Chapter 153: Contract Wife Morning, My Darling CEO

Third Person POV

Since Cassidy stopped talking to Jasmine, she has been feeling disinterested and depressed.

Today she was lounging with Chad, lost deep in thoughts. It was so deep that she didn’t hear Chad calling out to her several times. She was clearly distracted and her eyes were filled with sorrow.

Chad snapped his hands in front of her face, as he searched her face with a smile.

“A penny for your thoughts?” he murmured, poking at her arms lightly.

Cassidy came out of her daze and saw him staring at her. She laughed embarrassedly as she waved her hand.

“I’m sorry, did you say something? I was so distracted,”.

“I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes. What’s wrong baby? What’s on your mind?” he asked gently.

“Nothing,” she replied, giving him a smile “Just thinking of my lines and the movie … mostly that,”.

“Are you sure?” Chad reiterated.

“Yes,” Cassidy nodded, giving him a sweet smile. “Now, you were telling me something a while back. What was that?”

Chad sighed helplessly,

“I said Grandma misses you, and she's having a banquet at home tomorrow night. You should come with me,”.

“Yeah,” she nodded “I haven’t seen Nana in a long while and it’s because I’m worried about something,”.

“Worried about what, darling? Tell me,” Chad urged.

“I’m always worried that she’ll try to set us up for a blind date,”.

“Then tell her directly that we are married,” Chad shrugged with a cool expression. He seemed indifferent.

Cassidy was shocked at his words, her pink face slowly turned red and she stuttered…

“B…But that’s not the right way to do things. We got married in secret. Haven’t you considered that there may be a possibility that Nana doesn’t want me to marry you? Wouldn’t it scare her?”

Cassidy was fidgeting with unease; both of her eyes were filled with doubts and worries and her lips were pursed in distress.

Chad playfully scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and fed it to her. The sweet fragrance filled the air.

“Don’t be a coward, Cass,” he chided gently. “Grandma has been looking forward to you marrying me. We can't keep it a secret forever,”.

“Is it impossible to keep their marriage a secret? Does he mean that he wanted to make their relationship public?” Cassidy wondered silently.

A thousand emotions were swirling within her, begging for answers, but she couldn’t express it. As she gazed at him in deep thoughts, her eyes were filled with affection.

Chad noticed that something was wrong and immediately put down his fork and gathered her into his arms.

“What’s the matter, baby? Why are you crying?”

Cassidy didn’t know how to tell him the tumult that was going on in her head. She had convinced herself for a long time and had come to terms that she would remain married to him for as long as he wanted.

Maybe ten, twenty or even a lifetime. She had finally accepted the idea of a secret marriage but now, he was implying something else and she didn’t know what to think.

“Chad,” she murmured against his chest, hugging him tightly, “Do you really want us to remain married for a while…” she trailed off “For a lifetime?”

Chad opened his mouth to reply when she suddenly interrupted as she hurriedly said,

“Wait, let me go first. I want to tell you how I feel about you, Chad,” She took a deep breath and inhaled as she removed herself from his embrace and stared at him.

“I love you very much, Chad,” she gave him a small wistful smile “I want to do the rest of my life with you. A lifetime, if possible,”.

All the uneasiness and constant fear she had felt since she got married to Chad and started living with him, finally gave way to something deeper…deeper than she could explain to him.

She had repeatedly told herself not to be tempted by his constant chivalry and that it was just who he was and nothing more. She had tried to stop herself from falling deeper and more in love with him each day, but it was impossible.

Her fear?

She didn’t want to be rejected. As she watched his eyes gaze at her silently, almost devoid of emotion, her heart sank. She didn’t need anyone to tell her that she was going to be rejected. She wasn’t the kind of woman he wanted.

Still, her eyes gazing at him were filled with deep and profound affection. Chad remembered how she had stared at him with those eyes a while ago. They had been filled with love and persistence, lingering sorrow and almost a tinge of regret – all pouring out through her watery eyes.

His fingers ran through her hair, affectionate and tender, as he whispered,

“Cass, I'm sorry,”.

The three worlds felt like the cruellest thing that has ever been done to Cassidy at that moment. The euphemistic rejection stung more than a direct, plain refusal. She had bared her heart to him, thinking he would reciprocate. What was she thinking? Who was she kidding?

Her face turned white, as she slowly left his arms and just sat there; dazed, as tears welled up in her eyes.

