Love Her to No End

Chapter 57

Chapter 57 Vengeance For Life

Michaela was relieved to spend the first night without Jonathan. Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

At first, she wanted to watch a film and enjoy some me-time, but she dozed off halfway through.

When she woke up the next day, she continued to bask in the euphoria of Jonathan’s absence. Even the air smells sweet!

Wayne was afraid that Michaela might get bored, so on the second night, he told her about the indoor pool and family theater upstairs.

That gave Michaela an idea. She went upstairs, took a tour, and realized the independent living space looked exactly like the one she had always wanted as a child.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized the space was similar to her childhood vision. Instead of lingering around, she decided to sneak back to the room.

When she felt thirsty and was about to go downstairs to get a glass of water, she suddenly noticed how empty the mansion was. Why does the mansion look so spacious when Mr. Jonathan is not around?

That night, Michaela could not sleep. When is he coming back? Should I call him? But what should I say to him?

She continued tossing and turning in bed for some time and eventually fell asleep at midnight.

The next day, Michaela went to work with dark circles under her eyes.

When she stepped into the office, all her colleagues walked up to her and expressed their concerns. “What happened to your eyes, Mich? Did you not sleep well?”

“Yeah, insomnia,” she said matter-of-factly.

Michaela seldom used cosmetic products, but she had worn some make-up today to conceal the dark circles under her eyes. Still, people could see them.

“Mich, are you dating someone?” someone teased.

Michaela’s face blushed instantly and denied. She then tried to change the topic. “Please. By the way, where’s Lorelei? Hasn’t she come back to work?”

Ever since the call on Friday, Lorelei seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.

Michaela had tried contacting her, but all her calls went to voice mail. Even when she came to work Monday, she only heard that Lorelei was on sick leave.

For some reason, Michaela had a bad feeling about this.

Upon hearing that, the team leader glanced at Lorelei’s empty seat and answered, “Nope. She’s on sick leave for a week. It feels weird not having her around. She’s always full of the joys of spring, and we all miss her smile and laughter.”

“I know right!” another person concurred.

Michaela knitted her brows. She picked up her phone and called Lorelei again but still could not get through.

She pulled herself together and started diving into her work.

At noon, when she was about to go to the cafeteria to have lunch, she bumped into Alois, who stood in front of the window.

What’s with that expression? He has always been a steady man, but why does he look troubled today? Is something bothering him?

Michaela hesitated for a moment but decided to approach him. “Alois?”

Alois was Hannah’s assistant. During his years in school, he had always been the top student in his batch. Now, he had become a capable assistant whom Hannah had high regard for.

Upon hearing Michaela’s voice, Alois turned around and responded with a stiff expression. “Ms. Lingard!”

“Did you come to look for Lorelei? She hasn’t reported duty in the last three days, though. Did you not know?”

There was a flicker in Alois’ eyes. “Would you like to have a cup of coffee?”

“Sure!”

He must have come to look for me because of Lorelei.

Michaela thought something was amiss when Lorelei applied for several days of sick leave. She agreed to Alois’ invitation because she could tell he wanted to talk to her about Lorelei but seemed hesitant.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at Ripple Café.

After the waiter had served them two cups of Americano, Michaela looked at Alois and asked frankly, “Can you tell me what happened to Lorelei?”

Alois said, “Lorelei has been missing for the last couple of days, and I’m worried about her. That’s why I came to see you, hoping you could visit her in the evening.”

“Why don’t you go yourself?” Michaela asked.

Michaela could easily tell how worried the man was, though he had tried to hide his emotions.

“I told her I’ve got a girlfriend, and she knew it. So-”

“Was that why you asked her out last Friday? You asked her out so that you could tell her you’ve got a girlfriend?”

Yes.

No doubt Alois and Lorelei went on a so-called date last Friday, but Alois had also brought another girl to pretend to be his girlfriend.

It was not exactly a date in the first place. To Alois, he was merely buying her junior dinner. In the end, Lorelei left without eating anything that night after telling Alois she was under the weather.

Alois had finally achieved his objective. But upon seeing how dispirited Lorelei was when she walked away, Alois’ heart sank.

His worry became more pronounced when Lorelei had stopped coming to work since Monday.

Michaela looked at Alois with a faint frown when she saw him nod. In an icy tone, she said, “Well, if that’s the case, why should you worry about Lorelei? And why did you come to me for help?”

“Ms. Lingard-”

“Alois, being direct and unsympathetic is your modus operandi for both work and women, huh? How could you hurt Lorelei’s feelings like this? How could you be so cruel?”

Michaela’s gaze was frosty when she was glaring intently at the man.

She finally found out why Lorelei was on sick leave and felt sorry for her.

When Michaela was about to stand up and leave, Alois said, “Could you please hear me out, Ms. Lingard?”

“I know how Lorelei feels for me, and I’m grateful that she has been staying by my side for years. She had never looked down on me, even though I was an orphan. You have to understand Lorelei comes from the Summerfield family. Do you think an orphan like me is compatible with her?”

“You knew about it?”

All this while, Lorelei had been extremely cautious not to hurt his feelings as she was afraid their status differences might be a stumbling block in their relationship. Yet, Lorelei’s greatest fear still came true.

“Yes. I saw Lorelei attending a dinner with her father by chance. She’s such a genuine woman with great positive energy, yet every time she’s around me, she’d always be cautious not to hurt my feelings. I want her to be who she is and don’t want people to make fun of her! I also don’t want her to regret her decision, and more importantly, I don’t want people to regard me as her trophy boyfriend!”

A corner of Michaela’s lips quirked up, and she let out a cold snort. “You’re making these excuses because you don’t love her enough!”

Michaela had the opportunity of working closely with Alois because of Hannah, and she had always known that he was a man with a big ego.

But she had never thought he would be this egocentric.

Alois did not defend himself or deny her accusation. “I want Lorelei to be happy, but I know I’m not the man who could bring her happiness. I hope you could keep this conversation a secret from Lorelei!”

“And I hope you’ll disappear from Lorelei’s life and stop giving her false hope!” Michaela then stood up gracefully and walked off.

Michaela was not particularly fond of Alois, but at the same time, she did not think he was a person with evil intent. She had always felt Alois was a complicated man whom she had a hard time trying to understand.

But at this point, she was utterly disappointed in him!

Alois stood still and watched Michaela leave. After she had disappeared from his sight, he lolled on the couch.

Deep in his heart, Alois was in love with Lorelei.

But after learning about his past, he knew he would have to seek vengeance for the rest of his life. Everything that’s supposed to be mine, I’ll claim them back one step at a time. By hook or by crook, I’ll take everything back!

That was why he had to leave Lorelei.

Since the day he decided to embark on a journey of revenge, he no longer deserved Lorelei’s love.