Thief of Heart: You Can't Run Away From Me

There would be a grand exhibition of diamonds held at the Grand Hotel at 9 p.m. today. It was about to begin, so the hall was already full of guests.

Despite that, the owner of those diamonds was in the presidential suite on the top floor. He stared deeply at the scene projected on the TV screen while swirling the champagne in his glass, seemingly enjoying his time to the fullest.

A predatory smile was gradually formed on his lips as he pondered about what kind of bad guys this blue diamond could attract.

In the corridor of the top floor

Minnie Gu smoothed out the wrinkles on the uniform she just stole from a hotel's waitress and then walked towards the presidential suite with a tray in her hands.

Five years ago, because of the cruel reality, she had to send her newborn child to Michael Lu. Considering his identity, she thought it'd be easy for him to bring the child up. However, she forgot that him being able to bring the child up didn't necessarily mean he could educate the child well.

"If a child doesn't behave well, he's probably pretending to be naughty. All you need to do is beat him up. He'll definitely change!" "What's the use of teachers? Can they be eaten?" "Only when you have money can you have friends. If you don't have money, you can only live a hard life with your poor family!"

Those were what he said in the variety shows he'd participated in. The more she watched those shows, the more dumbfounded she was. This was actually how her dear son had been educated by his biological dad! Thus, she decided to steal her son back and educate him herself.

Before she realized it, she already arrived in front of the presidential suite. She knocked on the door and said, "Room service! Sir, I've brought you the rose wine you ordered!"

Michael Lu opened the door and saw a woman in a waitress's uniform standing at the doorstep. He took a glance at the wine and then looked up and down at Minnie Gu with a faint smile.

Everyone in S City knew that he was allergic to wine and only drank champagne. He wondered which idiot was so impatient they took action before the exhibition started. They even assigned the job to such an amateur woman at that.

Weren't they afraid that he'd mistreat this beautiful woman?

"The rose wine I ordered?" Michael took a sip of his champagne with a faint smile.

"Yes!" Minnie winked at Michael flirtatiously. "My name is Rose. This is the wine!"

He had to admit-this was a nice trick! He originally thought she had poor acting skill, but her purpose turned out to be seducing him!

Wasn't she afraid he'd sleep with her and then ghost her?

"Why don't you let me in first?" Minnie pouted coquettishly and walked into the room. Her hips swayed along the way.

An evil glint flashed through Michael's eyes. Since she had taken the initiative, it'd be a waste of her kindness if he refused.

"How about we have some drinks first?" Minnie asked.

"No, thanks. I prefer to do the deed when I'm sober." Michael took the glass of wine Minnie offered and put it aside. The change in her eyes naturally didn't escape his notice. He then used one of his hands to raise her chin, while his other hand roamed about her body.

'Good! She didn't take any weapons with her!'

"Please wait... I want to take a shower first." Minnie caught his roaming hand.

"It's all the same whether you take a shower first or not. I don't mind." Michael pushed Minnie towards the bed and climbed on top of her. Just as he had expected, the little seducer seemed flustered by his action.

Since she dared to play tricks on him, she shouldn't blame him for being ruthless.

"Don't be too impatient... The night is still long. We..." Minnie struggled, but she suddenly felt something cold clasping her left wrist. The damn man had handcuffed her!

"What are you doing?"

"It'll be more interesting this way."

'Damn it!' Minnie cursed in her heart. Why didn't she know Michael had such a fetish? She nervously looked around. At this moment, she finally noticed the handcuffs and the shackles stretching out from the four bedposts!

Michael smiled confidently. It was as if everything was under his control.

All of a sudden, however, his expression changed. He looked at Minnie in disbelief and soon fell limp on her body.

"How could this be? I didn't touch your wine!" he asked hoarsely, completely baffled as to how he still got drugged.

Minnie pushed his body away. "Mr. Lu, I've heard that you're a very cautious man. You'd definitely frisk every suspicious person who came to you, so I didn't put the drug in the wine, but on my clothes...

The wine was just a feint, a deliberate flaw in my action! If I didn't let you think you'd successfully seen through my plan, how could I've succeeded so easily?"

While his consciousness was getting blurrier and blurrier, he couldn't help but begrudgingly admire the woman's cunningness.

