Becoming A Tech Tycoon Begins With Regression-Chapter 220: Michael Visits

Irina sat in the cafe with a smile on her face as she sipped the hot cocoa in her hand.

Opposite her sat Michael who had arrived in Russia just a day ago and on his face was a small frown.

It had been a couple of days since the meeting with the Belozerskys and they had gone oddly quiet.

Last she heard of them was that they were busy cleaning up messes, just for new ones to pop up and drown them.

Now, Michael was here because he had somehow heard about the wedding arrangement and he had apparently planned to take her with him if she showed any sign of not wanting said arrangement.

Only to realize that everything had been handled, hence the reason for the frown on her face and Irina’s chuckle.

"So you planned to be my knight in shining armor," She said with a chuckle, "how sweet." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Shut it," Michael said which just caused her to laugh more, especially seeing the rare bit of embarrassment on his face.

Irina rested her chin against her palm, her eyes glinting with amusement as she watched Michael squirm under her gaze.

"You should have seen your face when you realized I didn’t need rescuing," she said, stirring the cocoa lazily. "Absolutely priceless."

"And here I thought you found me amusing."

Michael clicked his tongue and looked away toward the frosted window. Snow clung to the glass creating soft patterns on it, "I don’t find this funny."

"Oh, I do," she replied lightly. "Very much so."

Silence fell between the two and since there were only a few people in the cafe with them, it was completely silent.

"But I’m still getting married though," Irina broke the silence with a bomb.

Michael froze and looked at her for any sign that she was joking, but he found none, so he simply asked, "are you being forced to?"

"No," She said with a smile, "in fact, I’m just taking advantage of the situation and asking him to marry me."

That was a surprise.

But he had a bad feeling the moment he heard her words, he asked just to be sure, "who?"

"Ethan."

The name sounded familiar and for a while he couldn’t recall where he had heard it, until a familiar annoying face popped up.

It was the kid that had been rescued with her that night, the one that seemed very to love agitating him.

Last he knew was that she was interested in him, so how had that escalated to a wedding?

He placed a hand and massaged his forehead, "and he accepted you suggestion?"

"Well, he’s thinking over it," she answered, "but I’ve already gotten the support of someone very important to him."

A bond of two people that were definitely mentally unstable.

Michael stared at her for a long moment, as if hoping she would suddenly burst out laughing and admit it was a joke.

She didn’t.

"...You’re serious," he said slowly.

Irina lifted her cup and took another sip, humming softly. "Completely."

Michael leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath through his nose. "Of all the people you could choose, you pick that one."

"That one?" she repeated, amused. "You make it sound like I chose a stray off the street."

She glanced at him over the rim of her cup, violet eyes holding a playful look before adding, "you’re not worried about me."

Michael paused for a while, was he worried about her?

"...No," he admitted. "I’m worried about what kind of man agrees to marry someone like you."

"I’m not that bad of a choice," she said with a chuckle, "besides, I think we’re a great match."

Of course they were, but for all the wrong reasons.

Michael just sighed and rubbed his jaw. "You’ve really thought this through."

"I had to," she replied. "My brothers won’t stop. Even now, they’re just waiting for the next opportunity. This marriage isn’t about romance, it’s about removing me from their chessboard while still making sure I’m under their control."

"I see," he nodded.

He knew Ethan was the best choice against this, since the kid ran OmniTech Corp, a company whose growth had surprised even him.

Michael had been keeping an eye on him and at this point, was completely sure that he didn’t work with her brothers, so there was no reason to not trust him.

He exhaled slowly, conceding the point. "Your father agreed?"

She nodded. "Reluctantly. But once he understood what Ethan represents, he stopped objecting."

"And what exactly does he think Ethan represents?" Michael asked.

Irina’s smile widened just a bit. "A man with money, influence, no ties to Russia’s internal power struggles, and enough reach to make problems disappear quietly."

Michael leaned forward slightly. "You know they won’t stop trying to undermine you, marriage or not."

"I know," Irina replied. "But it changes the rules. Once I’m married to him, they can’t touch me without fearing to provoke something far bigger than themselves."

There was silence between the two for a while before Michael sighed.

"Well," he said, standing up and grabbing his coat, "guess my job here is done."

"You flew across continents just to confirm I’m still okay?" she teased, "how sweet."

"Someone has to check," he replied. Then his expression seemed to soften a bit, though he quickly masked it, "be careful, Irina."

She stood as well, meeting his eyes.

"Always."

With that, they walked out of the cafe and into their respective cars waiting outside for them.

And with no words exchanged, the cars drove away with Irina heading back to the mansion and Michael headed to the airport.

His reason for coming was to just make sure that Irina was fine and seeing that she was, there was no reason to keep staying here.

Though a shiver still run down his spine when he recall what two people were about to be bound in marriage.

Would the world really be okay.