Chapter 291
Michael stared at me, frowning at my somber mood. He asked gently, “What''s wrong? Why are you
suddenly upset?”
He stared at me in concern. Faced with his piercing gaze, I found myself at a loss for words.
I hesitated about recounting my confrontation with Josephine to Michael. I had no idea how he would
react and I did not wish to add to his worries.
“Nothing''s wrong. The weather''s been so hottely that it''s making me ufortable. I''ll be right as
rain after some rest.” I forced a smile on my face and immediately evaded his eye contact.
He saw straight through my weak excuse and asked seriously, “Do you think I would fall for that? Anna,
don''t lie to me. What happened?”
“I-I... Mrs. Shaw approached me today.”
I eventually sumbed to his request after some hesitation. Honesty is the best policy. I did not want
to keep things from him and cause a rift between us in the future.
Michael''s expression hardened as I told him what had happened. When I finished recounting my
experience, he looked downright hostile.
His anger was palpable, yet my insecurities red their ugly heads as I wondered if he was furious at
his mother for driving a wedge through our rtionship or if he was annoyed that I was being a
tattletale.
My anxiety peaked at Michael''s prolonged silence, and I immediately offered an apology. “I''m sorry, I-”
“Don''t take anything she says to heart,” he said simply before turning his attention back to dinner.
I was perplexed. Is this his way offorting me?
Michael''s firm reply did little to soothe my fraught nerves. She''s his mom, after all. I can''t bring myself
to care less about her words.
He was exhausted enough as it is, and it would be thoughtless of me to add to his burdens.
Josephine''s appearance was frustrating, but I believed that with time, her impression of me would
improve.
After dinner, I cleared the table while Michael headed off to the balcony to make a phone call.
“All right, I''ll see you in half an hour.”
That was the first thing I heard when I came out of the kitchen after doing the dishes.
I stared at Michael and wondered who he had been on the phone with.
“I''m going out for a while. You should catch an early night''s rest.” He seemed to avoid my gaze as he
said this.
It was far toote at night for him to be working onpany matters. Despite my suspicions, I
swallowed the question on the tip of my tongue. I did not want to pry into every single one of his
matters.
“Okay. Don''te home toote.” I smiled at him and pretended I was not dying to know who he was
meeting at this hour.
Michael nodded wordlessly and headed for the coat rack near the door. He grabbed a jacket and left.
The house suddenly felt a lot quieter without him in it. Though we had only been living together for a
few days, my dependence on Michael had grown considerably. I did not know if I could bring myself to
leave him again.
Bored, I sat on the living room couch and watched a si distractedly.
I was about to expire from boredom when my phone began ringing. My heart sank when I saw that it
was my mom calling.
She had not contacted me in over a month. This out-of-the-blue phone call can''t be good news.
I answered the phone resignedly.
This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org.
“Mom,” I greeted her once the line connected.
“Anna, what are you doing? You haven''t called me in ages.” My mom sounded unusually caring on the
other end of the phone. It was a stark contrast to her characteristic demanding self.
I wondered if something was wrong with my hearing. Did I hear her right? She''s never treated me like
this.
Sometimes, I thought that my mind was a bit messed up. I tended to expect the worst whenever my
mom was acting nicely toward me.
“Mom, why did you call me today?” I asked warily, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest.
“Oh, nothing much. I just missed you since you haven''t visited Dad and me for a while. You should visit
us tonight if you''re free. We''re heading back to the vige in a couple of days,” she said warmly. Her
ims of missing me, however, raised my suspicions. I knew her personality; she would never say
such things.
Despite knowing that she probably did not mean her words, I was still delighted at her disy of
concern. I longed for my mom''s love more than anything else in this world.
“Okay, I''ll be over in a bit.”
We ended ourst meeting on bad terms and I did harbor some resentment toward my mom. Still, she
had taken the initiative to call me and extend an olive branch, so I believed it was my duty as a
daughter to forgive and forget.
I checked the time and realized it was barely nine at night. Since I had no idea when Michael would
come home, I decided to head over to my mom''s.
When I arrived at her ce, I took a deep breath to calm myself before knocking on the door. I had not
seen her in over a month and did not know what to expect.
My hand had barely left the door knocker when it was opened from the inside by my mom, who
practically dragged me into the house.
“Anna, you''re here! Come in and take a seat.” My mom held my hand as she invited me into the house.
Faced with her unprecedented disy of affection, my suspicions grew. Mom''s acting really weird
today.
“Mom, did you call me here for something?”
It was increasingly difficult to believe that my mom invited me here simply because she missed me. I
recalled all the times Mom had reached out to me in the past and failed to pinpoint an asion during
which she did not require my help with something. When things were nice and calm, she had always
gone radio silent.
“Of course not, dear. I called you to have a chat with you. You haven''te by to see me or call me in
such a long time—are you still mad at me over ourst meeting?” Mom looked at me like she had been
unfairly maligned.