Chapter "225 His Secret."
"Starstream City has unlimited development potential and will become a major metropolis in the future."
"Tourism, pharmaceuticals, and fruit industries would become our economic pillars."
"I will strongly promote education by establishing schools and making basic education accessible to everyone."
The TV was playing a video of Brian's campaign speech.
Because Brian was handsome, his campaign speech video unexpectedly went viral online and gained huge popularity.
Currently, Brian's vote count was in first place, but the second and third candidates were close behind him, and the rankings could change at any time.
That afternoon, I was sleeping soundly when I felt someone kissed me, accompanied by a gentle, low voice calling out.
"Bella, wake up."
I struggled to open my eyes and saw Lucas by the bed.
"I'm tired."
Lucas carefully supported my waist and help me sit up, saying helplessly yet dotingly, "Stop sleeping. If you nap too long, you won't be able to sleep tonight."
"That's nonsense." I yawned. "I'll definitely be able to sleep."
My first pregnancy had been very stable, so much so that I only found out I was pregnant when I had a miscarriage.
This pregnancy, however, came with severe morning sickness. I couldn't eat or sleep well, and my temper grew increasingly irritable as the weather got warmer.
Fortunately, after four months of pregnancy, I stopped throwing up everything I ate. My appetite came back, and my sleep quality improved significantly.
I patted my belly. "It sleeps too much."
Lucas quickly grabbed my hand "Be gentle."
I pouted. "I know."
He soothingly rubbed my belly twice. Feeling the baby's subtle movements, his eyes filled with tenderness.
I leaned closer to Lucas and sniffed. There was a sweet scent of soufflé.
"I made strawberry soufflé." Lucas gently helped me out of bed and escorted me to the bathroom.
I saw that warm water and a face towel were already prepared by the sink.
I lazily leaned against Lucas as he skillfully wet his hands and placed the warm towel on my face.
Soon the drowsiness faded and I was fully awake. I slowly straightened up, then went through my routine of using the toilet, washing my face, and doing my skincare, with Lucas by my side the whole time.
Going downstairs, I noticed that the non-slip padding on the handrails had been replaced again.
Lucas seemed very worried about me falling accidentally. During this time, the non-slip padding had been replaced four times, with each material better than the last, and naturally more expensive.
Not only that, all the hard furniture in the house had been forced to wear a layer of "protective clothing." Our once elegant vintage-style home had become ugly. I'd protested several times, but Lucas always had a bunch of reasons to convince me.
I sat down by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the garden. Lucas went into the kitchen, moments later he brought out the dessert he'd made himself and placed it in front of me.
The strawberry soufflé was soft but not very sweet, nowhere near as tempting as Lucas's scent.
Although Brian had hired a professional nutritionist and chef for me, and Lucas had also hired several chefs and pastry chefs, he still cooked for me at least once a day.
Sometimes it was breakfast, sometimes lunch or dinner, depending on how busy he was with work.
I stared absent-mindedly at Lucas peeling an orange for me, before I could stop myself, the words slipped out: "Why are you so good to me? Is it because of the baby?"
As soon as I said it, I regretted it. I saw Lucas's expression stiffen, and his orange-peeling motion paused for two seconds.
"I'm not fully awake yet. I was talking nonsense." I quickly explained.
Lucas's long lashes lowered, hiding the emotion in his eyes, but I could see loneliness and disappointment on his expressionless face.
I sheepishly poked at the soufflé. The soft cake wobbled, just like my heart.
Since that argument, we still hadn't truly made up.
"I'm not good to you because of the baby." Lucas placed the peeled orange segments in a small bowl beside me. "I want to take care of you and love you, whether or not we have this child."
The orange segments in the bowl were plump and intact, very tempting.
At first, Lucas would always break the segments. He practiced many times, staining his fingertips yellow, just to make me happy when eating.
This gentle Lucas was unimaginable compared to the Lucas from our three years of marriage.
"I understand." I stuffed a piece of soufflé into Lucas's mouth. "It's delicious. Your cooking skills keep getting better."
Lucas smiled slightly and leaned over to kiss me.
I thought the matter was over, but in the middle of the night, I woke up needing to pee.
Lucas was lying beside me, one arm carefully around me.
"Need to use the bathroom?" he asked.
I nodded drowsily.
Lucas half-carried me to the bathroom. He'd gotten used to these things while taking care of me during this time.
Back in bed, I realized Lucas's eyes were clear and alert, without a trace of sleepiness.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" I couldn't help asking him. "Staying up late and lack of sleep can cause sudden death. Do you want to die suddenly?"
"I won't die." Lucas said in a stiff tone.
"Everyone dies. You've been injured several times before, almost dying each time." I corrected him seriously.
Lucas fell silent.
Looking at the bloodshot in his eyes, I suddenly felt irritated.
My brothers had all recovered from their initial surprise and panic, but Lucas remained excessively tense. No matter how well he hid it, I was the person closest to him and could sense his anxiety.
"Why are you so anxious?" I asked.
"It's nothing." Lucas's hand on me gently patted, trying to soothe me. "Go to sleep."
"What exactly are you hiding from me?" I asked weakly.
Lucas remained silent.
Silent again!
"Fine, don't tell me then." I pushed Lucas's hand away in frustration and turned to lie on my side with my back to him.
I closed my eyes but kept my ears alert, waiting for Lucas to confess.
After waiting for a while, the room remained quiet. Drowsiness flooded over me, and my pretend sleep became real sleep.
Half asleep, I seemed to hear Lucas's voice, but I couldn't make out a single word of what he said.
The next day, remembering this, I pulled up the bedroom surveillance footage while Lucas was out.
Only I had access to this surveillance. I recalled the time I went to the bathroom last night, dragged the progress bar, and watched for a while until I finally heard Lucas's voice!
"Bella, I love you."
"Don't hate me."
"Don't leave me."
Lucas confessed to me while I was asleep, gently kissing my forehead, nose, cheeks, and lips, then closed his eyes while nestled against me.
I turned off the surveillance video, my ears slightly warm.
So his feelings for me had already grown this deep?
After thinking for a moment, I reopened the surveillance video, extracted just the confession part, and made a copy.
Then Adrian reminded me it was time to leave.
Although pregnancy made me tire more easily, I hadn't given up work because of it.
The car headed toward Platinum Haven Hotel, but halfway there, someone who wasn't afraid of death rushed out to block the car.
The number of guards around me had doubled again, so they easily caught the person blocking the car.
I stared at his gaunt face and limp, uncertainly calling out his name: "Leonardo?"
"It's me." Leonardo's hoarse voice was unpleasant and grating.
"Lucas recently bought a house near the suburban orchard." His expression was crazed as he asked with a smile, "He's hiding a big secret there. If you knew what it was, you'd definitely leave him. Don't you want to know what the secret is?"
The suburban orchard? Lucas went there again?
I couldn't help but frown.
"You know his secret?"
"I know." Leonardo extended an invitation like a devil. "Go and see. Pandora's box holds Lucas's true face."