Chapter 44

Jonathan Was Pleased

Astounded by his words, Michaela’s eyes glittered with sparkles as she felt a rush of inexplicit complex
emotions.

“As for the gift you mentioned a while ago, was that referring to the online news this morning?” she
questioned in bewilderment, tightening the grip on her phone subconsciously.

“Mr. Xander had written the article last night and requested the persons-in-charge to help pull string for
him. According to him, it would only stir another wave of turbulence if he opted to suppress the
defamatory article and the netizens’ comments. In other words, it would only escalate the situation when
everyone’s suspicion was piqued,” Walter explained further.

Ah! No wonder he looks exhausted! It’s all because of me! Michaela could not help feeling bad for
Jonathan. The latter sacrificed his time willingly to have dinner with her and ended up having insufficient
rest. On top of that, he even had the matter resolved with the method that wore himself out even more.

No words could describe how touched Michaela was by Jonathan. All of a sudden, Walter lowered his
voice and uttered ambiguously, “But this is not the gift I meant.”



“Oh my! You’re such a big mouth!” Gary could not help but snap at Walter, hinting at the latter to stop
babbling.

As a man of few words, he was a typical man of action. If not for Walter, Michaela might not have the
chance to know how much Jonathan had been sacrificing for her.





However, Walter paid no heed to Gary’s warning. He even tried to reassure him by blabbering, “Take it
easy. There’s nothing to fear. After all, Ms. Michaela is not an outsider! It’s been a while since Mr. Xander
assigned you to protect her. Thus, she is considered our boss in a way!”

Ha! My instinct is proven right! Gary is specially assigned by Mr. Jonathan to protect me! Even though
she was not sure when it all started, she had a feeling Jonathan must have assigned Gary to do so,
fearing that she would be in deep water at any moment after her wedding with Zack was called off.
Nonetheless, if Walter did not mention it, she would never know.

But why is he sacrificing so much for me? Even if he was Grandpa’s student, he doesn’t have to do so
too! Undeniably, things were becoming more unfathomable for her the more Jonathan treated her nicely.

Right that instant, Walter flashed Michaela a glance again through the rear-view mirror. Grinning ear to
ear, he blabbered, “Ms. Michaela, there’s something I need to tell you. When Mr. Xander came across
Mr. Zack and Lucille Lingard’s shameful moments in Sommer Gardens, I’d spotted a pinhole camera in
the bedroom. So when Mr. Zack was here to confront you last night, Mr. Xander had handed it to him
together with a copy of the report on the fingerprint identification.”

Huh? So Lucille’s the culprit? Does it mean that even if Mr. Jonathan did not discover their affair, there
would be other hiccups to my wedding with Zack? Deep down, Michaela was well aware that Jonathan
had initially decided to keep it under wrap to save the reputation of both families. If Lucille did not get on
his nerves numerous times, he might not hand over such concrete evidence to Zack.

Needless to say, it must be a bolt from the blue for Zack, who had been indulging himself in the
passionate moments with Lucille. Thus, Michaela presumed a devastated Zack did not go home the
whole night. That was why Lucille had no choice but to head for the Shappiray Mansion early in the
morning to look for him.

Mr. Jonathan is worn out by everything, but he still takes me out just to cheer me up? At the thought of
that, she felt a ripple of warmth flowing through her heart.



Meanwhile, Walter reminded her softly, “Ms. Michaela, you mustn’t tell anyone that I’ve told you these,
okay?”

“Okay!” She nodded in acknowledgement.

In actuality, there was a lot more than what Walter had told her. For instance, all the reports surrounding
Michaela in front of her office building the previous day were issued demand letters from the attorney.
Subsequently, the magazine company was in a precarious state and had to sack all of them, forcing
them to take the fall.

Apart from that, all the media in Quakersville had received Jonathan’s warning concurrently the previous
night. If they dared to publish any news reports about Michaela, they would have to pay the price.

However, Michaela did not have any chance to know about that.

