Chapter 154 - Contract Wife Morning, My Darling CEO

Third Person POV

Chad obediently waited at the dining table, watching his busy little wife through the glass window. His heart was full of happiness.

Cassidy sprinkled a handful of salt onto the dish with determination, and then came out with a plate, her face bright and warm.

“Breakfast is ready,” she said warmly as she placed the plate on the table. “Go ahead and eat,”.

“Every single morsel, darling,” he quipped as he reached for a spoon.

The gentle and virtuous side of Cassidy was a bit surprising to him because she had never displayed it and it warmed his heart so much that his eyes misted with tears.

No woman had been intentional and caring as Cassidy was to him, hence his reaction.

However, because of the kind of person he was – someone who didn’t like showing his emotions, he suppressed the overwhelming feelings in his chest and raised his head to stare at Cassidy, solemnly,

“Cass,” he paused, “Thank you,”.

She smiled sweetly, masking the anger she was feeling inside,

“C’mon, Chad, you know you don’t have to thank me for anything. You cook for me almost every day, and I only cook once in a while. If you want to thank me, just finish all of these,” she pointed to the table filled with hot, steaming dishes.

Chad looked at the four or five dishes on the table. He knew that if he ate all of them, he would regret it later, but he truly wanted to eat them, anything to please her.

“Don't worry, I will eat it all, and I've decided not to let your hard work go to waste,”.

His thoughtful words made Cassidy’s heart jolt with guilt and, for a second, regret coursed through her. But as soon as she remembered that he didn’t reciprocate her love confession last night, she became angry again and clenched both her fists in determination, deciding to carry out the plan to the end.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Chad offered.

“I will, honey,” Cassidy gave him another warm smile “I just want to watch you eat first. Go ahead, okay?” she pushed a plate at him.

“Sure,” he nodded and started eating.

But as soon as he took his first spoon, he froze as his face turned white. His eyes widened and his beautiful amber eyes instantly filled up with tears.

Cassidy had intentionally added super spicy hot sauce to the eggplant sauce she made. Apart from that, everything was heavily salted.

Cassidy feigned innocence as she beamed a smile at him,

“Does it taste good?” she asked.

The surprise on his face quickly disappeared, and he calmly swallowed the food in his mouth before nodding,

“It tastes great,” he returned her smile “There couldn’t be any better word for it my darling. Cass, you're amazing”.

“Really?” Cassidy narrowed her eyes. This wasn’t the reaction she was hoping for.

“Of course, my dear,” he nodded, “I can’t wait to taste the rest of the dish,”.

As he said that, he took another spoonful, nodding his head in relish.

The sincerity in his compliments made Cassidy feel a pang of guilt, especially when she saw him continue eating without changing his expression.

“Why don't you... take a break and eat the rest later?”

Chad shook his head in disagreement.

"It's okay, I promised you that I'll finish eating everything. Besides, you already put in so much effort in making it, I don’t want to waste it,”.

The way he was looking at the food confused Cassidy the more. She couldn't help but wonder if he genuinely found the food delicious or if he just had a strong tolerance for spicy and salty flavours.

If it was the latter, she felt a bit relieved.

She got up and untied her apron.

“Since you like the food so much, take your time. I have to go to work now,”.

“Do you want me to drive you?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” she patted his arm “You know I’m a good driver,”.

“I know but still, drive carefully. I’ll see you later tonight,” He said affectionately.

“Yes boss,” she leaned in and placed a kiss on his forehead, ruffled his hair before moving away.

As Cassidy's car disappeared from view, Chad's expression turned into agony as he tried his best to endure the intense hotness – that was both salty and spicy combined. He reached for the glass of water on the table and, in one swift motion, gulped it down.

His eyes were watering as he fanned himself, looking at the remaining plates of food in front of him with a heavy heart.

Butler Gerald immediately came in and stared at Chad anxiously. He took in his red face, watery eyes and the way he clenched his teeth as though he was fighting back pain. Gerald didn’t need anyone to tell him that Chad was in pain.

“Are you alright?” he moved closer.

“I’ll be fine,” Chad squeaked, waving Gerald aside.

“Well, you don’t look fine sir,” Gerald said. “I think it’s the food. With your permission, I’m going to taste it,”.

Without waiting for Chad to give him the permission he was asking for, he picked up a clean spoon and took a tiny quantity of the eggplant sauce. As soon as he ate it, he spluttered and rushed towards the sink where he spat everything out.

“Sir, how on earth are you eating this? Who made it?” Butler Gerald exclaimed, still swiping at his tongue.

“It’s fine my wife made them,”.

“What if I secretly throw the food away and cook something else for you? It’ll be quick, so you don’t have to go to work late,”.

Chad shook his head, his handsome face flushed from the spiciness of the meal, making him look even more radiant than fireworks.

“No, this is Cass's first time cooking for me. I promised her that I would finish it.”

He was indeed in love.

Butler Gerald smiled like an aunt as he bit back the laugh at the back of his throat.

Although he felt sorry for Chad, he didn’t want to intervene in whatever fun the young couple were having. It was better he gave them his support silently.

