Sarah’s face stiffened, her guilty conscience showing. She gently pulled my hand, softly wiping away the blood with a tissue.
“Michael, please be more careful next time. Don’t make me worry.”
She pressed a kiss on the back of my hand, as though she truly loved me.
“Are you feeling bored? Well, there’s nothing we can do—this cocktail party is full of international guests, so they can only speak French. Let’s just wait a little longer, then we’ll head home, alright?”
I nodded absentmindedly, my whole body weighed down in misery.
So that was it—they mocked me so boldly only because they thought I didn’t understand French.
“Relax, Sarah! I checked into Michael Adams. He only graduated from some ordinary college, his English isn’t even good, never studied abroad, and he grew up poor. Apart from being tall and handsome, he has no redeeming qualities.”
“I don’t get why you’re so obsessed with him. If it were me, I’d have dumped him ages ago.”
“Why not just train with Daniel in the art of secrets, ha!”
“I think this isn’t fair—Michael treats us well.”
“Fair? That’s not what Sarah wants. She wants something else in bed, ha!”
Everyone chuckled quietly. I felt like a clown stripped bare, exposed to their ridicule, squirming in humiliation.
“By the way, isn’t Michael smaller than Daniel down there?”
“If that’s true, then what a waste of his tall, muscular frame. Useless.”
Sarah smirked proudly. “Not at all. They’re the same size.”
“I just didn’t want to ruin the pure image Michael has of me. That’s why I went for the mixed-blood thrill of Daniel.”
Daniel drained his wine glass and leaned in to tempt Sarah.
“So, how about trying out a wine jacuzzi I’ve had prepared?”
“Let’s go—you’re already in the mood.”
I saw the flicker of desire rising in Sarah’s eyes.
It felt like a slap in the face—burning, humiliating.
They didn’t know that everything they thought about me was false.
I wasn’t some ordinary man. I was the heir of the Adams family in New York City. Not only could I understand French, but I was fluent in eight languages.
I had only just returned to the U.S. when I met Sarah, saving her from being harassed, and by chance, we became close.
My father, worried I lacked experience with women and could easily be deceived, had me conceal my true identity.
“Michael Adams, that useless waste, just sitting there while his wife is about to hook up with another man.”