"YOU SHOULD’VE told me earlier!" Michelle scoffed.
She was annoyed by the fact that she had learned about the family dinner just now. Pressure went through her, thinking how the hell she could prepare for such an important night. She had a lot of work to do, and she had no time to shop for a nice dress to wear.
"I’m telling you now."
"Seriously? I need time to prepare for it," she hissed.
"That’s why I called for you. We are leaving work early. We need to buy you nice clothes."
"I can’t. I’ll get paid by the end of the month. I have no extra money for expensive clothes." Michelle palmed her face.
Ethan was so amused to see his wife getting totally stressed over petty things. He wasn’t fond of teenage drama, but seeing Michelle become so dramatic made his head a bit refreshed.
"Why are you stressing your
LEGS CROSSED and fingers tracing the bottom of his lips, Ethan was holding onto his little patience as he waited for Michelle to get done.Eyes glancing between the door of the fitting room and the screen of his phone, he inhaled sharply. Three years ago, his parents went to Europe to prioritize the medication of his father, Edward Steinfield, who was diagnosed with leukemia. Luckily, he got the best doctors and was still alive and kicking. Today, they finally fled back to the United States to see him, especially his wife.His mother, Selene Steinfield, who was very picky when it came to women he dated and badly wanted Ashley Smith to be his wife, needed to be impressed. Prior to the marriage he had with Michelle, his mother wanted him to marry Ashley. She was the only woman she approved to become his partner. However, Ethan couldn’t force him to marry his ex-girlfriend, as he was aware of how rotten she was inside. She was the woman he preferred to keep out of h
SEEING ETHAN’s ex-girlfriend, who insulted her back in the company’s comfort room, Michelle was taken aback. She swallowed the lump in her throat and gave Ethan a confused look.Ethan noticed his wife’s expression, seeing Ashley with his parents. He wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered to her ear, "She’s my parents’ goddaughter. She’s close with them."Michelle quickly understood, but it didn’t change the fact that she didn’t like Ashley, not because she had a past with Ethan, as she couldn’t give a damn about it, but because her mere presence was telling her that she was up for anything that might cause trouble.Nevertheless, Michelle had only one goal for tonight, and that was to end the day without any conflict, and somewhat please Ethan’s parents since it was part of their contract. With that in mind, she offered them her warmest smile.She looked at the woman who seemed to be in he
MICHELLE HAD to swallow her disappointment. She could not believe that she was with these people who showed her fake smiles but would attack her like rabid animals as soon as Ethan stepped out of the dining room."See, Aunt Selene? Uncle?" Ashley blurted out. "She can’t answer the question because she’s ashamed to tell you that she’s a gold digger."If there was one thing Michelle hated about rich people, it was their sense of superiority and being big fans of inclusivity. They thought highly of themselves, to the extent that when they encountered a person who didn’t belong in the same circle, their true behavior would come out so easily.For them, social status was important. In their eyes, poor people are just threats.Michelle took a deep breath. The look of Ethan's parents and Ashley's annoying smirk made her heart beat fast in her chest."Michelle? Can you answer my question please?" Selene’s voice was a bit demanding."You should’ve done a background check. Poor people always li
MICHELLE WAS speechless. Her eyes couldn’t stop looking at the man in front of them.He was Ethan’s brother. That explained why his marble gray eyes looked very familiar, as Ethan had the same eye color as his."Mich, he’s my older brother, Jacob," Ethan said, with a hint of contempt in his tone."So it’s true that you finally got married, huh?" Jacob smiled and stared down at Michelle. "It’s nice to finally meet you, Michelle.""Likewise, Jacob..." she said shyly.Jacob offered his hand for a shake. Michelle inhaled heavily and accepted it. To her surprise, Jacob kissed the back of her hand.But Ethan was fast enough to take her hand off of his grip. Michelle found it rude, and gave her husband a death glare, but Ethan couldn’t care less. His jaw was clenched as he looked at his older brother, who had come back from God knows where."I didn’t hear you would go home," he said."Dad phoned me. He told me we were going to have a family dinner.""Since when did you start to care about fa
WHAT A LONG DAY, Michelle thought.She exhaled and massaged the bridge of her nose. It was one hell of a family dinner that had taken almost four hours of her remaining night. The family she just dealt with must’ve missed one another so much. A lot of topics, laughter, and even jokes were talked about. Ethan’s parents acted like nothing ever happened when their son left the dining room for a couple of minutes. They acted so perfectly, proving how great liars they were.It was almost midnight when Michelle and Ethan arrived home. They both went upstairs, and before Michelle could enter her bedroom; her husband threw her one unbelievable question."What do you think about my parents? They are greatly kind, aren’t they?"She spun around to face him. He was glancing at her. His expression was soft.Michelle could tell by the way he looked at him that he really had a great time at that dinner. She smiled at him. Even though her impress
SITTING AT THE table with all the employees of the Human Resource team, Michelle focused on the meeting. Being the secretary to the CEO of the company, she needed to attend every departmental meeting and provide minutes to Ethan afterward to keep him updated about the latest work and projects of every department in the company.Jotting down on her notes, Michelle listened to the new operation manager of the HR department, whose name was Jane, and who officially assumed the position last week. Everyone was attentive, and so Michelle thought that the meeting would end smoothly.However, just when she thought that the situation could be handled, an employee blurted out her opinion during the question and answer period, which made her very uncomfortable."So, Ms. Scott, what are your thoughts when it comes to employees getting their position under the table?" Linda asked, one of the HR leaders.Jane laughed as she turned off the projector. "That’s a sha
THERE WAS a sudden shift in the air when Ethan entered the meeting room. The employees became uneasy, and could not look at their CEO in the eye. In one instance, the guilt on their faces was evident.Michelle's mouth trembled. Her tears continued to fall down her cheeks. She took a long breath and paused because what had just occurred was too much for her to grasp, and it had struck her right in the core.She expected her career at the company to come to an end shortly. Nobody made her feel welcome within the place. The employees refused to accept her no matter how hard she tried to show them that she was capable. They just regard her as a seductress who got her position by working under the table...And it hurt the most."No one is going to tell me what happened?" The thunderous sound of Ethan's voice echoed across the room. Her heart raced with terror and anticipation, as she had never heard his voice that enraged before.She fisted her hand, an
DAMN IT!Michelle was only able to swear in her head. Her chest swelled and she glared fiercely at her husband.She stayed speechless and just stared up at Ethan, who was obviously getting eaten up by his high emotions. She couldn't understand why he had to meddle in her affairs, let alone wreck her plans by announcing that they were married and breaking the contract's rules.She caught her breath. Clenching her hand, she mustered the courage to speak up."You don’t understand where I am coming from." She shook her head. "That’s why it’s easy for you to say that. I clearly told you before that I wanted to protect my reputation, but what did you do? You signed the contract and yet you breached it yourself—"She wasn’t able to finish her words as Ethan pinned her on the couch and kissed her on the lips. She was shocked at what he did. Her eyes were wide open and her lips couldn’t make a single move. But it was just