Avery was jogging on the basketball court with her arms stretched out in the air. She still remember clearly how she used to accompany Michiel to play basketball when she was his lover in high school. Even though at that time it turned out that she was only a bet for Michiel and his friends, it still felt so memorable for her because at that time it felt like a dream.
A nerd girl who is never aware of her existence in an elite school suddenly becomes the lover of the school prince and also the son of the school owner. Sometimes she misses those times, where everyone's treatment immediately changes drastically when she officially becomes the lover of the school prince. Even a group of flirty girls who never realized her existence, suddenly came over to her and asked her to become a part of their group. But of course at that time she refused because she already knew how rotten they were, who only wanted to take advantage of her status as Michiel Thompson's lover.
"Hey..." Michiel suddenly startled her by hugging her tightly from behind while whispering affectionately beside her ear.
"Hey, are you done playing?" Avery asked in surprise. Just a few minutes ago Michiel asked her permission to play basketball. But now the man was behind her, hugging her tightly.
"What are you playing for if no one is screaming excitedly in a shrill voice in the audience." Michiel teased ignorantly, kissing Avery lightly on the cheek.
Instantly Avery's cheeks flushed red because suddenly she remembered that embarrassing moment, when she shouted Michiel's name from the stands until everyone gave her a strange look. Remembering her own past, Avery wanted to drown herself at the bottom of the ocean. How could she who was so graceful now used to be so dreadful with thick glasses that adorned her face.
"It was a very embarrassing experience. Why do you still remember it." Avery collapsed irritably. But Michiel chuckled while looking at her face that had turned sullen.
"I like. At that time my heart rustled and I became even more excited. Can I be honest, you're actually very popular among my friends."
"Is it true?" Avery asked incredulously. How could the nerd girl in their school used to be so popular among Michiel's peers. Even she herself felt her existence would never be realized by her own classmates.
"One of us has seen you take off your glasses and brush your hair after gym class is over. Then he was fascinated by your natural beauty. That's why we made... that stupid game. They want to test me, whether my charm can conquer you. And it turns out I can. Since then they kept asking about your beauty to me until my ears felt hot. Without realizing it at that time I felt jealous of you."
"Jealous? Are you jealous of me? Impossible!" said Avery with a loud laugh, laughing at Michiel. How could such a strange nerd girl manage to make a school prince like Michiel jealous. Michiel must be tricking her!
"I'm serious, Ave. Even I was jealous of my brother. I love you Avery."
Avery froze on the spot after hearing Michiel's sudden declaration of love. How could Michiel love her? During this time she had never thought about it because of player Michiel's attitude. That man couldn't really love her, after all she was married to Andrew now. She is that man's sister-in-law.
"That's not funny Michiel. I'm your sister-in-law." said Avery with a bland laugh.
Michiel stroked the back of his neck while lowering his head to the ground. The man knew that Avery was his brother's wife. But he also couldn't hide his feelings any longer. He needed to tell the woman he loved.
"I know. But wait... do you think I'll make you my lover? You want to be my lover? Hahahahhahahhhaa... I can't possibly hurt my own brother, Ave. Hahahahaa... I'm only expressing my feelings, I'm not asking you to be my lover."
Instantly Avery was embarrassed by her wild thoughts. She thought that Michiel wanted her to be his lover because what that man said when he expressed his feelings really like someone asking a woman to be his lover. So was she wrong if she thought that?
Michiel took Avery's hand and held her tight. At first Avery struggled, but in the end the woman gave up and instead returned Michiel's hug.
"You know, I feel so relieved now."
"Hmm..." Avery replied in her throat voice.
She closed her eyes in Michiel's arms while remembering her past memories at school with Michiel when she became the man's lover. It feels like just yesterday she was wearing her school uniform and thick glasses that framed her face, but now she is a successful and very fashionable American model. The future... is indeed a mystery.
"Michiel..."