"Please have a good rest tonight, Mr. Lu!" Minnie blew him a kiss. As she had expected, Michael couldn't hold on any longer. He fell asleep with his head askew in a mere few seconds. The victory in her gaze faded and turned into an open longing. Bitter tears soon filled her eyes. She missed this damn man so much!

Unfortunately, she didn't have the privilege to get emotional now. She quickly composed herself, took out a bobby pin from her hair, and used it to unlock the handcuff around her wrist.

"Michael, I love you..." Upon giving Michael a goodbye peck on the corner of his mouth, Minnie withdrew from the room. Like a cat, she jumped off the balcony, going all the way down from one balcony to another.

At this moment, the hotel's ballroom where the exhibition was held was already full of people. They all focused their attention on the huge, blue diamond placed in the center of the exhibition stand. Under the lights in the ballroom, the diamond seemed to look even more dazzling.

Minnie ducked out of everyone's sight and tried to flee the garden without being seen by anyone. In midway, however, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her eyes glinted in the dark. From the distance, she'd spotted a female guest strolling around the garden. Thus, she swiftly changed her direction, sneaking up on the oblivious woman as fast and as quietly as a cat. She then hit the back of her neck at the first chance she got, knocking her out cold in an instant. Although she felt slightly apologetic to her unconscious victim, she still dragged her into the shrubberies nearby and swapped their clothes.

Minnie, who was now in that woman's dress, confidently walked through the garden. The night breezes blew from time to time, causing her to shiver from the cold. She couldn't help but purse her lips when she recalled how exposed her cleavage and back were in this dress. With obvious disgust in her gaze, she pulled the dress up, trying to cover up more. Her attempt ended up in vain for after walking a couple of steps, her dress slipped down again. It was almost as if it was challenging her. It was indeed frustrating, but she had no choice. To get into the exhibition, she had to either put this dress on or find another guest's dress, which was both time consuming and risky.

When Minnie walked through the back door of the ballroom, her wristband beeped, and she passed safely into the exhibition. A sly smile emerged on her face, but she soon held it back and put on an indifferent expression. She walked into the crowd calmly, wondering if her child had come or not. According to what she heard, her child would also attend the diamond exhibition tonight, but she didn't know at what time he'd come.

As she looked around searching for her child, she saw a scene that petrified her.

The man, who should be sleeping in the presidential suite, was also here, totally conscious, surrounded by a group of sharply-dressed top executives and heavyweights of the business world. She really didn't understand. How could he wake up so soon?

In any case, the situation had changed.

Should she quit the operation? But she wasn't reconciled! She'd prepared for today for such a long time. Now was the best chance she'd probably ever have. If she failed, Michael would protect her child even more tightly, and she'd have an even smaller chance of getting him back.

A sudden commotion in the ballroom snapped Minnie out of her thoughts.

Crash!

"AH!!!"

Loud crashing noise and a shrill shriek rang out successively. The champagne tower arranged on a table situated at the right side of the hall had collapsed. An intelligent-looking little boy wearing rollerblades was laughing out loud, pointing at the fat woman lying among the glass shards. "You fatty! You're really courting death! How dare you pat my face?!"

"Help! Help! Help!" the woman shouted at the top of her lungs. Her thin evening dress simply couldn't protect her from the sharp glass shards. The woman lay on the floor and screamed. Luckily, it didn't take long for the security to arrive on the scene, and the woman was soon carried away by the medics.

Michael quickly swept his gaze over the mess. A cold, ruthless glint flashed across his eyes. He strode towards the boy and asked gravely, "What did you do?"

"She patted my face. What if she accidentally scratches me?" Bruce Lu stared at Michael and blinked his eyes innocently. He looked as beautiful as a little angel, but his words were unscrupulous and remorseless.

"Did you not know that you'd injure her by pushing her down? Fortunately, there was no one else around this champagne tower. If it collapsed and fell on someone, they'd lose their life!"

"So what? Daddy, you just need to compensate them for it. We have a lot of money anyway!" Almost all the guests drew a sharp breath. It was really terrifying to hear such arrogant, ignorant words coming from the mouth of a five-year-old kid.

"Shut up! Go and apologize to Ms. Sun!"

