Chapter 43: She Was Over It

Anna had been pretty chill before. But then he opened his mouth, and bam, her calm vibe was gone, replaced by pure hatred.

She let out a bitter laugh, "Oh, so you gave me this perfect dream, only to smash it to pieces and toss me into a nightmare. Classic you, huh?"

Her words seemed to hit a nerve. Michael grabbed her wrist, eyes locked on hers, and growled, "Anna, do you hate me? Your parents killed my dad, Anna. What gives you the right to hate me?"

Anna yanked her hand away. Her eyes, once sparkling like stars, now cold and full of disgust. "Michael, if you wanted revenge, fine. But why not tell me eight years ago? Why show up and not spill the truth back then?"

Tears started to form, but she quickly blinked them away. "Michael, eight years ago, I had nothing, I was a wreck. Why not take your revenge then? Why lie to me for years? Why wait until I fell for you to drop this bomb?"

She practically screamed the last part. All the emotions she had bottled up exploded right then and there.

Her hatred and disgust cut Michael deep. Especially when she said, 'I fell for you,' it messed him up inside.

Now, on his face, he had that same look two weeks ago when he cornered her at the Starlight Pavilion.

Back then, Anna had waited for him to explain, trying to see him clearly. She was desperate to understand why this was happening. She was obsessed with figuring him out.

But now, just two weeks later, seeing that look again, Anna felt nothing.

She was over it.

She didn't care anymore.She didn't want to understand him.

She didn't want to hear his excuses.

If he had just told her from the start he was out for revenge, Anna wouldn't have hated him. She wouldn't blame him for the grudge from the last generation.

He said her parents owed him a life. If that was true, she would've paid that debt.

But she couldn't handle being lied to for eight years!

She couldn't stand being played for a fool!

For eight years, she had made him her everything, her last bit of hope in this world. Now that he had ripped away the facade, he had also destroyed all of Anna's trust and warmth.

She didn't trust anyone anymore.

She was too scared to trust anyone again.

She was terrified of running into another Michael.

So Michael would never know that the pain he caused Anna was way deeper than it seemed.

The real wounds were buried deep in her heart, still bleeding and festering.

It was this unbearable despair that made Anna risk everything to escape Michael's grip two weeks ago.

But now, Michael wouldn't understand the storm in her heart.

Just as he looked at the stubborn, enduring Anna in front of him, willing to hurt herself just to hurt him, he wanted to have her under his thumb, to keep her locked down forever. But Anna would rather break into a million pieces than stay trapped.

The narrow stairwell was dead silent for a moment. Not far off, around another corner, Ethan and his phone were also quiet.

After a long pause, Anna shoved all her feelings down, her eyes going back to calm.

She walked past Michael, standing at the stairway entrance with her back to him, "Michael, instead of trying to control me again, you should tell me what really happened back then."

Michael's hand clenched and unclenched. His lips were a tight line. "Divorce him, and I'll spill everything."

Anna let out a mocking laugh and started to leave. As she walked away, Michael's voice cut through the air, "Anna, have you fallen for him?"

Anna's voice was ice-cold, "That's my business, and you have no right to ask."

With that, she headed straight to Room 308.

Before Michael could step out of the stairwell, Ethan quickly ducked into his office. After shutting the door, he let out a long sigh. "Charles, your wife and Michael..." he started, looking at his phone screen, but before he could finish, Charles on the other end of the video call hung up.

Seeing 'The other party has hung up' on the screen, Ethan was so mad he almost swore. He had gone through all this trouble to spy for Charles, even lowering himself to work as a small-time doctor at Radiant Life Hospital. But Charles didn't even say 'thanks.'

He didn't even let him finish his sentence.

At 11:20 AM.

Charles showed up at Radiant Life Hospital.

Two knocks on the door woke Anna, who was sitting at her desk. She looked up to see Charles strolling in with a lunch box.

"Didn't you say you weren't coming today?" Anna said.

Her face was back to normal, and even her tone was steady. If it weren't for Ethan's video call, he wouldn't have noticed any emotional shift in her.

Placing the lunch box on the table, Charles smirked. "Mrs. Percy was worn out for over five hours last night. As your husband, it's only right to take care of your meals."

As he spoke, he came to stand in front of Anna. With one hand on the table, he leaned in close to her while his other hand gently brushed the corner of her eye.

Anna didn't see that coming. It was like he was wiping away her tears.

Anna instinctively leaned back, "What are you doing?"

Charles's hand followed, his fingertip once again touching the corner of her eye.

He looked closely into her eyes. "Did you cry a lot last night? Your eyes are still a bit red."

Anna's eyes flickered. She dodged his hand, which wouldn't leave her eye. Looking to the side, she said dismissively, "I slept late last night, just tired."

Charles pulled a chair next to Anna's and sat down. Then, out of nowhere, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap.

He held her like a child. Anna struggled, trying to push him away.

"Charles, cut it out. This is a hospital; someone could walk in any second."

"They won't." Charles held her waist with one hand and tucked her hair behind her ear with the other, "Ethan's standing guard outside."