In an instant, Michelle felt a wave of nausea rise in her throat and wrenched herself out of his grasp.
‘What does this guy take me for—some plaything? Or is this just another one of his shameless ploys?’
The thought made her sick to her core. She had once grown softhearted because of this very man—let her heart falter, let herself lose control. Now, she wanted nothing more than to slap herself awake.
Forcing her emotions back under control, she deliberately widened the distance between them. Her tone carried a new coldness.
“Mr. Stuart, you’re already engaged. Even if you won’t think of me, at the very least, you should consider appearances.”
His expression instantly darkened. After five years by his side, Michelle could read him too well—he was angry.
But so what? He was no longer the boy he once was, and she owed him nothing anymore.
“It’s only because I can sleep better with you nearby. Dr. Burnell, don’t flatter yourself too much.”
She let his barbed words fall without response. Instead, she smoothly shifted the conversation to business.
“Mr. Stuart, we both signed a confidentiality agreement. I can keep my silence, but I expect you to keep your own people under control. Don’t let this turn into an ugly spectacle.”
Stuart’s gaze locked on her, sharp as a nail hammered into wood.
After a long, heavy silence, he finally ground out his reply.
“My people are my responsibility. But Dr. Burnell, you’d better keep that mouth of yours shut. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
At that, Michelle nearly laughed bitterly. ‘Regret? Oh, I’ve been regretting it for years.’
She regretted softening toward him five years ago over a shred of supposed kindness.
She regretted letting herself be swayed a year ago by his false plea to stay.
But in the end, she said nothing. Instead, she turned briskly on her heel and left without a single word of farewell.
Outside the door, Janet was waiting. As Michelle brushed past her, she caught the woman’s hissed words.
“This isn’t over.”
And Janet made good on that threat almost immediately.
Michelle’s projects were all suspended. On Stuart’s side, with Janet constantly present, she no longer had any obligations left to suffer through.
For the first time in a long while, she found herself with nothing to do. Yet the sudden emptiness felt foreign. After some thought, she decided to go home to see her parents.
But the moment she pushed open the door, her mother greeted her with a storm of curses, her father demanded she kneel and apologize without even asking what had happened, and there on the living room couch sat Janet—smug and gloating.
“She seduced my husband. You two really ought to discipline your daughter. Oh, and I heard your son is interning at my company. With a sister like her, I can’t help but wonder if his character will turn out rotten too.”
Her words had barely fallen when Jamie, Michelle’s father, snatched up a broom and swung it at her.
Meanwhile, Ada, her mother, was already holding Janet’s hands, begging not for her daughter’s sake but for her son’s.
“Oh, Ma’am, please don’t be upset. This wretched woman brought it all on herself! We cut ties with her long ago! Our boy is nothing like her. He’s perfect! I swear! You can trust me on that!”
Watching this humiliating display, Michelle could only laugh at the absurdity.
She had always known her parents had a favorite child. She had never expected much from them. But she hadn’t thought they would go this far—for an outsider and for the sake of their precious son.
Seeing her mother abase herself, Michelle suddenly surged to her feet. She strode forward, pulling her mother upright, her voice ringing with fury.
“I did not seduce her husband! Can’t you stop listening to just one side of the story?!”
At that, Janet seemed satisfied with the chaos she had stirred. Rising leisurely, she tossed out one last remark.
“Since she refuses to admit her mistakes, I’ll leave it at that. But whether your son stays or not—that depends on you.”
With that, she swept out, shutting the door behind her.
The sound had hardly faded when Jamie’s hand cracked across Michelle’s cheek, sending her sprawling to the floor.
“No one gives a damn about what affair you’ve made for yourself! Do you even know how much we sacrificed—how many connections, how much money—just to secure your brother’s place in that company?”
Ada, equally furious, yanked her by the arm and spat, “Shameless slut! Go after that woman right now and apologize!”
And so, once again, Michelle was thrown out of her parents’ house—just as she had been at seventeen.
Just like before? The storm raged outside.
After everything crashed down on her, one blow after another, she no longer had the strength to fight back. She simply stood there, motionless and soaked to the bone.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before a figure appeared, walking toward her beneath the shelter of an umbrella.
The scene was hauntingly familiar. So was the man.
At that moment, Stuart’s silhouette overlapped with the memory of the boy she once knew, and all the emotions she had fought to bury broke loose.
“Why? Tell me why!” Her voice cracked, trembling with rage and sorrow. “Back then, you were the one who came to me first. You begged me, clung to me, pleaded with me to stay! And now? Stuart, what gives you the right to treat me like this?! How dare you let others humiliate me?!”
By the time her questions ran out, her voice was already shaking.
Stuart said nothing. Instead, he suddenly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.
But in the very next second, Michelle understood—he hadn’t changed at all. He was still the same Stuart as ever, a guy who thought only of himself.