"No, I won't!" Bruce shook his head, took out a platinum card from his pocket, and threw it on the floor. He raised his head and looked at the guests around arrogantly. "I'll pay for her medical expenses. I have a lot of money..."

"Oh my God! Such a presumptuous child!"

"What a troublemaker!"

"How could an excellent man like Mr. Lu have such a son? The child's upbringing is really... Tsk, tsk, in the future, he'll definitely bankrupt the Lu Group if he's set as the successor!"

"Can he take over the Lu Group? With his presumptuous, arrogant nature, even whether he can grow up or not is still debatable..." the man whispered and exchanged glances with the guests beside him, hinting that with his current temperament, Bruce might not survive into adulthood.

Minnie stared at the little boy standing next to Michael from afar. The whispers of the guests around echoed in her mind. All of a sudden, she felt like she was engulfed in helplessness. Her son was angelic in terms of appearance but devilish in character.

Was this really their child?

When she saw the media reporting him as arrogant and domineering, she thought they were exaggerating. She thought they must've set the bar too high and expected too much from him because he was Michael's son, so when he failed to meet the standard they set, they'd inevitably be disappointed in him and talk bad about him.

Now, it seemed that the media still tried to leave Michael with some dignity. They'd really been very euphemistic!

Compared with how he was in the news, the real Bruce was even far more arrogant. He was rude, arrogant, cruel, and indifferent towards life.

In short, he was an obnoxious little turd through and through.

"Bruce!" Michael finally lost his temper. He glared at his son and raised his hand. Before the slap could land, however, Bruce suddenly sobbed so fiercely that his shoulders were all shaking. Before long, his sobs turned into full-blown tragic cries. Tears were streaming down his face. Taking advantage of Michael's stunned state, Bruce pounced on him and hugged his hand.

"Daddy! Please don't hit me. It'll hurt! If you don't like me anymore, I'll die and go to the underworld to find Mommy!"

Michael's raised hand trembled. He stared at his son's face, which was exactly the same as Minnie's, heaved a tired sigh, and weakly put down his hand.

"Mr. Sun, my son is naughty. Please forgive him. I'll pay for Ms. Sun's medical fee and compensate her for the psychological damage she suffered. Let's talk about cooperation in detail later!"

Minnie was really surprised that such an incident ended this easily. Did Michael always clean up after Bruce's mess like this? To say she was dumbfounded was an understatement. Instead of ending the matter like this, she'd rather he slapped Bruce and let Bruce understand his mistake.

Wasn't he quite cruel to her back then? How could he become so accommodating when he faced their child?

Soon afterward, Michael and Mr. Sun went out together, seemingly talking about business. Bruce gazed at his father's back and wiped his eyes. No trace of tears could be seen on his face.

He threw one last cheeky smile at the crowd watching him and then continued to skate around the ballroom. From time to time, he'd pull ribbons and balloons he passed. The guests were avoiding him like he was some sort of a plague, but he wasn't ashamed. In fact, he actually seemed complacent.

Minnie watched everything unfold before her eyes in silence. The more she watched, the more determined she was to steal the child back and personally discipline him.

Although she wasn't as powerful and influential as Michael, at the very least she wouldn't let her son grow up into a dreg of society that was avoided by everyone like a plague.

With that thought in mind, Minnie took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She stared at the blue diamond placed in the middle of the ballroom and stealthily inched closer to it, ready to launch the hidden weapon in her wristband.

Bang!

"Ouch!"

The huge crystal chandelier in the middle of the hall suddenly fell. The guests standing under it were almost crushed under its weight. Chaos broke out in the ballroom. People were running all over the place, screaming in panic.

'What's going on?' Minnie was shocked. Everything had turned chaotic before she could make her move. Minnie glanced at the hidden weapon in her wristband that she hadn't launched yet.

She couldn't fathom the unexpected turn of events, but the situation had turned to her advantage. She decided to make use of it.

Minnie peered through the crowd in search of her child. Screams and cries pervaded the air, but she couldn't find Bruce. Panic surged in her veins.

She wondered if the crystal chandelier had crashed on him.

Minnie saw the chandelier tumbling and crashing in a different place. However, that didn't stop her from worrying. Countless thoughts inhabited her agitated mind. She ran to the spot where the chandelier had fallen to confirm if her child was there. In the process, she helped move away two guests who were hurt by the fallen chandelier.

