Chapter 3 He Was Out Of Control

'What a heartless man!' Minnie cursed in her heart as she angrily stomped on the wooden stairs with her high heels, venting her anger.

Michael's bedroom was still painted in black. The colorful blotches on the wall added life to the dull room. She wondered if Bruce had painted them.

Minnie had come to take her son, but Michael had unexpectedly forced her to stay with him. This was indeed a blessing in disguise.

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she walked to the bathroom.

"Mommy is the best in the world..." The ringtone of the phone brought Minnie back to her senses. She stretched her hand and reached for the phone on the small table beside the bathtub. "Hello?"

"X, you are finally here," said an eerie voice, which sounded like a venomous snake, hissing in the dark, waiting to pounce on its prey.

Minnie's heart leaped to her throat. 'Is it the old man?'

She closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm her tense nerves.

Minnie had disappeared for five years; she was no longer the person she used to be. Even Michael couldn't recognize her, but how did the old man identify her? She believed that this was only a test.

Minnie had spent all her life repaying him for raising her. She had stolen the heirloom of the Lu family; her face and vocal cord were ruined in the process. According to their agreement, she should have quit the organization after completing the task. She wondered what the old man wanted from her.

"What? What X? Who are you? Have you lost your mind?" Minnie retorted. "Check if you have dialed the right number before calling someone." She pressed the phone to her chest and said, "Honey, I'll take a shower and come soon. Wait for me!"

she said in a flattering tone before pressing her phone back to her ear. "Don't waste my time. It is annoying!"

Minnie hung up the call and threw the phone on the table. Her body began to tremble. She hugged herself and sank into the bathtub. Even the hot water couldn't warm her body.

The old man glanced at his phone in shock. His vicious eyes stared into the distance. "It's her, isn't she?" he muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, the incessant knock at the door brought Minnie back to her senses. She shivered as the water had turned cold.

"I am coming!" She wrapped herself tightly in a bathrobe and opened the door. Michael raked his eyes across her body and sneered distastefully. "Why bother covering yourself? Take it off!"

"You..." Minnie's face flushed with embarrassment.

"What? Are you waiting for me to rip your bathrobe apart?"

Minnie swallowed loudly. The white bathrobe slid down from her shoulders, revealing her plump skin. The sweet fragrance of her body wash wafted in the air. Michael's eyes widened as his gaze settled on the scar on her stomach. He sprang to his feet and glared at her.

"What happened?"

Minnie bit her lip nervously and followed his gaze. He was staring at the cesarean scar she got when she had given birth to Bruce. Although it had faded over the years, Michael could still see the faint scar on her tender skin.

"Are you looking at my scar?" she asked, forcing a smile. "Well, I had fallen off the tree when I was a child. A branch pierced through my stomach, leaving a permanent scar on my skin."

"Oh, really?" Michael scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest. 'What a liar! The stretch mark on her stomach is still evident.' The raging passion subsided as soon as he realized that she had given birth to a child.

"So do you mean you are still a virgin?" Michael asked, arching an eyebrow.

Unable to stand the man's inquisitive gaze, Minnie dropped her gaze to the floor. 'I can be a virgin if you want, but I'm not prepared for it today, ' she mused. She could fake everything and make Michael believe that she was still a virgin if she had known his plans earlier.

"I'm not interested in sleeping with a woman who has already slept with other men. Did you think that I would want to have sex with you despite knowing that you were abandoned by another man?" Anger surged through his veins; he felt cheated. What a waste that such a woman had that pair of beautiful eyes! Michael scowled at Minnie and grabbed his phone to call the police. "Hello, Director Zhang?"

"No!" Minnie squealed in shock. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life in jail. Minnie knew that he would threaten her sooner or later.

She pounced on Michael, trying to grab his phone. However, the man lifted his hand beyond her reach and stepped back. Minnie's hand slid down Michael's waist and accidentally landed on his groin.

Instantly, a subtle blush painted her cheeks.

Michael was fuming with rage. "Let me go!" he bellowed.

"I won't leave you unless you hang up the call," Minnie bargained.

"You shameless woman!" Michael's face reddened with rage. No one had tried arguing with him before. His hatred for the woman intensified. He wanted to turn her life into a living hell.

Minnie wasn't ashamed of pleading. Begging him was better than spending the rest of her life in jail. "No, I will not leave you! Hang up the call right now."

"Stop it! I will do whatever I want. You have no right to bargain with me."

