Chapter 155 - Contract Wife Morning, My Darling CEO

Third Person POV

Cassidy gritted her teeth in frustration and made a decision.

“No,”

“No?” Adrian was shocked.

“I’m sorry, Adrian, but I cannot agree. I already have a man and it’ll be unfair for me to fool him in this way,”.

If she were still single, she might have considered his proposal. After all, it could have been beneficial to her. However, she was now Chad's wife, and she didn’t want him to be unhappy.

Even without saying his name, Adrian knew exactly who she was referring to—Chad.

Adrian's eyes gradually turned cold, like a dormant snake awakening from its slumber. His gaze became icy and dangerous.

“Well, I won’t be making any posts to clear the misunderstanding then,”.

“W-why?” she stuttered. “Surely it’s not that difficult. All you need to do is to type a post on your phone. A few words are all you need,” she was getting anxious now.

“I don’t want to,” Adrian repeated.

“For Pete’s sake, Adrian,” her voice softened as she pleaded softly, “Aren’t we good friends? Just help me this time. I promise you; I’ll repay you at the appropriate time,”.

Adrian's once-pale and handsome face grew even colder, devoid of any warmth. Even his voice matched the coldness on his face.

“I’ll be late for my appointment. So, I’ll hang up first, goodbye, Cassidy,” he said curtly, and then hung up the call.

The beeping sound of the call ending chimed in, leaving Cassidy staring at her phone in frustration.

What was wrong with him? Cassidy wondered. Was he still upset about the time when she confronted him about being gay?

Feeling helpless, Cassidy decided to call the chief of police. Last time he had mentioned that whenever she was in trouble, she should call him and now it seemed perfect for him to make amends for how he had treated her last time.

She opened her phone and called the police department.

This phone call proved effective. Since everyone knew she was associated with Chad, the police quickly arrived, dispersing the reporters swarming around her car. She was finally able to enter the film and television city safely and arrived at the studio.

As soon as she entered the studio, a lot of people stopped what they were doing and they turned to stare at her with curiosity. Her assistant, Ruth, finally approached her, leaned towards her and asked

“Deputy Director, is the gossip true? Are you really in love with Mr Moss – the male god?”

Cassidy shot her an angry look.

“It’s not true,” she said vehemently “Haven’t I told you to stop paying attention to rumours?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am” Ruth murmured, hanging her head in shame.

“Let’s just focus on work. We’re already behind schedule because of the delay,”.

From the corner of her eyes, she noticed people whispering and pointing in her direction.

“This won’t do,” she murmured under her breath as she cast a wary glance at her phone.

She knew if she didn’t try to clarify the situation, they'd have nothing done by the end of the day. She took a deep breath, picked up her phone and quickly composed a message that she posted on her Tweep account.

As soon as she posted it, her phone began to beep with notifications of people’s comments, but she dared not read them, for fear that people wouldn’t have nice things to say about her. So, she turned off her phone.

Ruth skipped over to where she was, bubbling with curiosity.

“Deputy Director, I just saw the post you made on Tweep. So, indeed, you’re not really in a relationship with Mr Moss. That’s great,”.

There was a trace of tenderness in her eyes as she spoke.

“Wait, you believed me… the post?” Cassidy asked, stupefied.

“Of course, ma’am”, Ruth eyed her strangely.

“You’re not afraid that I made it all up?” She asked again.

“Of course, I believe in you, ma’am,” Ruth replied solemnly.

Her sincere expression as she said the words reminded Cassidy of Jasmine. Jasmine often looked at her with similar trust and sincerity. Her eyes were always firm and unwavering.

A wave of emotion surged through Cassidy’s heart as she stared at Ruth. Meanwhile, Ruth, unaware of the change in Cassidy’s behaviour, drew closer and took her arm as she leaned in, whispering in conspiratory tones.

“Deputy Director, guess what I heard recently. I’m sure you won’t believe it, too, because I was shocked when I was told,”.

“You always have shocking news, Ruth,” Cassidy smiled helplessly, indulging the girl. “Even if I don’t ask you, you’ll always find a way to tell me,”.

“Well, I am the only one that brings you up to date around here,” she pouted and continued anyway.

“Get ready for this breaking news,” Ruth leaned closer. “A few days ago, Tricia was exposed for faking her pregnancy?”

Cassidy’s eyes blinked slightly with mild interest but her face remained expressionless.

“Is that so?” she said gently.

Cassidy's eyes blinked with mild interest, her expression unwavering. She responded calmly, "Is that so?"

“Yes!” Ruth said with vigour “My source is reliable. One of my friends who works as a nurse in the hospital told me. She said that Miss Tricia was claiming to be pregnant with Mr Liam. One would think that after the scandal of her nude photos, she’d take a break. But then, she suddenly claimed to be pregnant, aiming to secure her position by giving birth to Mr Liam’s child. It's unbelievable that Liam would tolerate such a woman and let her into his family,”.

Cassidy maintained a calm expression as she listened to Ruth talk. It felt like she was listening to an ordinary story. A story where she has nothing to do with the characters in the story.

And this was the best reaction she could give at that point.

“Okay,” she stopped Ruth. “That’s enough gossip for today, let’s do other things,”.

Ruth, undeterred by her lack of interest, nodded obediently.

