Michael silently looked at me before paying the stall owner.
I said I was going to treat him, but he became the one treating me instead. I feel like crap…
“I’ll treat you next time! I promise!” I blurted, before pulling Michael toward a nearby table.
He looked at me with disdain when I did that.
After all, he was a germaphobe, so the entire place was more like a psychological challenge to him.
“Sit. It’s not dirty.” I pulled his hand as I spoke.
Since we started walking down the street, Michael had been fairly tense. When I tried to make him sit, he got even tenser.
He continued to look at me with disdain as I gobbled up the meat skewers.
I then stopped eating and gave him a couple of the meat skewers. “You should give these a try. They’re really good.”
“I don’t want to eat these. They are just going to poison me.” Staring at the skewers in my hand, his expression turned darker.
Oh my… can’t this man say something nicer? No one will die after eating the skewers. I pouted as I thought to myself.
“Just give it a try. It’s not as bad as you thought.” I then pushed the skewer toward his mouth and looked at him with anticipation.
Michael hesitated for a bit before opening his mouth and ate it.
I could see his tension relieving as he gracefully chewed on the meat. “It’s pretty good, right? I told you, the delicacies you eat on a daily basis are not necessarily the best. Sometimes, it’s the ordinary food that tastes really good.”
I was happy to see him enjoying the skewers.
Even more than being happy, I was proud of myself for successfully convincing the richest man in Avenport to eat with me at a roadside stall.
Michael took a couple more skewers from me and ate faster than I could, but he maintained his grace.
We continued to eat until I stuffed my stomach full.
On our way back, I felt a little tired. After all, the street we were in was pretty far away from the hospital, and Michael didn’t drive. Not to mention it was notoriously difficult to hail a taxi in that area.
“Let’s stop for a while. I’m a little tired.” My attempt to pull Michael’s hand to make him stop failed, and even though I just ate, I had no energy left in my body to hold him back. The fever was really dragging me down.
“We have just walked a short distance? You need to exercise more, Anna,” Michael commented as he saw me squatting on the ground.
“Do you know that you have no empathy? I’m a patient now so getting exhausted easily is normal,” I muttered.
Michael turned his back against me and kneeled down. “Come on.”
I was a little surprised. Don’t tell me he’s actually planning to carry me…
When he saw me hesitating like a lost child, he growled, “What are you standing there for? Come on, I’ll carry you! With your current speed, it’ll take forever before we arrive at the hospital!”
Michael was clearly annoyed, but my heart was beating fiercely. He’s going to carry me…
After I snapped out of it, I lay myself on his back.
Michael secured me on his back before strolling down the dimly lit street. I didn’t know what he was feeling at the moment, but to me, it felt romantic. It was as if we were a couple madly in love.
I wanted the moment to last longer, but I knew his affection toward me was temporary. I bet he didn’t think we were a couple madly in love. When he eventually leaves me, I wonder how much it’ll hurt my heart.
We didn’t say a word to each other all the way back to my room in the hospital. From that moment onward, my feelings toward Michael changed.
When we arrived, Michael gently lay me down on the bed. Even though I wasn’t heavy, I could see Michael was clearly worn out after walking for such a long distance.
“Thank you…” I voluntarily pulled out some tissue paper and tried to wipe away the sweat on his forehead.
“What, do you think I’ll leave my woman alone at the side of the road?” Michael grabbed the tissue paper in my hand, wipe his forehead, and threw it into a nearby trashcan.
He called me his woman. I was so excited to hear that, even though it wasn’t the first time he said that to me.
I just lowered my head, not knowing what to say anymore.
Michael glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late. I’ll be leaving now.” Then he took his coat and left.
I felt disappointed he left so quickly, even though we had a nice moment there.
Michael had become so much more important to me that I didn’t want to imagine how much pain I would be in when we eventually parted ways.
After all, we were never meant to be together.
Still lying on the bed, I couldn’t shake Michael out of my mind. I wondered if he had ever loved me.
I closed my eyes and shut away those thoughts. Why am I thinking so much when I know it won’t lead anywhere? Sleep, Anna, sleep.
And so I slept. In fact, I even had a pretty good dream. In the dream, I saw myself living a happy life with Michael. We were married, and we had two kids.
When I woke up in the morning, I was so sad to find out that it wasn’t real.