Michiel lowered his face slightly when Avery called out to him. Those clear, round brown eyes were staring at him so earnestly that he felt like he wanted to kiss those two eyes out of exasperation. However, Avery's next words managed to annoy him and want to punish the woman.
"You foul! Take your hands off my body. Arghhh is disgusting!"
"What? Foul? Huh, feel this... feel it! "
Michiel actually hugged Avery's body tighter so that her body smelled the same from her sticky sweat.
"Damn it! Go away from me!" shouted Avery embarrassedly. Her entire face had now turned red with her own silly thoughts.
"Calm down, Mrs. Avery Thompson, take it easy. It's fine if you think like that. I wouldn't report it to Andrew if you wanted to be my lover."
"That's not funny Michiel!" Avery hit Michiel's arm hard and pushed the man out of her way. But behind her harsh attitude, she was hiding her embarrassment due to her wild thoughts that had been discovered by Michiel just a moment ago.
"Hey hey hey, where are you going? We're still not done."
"Kyaaaaa... Michiel! You're disgusting!" shouted Avery loudly followed by Michiel's crisp laugh which sounded sweet to Avery.
This was the first time she saw Michiel laugh out loud apart from the ignorant laugh that the man had often shown her. Maybe what happened to them a moment ago succeeded in making Michiel so relieved that finally the man could laugh out loud like this. She hopes that in the future their relationship will run fine without any significant conflicts.
-00-
That afternoon Avery looked so busy in the kitchen with several maids just staring at her from a distance. Her agile movements here and there amazed the maids. Especially now that Avery is showing her extraordinary cooking skills, making the maids and chef dumbfounded in disbelief. Just a moment ago they were all forced by Avery to be quiet and not bother her cooking. Today she wants to make a special dinner to celebrate the day she made up with Michiel. Even though it sounds like an exaggeration, but really she is very grateful for the incident of making up yesterday. She now doesn't have that burden anymore. She can live her future days feeling as light as cotton which is a great relief for her.
"Ma'am, do you need help?" asked a chef to Avery while Avery was busy cutting onions.
"No no, I can do it myself. But... Oh wait." Avery stopped the kitchen head who was about to move away. The middle-aged man seemed to be waiting patiently for orders from his mistress at the doorway.
"Does Grandpa own a cellar?"
"Yes, ma'am, Mr. Edward has a cellar."
"Then prepare Grandpa's finest wine and put it on the dining table, I want tonight's dinner to look perfect," said Avery happily.
She also continued her delayed cooking activities. While chopping vegetables and also cooking meat Avery imagined the face of her husband who would have been surprised by the dinner party she was preparing today. And what she was waiting for the most was how her husband would react when he found out that Michiel and her would not be like dogs and cats anymore. Her husband would have been shocked to death because this was the first time she really seemed to get along with Michiel in two years.
"Hm... What are you doing honey?"
Avery turned quickly and immediately found Michiel on the pantry table. It was obvious that the man had come because her husband had never called her with such romantic calls. Her husband is a stiff man who is very workaholic!
"Hi, you home?" Avery asked casually. To be honest, she sometimes felt quite strange about their peaceful atmosphere without arguing.
"Today I don't have much work to do in the office, Andrew has handled it well. So I chose to go home first. You know... I miss you so much," whispered Michiel right behind Avery's body while hugging the slender body from behind.
Somehow the man was able to move that fast and sneak up behind Avery's body. What is clear now that their position can make anyone who saw them misunderstand.
"Michiel, let go of your hands right now, I can't cook."
Avery moved to the right while untying Michiel's hands that were previously perfectly wrapped around his waist. Even though it felt heavy, Michiel finally chose to let her go and move to Avery's side.
"Need help?" offered Michiel sincerely. Avery raised an eyebrow at Michiel while looking down at the man.
"Can you cook?"
"Of course. I used to help mom a lot when cooking," smug Michiel while raising his head.
Avery frowned, but she finally allowed Michiel to help her.
