The Miracle of You

“What did you see?” he asked.

Joanna was silent for a moment.

“You’re in love with a woman who’s already engaged to another man?” she finally asked.

Michael stopped moving, and his hand gripping the phone tightened.

He already knew about it, but why did it hurt even more when it was said out loud by someone else?

He knew that they would announce it one day, but the timing seemed uncanny. It was interesting how Grady managed to find it out before the official news.

“When I saw it, I was quite surprised,” Joanna continued on. “I never expected such a timing. Wasn’t she the same girl that you mentioned years back?”

Michael blinked. “The same girl?” he repeated. He didn’t recall ever mentioning Hailey’s name to his sister before.

“When you asked me at that time to help you learn about the business,” she clarified. “To become capable enough to join the company and start learning the necessary skills. You told me that you were doing it for someone. For your friend.” He could hear the faintest sound of amusement on her end. “And don’t think that I didn’t know about your friendship with a girl back when you were in high school. You being a rebellious loner wasn’t exactly a secret, and I also wasn’t blind.”

Michael fell into a stunned silence.

What surprised him more was that she cared enough to pay attention to such small details.

Admittedly, deep down, it was kind of nice to talk to her like this. To have a normal conversation where they weren’t at each other’s throats. It was a peaceful moment without her roasting him or being irritated all the time.

For a moment, he wondered. Did she really hate him as much as he thought all this time? Had he been completely mistaken about her personality?

But then why was she always so angry with him? What exactly was the cause?Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Was it jealousy from their childhood that carried over into adulthood, or was it something else that he was completely unaware of?

Why did they always fight? Why were they always at odds with each other?

Confusion began to cloud his mind. The recent revelation that he had just learned about Camille made his head hurt, but now his relationship with Joanna seemed to be taking a significant turn, something he hadn’t expected at all.

“Yes…” he finally answered after a pause. “You’re right.”

There was another beat of silence between them before Joanna quickly broke it.

“Well?” she said.

“Well what?” he asked.

“What are you going to do about it?”

He blinked. “What do you mean?”

“You’re not going to do anything?” He could sense a frown on her face judging from the tone of her voice. It seemed like she disapproved.

“Why should I do something about it?” he asked quizzically.

“You’re not going to fight for her? For the woman that you love? Why not?”

“Don’t you know the identity of the man that she’s engaged to? It’s just not possible. Also,” he added quietly. “I don’t want to bring chaos into her life.”

She let out a light huff. “Who said that you’d only bring her trouble? Why are you giving up so easily?”

Michael sighed softly. “What do you suppose I should do, then?”

There was a bit of silence before Joanna finally answered, “Well, it’s your choice. If you don’t want to do anything, then I can’t force you.”

He did not know how to respond to that. “Okay,” he said simply.

After saying their curt goodbyes, Michael ended the call and stared into empty space.

He did not know what to make of that conversation just now. There were too many things to take into account, and he wasn’t mentally ready to process them all yet.

But although it was strange, it felt a little relieving at the same time. It felt nice to have someone to talk to about this.

Of course, he had Grady, but no one else. And he did not want to tell his father, of all people.

His mother was also out of the question. She would probably feel conflicted since she was submissive to her husband most of the time, and she found it difficult to ‘take sides’ in her family.

Will was a good option, but he was always busy these days, and Michael didn’t want to bother him with trivial matters.

He also felt bad because Will had always been nice and considerate to him. He was the only one in the family Michael had a good relationship with.

Michael just wasn’t the type to talk about his personal affairs because it was his own problem and he didn’t feel the need to involve his family in it.

If his father found out, he would definitely scold Michael for being so weak-willed and would also be furious at him for coveting another man’s fiancee.

“What do you think?” Michael suddenly asked aloud, his expression not betraying any emotion. “Isn’t this the kind of situation where I should just stay still and keep living my life normally?”

Grady, who had been in the office the entire time, looked at him. “Are you considering taking your sister’s advice?” he asked carefully.

Michael shook his head. “I’ll just keep my distance. That’s what I think is the best thing to do.”

He had thought about it all week and decided that it was better not to do anything at the moment. He still didn’t know much about the situation, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“If I may say something, Mr. McGregor…” Grady suddenly said.

Michael nodded wearily. His heart was in turmoil. He would rather just listen to people’s advice right now than try to come up with a solution himself. “Feel free to tell me anything.”

“Like I mentioned before, why don’t you rely on your family?” Grady suggested politely. “Maybe talking to them will help. I don’t think it’s good for you to keep your feelings bottled up inside. Personally, I think you need to rely on someone you trust. Then, you can make your decision afterwards.”