Chapter 17: Will You Leave Me?

Anna's heart was pounding like crazy; she knew it was pure excitement.

The rush of being with someone she was totally into.

She threw her arms around his neck, lifted her head in his embrace, and flashed a big, bright smile, "Once I sign that deal with Radiant Life Hospital tomorrow, I'm whipping up a feast for you myself!"

Michael looked down at her clear, innocent eyes, his hand behind her slowly tightening.

Anna trusted him completely and didn't notice anything off. Thinking about tomorrow's contract signing, she asked him, "Michael, will you come with me tomorrow?"

Michael lowered his head and kissed the corner of her eye, his voice a bit low. "Tomorrow, I've got stuff at the company, can't leave. Can you handle the contract on your own, Anna?"

Anna raised her eyebrows and said, "Of course."

She leaned against him, already planning for tomorrow.

"I'll hit up Radiant Life Hospital early, sign the contract, then come back and cook. Michael, you gotta make time for lunch."

Michael listened, holding her tighter bit by bit, "Okay."

They snuggled together, and the air got all quiet.

Until he asked, "Anna, will you ever leave me?"

"No way, I wanna be with you forever."

Anna's thoughts were genuine and unfiltered. Eight years of leaning on each other had made her used to Michael's presence. She saw him as her only support and warmth in life.

Michael's lips tightened, and emotions flickered in his eyes. He didn't say anything else, just whispered softly in her ear, "Anna, you said it yourself, you'll never leave me, so you gotta stay by my side for life."

The next day rolled around.

Anna got to Radiant Life Hospital at eight, signed the contract, met with Jasper, and then drove back. On the way, she called Michael to ask when he'd be back for lunch.

On the phone, Michael was silent for a couple of seconds. Then he slowly said, "Anna, I'm at Aurora Mansion."

Aurora Mansion was Anna's uncle's place. Technically, it used to be her home.

Aurora Mansion was separated into two parts. The front one was Anna's parents' home, where she lived for almost the first fifteen years of her life.

The back courtyard was Thalia's parents' home.

Thalia's dad and her dad were brothers. They were tight and worked at the same hospital. They bought houses together to look out for each other.

But since her parents passed away eight years ago, Anna rarely went to Aurora Mansion. No other reason, just the fear of being reminded of the past; she was scared to go back.

Anna had planned to go back to her apartment first, but Michael on the other end of the phone said, "Anna, you haven't been back in ages. Take this chance to come over today."

Anna finally turned the steering wheel and headed to Aurora Mansion.

Half an hour later.

When she got to Aurora Mansion, the villa was unusually quiet. No one in the yard.

She parked the car and walked into the hall, and the living room was empty too.

She was about to leave when she suddenly heard a woman's flirty voice from upstairs.

"Michael."

Anna immediately froze.

On her phone's contact list, Anna was about to press Michael's number. But because of that voice, her finger stopped above the screen, hesitating to press down.

A few seconds later, Anna headed upstairs.

The door to the room right at the top of the stairs was wide open. Anna stood frozen on the last step, staring at the scene inside, unable to move.

In the room, on the bed.

The always innocent Thalia was now a mess, clinging to Michael. And the guy who had begged her for promises yesterday, making her swear she'd never leave, Michael, was now all over Thalia, kissing her like crazy.

Anna clenched her fingers so tight she didn't even notice her nails digging into her flesh.

She stared at the couple, almost torturing herself.

Her heart felt like it was about to explode, but her legs were like lead, refusing to move.

She just stood there, frozen.

Listening to Thalia's increasingly flirty voice, watching her clothes come off bit by bit.

Finally, when the sharp pain spread through her body, numbing her slightly, she couldn't take it anymore.

She turned to leave.

But as she turned, she accidentally knocked over a vase at the top of the stairs. The sharp sound of porcelain shattering was painfully loud in the quiet house.

The two in the room seemed jolted awake by the noise, stopping dead in their tracks and looking over.

Michael kept his hold on Thalia, turning his head.

Anna saw the obvious lipstick mark on his lips, but his eyes were just calm.

No panic about being caught.

No panic, no confusion, just dead calm.

There seemed to be some other complex emotions deep in his eyes, but Anna couldn't figure them out.

The sound of the vase breaking interrupted Michael and Thalia's intimate moment. It also brought Samuel Howard and his wife over.

In the room, Michael and Thalia quickly fixed their clothes and walked over. Thalia deliberately adjusted her collar in front of Anna, showing off the marks on her neck.

She looked at the pale-faced Anna with a smirk, "Anna, what bad timing! Since you came back, Michael hasn't had time for me. Today, we finally got a chance to be alone while you were at Radiant Life Hospital signing the contract, but you interrupted us again."

There was no shame on her face from being caught by Anna, just a sense of pride. It was like Anna was the third wheel ruining her thing with Michael.

Anna clenched her palms tightly, trying not to lose her last bit of sanity. She looked at Michael and asked, word by word, "Michael, don't you have anything to say?"

Michael just looked at her with deep eyes, not saying a word.

It was Samuel and his wife who walked over. Thalia's mom, Sierra Diaz, with her perfect makeup, had the air of a wealthy lady. Her face no longer showed the usual kindness and affection. Dropping all pretense, she looked at Anna arrogantly.

"What do you want to hear from him?" She walked up to Anna, "Anna, since you've seen it today, we won't hide it anymore."

She turned to look at Michael and Thalia, speaking with pride and satisfaction, "As you can see, Michael and Thalia have been together for a long time. In these eight years, while you were studying abroad, Michael was always in Crystal City with Thalia."