"Please put the vegetables in the pot." Avery ordered, pointing to the pile of vegetables she had washed. Meanwhile she was checking the roast meat which seemed to have emitted a fragrant white smoke.
"Arghhh..."
"Michiel! What are you doing?"
Avery shouted irritably at Michiel who was blowing his fingers without noticing all the vegetables that had fallen to the floor.
"You stupid! You dropped all the vegetables. "
"My hand got splashed with your broth!" replied Michiel no less loudly. Avery walked over and started picking the vegetables one by one. She then washed it again and put it in the boiling pot. Meanwhile Michiel is still faithful in his place while continuing to blow his hand without paying attention to Avery's angry glares.
"You whiny! You better just wait up front. You're bothering me here!" expel Avery viciously. Michiel looked at Avery pitifully with his sulking face which irritated Avery.
"Alright alright, come here."
Avery grabbed Michiel's hand, who had previously been splashing with the broth in a huff. The man's pitiful gaze actually couldn't make him move. She wouldn't have the heart to let him be in pain like that.
"It's blushing, Ave."
Where? You tricked me?" Avery asked as he flipped through Michiel's fine hand.
"Mrs. Thompson, I deceived you!"
Suddenly Michiel kissed her lips lightly while screaming excitedly away from Avery. Avery who realized her stupidity immediately ran after Michiel, who had already disappeared from the kitchen. She had to find that damn man!
"Michiel! You damn! I will not forgive you." shouted Avery in his tinny voice. Meanwhile, Michiel seemed to be laughing satisfied in the backyard while giving Avery a mocking look.
"Catch me if you can, Ave."
"You childish!" shouted Avery from inside the house.
Michiel plunged into the pool swimming away from Avery. Meanwhile, Avery seemed grumpy by the pool because she couldn't catch Michiel. She can't swim!
"You sucks Michiel, I won't just let you go," shouted Avery irritably.
She desperately threw herself into the swimming pool which she thought would not be too deep. Even though she can't swim, she can still walk in the pool. So she thought she would do that to catch up with Michiel. But when she got into the water, she couldn't feel the bottom of the pool at her feet at all. In fact, over time the water drowns her body as light as cotton and makes her oxygen supply depleted. She tried to reach for the empty air above her head after she felt the pool water drowning her body. She could still faintly hear Michiel's panicked voice trying to lift her from the pool. But the amount of water that had entered her lungs made her stuffy and took away all of her consciousness. She thought she would die right now because her body felt like she was floating freely in the air.
"AVERY! AVERY THOMPSON! Wake up stupid! Avery!"
In a panic, Michiel led Avery to the edge of the pool, patting Avery's cheek, which looked pale. The red lips that used to say harshly had now turned a terrifying purplish blue. Several maids who saw the incident immediately rushed to the edge of the pool to watch the rescue action carried out by their young master.
"What is this?"
Seeing the noise coming from the swimming pool disturbed Edward from his afternoon nap and made the old man immediately approached the source of the commotion in the garden behind his house.
"Avery drowned," replied Michiel frantically while trying to provide first aid.
Michiel tries to do CPR on Avery to keep her heart rate from weakening. Then he started giving several mouth to mouth resuscitaion to release the amount of water that Avery had swallowed.
"Hurry up and call Doctor Frans! Avery is dying." Edward ordered frantically at his maids.
They all finally scrambled away to contact the family doctor and also prepare a room for Avery.
"Go go go... wake up."
Meanwhile Michiel is still trying to give Avery a mouth to mouth resuscitation. But there's no sign Avery will open her eyes yet. In fact, Avery's face now looked as white as a corpse with the same pale blue lips. Avery's current condition really scared him.
Suddenly Avery was coughing and releasing a lot of water that she had swallowed while drowning in the pool. Reflexively after the woman vomited water from her stomach, Avery immediately hit Michiel's neck tightly. She was crying in terror inside Michiel's comfortable neck.
