Chapter 16

Michael finally lifted his gaze to meet hers.

His eyes held a smile that was more than a smile, his tone teasing, "Little secret? How small could it be? Is it as tiny as just 'three days'?"

He extended his right pinky finger, gesturing towards Emily with a hook, "Shall I keep your secret? Should we seal it with a pinky promise?"

A sudden sourness gripped Emily's throat unexpectedly, her lips parted, struggling to respond to Michael's clearly emotional query.

Before she could utter a word, Michael immediately regretted his words.

Just as he was about to dismiss it as a joke, the abrupt ringing of the phone shattered the tense air.

Glancing at his phone, Michael said, "It's my sister calling, let me take this."

Emily hastily stood up, "Alright, I... I'll go take a shower..."

She was accustomed to freshening up upon checking into a hotel, to rid herself of the day's scent, but at this moment, her action seemed oddly ambiguous.

She added hastily, "Um, no, I mean, I'll go wash my face."

Without waiting for Michael's response, she hurriedly turned and walked out of the bedroom.

Michael didn't immediately answer the phone, sitting upright, staring at the bedroom door.

The call disconnected on its own, and he sat for a while longer, hearing faint, light footsteps in the living room. Finally, when the sliding door to the bathroom slammed shut with a 'bang', he slapped himself hard with a crisp sound.

"You talk nonsense with bad breath!"

He cursed inwardly, annoyed. His sister called again.

"Hello, sis," Michael answered.

Yezzi got straight to the point, "What's going on between you and Jiawen?"

Michael's temples throbbed, lowering his voice, "Did she contact you?"

"Yes, she came to the main store at noon, said she wanted to buy some bird's nest for the elders at home, and casually mentioned that you were busy this weekend with deliveries." Yezzi chuckled, teasingly, "Why didn't you inform me of such an important matter first? Almost let it slip."

Michael scratched the back of his head, feeling impatient, "Sis, there are things that can't be explained over the phone..."

"Even if you can't explain it clearly, you should still explain it!"

There was a sudden roar from the other end of the phone, making Michael's ears ring. He quickly moved the phone away, but could still hear his sister's angry scolding, "You're such a flirt, who are you going with to Fulon now? Huh? You don't learn from good examples, just copying others to fool around? Aren't you still planning to propose this year?!"

Michael cursed Wang Longdong in his heart, the top dog prioritizing romance over friendships.

Allowing his sister to scold him for a while, when she finally paused, Michael spoke softly, "Sis, I'm not the one fooling around first."

He briefly mentioned the issues between him and Amanda, the evidence he had in hand, and how he would soon break up.

He omitted Emily's part. As for the 'little secret', he would keep it confidential.

Listening quietly as her younger brother spoke, Yezzi's anger had subsided somewhat, but her tone remained unfriendly, "I don't care who cheated first between you and Jiawen, Michael, don't lose your head. Until you've properly discussed separating from Jiawen, you're still Jiawen's boyfriend."

Michael fell silent. Yezzi continued to nag for a few more sentences, asking when he would return to Eldoria.

"Tomorrow," Michael said, "I have something else to take care of before I go home."

He had promised to take Emily home.

Yezzi didn't say much more before hanging up, reminding him not to tell Wang Longdong too much about her current situation.

Michael tossed his phone onto the bedside table, walked barefoot to the living room, where the sound of running water from the bathroom was faint. Michael glanced over at the coffee table, picked up the cigarette case and lighter, and planned to open the window for a smoke.

His eyes fell on two white porcelain cups nearby.

The tea was still warm, steam curling upwards, freshly brewed by Emily.

Michael's heart sank inexplicably, feeling unexpectedly tender.

He cursed himself with a crude remark, dropped the cigarette case and lighter, stripped off his clothes, leaving only his boxers.

The push-pull bathroom door was unlocked. With a 'bang', Michael pushed it open and walked straight into the bathroom.

To his surprise, no one was under the showerhead; the water streamed onto the tiles.

The person who should have been showering was sitting on the bathtub ledge, still dressed in a T-shirt and underwear, eyes widened in surprise at this unexpected visitor.

Startled, Emily gripped her phone tightly, stammering, "Wh-what are you doing?"

The man stood like a mountain, his presence overwhelming. There was nowhere for her gaze to escape, darting about in confusion, finally settling on the cloth covering his groin.

A bulging package, the beast still slumbering.

Michael's keen eyes quickly noticed her booking app open on the phone.

