After Marrying My Boss

“All right, then. In that case, go home and rest earlier. See you tomorrow.”

Upon hearing my rejection, Nicholas did not insist. His voice remained as gentle as ever.

“Bye!”

Having said that, I hung up the phone.

For some reason, I felt irritable. Then, I hailed a taxi and went back to my apartment.

In the past, I probably could not even afford a house. However, after my hard work in the past year, I was no longer the same person. My income alone was a few times better than it was back then.

I lay sprawled on the couch in the living room, feeling so exhausted that I did not feel like moving at all.

I remained there for a long time before getting up and going to the bathroom for a bath.

As I soaked in the bathtub, it was still Michael's face that popped up in my mind. Even at that very moment, the exhilaration in his eyes when he first saw me earlier remained vivid in my mind. I could not tell whether he faked that reaction or if he truly regretted his actions from a year ago.

Anna Garcia, don't forget what the Shaw family did to you a year ago! Do not be bound by your feelings again!

Right then, a voice in my mind kept blaring a reminder. Those were the words I said to myself whenever I felt my resolve faltering in the past year.

Every time I thought of having to part with my child, never once laying eyes on him ever since he was a month old until then, the resentment within me snowballed.

At that precise moment, the doorbell suddenly rang. I frowned in mystification, at a loss as to who would be at my door right then. It was my second day back in the country, so no one knew I lived there.

Getting out of the bathtub, I put on my bathrobe and went to answer the door.

When I opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of Nicholas standing outside. At his sudden appearance, my brows furrowed inexorably.

As I had already declined his invitation to dinner on the phone back then, exasperation swamped me that he abruptly came over to look for me after his meal. I was not in the mood to deal with him then.

“Why did you come over? Didn't I already tell you on the phone just now that I was a little tired and wanted to rest earlier?”

I spun around and headed toward the living room, upset at his appearance.

“You went to meet Michael today, so I was worried that you'd be in a bad mood and came over to check on you. It seems that I'm not welcomed here?”

At my grumpy tone, Nicholas trailed along behind me with a sulky look on his face.

“I'm fine. It's inevitable for me to meet with him upon returning, so I've long since braced myself for it.”

At the mention of Michael, I still had mixed feelings, but I did not want to show it in front of Nicholas.

We were friends, but we also had a collaboration between us. My relationship with Michael would directly determine the success or failure of his plan, so he was naturally concerned about my attitude toward Michael.

“Despite having braced yourself for it, I can sense that you're not in a good mood right now. After all, he's a man you once loved deeply. Although you hadn't seen him in a year, the feelings you used to have for him are still there.”

I sat on the couch, and Nicholas took a seat beside me. His voice was flat, but the look in his eyes as he stared at me was complicated. It was as though he wanted to sound me out yet seemingly jealous all at once.

That perturbed me, for I could not fathom his thoughts.

“If you came at this time to caution me, you don't need to worry about it. I know what I'm doing. I'll never forget what the Shaw family did to me, let alone my purpose in returning this time,” I stated indifferently, my face devoid of emotion.

Probably perceiving the ire in my voice, Nicholas frowned slightly, and the look in his eyes as he gazed at me turned all the more complicated.

“You think I came over at this hour to caution you? I'm concerned about you, okay?”

“I don't need it!” I asserted coldly with my eyes pinned on him.

I was currently very much frustrated. Never had I spoken to him in such a tone, but I was really in a foul mood then.

“We've known each other for a year, and I think you're well aware of my feelings toward you all this while. Just because you saw Michael today, your attitude toward me changed this much?”

Nicholas' brows were knitted together, and his voice carried a hint of anger.

“I've always regarded you as a friend and business partner. Besides, I don't need a man right now. I only have one thought currently—to get my child back.”

Over a brief span of twenty years, I had been hurt deeply by two men. As such, I no longer believed in the so-called love at all. Everyone was selfish.

Once upon a time, Michael loved me so much, but he still hurt me deeply in the end. Therefore, I could not possibly dare to trust men anymore.