At that very moment, a ray of sunlight penetrated the window, cascading on Jonathan’s captivating
profile. Michaela stretched out her hand intuitively, attempting to block the golden illumination so the man
could sleep more comfortably.

Catching sight of that, Walter tilted his brows triumphantly at Gary, who kept glowering at him. Ha! Mr.
Xander can’t shoot a dagger at me again this round!

Moments later, their car was out of the town and heading toward a remote area.

Jonathan finally woke up when Michaela’s arm was almost numbed by intense soreness. He even
grabbed hold of her hand before she was in time to put her arm down.

Dumbstruck, Michaela’s eyes widened. At the same time, Jonathan sat straight and stated casually, “Ah!
I didn’t realize I’d dozed off. Mich, you were worried that I’d feel uncomfortable because of the heat from
the sun, weren’t you?”



As he had just woken up, there was a hint of unmistakable hoarseness in his voice. Michaela was at a
loss for words. Her face was flushed red when he massaged her arm and shoulder lightly. Shortly after,
his lips curved into a smile as he complimented, “Mich, you’ve become more mature. I’m impressed that
you have turned into a caring young lady! How’s your arm now? Still feeling sore?”

He sounded casual as ever, but Michaela blushed up to her ears. She pulled her hand away, getting a
grip of herself. “Mr. Jonathan, thank you.”

Having a sense of vigilance, she sat straight, keeping a distance as far as possible away from Jonathan.
In fact, she would rather look elsewhere than have any eye contact with him.

Ha! She’s feeling shy! Jonathan recalled how Zack was still grumbling to him that Michaela hardly
showed any concern to anyone the previous night. Now that she was undoubtedly concerned about him,
he was utterly pleased.

In the twinkling of an eye, his fatigue for the past few days seemed to have vanished. His Adam’s apple
boobed unknowingly at the positive change in Michaela’s demeanor. At the same time, he could not
resist anticipating more of their interactions in the future.

Soon, Walter turned into a junction on the highway and continued to drive along a treacherous mountain
path. Not far away from the peak, he drove past quite a few checkpoints before turning into a picturesque
region.

Michaela’s curiosity seemed to be piqued by the stringent management there.

Jonathan had his eyes on Michaela all the time. Sensing the curiosity in her eyes, he cleared her doubt.
“This place is reserved for entertaining my business collaborators. It’s not open to anyone else!”

Michaela turned to stare at him inquisitively. “Mr. Jonathan, is this your property too?”



“Yeah!” Jonathan nodded.

“Mr. Jonathan, mind telling me how rich you are?” Michaela asked jokingly; a hint of mischief flashed
across her eyes.

The charm of her daintiness and innocence was irresistible to him. As a result, he felt like teasing her.
Wearing a look of subtleness, he asked, “You wish to know?”

Michaela nodded earnestly. There was utter reliance in her crystal-clear eyes. She listened attentively
like an obedient student, not knowing she had fallen into the man’s trap.

“I might not be as rich as how you think. Anyway, I can’t reveal it to you now due to privacy, unless…”
Jonathan’s eyes glimmered with an indecipherable sparkle as he leaned closer to her ear and
murmured, “You become my woman. Otherwise, how can I share such confidential information with you
right away?”

As he mumbled, she could feel his hot breath against her sensitive ear. The utter ambiguousness caused
her to stiffen and blush crimson.

Even so, his seductive voice continued swirling around her as he whispered, “Mich, do you still feel like
knowing about it?”

“A-Ah! There’s no need for that. Forget about it!” She descended into stammering incoherence. My
goodness! How I wish I could swallow my words! Unequivocally, curiosity kills the cat! Oh my! I shouldn’t
have shot myself in the foot by asking about his net worth!

The Lincoln finally pulled to a halt before Michaela was suffocated by intense embarrassment at that
moment.

Before Walter and Gary got off from the car, Michaela flung open the door and got off it hastily.



Jonathan could not help feeling amused and arched his brows at the young lady burying her face in her
hands in embarrassment. His obsidian eyes curved slightly into crescents with a glint of affection.




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