instinctively looked down at what I was wearing.
Because of what happened yesterday, my original clothes were ruined. What I was wearing now was something Michael had bought me on short notice—not luxurious, but not shabby either.
Even so, the sales associate still looked at me with some contempt.
I ignored her look and browsed the clothes on my own.
But I'd only looked at a couple of items when the sales associate came over and reminded me in a condescending tone, "Miss, the clothes in our store aren't affordable for just anyone. You can look, but please be careful. If you damage anything, you won't be able to pay for it."
Hearing this made me furious.
Just then, Michael finished his call and came in, catching what the sales associate had said.
"How does your store train staff? Is this how you treat customers?" Michael's tone was openly angry, and he radiated coldness.
With Michael standing up for me, my anger actually subsided a bit.
Seeing Michael's demeanor, the sales associate immediately realized he wasn't someone to mess with and quickly lowered her attitude. "Sir, this is a misunderstanding. I misspoke. Please forgive me."
Michael ignored her and instead walked to my side, gently putting his arm around my waist. His meaning was clear.
Not wanting to cause more trouble, the sales associate kept bowing and apologizing to me.
Seeing her complete attitude reversal, I deliberately ignored her and snorted coldly.
After making my point, I went back to looking at clothes while the sales associate followed me around, being overly polite.
Michael noticed my attitude and silently followed behind, signaling the sales associate to pack up the clothes I picked out.
Any dress I looked at twice, Michael had them bag up without hesitation.
In just ten minutes or so, I'd selected dozens of dresses.
When it came time to pay, the sales associate who had looked down on me earlier was incredibly attentive, working even harder to please us.
After all, this was real commission for her.