'Oh my god! The bodyguards of the Lu family are here! The police have come as well. I'm trapped.'

Minnie's heart leaped to her throat when she heard the familiar sound of footsteps. She abandoned her searching spree and ran out of the place. But the moment she stepped out of the ballroom, a strong beam of light blinded her vision. Someone had pressed a gun against her head.

"Mr. Lu, I found her!" The cold metal of the gun sent a shiver down her spine.

"Ah! We meet again!" Michael leaned against the leather chair lazily as he raked his eyes across the woman's body.

Earlier in the presidential suit, he believed that Minnie was just a beauty without brains, but didn't know that he'd fall into her trap. There was something about her that seemed to captivate his interest.

She had an ordinary face with thick eyebrows. Her small nose and ruddy lips somehow made her look prettier. She looked like just another woman whom no one would notice in a crowd. But her dazzling eyes arrested Michael on the spot; he could see the raging storm beneath those sparkling orbs.

The emotions he hadn't felt in a long time surged in his heart when their eyes locked for a moment. Michael snapped out of his trance; his face turned cold as a mocking smile crept on his lips. 'She is just another woman whose eyes look like hers.'

Michael had captured all kinds of women who resembled his beloved woman in the last few years. Although some of them reminded him of her, no one could replace her. His life would return to normal once he fed his lust.

A flash of rage crossed Michael's eyes before his face broke into a lopsided grin. He rubbed his chin and looked at her wantonly. Minnie's face reddened as she followed his gaze.

The straps of her evening dress had slid down, revealing her milky skin because she had run at full pelt. Minnie glared at the man as she lifted the straps angrily.

"How dare you sneak into my place? I have a simple method of dealing with thieves like you." Michael gestured cutting her hand. "But I'm leaving the choice to you. Do you want me to cut your left hand or right hand?"

Minnie's eyes widened in shock. The man had assumed that she was a thief. But she hadn't even laid her fingers on anything that belonged to him.

Minnie felt so frustrated. Obviously, she wasn't the only one who had attended the exhibition with a special purpose. She had come only to find Bruce. As for the other party, she guessed that they were here for the blue diamond.

Michael wondered why the feisty woman had suddenly become silent.

He leaned forward and pressed the button beside the table. Minnie's every movement, from breaking into the garden, knocking the woman off, to sneaking into the ballroom, and making the chandelier shatter, reflected on the opposite wall.

The blood on Minnie's face drained in an instant. She didn't expect that her every movement was under Michael's watch from the beginning.

"Do you have an explanation for all this?" Michael asked, waving his hand at the wall that revealed her dramatic entry.

Minnie was innocent. However, the footage seemed to convey a different story. Her mind began to race as she wondered what to do next. The surveillance camera had been monitoring her the entire time, ignoring the other people who had come with a purpose. She had ended up becoming the scapegoat. Minnie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The other party must have already escaped while she was being caught by Michael's men.

"I am not a thief! I didn't steal anything." She threw her bag to Michael and gestured him to check it.

The man, however, ignored the bag. His burning gaze was fixed on Minnie's satin dress as if he were trying to see what lay beneath it.

Minnie hugged herself and began to squirm on the spot. 'Does he think that I'm hiding it in my dress?' she mused.

Michael snapped his fingers, gesturing for the bodyguards to assemble. "Check if she is hiding anything in her dress.''

The bodyguards surrounded Minnie. Two of them grabbed her hands, while the other squatted in front of her and held her thighs.

"Fuck off!" Minnie kicked the man in the front and shoved the two guards beside her. Her bravery surprised the men; they had no time to react.

"Mr. Lu, the police found Ms. Tang's body lying in the garden. She's dead. They are coming in to investigate the case," the security guards announced as they rushed in.

Minnie froze on the spot. She didn't kill anyone, but Ms. Tang's death would put her in danger.

Minnie turned to look at Michael. The man was eyeing her with suspicion. She could sense what he was thinking. The man doubted that she killed Ms. Tang and discarded her body in the garden.

"I thought you were just a thief but didn't expect that you'd kill someone for money," he remarked, grinning mischievously.

"I did not! You just watched the video. I only knocked her out, but didn't kill her," Minnie explained.