"I'm afraid..." Avery said weakly. Michiel seemed to heave a sigh of relief as he stroked Avery's back gently.
"Calm down, I..."
"Avery! Is Avery all right. "
Suddenly Andrew came and rushed straight at Avery. Seeing her husband had returned, Avery reflexively released his embrace on Michiel and turned to Andrew, who immediately picked up her wet body to change clothes.
"Andrew... I'm afraid." Avery cried in Andrew's arms. Seeing that Michiel just stared at her while laughing at himself who looked like an idiot.
"Quickly change your clothes, you can get sick with wet clothes like that."
Edward suddenly came over, patting his shoulder gently. The sad look of his old eyes made Michiel feel touched for the first time. This was the first time that grandpa had looked at her with a shady gaze that was so soothing for her.
"Yes, I will change my clothes now. Thank you, grandpa. "
-00-
That evening the entire Thompsons continued to have dinner together like what Avery had planned. Even though the woman had just had a terrible incident this afternoon, it didn't dampen her intention to continue the small party she had prepared to celebrate her and Michiel's improved relationship.
"Drew, how does that taste? Is that delicious? I cooked all this myself." said Avery enthusiastically to Andrew who was putting all the food that Avery had put on his plate.
"Taste good. You cook really well. It was like the chef's cooking in this house. I didn't know you were very good at cooking, Ave," said Andrew sincerely, ruffling Avery's hair softly.
Received praise from Andrew Avery's heart immediately flowered. This was her first experience cooking something for Andrew because so far her husband rarely ate at home. Or when her husband eats at home, she is so busy with hrt schedule that she never cooks anything for Andrew. In fact, Michiel always tasted all the results of her cooking when he was in Chicago.
"You're too busy, Drew, so you've never tasted how Avery cooks before. But she is really good at cooking, the taste of her cooking is the same as mom."
Avery looked at Michiel sincerely while whispering thanks for the man praising her.
"Mom? Ahh... I miss mom. Mom must be living happily up there. We should visit mom and dad's grave sometime," Andrew suggested, which immediately earned Avery an enthusiastic nod.
The four of them finally continued their meal in silence accompanied by the clinking sound of spoons and forks. The quiet atmosphere created between them was truly an atmosphere that was rare. Especially since Andrew married Avery, because Michiel and Avery had never gotten along all this time. There was always a small argument when they got together. But seeing the two of them had changed, made Andrew happy and relieved. Finally, his wife and brother did not argue with each other like they used to.
"By the way I'm curious, what made you guys suddenly decide to make up?" asked Andrew breaking the silence between them.
Michiel and Avery who were sitting opposite each other were only able to cast their confused glances at each other. There was no way they would tell Andrew the truth, because it would tantally destroy the marriage relationship between Andrew and Avery. Then? Finally it was Avery who took the initiative to answer.
"We now realize that we are both grown up, we can't keep fighting like kids. So now we decide to support each other."
Michiel just nodded slightly without intending to comment at all. If he could scream, he would scream now in front of his brother if he loved Avery. And if necessary he wanted to ask his brother's permission to marry Avery. Crazy! Yes he is crazy. But he felt it was better than his brother having Avery but not being able to make Avery happy. His bastard brother had tricked everyone with his angelic face that looked disgusting in his eyes.
"Oh, two days from now I'm going to Las Vegas, I have some business to finish there."
"Drew you have to take care of your health then, lately you look very busy," Avery commented worriedly.
"I am done."
Michiel suddenly got up from his chair and asked permission to go up first to his room. Seeing this, Avery almost threw a sentence of protest at Michiel because their dinner actually wasn't over. She had yet to open grandpa's finest wine that the head chef had prepared this afternoon. But seeing Michiel's dreadful looking flat stare made Avery stop herself from sending words of protest at the man. She knows that Michiel is not well, so she ends up letting Michiel go without finishing their dinner.