Chapter 261
Michael didn’t respond to Winnie’s earlier words.
Instead, he said calmly, “I’ll take you home. I’ll also explain what happened today to Mr. Olson. You won’t receive any complaints.”
Winnie paused.
Just slightly.
The tension in her expression eased by a fraction, though she didn’t say anything.
The rest of the drive was quiet.
Too quiet.
Winnie kept stealing glances at him as he drove. Now and then, he flexed his fingers on the steering wheel, his other hand briefly brushing his arm as if testing discomfort.
She remembered it clearly—the moment he had blocked the cabinet for her.
The impact hadn’t sounded loud.
But it hadn’t been light either.
Words formed on her tongue several times.
She didn’t say them.
Why should she care?
It wasn’t her injury.
Michael had always been like that—choosing to interfere, choosing to step in, as if consequences didn’t apply to him. A small injury wouldn’t kill him. And she wasn’t exactly someone known for compassion either.
So she stayed silent.
But then Michael suddenly pulled over.
A 24-hour pharmacy.
Winnie watched as he got out of the car, her brows tightening slightly.
Was it that bad?
He didn’t look like he was in critical condition earlier…
A few minutes later, he returned.
Winnie immediately turned her face away, pretending she hadn’t been watching.
“Here.”
She froze.
In his hand was not a bandage.
Not painkillers.
A hangover remedy.
Winnie blinked.
“…I’m fine,” she said, softer than she intended.
Something in her chest tightened in a way she didn’t like.
He wasn’t buying medicine for himself.
He was thinking about her.
Michael glanced at her briefly. “You already threw up. It’s still better to take it.”
Winnie’s gaze dropped.
Only then did she notice his shirt again—the one she had ruined earlier.
A faint discomfort flickered through her.
“I’ll replace your shirt,” she said. “And if Lindsay causes trouble—”
“You didn’t hear me?”
Michael interrupted her flatly.
“I already ended the engagement.”
The words were simple.
Final.
No explanation attached.
Winnie hesitated.
Then exhaled.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said after a moment. “Lindsay isn’t simple. You won’t be able to control her. It’s better to cut things off early before it becomes a bigger problem.”
Michael’s eyes flicked toward her briefly.
“I don’t need you deciding who I should be with,” he said.
Cold.
Direct.
Winnie scoffed lightly, looking away.
“Fine. Forget I said anything.”
Silence returned.
By the time they reached the Olson villa, Michael didn’t drive further in. He stopped at the gate, engine still running, for a moment before he turned it off completely.
Winnie stiffened slightly.
He had something to say.
She could feel it.
After a pause, Michael asked, “Why are you working at the store?”
Winnie blinked once.
“I…” She hesitated. “Didn’t you already know? That’s why you brought your fiancée there today.”
Michael’s gaze didn’t shift.
“Was it Veronica?” he asked. “Did she make things difficult for you?”
A pause.
“Or did you get into trouble again and get punished for it?”
His tone had changed.
Less cold.
More direct.
Almost… familiar.
Winnie almost defaulted to her usual response.
None of your business.
It was what she always said.
What she was supposed to say.
But somehow, she didn’t.
The quiet between them felt different now. Less hostile. More… fragile.
If she answered as before, this moment would end.
And for some reason, she didn’t want it to.
“I can’t pass the annual evaluations,” she said finally.
Her voice was steady.
Too steady.
“I’m already twenty-four. If I don’t get out of the Olson family soon, I’ll be stuck there indefinitely.”
She tilted her head slightly, as if minimizing it.
As if it didn’t matter.
But it did.
Michael didn’t interrupt.
He simply listened.
Winnie continued, more quietly now, “The foundation evaluates me every year. If I fail, I stay under their control. If I leave without approval, I lose my inheritance.”
A pause.
“My mother’s assets… everything is held by the Olson family.”
Michael’s expression darkened slightly.
He already knew parts of it.
The inheritance structure.
The conditions tied to her mother’s estate.
The control disguised as protection.
What he didn’t know was the exact requirements of the evaluation.
And Winnie didn’t say.
Not fully.
She leaned back slightly in her seat, eyes drifting toward the darkened road outside.
“I just need to pass,” she said softly. “Then I can leave.”
A brief silence settled between them.
And for the first time that night, neither of them had a sharp word ready.