Love Her to No End
Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Chapter 57 Vengeance For Life

Michaela was relieved to spend the first night without Jonathan.

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 theair smells sweet!

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

That gave Michaela an idea. She went upstairs, took a tour, and realized the independent living spacelooked 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 oflingering 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 howempty 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 sayto 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 darkcircles 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 workMonday, 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 sickleave for a week. It feels weird not having her around. She’s always full of the joys of spring, and we allmiss 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 getthrough.

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 infront 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 hisbatch. 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 notknow?”

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 agreedto 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 Icame 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 agirlfriend?”

Yes.

No doubt Alois and Lorelei went on a so-called date last Friday, but Alois had also brought another girl topretend 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 walkedaway, 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’sthe 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? Howcould 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. Shehad never looked down on me, even though I was an orphan. You have to understand Lorelei comesfrom 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 statusdifferences 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 greatpositive energy, yet every time she’s around me, she’d always be cautious not to hurt my feelings. I wanther to be who she is and don’t want people to make fun of her! I also don’t want her to regret herdecision, 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 excusesbecause you don’t love her enough!”

Michaela had the opportunity of working closely with Alois because of Hannah, and she had alwaysknown 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 theman 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 upgracefully and walked off.

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

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 thecouch.

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’lltake 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.