"Well... How about now? Can I bargain with you now?" Minnie said fearlessly and pursed her lips smugly, despite seeing the blue vein on his forehead.

"Seems like you are not afraid of dying." Michael frowned. "Fine. I'll hang up."

Minnie jumped away as soon as he hung up the call. However, the man was fast; she couldn't escape from him.

Minnie's head began to spin as she fell on the carpet with a heavy thud. Before she could react, Michael rolled her, wrapping the carpet around her body.

"Michael, let go of me!" She struggled. Her body was arrested in place; she couldn't move an inch.

"Why don't you try and run away from me?" An evil grin crept on Michael's face as he walked towards her. Minnie's heart raced with every step he kept towards her.

"Hey... Stop! What are you doing?"

Minnie squealed as he effortlessly tied the carpet with a rope. He then lifted her, threw her on his shoulder, and went to the terrace on the roof.

"Let's have a heartfelt conversation. You don't want to be a murderer, do you?" she yelled. "Michael, you are a powerful man! You will get into trouble if you kill me. You shouldn't break the law."

Although it was a cloudless June night, the air was still cold. Her damp hair, sticking on her cheeks, made her shiver.

"No. Please..." she kept begging. 'I don't fear death, but I certainly don't deserve to die this way. My bones will shatter to pieces if he throws me down.'

Minnie looked down and saw the dense rose bushes sprawled across the garden. The thorns would sting every inch of her body, making her bleed all over. She shuddered at the thought and looked at the angry man, who was staring at her.

"Michael, I apologize for offending you. Please hand me over to the police."

"Are you sure?" Michael cast a scornful glance at her. For a moment, he had believed that Minnie was fearless. However, everything was just a facade.

"It's too late. You should have thought clearly before thinking of offending me."

Minnie felt her body leap forward. Her lungs constricted. Michael's sardonic smile was the last image in her mind before dying.

Minnie still had a lot of things to do. She was going to die before fulfilling her wishes. She hadn't let Bruce know that she was his mother yet. Michael didn't know that she was his wife. But worst of all, Minnie was going to die a gruesome death.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. It was just a matter of minutes before her life parted this world.

Minnie felt her body move swiftly. She slowly opened her eyes and realized that Michael had pulled her back. Her legs in the carpet grew wobbly; she sank to the ground in fear.

"What happened? Are you scared?" Michael squatted down beside her and lifted her face with his fingers. Her frightened face gave him indescribable joy.

'This woman is such a great actress! How dare she pull her nasty tricks on me? I have overestimated her. Everything had been an act to draw my attention.

All women are the same!' thought he.

Minnie clenched her fists under the carpet. The man was smirking at her, enjoying his prank. But she was still shaking with fear; she had believed that it was the last day of her life.

Michael thought that Minnie was a coward. He didn't know that the woman wasn't afraid of death, but feared departing the world without spending her days with her son and the love of her life.

"I'm not afraid!" Minnie sniffed loudly and glared at him.

"Really? Aren't you afraid?" He trailed his fingers across her cheeks. Big tears dropped on his palm, proving her cowardice.

"I heard that tears wouldn't flow out of the eyes if one stood upside down. But I guess I was lied to." Minnie wiped her tears and looked away.

Her words made Michael stunned for a moment. A conversation from the past echoed in his mind. "Michael, do you know? Hanazawa Rui, a male character in a drama, once told the female lead to stand upside down if she wanted to cry. He said the tears wouldn't flow out this way."

"What nonsense? Don't listen to these idiots! You are my woman. I'll make sure you don't have a reason to cry. I will shower you with all the happiness in the world."

Michael's heart began to race. He shook his head, trying to forget the memories of the woman who ruled his heart. "You are stubborn, no doubt," he said, snapping out of the trance. "But I have plenty of ways to torture you."

Minnie saw the sparkle in his eyes. The man had looked at her the same way before. Their game had begun; she wasn't ready to lose this time.

Minnie pursed her lips and studied his face. Before Michael could make his next move, she shoved him away with all her might. The man yelped in shock as he stumbled back. Taking advantage of the distraction, she freed herself from the carpet.

"Damn it! Do you still want to run away?" Michael hissed through his teeth and ran after her.

"All right. Run as far as your legs can carry you, but you will have to stop at the dead end." Michael followed her and saw the woman disappear in the blink of an eye.

"Where are you hiding? You can't hide there forever. I'll find you sooner or later." He stalked across the empty corridor in search of Minnie.