Frowning, he snatched the phone away and tossed it aside, then lifted Emily, who hadn't reacted, and removed her T-shirt, starting to undo her bra.

"What are you doing!" Emily rarely struggled, but was like a mantis trying to shake a tree.

"Taking a bath, let's bathe together, let's sleep together." A half-joking, half-serious remark, Michael said with a straight face, "The 'fee' for the driver, pay it."

He tossed aside the bra, bent down, and cupped a soft white breast, licking and teasing.

"You're doing what!" Emily struggled rare, but they were as a tree shivering in the storm.

"You're two months older than I am."

Michael's hand slid down, tugging off her panties, kneading her supple buttocks: "Don't like me calling you 'big sister'? How about 'little sister'?"

"No..."

He straightened, caressing her backside, kissing the corner of her mouth: "Then shall I call you 'sweetie'?"

Emily neither refused nor agreed, already ensnared in his touch, lost in a haze of desire.

With the final barriers removed, the two naked bodies stumbled under the shower.

Steam swiftly clouded the glass, attempting to obscure the entwined forms within, yet the mist was wiped away by their movements, revealing the humid, sticky passion.

His lips kissed with tender delight, her breasts felt heavenly in his hands, and his hardness pressed against her cleft.

Soft met hard, like sand meeting rock, wrapped in the embrace of the waves.

There was no escape.

Conflicts of the past moment didn't matter; it was all about satisfying the insatiable carnal hunger of the present.

The man behind her hesitated to enter, driving Emily to impatience. She reached back, grasped his rigid length, raised herself on tiptoe, and guided him toward her entrance: "Michael, come inside..."

The tip barely tasted sweetness before he pulled away. Michael pinned Emily's wrist, pressing her against the glass, biting her neck, growling, "No condom, are you trying to get pregnant?"

He resembled a fierce dog drenched in a storm, menacing but restrained.

Emily writhed helplessly, murmuring, "I've been secretly taking Yasmin for the past two months..."

Michael paused, confused: "What's that?"

"Birth control pills." Emily, almost breathless under his weight, urged impatiently, "Are you coming in or not?"

Michael ground his teeth, battling with himself, but ultimately held back.

"Just wait, I'll ruin you later..."

Feigning menace, he led Emily back to the bedroom, tossed her onto the bed, and hurriedly rummaged through his bag for a condom.

Reconnected in the heat of their bodies, Michael now truly unleashed, thrusting with force, penetrating deep into her softest parts until Emily's fragmented pleas for mercy slowed his pace.

Every inch of skin burned with heat, her glasses left in the bathroom, Emily's tear-filled eyes could hardly make out the unfamiliar room, perceiving only shades of white and gray.

Only Michael had color, fiery and intense, searing her tears away.

Michael wasn't faring much better, her spasming muscles gripping him tight. He braced above her, slowly thrusting, letting sweat drip onto her breasts, not bothering to wipe it away, watching each bead roll off the peaks.

"What room were you booking earlier?" he asked, voice husky.

"What, what room?" Emily didn't register, her inner walls contracting uncontrollably around him.

"Damn... you're going to squeeze me to death..."

Michael groaned, flipping her over, grasping her breasts, impatiently entering her again, buried deep, reminding her, "In the bathroom, your phone was on Trip.com."

Emily sighed, pressing back against his sweaty chest: "I was just looking."

Michael pulled her upright, shallowly thrusting as a punishment, "Still looking now?"

Ground down, unable to get what she wanted, Emily swayed her hips, trying for deeper contact but to no avail.

Her damp hair clung like seaweed, droplets falling with each shake of her head. She arched her neck, distressed: "Clearly you're unhappy, your face darker than coal... I thought, maybe I should move out... Ah—!"

Her words were cut off, the remaining thoughts swallowed by her throat, mixed with moans of passion, shattered by their movements.

They changed positions repeatedly, Michael's phone rang once, Amanda's voice call, but he didn't answer, setting the phone to silent and tucking it under the pillow.

This way, the vibrations wouldn't disturb their stolen moments.

Amidst the rise and fall, Emily noticed something different from the previous night.

It was Michael's ring finger—the ring was gone.

She grabbed the hand greedily fondling her breast, staring blankly at the faint mark where the ring used to be: "Where's your ring?"

Michael turned her wrist, biting her empty ring finger: "You're not wearing your wedding ring either."

"I don't wear it in the kitchen... Ah... I'm not used to it..."

Emily was hit hard, clawing at his muscular back, not caring if she left marks.

"Oh." Michael smirked, "I have no reason. I just don't want to wear it anymore."