"Video? What video?" Michael smiled sardonically and pressed a button. The screen turned black in an instant.

He had deleted the video. The man had destroyed the only evidence that proved her innocence.

Minnie studied Michael's face and understood what the man was thinking. There was a murder at the party conducted by the Lu family. The police would take her away to close the case. They wouldn't believe her even if she explained because there was no proof or evidence to support her statement. Taking her to custody would be the best solution of the case for both the Lu family and the police.

"Please, don't do this. Don't hand me over to the police," Minnie grabbed Michael's shirt and pleaded.

"Why not?" He smirked, but his smile froze as soon as she pressed her lips against his.

His heart took a sprint; his mind went blank as their bodies rubbed together.

Michael wondered if this was a trap again. 'Is the woman overconfident, or has she underestimated me?' Anger rose in his heart.

No woman had dared to kiss his lips in the past years, but this woman had kissed him without thinking.

A wave of incomprehensible emotions crushed him.

Michael snorted angrily and clutched Minnie's neck. "How dare you! Are you not afraid of dying?" The ferocity of his gaze sent a shiver down her spine.

However, Minnie summoned the strength to face him. She straightened her back and stared into the man's eyes. "You are going to hand me over to the police regardless of how much I beg and plead. I'm going to die sooner or later. What have I got to lose?"

Her body had turned jelly. Everything seemed unreal; she felt as if she were floating in midair. Panic had settled in her heart, but she was determined to fight him.

In fact, Minnie was trying her luck. Michael was an arrogant man. She knew what she did would infuriate him to the point that he would want to keep the enemy under his control. This way, he would not hand her over to the police but torture her himself.

The two of them stared at each other in silence. 'Did I fail?' thought she. Five years had passed, and perhaps Michael was no longer the person Minnie thought him to be. Her heart sank at the sight of him.

The sound of faint laughter snapped Minnie from her reverie. Her heart began to race in her chest as Michael placed his finger under her chin, lifting her head. His gaze raked across her face before settling on her bright eyes, which seemed like an endless abyss, trying to suck him in.

"Okay, I can protect you this time, but under one condition."

"What condition?"

"Does that even matter? After all, this is the only way to save yourself." Michael glanced at her flushed face and continued, "Well, it's simple. I want you to stay with me for a month."

Minnie's jaw dropped in shock. "A month?"

"What's the matter? Is that not enough? Unfortunately, I get bored with women in a couple of days. But I'm giving you one month's time. It's a big deal, you know." Michael thrust his hands into his pockets and walked out of the room. Just before stepping out of the room, he turned back. "Wait here. I will be back soon."

His cockiness and arrogance infuriated Minnie. She bit her lip and glared at him as he left the place. She just wanted to know what if he refused to let her go after one month. But the man didn't give her a chance to speak and even misunderstood her.

Minnie didn't know how Michael had solved the problem, but his subordinates took her back to the villa. She was glad to have escaped from the police.

The crystal chandelier illuminated every corner of the hall of the villa. The white table was covered with a silky table cloth that had rose patterns strewn across its length and tassels hanging on its edges. The succulent rose flowers on the vase added a charm to the place. The luxurious Persian wool carpet sprawled across the floor added a cozy effect to the place.

The place hadn't changed since she left. Minnie sauntered across the hallway as memories of the past flooded her mind. She walked to the porch and stretched her hand to touch the oil painting.

"Stop!" Michael slapped her hand away before her fingers touched the delicate material of the painting. "You have no right to touch that!" he barked before adjusting the position of the frame.

"You can't touch anything in this house. Even an entire lifetime wouldn't make up for the losses if you ruin any of these by accident."

"It's just an oil painting by an amateur, not a masterpiece. Why are you making a big deal out of nothing?" Minnie rolled her eyes in annoyance. The next second, she lowered her head to hide the emotions in her eyes.

She had given the portrait to Michael when they were together. However, he remarked that it looked ugly and threw it into the trash can. Minnie was surprised to find the painting hanging there now.

"Go upstairs, take a shower, and wait for me!" Michael ordered, pointing at the second floor.

Minnie's body froze; she stared at the man with wide eyes. "What's wrong?" he scoffed. "Did you think I asked you to stay with me so that I could chat with you whenever I got bored?"

'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.