After Marrying My Boss

His words reminded me about the slaps bestowed on me earlier. Although I hadn't had the time to look into the mirror, I knew that my face was red and swollen. I probably looked really ugly.

Thinking of my miserable appearance, I felt the urge to hide from Michael.

My cheek was still burning as the pain hadn't yet subsided. Holding my cheek with one hand, I wanted to leave immediately.

“You're really something, landing yourself in the police station like that. I severely underestimated your guts.”

Michael took out a tube of ointment from the first aid kid. After squeezing some out on a cotton swab, he turned to face me.

When his hand neared me, I instinctively evaded it, not wanting to let him touch me.

Michael frowned when I kept dodging him. “Don't move!” he commanded.

He was born with a domineering personality. Upon hearing his command, I instantly sat still. For some reason, I always listened to him like this, even when things had ended between the two of us.

He used the cotton swab to spread the ointment evenly on my cheek. The cooling sensation effectively alleviated some of the pain.

My heart fluttered when I noticed how gentle he was, as if he was afraid of hurting me.

“It's fine. I can do it myself.”

Because we were already considered strangers, the sudden intimacy greatly unsettled me.

I reached out to take the cotton swab from his hand, but he evaded me.

“Look what happened after leaving me, Anna. If it weren't for me, you'd still be stuck at the police station!” Michael chided, obviously enraged.

I frowned at him unhappily. It's not like my arrest affected him in any way. Why is he even mad?

This man was a puzzle. I simply couldn't figure him out, and I didn't know he regarded me as a stranger like I did him.

“What happened today was merely an accident. Besides, Natalie and I weren't in the wrong. They were the ones who started it but blamed it on us instead!”

Natalie and I were obviously the victims. Yet, we ended up being slapped like that. At the thought of this, a wave of anger swelled in me.

But there was consolation in knowing that John and that woman received their due retribution.

Thanks to Michael's timely appearance, Michael and I were released. Although I didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore, I appreciated his help.

With a sullen look on his face, Michael continued applying ointment on my cheek wordlessly.

Since he didn't speak, neither did I. Hence, we fell into an awkward silence. After all, we were once in a sexual relationship. Now that we had become estranged, it was inevitable we'd feel somewhat awkward around each other.

Soon, he was done applying the ointment for me. He seemed to be very quiet today, and I couldn't find a suitable topic to talk about either.

This was the first time we were in such close proximity after ending our relationship. Being this close to him made me feel very restless, and every fiber in my body was yelling for me to flee.

“Thank you for your help today, Mr. Shaw. It's getting late now. I should get going.”

It was already close to two in the morning. It wasn't a good idea to be in the same space as the opposite gender, especially one whom I used to be sexually intimate with.

He scowled at me when he heard that I wanted to leave. Then, he stood up and ordered impassively, “Stay here for the night. I'll send you back tomorrow.”

“N-No. It's fine. I should go back now. I'm worried about Natalie. I wanna go back and check on her.”

Michael had always been a callous person. Not to mention, he kept targeting me at every turn during the past few days. When he suddenly showered concern and care on me, I couldn't help but suspect that he wanted sex again.

But even if that was what he wanted, I wouldn't be able to satisfy him anymore. Since it was already over between the two of us, sleeping with him was out of the question.

“Don't make me repeat myself. My patience has its limits!”

He whipped around and stared me down. From the slight growl in his voice, I knew that he was starting to get impatient.

His mesmerizing eyes were like two whirlpools capable of sucking me in. Faced with his imposing stature, my heart pounded in my chest uncontrollably.

I got to my feet and forced myself to maintain eye contact with him before saying solemnly, “Mr. Shaw, you're my boss. If you have needs, you should look for other women. I can't satisfy you anymore.”