Chapter 8 Maria’s Suspicions
“I can make you fall in love with me.”
Jennifer’s pride was nearly gone.
After saying it, she realized she might have said something incredibly foolish.
For someone like Michael to talk about sex with someone like her — poor, struggling, scraping by — might be possible.
But love?
That was pure nonsense.
She expected Michael to laugh, to mock her —
but he didn’t.
He halted his advance, his aggression evaporating.
His expression reset to cold neutrality.
“Then try.”
With that, he left the fire escape.
He instructed the doctor outside:
“Put anti-swelling ointment on the girl’s face.”
Jennifer took Michael’s words as approval.
If their confrontation at the hotel had been a draw,
today’s battle was her loss.
No matter how she thought about it, it left a bitter taste in her mouth.
While Jennifer agonized over what to write in her first text to Michael,
Maria schemed about how to spend her first night with him.
That evening, after visiting her mother, Maria went straight to Michael’s villa.
Though they were soon to be engaged, she had never been to his home before.
It took her a long time to sweet-talk the maid into letting her in.
Once inside, Maria scrutinized his home.
It was exactly as she imagined — vast and opulent.
She sat on the sofa waiting for Michael.
When he didn’t return, she went upstairs to his bedroom.
She was curious, but once inside, she hesitated to touch anything.
Suddenly, she felt the urge to use the restroom.
She told herself she should use the shared bathroom —
but quickly dismissed that idea.
No one else was home.
Besides, she and Michael would be husband and wife soon.
She headed into the private bathroom.
The moment she pulled open a drawer, she froze.
Inside were only two items:
A note.
A collar.
Maria’s hands trembled.
The handwriting on the note was neat and delicate — clearly a student’s.
The collar bore an inscription.
After reading it, Maria was furious.
“Mr. Kowalski, I want to have sex with you.”
“MK’s beloved cat.”
Maria remembered the girl who taunted her at the hotel entrance.
Maria couldn’t comprehend Michael having any connection with someone like that.
She crouched and frantically rummaged through the drawer, searching for condoms or evidence.
Just then, Michael’s cold voice came from the doorway.
“What are you looking for?”
Startled, Maria shoved the drawer shut.
“Michael, you’re back? I— I was just looking for toilet paper.”
Michael glanced at the drawer.
He knew she was lying.
“Why are you here?”
Maria frowned.
“I heard from Amanda that you transferred my mom out of H Hospital.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Michael wasn’t about to explain himself.
Truthfully, Maria was nothing more than a passing arrangement.
Only good manners kept him polite.
He merely said,
“The new hospital is better. Better care. I arranged a cardiologist. Don’t worry.”
“All right.”
Deep down, Maria hoped Michael would show her and her family favor.
But rationally, she knew the difference between hope and delusion.
She had no leverage.
Pressing further would only get her thrown out of the private hospital.
Tonight, Michael mattered more than anything.
So she ventured carefully:
“Michael… I have a morning meeting nearby.
Could I stay here tonight?”
No one had ever stayed the night at Michael’s villa.
She wanted to be the first.
Michael stood before the mirror, calmly removing his tie.
“No.”
Maria persisted.
“What about the guest room?”
“Maria.”
Michael set down the tie, his gaze turning icy.
She had crossed his boundaries twice today.
“Don’t forget our agreement.
I saved your company.
You agreed not to interfere in my life —
and not to cross boundaries.”
Maria’s expression darkened.
Her usual bright smile vanished.
He could keep another woman’s belongings in his drawer…
but his fiancée couldn’t even stay in the guest room?
Had that girl already stayed here?
A cold glint flashed in Maria’s eyes.
“I remember the rules.
I only thought it was closer to my meeting.
If you don’t want me here… I’ll leave.”
Her compliance softened Michael’s icy edge.
“I’ll have my assistant book you a nearby hotel.”
“Mhm.”
Maria left the villa quietly.
Once outside — remembering the collar and note — she called her assistant.
“Did you find anything about that classmate of Sarah’s who showed up at the birthday party?”
“Not confirmed yet. We should have something by tomorrow.”
Maria gripped her phone tightly.
“Once she’s confirmed…
hire some thugs.
Ruin her.”
⸻
By the hospital bed, Jennifer buried her head in homework, rolling her phone in her hand.
After a long time, she finally composed her first text to Michael.
At that moment, Michael stepped out of the shower — a towel around his waist.
His solid, muscular frame, well-defined abs, and stern, angular face were reflected in the mirror.
He walked to the drawer to grab his razor, remembering the collar he tossed in there.
For some reason, he hadn’t thrown it away.
His subconscious called it evidence.
Michael’s phone vibrated twice.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
“What do you think you’ll use to take me the first time we make love?”
“From behind, okay?”
The buzzing razor made the bathroom feel eerily quiet.
He stared at the messages for two seconds, then deleted them without expression.
Jennifer didn’t send any more texts — as if those two were nothing but accidental spam.
Sitting by the hospital bed, she grinned at her phone, reclaiming her dignity.
Meanwhile, after seeing the note and collar, Maria’s mind spiraled.
She couldn’t stop imagining Michael in bed with that girl in the cheap hoodie.
In the hotel room…
In the villa bathroom…
Had they done it everywhere?
Only then did Maria realize —
not even in her wildest fantasies could she picture Michael consumed by passion.
Michael was always so cold.
She’d heard that unlike other wealthy students abroad, he never partied, never dated, never had lovers.
Not even she, after mingling with countless business elites, could get a reaction from him.
So what special charm did that girl have?
Or…
Was Michael into younger women?
A thing for girls far younger?
Maria’s thoughts spiraled, rage simmering uncontrollably.
Finally, her assistant called.
“Ms. Rossi, we found the girl.”
