Mom let out a deep sigh and continued her blabbering.
Meanwhile, I stayed on the line, unaffected by her rambling. Whenever she went on and on over the phone, I wished that I could just hang up.
“Anna, I quite like this boyfriend of yours. He knew that Dad’s undergoing medical treatment, and it’s a delightful surprise that he gave us a hundred thousand.”
My eyes almost popped out of my sockets. Did Mom just say that Yuval gave them a hundred thousand?
I’d never mentioned anything about my family to him, let alone Dad’s health condition. Thus, I couldn’t wrap my head around this.
“Mom, what’s going on? There’s no way he’s giving us money.”
Although I had a feeling that Yuval fancied me, to pay for my Dad’s medical fees was simply beyond the bounds of possibility.
“Well, he just did. He paid for your Dad’s operation before, didn’t he? Aren’t you a lucky girl to have such a wealthy boyfriend like him?”
Her words shocked me to the core. Wait… wasn’t it Michael who paid for the operation? Since when did it become Yuval? What the heck is happening?
Right at that moment, I was spiraling down the rabbit hole. Someone had given my parents a hundred thousand for nothing? Could it possibly be Michael? Nah, it can’t be him. Why would he do that? Moreover, he wouldn’t have let my family know about our unspeakable relationship.
However, among the people I knew, no one would do such a thing except Michael. My brain stopped functioning. Right then, I wasn’t sure if it was Michael or Yuval.
“Mom, do you know his name?”
Now I was the one on tenterhooks.
“Anna, what kind of question is this? Your boyfriend gave us the money, and are you telling me that you don’t know his name?”
“Just answer my question, Mom!”
I was getting frustrated.
“It was his assistant who brought us the money. He said that he’s working for Mr. Shaw.”
She sensed my agitation and made it short and sweet.
Now I could confirm that it was Michael who sent them the money. He was the only Mr. Shaw I knew.
My hands quivered as I tried to figure out what I was feeling inside. Why would Michael do that? It was pretty clear that I drove him up the wall that day, and I assumed that he was going to end our relationship. What was his agenda? Why did he pay for Dad’s medical treatment?
I couldn’t read him or had the faintest idea of what he was up to.
“Anna? Are you okay? You there?”
Mom urged for a response after a prolonged silence.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Anyway, I still have some work to finish up. Talk to you later. Bye.”
I quickly hung up, just in case she bombarded me with a train of questions about my relationship with Michael. If we were talking about Yuval, I’d willingly let her know a thing or two. However, the person she was praising was Michael, and I honestly didn’t know much about him.
After the call, it took me quite a while to pull myself together. I glanced towards the CEO’s office, trying to decipher Michael’s intentions.
My mind was all over the place as I wondered what made Michael do that.
At the same time, Millie could see that I was in a jumble. She traced my glance towards the CEO’s office, turned back, and looked at me.
“Hey, Anna. You’ve been looking at that office for the longest time. What’s up? Have you fallen for Mr. Shaw?”
Millie probed, and her words gave me goosebumps.
“N-N-Nonsense! Why would I fall for him?” I responded with a curt turn of the head and denied firmly.
I wasn’t sure for what reason my heart didn’t seem to agree with my words. What’s the matter with me? The way I thought about Michael had somewhat changed.
“Look at those darting eyes of yours. What’s there to deny? He’s handsome and rich. Plus, he’s single. It’s only normal that you fancy him. I bet almost all the ladies here want to get a piece of him.”
Guess my actions weren’t convincing enough for Millie to believe me.
“How about you? Do you like him too?”
“That’s for sure. He took my heart away the first time I saw him, but I knew that a Plain Jane like me would never be his type.”
Millie was frank about her feelings for Michael. Heck, I could even see her eyes gleaming with hearts and sparkles when she spoke about him. Is she for real?
On the outside, Michael was cold, charming, wealthy, and didn’t lust after women. If Millie knew what he was really like on the inside, I doubt her feelings for him would be the same.
“I don’t think he’s a nice guy, and I kind of despise him.”
I looked at his office again.
Lots of women wished to be associated with him in one way or another, but not me. I wanted to run away from his ever-growing possessiveness and hoped that we’d never crossed paths ever again.
“Really, Anna? Not only do you dislike him, but despise him?”
Millie gave me a quizzical look. Apparently, she found it unbelievable.
“He’s not a saint, so why should everybody like him? I don’t like him. I detest him!”
The more she thought that I was in love with Michael, the more I denied it. Besides, I was telling the truth, anyway.
Hearing that, Millie stopped talking and looked at the CEO’s office. Together with my knitted brows and pursed lips, I did the same. Blood drained from my face when I saw the person standing in front of it.