Laughter echoed in the distance, drawing Cassidy’s attention to where it was coming from. The sound was familiar and as soon as Cassidy looked up, she saw Jasmine sitting on a chair, Sergio the screenwriter and another young man who she didn’t recognize. They surrounded Jasmine and seemed to be deep in a conversation. They were talking and punctuating their conversations with laughter.

The sadness that had once clouded Jasmine’s brows had disappeared completely. Her usual, joyful and playful charm and allure seemed to have returned.

She remembered the night when Jasmine had followed her with tears in her eyes. The memory was etched in her heart and had made her uneasy in the days that followed, but it turned out that she had been gravely mistaken.

Jasmine was still the same Jasmine she remembered, which was quite good. At least, the guilt in her heart eased.

***

In the maternity ward in Wellspring Hospital, Tricia was eating melon seeds while Reese, her agent, sat at one corner of the ward, trying to settle accounts. These days, her family had given her a lot of settlement fees, so she wanted to see how much she had gotten so far and what was left.

Tricia was humming a song under her breath and smiled at Reese.

“Reese, thank you so much,”.

“Huh!” Reese looked up from the ledger she was holding, eyeing Tricia with suspicion. “Where’s that coming from?”

“From a grateful heart, Reese. You’ve been so helpful to me. Don’t worry, I won’t treat you badly. If I have something to eat in the future, I will give you half,”.

“I’ll be looking forward to it, then,” Reese replied with a smile, but deep in her heart, she despised Tricia.

She was well aware of the kind of person Tricia was and even though she was pretending for the time being just because she had no other person to take care of her, Reese was only playing along.

Although Reese knew she was being used, she didn’t care. At present, she was getting a lot of money behind Tricia’s back. That’s the only reason why she allows her to play master.

“You know, it’s inconvenient for you to move around while pregnant with a baby. If you need anything or you need to go anywhere, just call me and I’ll come help you out,” Reese said.

“Fine,” Tricia rolled her eyes “I’ll listen to you, but please can you call and ask what time Liam will be here?”

When she told Stephen Fuller – Liam’s father about her pregnancy, he immediately sent her some money and also arranged for her to be hospitalized. He had also promised to arrange a meeting between them for Liam to come to make up with her, but he was yet to show up despite Tricia’s continuous wait.

Reese’s eyes flashed with a trace of contempt but she quickly suppressed it. Stephen Fuller had moved on already and was in a new relationship. He had little interest in dealing with Tricia, who was now just a leftover from his past and his son’s.

“I checked. He’s been busy lately, but don’t worry, he’ll come soon. Just hold on a bit”,”.

“For how long?” Tricia yelled. “I’m tired of staying in this hospital doing nothing all day. I am bored as hell and I can’t go anywhere. What’s worse, is I have to lie in bed all day pretending that I’m pregnant. If feels like I am in prison,”.

“You have to bear with it, Tricia,” Reese screeched. “You have to endure it until you get forgiven by Liam. Once that is settled, you. You can find a reason to leave the hospital and then you can finally relax. Isn’t that what you want?”

Easier said than done!

Tricia’s anger was visible now as she smashed the bed with her hands.

“It was Cassidy who hurt me like that. Everything I’m going through is because of her. Even if I eventually marry into the Fuller family, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to raise my shoulders. And it’s going to be for a lifetime,” she cackled bitterly.

“I thought we agreed to forget about Cassidy?” Reese sighed.

“No,” Tricia shook her head bitterly. “I can’t let her off like this. She must be punished. Give me your phone,”.

When she was admitted to the hospital, the doctor had advised that, since she was pregnant, all her phones should be taken away from her because of its radiation so it wouldn’t affect the foetus in her womb.

So, Stephen Fuller ordered people to take away all their mobile phones and any other communication device. At present, her only contact with the present world was through Reese.

“What do you want with my mobile phone?” Reese eyed her with suspicion. “You’re still pregnant,”.

“Fuck!” Tricia snapped as her eyes shot daggers at Reese. “Reese, why are you acting like all this is real? You know quite well that I am not pregnant. Besides, is it too much of a hassle to ask for your mobile phone? Is there something on your phone that you don’t want me to see?”

Reese gripped her phone tightly and smiled,

“What nonsense,” she laughed dryly “There’s nothing that I am hiding from you. You want to check on what’s going on with Cassidy, nowadays?”

“Well, something like that,” Tricia snapped.

“This morning, the internet was on fire. There are rumours about her and Adrian Moss. The paparazzi seem to think that they’re in a relationship,”.

“In a relationship?” Tricia smiled with mischief and laughed “It seems she’s finally copying my moves. She’s with Chad West and yet rumours about her being with other male stars are spreading. How convenient,”.

“Yeah,” Reese nodded in agreement “Naturally, Chad West will deal with her. So, don’t think too much of it and just have a good rest,”.

“No,” Tricia clapped her hand in glee “I would add more fire to everything and anger Chad the more,” she said and stretched forth her hand towards Reese, indicating that she should give her the phone.

Reese was afraid that if she handed the phone over to her, Tricia might start digging through her personal information.

“What are you planning on doing?”

“I’m going to make a post,” Tricia said with high morale. “Not just that, I’m also going to open some fake accounts and create another internet buzz. She’ll be trending for all the wrong reasons,”.

“Is that necessary?” Reese sighed.

“Yes. Let’s create a huge scandal between her and Adrian. Then, I’ll see if she’ll be able to get out of this one,”.