That was when Chad realized that she had misunderstood him and hurriedly leaned towards her trying to wipe her tears. His usual morose and blank expression was contorted into panic.

“Don’t cry please,” he begged. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was rejecting your feelings. What I meant was that I should have held your hand first, held you in my arms first, and told you that I love you first. So, I feel sorry for you,”.

Cassidy paused for a while as she stared at him, then curled her mouth into displeasure as she resumed crying. This time, she cried even harder.

Chad was panicked the more as he pulled her into his arms, trying to comfort her.

“I'm sorry. I couldn't express myself properly. Please don't cry. It's my fault. Can you please forgive me?”

She continued to cry and sniffle, clenching her fist and hitting him with her fingers.

“You should have said so earlier. Why did you have to speak in riddles when talking? It hurts me so much, that I thought I was going to die. Damn it!

“Yes, yes, I deserve to be punished. I'm sorry,” he responded with a playful tone.

“Stop saying sorry,” She roared in anger.

Chad, feeling distressed, kissed her forehead gently.

“Okay, I know.”.

Still sniffing, she buried her head on his chest, as her small nose turned red with shyness.

“Do you…” she trailed off shyly “Do you still have something to say?”

He looked puzzled for a moment, then remembered something and rubbed his face against hers.

“Say what, huh?”

He wasn’t following her at all.

Cassidy was so angry that she gritted her teeth and patted his face as she left his arms again.

“I don't know. How should I know if you have something to say? You keep it all to yourself, allowing it to rot inside,”.

But deep down, she didn’t even know why she was angry?

“Cass, I...”

“Enough of the conversation already,” she snapped “I'm tired. Let's just go to bed”.

She rose from her seat and angrily kicked at something at her feet, then pranced out of the room to her room and then closed the door with a loud bang.

Chad watched everything with a blank expression, feeling both amused and helpless. She was indeed delicate. She had never acted this way and he couldn’t believe that a slight wrong could make her act like that, and then she would return to him.

But even so, she looked incredibly cute in his eyes.

He had indeed confessed his feelings, but she wanted him to say it again. He had planned to wait for the right moment to make a grand confession with a ring. Now, her reaction had left him uncertain whether she was angry or happy.

That night, Chad slept in the adjacent room. When he opened the door in the morning, he found that the woman who usually loved to stay in bed was already up.

“Good morning, Cass,” he greeted her brightly with a broad smile on his face too.

Expecting her to react coldly or roll her eyes at him, he was taken aback when she turned back and gave him a warm, bright smile.

“Good morning, Chad. I made breakfast. Come down and try it,”.

For the first five seconds, Chad was shocked. He hadn't seen her cooking for a long time. He was excited and touched at the same time.

Taking the stairs two at a time, and rushed down to the kitchen. At the entrance, he saw her wearing a pink kitchen apron, which only made him understand why men loved to see women cooking. The warmth the appearance provided alone could make someone live forever.

But he still loathed seeing her working so hard and took the initiative to walk into the kitchen. “Hey, let me do that for you. Your hands are so beautiful, they do not deserve to be dirty,”

Cassidy, who was stirring the sauerkraut, turned and gave him a smile.

“Who says Chad cannot talk? You have such a sweet mouth and there’s no doubt that you can sweet talk anyone you want, but when it’s time to say what you ought to say, you feign dumbness, speak in riddles or either stutter,”.

She was still clinging to what happened yesterday and he thought she had already forgiven him.

Chad felt helpless as he stared at her. She was still stirring the pot; her face was filled with smiles and no one would imagine that she still bore yesterday’s grudge.

He crossed the room and hugged her from behind, kissing her cheeks.

“C’mon baby,” he sighed, “I was wrong yesterday. Please forgive me, okay?”

Chad’s low but charming voice reverberated in her ears; his hot breath mingled with a unique scent fanned her neck. A sweet sensation spread through Cassidy, melting half of her anger, but she was still a tad unhappy.

She turned to him with a bright smile and said….

“C’mon darling, I think you’re a little out of line here. I am not angry with you. There’s no enmity between us. I just want to cook a meal for you. Go on and freshen up, breakfast will be ready soon,”.

After she said that, she pushed him out of the kitchen, ignoring his pleas to help her out before she shut the door. Chad stood there for a minute, looking at the closed door with a smiling face. He couldn’t decide if he was angry or happy.

No wonder, they always say, a woman’s heart is unpredictable as the sea.