With the thought on his mind, his phone vibrated in his pocket, when he picked it up, it was a call from Cassidy.

“I’ll go check on what I was doing before coming here,” he murmured to Chad before slipping out of the dining room.

“Hello ma’am,” he answered as soon as he left Chad’s presence.

“Hey, Gerald,” Cassidy’s voice sounded from the other end “Is Chad still eating?”

“Yes, he is,” Gerald replied. “He likes the food cooked by you, so much,”.

“Are you sure?” Cassidy asked with a trace of doubt.

“Positive, ma’am,” Gerald replied again.

“I wonder how he’s enjoying eating that hideous meal. It’s not delicious at all,” Cassidy sighed.

Cassidy, at the other end of the call, lowered her head and smiled, her eyes filled with joy. “Forget it, it's my fault. Buy some stomach medicine just in case. Don't tell him that I asked you to buy it, okay?”

“Don't worry ma’am, I understand”.

The call ended happily, and Cassidy continued driving. She looked at the road ahead and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Now she was at ease. Even though she didn’t get to hear him profess how much he loves her because of how difficult it is to say, especially for someone like him who’s used to not being in a vulnerable state, as long as she knows that he loves her from the bottom of his heart, she’d stop worrying.

It didn’t take long for her to finally reach the Tang De film and television base. Compared to the past, there were many people gathered at the entrance of the ground and they were reporters. All of them had cameras dangling from their hands and a recorder, poised.

When Cassidy saw them, she couldn’t help but wonder if any artists on set were involved in a scandal recently.

As she tried to juggle her brain to remember, one of the reporters spotted her car.

“Look, it's Cassidy's car,”.

Someone in the crowd shouted, and all the reporters turned their attention to her like flies after blood. They rushed over, thrusting microphones toward her while she was still in the car.

“Miss Hart, is your affair with Mr Adrian Moss true?”

“When did you start dating him?”

“Why did you cast him as the lead actor in the beginning? Was it because of your interest in him?”

“Where did you go with Mr Moss?”

Cassidy waited for a moment, trying to understand everything that they were all saying as she stared at the faces of the reporters one by one.

She didn’t understand what was going on. She couldn’t remember the last time she was with Adrian. That made the whole media conclude that they were in a relationship. Even so, she did not know that this was what was trending until now.

The reporters continued to knock on her car’s window as the crowd pressed forward, begging for a word with her. She couldn’t get out at all, let alone move. She dared not open the window for fear that these reporters would climb into the car from the window.

With the desperation on their faces, they were capable of doing anything.

She decided to check her mobile phone for the latest news and, to her surprise, several entertainment blogs posted pictures of her and Adrian together. The picture had both of them hugging each other, looking at themselves affectionately. Other photos showed them working together, but the angles cleverly suggested a close and ambiguous chemistry going on between them.

“What nonsense!” Cassidy hissed “Who on earth came up with such gossip?”

Cassidy's first thought was to call Chad and explain, but she knew he might not allow her to continue filming, or he might even have Adrian, the male lead, replaced, which she couldn't bear at that point.

So, she decided to call Adrian instead. She picked up her phone and dialled his number. He answered on the second ring.

“Hey Cass,” he said quietly.

“Have you seen the latest entertainment news today?” Cassidy went straight to the point.

“Not yet, what's the matter?” Adrian drawled lazily. It felt like he was just waking up from sleep.

“What’s the matter?” Cassidy snapped with incredulity. “Everything is the matter, Adrian. What is going on is a big deal as I speak to you,”.

“Well, tell me already, Cass,”.

“The whole media is saying we are in love and we’re in a romantic relationship. The entrance to the film set is blocked and as I speak to you right now, I’m currently holed up in my car with reporters everywhere outside. You need to make a post on Tweep and clarify that it’s all a misunderstanding and that the pictures of us are from a scene. I’ll also post one too, to back up your claims, please hurry up,”.

The sleep in Adrian’s eyes vanished immediately as he sat up from his bed, and stared at the green leaves outside his window. His expression was unreadable.

“Why do we need to clarify?” he asked. “

“What!” Cassidy exclaimed.

“Yes, let them misunderstand for all they won’t. I don’t mind it, you know if you’re worried,”.

“But I do,” Cassidy vented. “I mind so much, Adrian,”

This wasn’t the reaction Cassidy had been expecting and she couldn’t help but feel riled up, but she decided to calm herself down.

“Adrian, please,” she sighed, “I don’t want ‘When Heart Meets’ to be affected by any scandals again. It’s a miracle that we’re shooting despite all that has been going on. So please, help me post an explanation on Tweep. My explanation alone won’t sound convincing,”.

Adrian pondered on her words for a moment before he finally replied…

“Cass, you should think of this as a blessing in disguise. I am the male lead for ‘When Heart Meets’ and we’re already getting a lot of views because of me. What if we use this opportunity to improve our popularity and not just that, but also draw publicity to the drama? It’s as good as using one stone to kill two birds,”.

What he said was reasonable, Cassidy had no desire to make herself more famous than she already was. But ‘When Heart Meets’ is extremely important to her and, just as Adrian said, this would easily be the best way to draw publicity to the drama.