Chapter 5

When Eve woke up again, Michael was sitting by her bedside. The moment he saw that she was awake, he held her hand and said softly, "You're finally awake, Eve." "Michael…" "I'm so sorry. I was in a meeting. That's why I didn't answer your call," Michael explained. "I've already had those nurses fired. What they did to you will never happen again." Eve silently watched him. Michael felt uneasy. He tucked her bed covers and asked her to take care of herself before standing up. "I still need to head back to the office to do some work. Rest well. I've already told the doctors here to make sure nothing will happen to you again." Michael then kissed Eve's forehead and left the ward. Eve's fingers trembled lightly as she watched him leave. He didn't even have the time to hold a proper conversation with her. … After several days in the hospital, Eve was finally discharged. When she reached home, she heard Michael's mother, Charlotte Mayfair, talking in the living room. "Look who it is, Jules? It's your mom…" Eve stopped in her steps and looked over. Charlotte had Jules in her arms and was showing the baby a photo of Trisha on her phone. When Charlotte heard Eve come in and saw her, the smile on her face quickly disappeared. "You're back." Charlotte then eyed Eve disdainfully and said, "How expensive you are to take care of. You stayed in the hospital for so many days. Lucky you for being able to enjoy your stay there after a minor inconvenience. If you hadn't gotten your hooks in Michael, a peasant like you would've never been able to stay in such a premium hospital ward." "It was the doctor's—" Charlotte scoffed, cutting Eve off. "That's enough. Don't stay idle now that you're home. Michael hasn't been eating much lately. Send his lunch to his office later." Eve looked down and silently nodded. An hour later, Eve arrived at Michael's office with a lunchbox. The moment she entered, she saw a woman with a large face mask standing before Michael's desk with documents in hand. The woman turned around. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Eve. She then said mockingly, "Hello, Mrs. Doran." Eve's gaze sharpened. It was Trisha. "What are you doing here?" Eve asked. "I'm here to drop off some documents. I'm sure you wouldn't mind, right?" Trisha replied. Trisha then walked closer to Eve and said sarcastically, "Mike's been really busy lately. If you really care about him, why don't you spend more time being concerned about him rather than being so suspicious all the time…" Eve ignored Trisha and placed the lunchbox on Michael's desk. She then made to leave. Trisha suddenly grabbed her arm and said in a pleading voice, "I know you don't like me, Mrs. Doran, but I really am just here to drop off some documents…" She then used Eve's hand to splash the steaming hot chicken soup on Michael's desk onto herself. The soup quickly soaked through Trisha's clothes, making her skin turn red. Trisha screamed, her eyes watering from pain. The door suddenly opened, and Michael marched in. His brows knitted together when he saw the two women. "What's going on?" Trisha bit on her lip, unshed tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry… It's all my fault. I shouldn't have turned up. Mrs. Doran must've misunderstood me…" Trisha even shot Eve a fearful look. Michael immediately grabbed Eve's hand and asked nervously, "Did you get scalded?" He then turned around and snapped, "Didn't I tell you to just let my assistant send documents over? Get out!" Trisha shot him a tearful look before leaving in silence. After she left, Michael sighed. He said to Eve, "I have no idea why she'd barge in here just like that. It won't happen again." After a moment's hesitation, he continued, "I love you, and I'd never do anything to hurt you. I just need you to trust me more and not simply hurt innocent people." Eve retracted her hand. "I didn't splash the soup on Trisha." Michael was taken aback briefly before he smiled. "Alright. If you say so." He then glanced at his watch and said hurriedly, "I have a meeting to get to now. Why don't you head home first? I'll leave work early today to spend time with you later." Michael then quickly left before Eve could answer. Eve instinctively followed him. She watched as Michael ran up to Trisha. Before he could say anything, Trisha ran into his arms with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Mike. But I'm already being so careful… I have to hide my face every single time I come here like I'm some lowly thief… "Those men have already testified about what happened between Eve and me before. They all confessed that she framed me. I don't have much time anymore. All I want is to not have to sneak around like this with you… Please?" Michael's gaze grew tender. "Don't cry anymore. I'll make sure you get your justice for what happened before. You won't need to hide anymore."