Chapter 116 Chapter 116
With a hoarse chuckle, Nicholas reached out to close the bedroom door, isolating them from the rest of the house. In one fluid motion, he pulled her into his arms, enveloping her.
He rested his forehead against hers, caressing her hair tenderly. “She's your sister, the only family you have. That's why I want to be good to her.” It's just a car, honey. Why worry so much?
“I know, but...” Caroline tried to argue.
“Love.”
Nicholas interrupted her gently. He pressed his long, pale index finger over her lips, silencing her. His deep eyes sparkled with a seductive, calculating smile.
“If you're worried that it's too extravagant, I can get a more discreet model. But look: I gave her a watch before, and you said it was too expensive. Now I want to give her a car, and you say it's extravagant.”
He sighed, feigning frustration, but his eyes were laughing. “What do you want me to do? I'm just trying to bribe my sister-in-law to score points with her. I want her to speak well of me to her stubborn sister. Can't I use my tactics?”
Caroline blinked, stunned. “B-But... we're already married. You don't need to win me over...”
“Shhh. Listen to me.”
The playfulness disappeared from Nicholas's eyes, replaced by an intense sincerity that made the air stop in Caroline's lungs.
“My dear, you know...” He brushed his thumb against her cheek. “I don't just want your body or a signed contract. I want, more than anything, your heart.”
The man's gaze was open, vulnerable, and devastatingly handsome.
“Although we didn't marry for love initially, I don't want it to stay that way. I hope there will be love in our marriage in the future. Caroline... I want you to fall in love with me.”
“Nicholas...” Her voice faltered.
“I know feelings can't be forced or rushed,” he continued, his deep voice vibrating in the silence of the room. “That's why I need to use all my weapons. I need to find ways to make you nurture feelings for me. And when that affection grows... maybe, just maybe, you'll truly love me someday.”
Caroline felt her legs buckle. No one had ever spoken to her this way before.
“The quickest way to win a woman's heart is to treat the people she loves well,” he explained, with the logic of a strategist. “I know Sara is your world. So I'm trying to enter your world through her. Please don't stop me from trying, okay?”
Caroline was... stunned.
This was the first time she had ever met a man like Nicholas. He wanted her to fall in love with him, and instead of playing games, he laid out his entire battle plan with brutal honesty.
What kind of tactic was that? It was disarming.
“Nicholas...” She stared at him, her heart beating wildly. “Are you... courting me? Are you pursuing me?”
“Yes.” The man nodded without a hint of hesitation. “I am.”
Caroline felt her face burn.
“My dear, I'm winning you over,” he reinforced, bringing his face closer to hers. “So I hope you'll give me a chance. I hope that one day, the only reason you stay by my side isn't the contract, or the debt, or gratitude... but because you love me.”
Caroline looked at him in utter shock. “What... what chance do you want me to give you?”
Nicholas looked down at her, his imposing height making her feel small and protected.
A deep sense of affection and amusement emanated from his captivating eyes.
“Give me the chance to understand you and treat you the way you deserve.”
He took her hands and brought them to his chest, over his heart. “And you... you can try to accept me little by little. Try to see me not as ‘President Wolf,’ but as your real husband. Can we try?”
Faced with such a direct yet subtle attack, Caroline's defenses crumbled.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Her heart pounded like a wild drum against her ribs, beating so hard she feared he could hear it.
The inability to control her own reactions left her terrified and excited.
They married for convenience. He needed a wife, she needed money. It was simple. But now... he was rewriting the rules. He wanted everything.
“Baby?”
After a long moment of silence where she just stared at him, lost, Nicholas gently pinched her chin, bringing her back to reality.
His voice dropped to a hoarse, magnetic whisper.
“Are you still thinking about it? Or can I take your silence as a ‘yes’?”
Hesitating, Caroline bit her lower lip and finally asked, her voice coming out as a defiant whisper: “What if... what if I refuse?”
She expected his pride to be hurt. That he would get angry or cold.
Unexpectedly, Nicholas's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
“Then I will continue to court you,” he replied, with the calmness of someone who knows he will win. “I will continue to treat you like a queen, to pamper you and seduce you. I will do this every day, until you have no choice but to fall in love with me.”
Caroline was speechless.
So why did he ask her opinion?
This domineering, arrogant man!
She tried to glare at him angrily, widening her eyes and puffing out her cheeks, but she didn't look fierce at all. To Nicholas, she looked like a kitten bristling with fur—adorable and harmless.
She was terribly cute. So cute that he felt a sudden urge to squeeze her and tease her even more.
But remembering that she was in her sensitive period, his carnal desire gave way to protectiveness.
“Honey, don't be angry,” he purred, sliding his large, warm hand down to her lower abdomen, gently massaging her through her pajamas. "They say that getting angry during your period makes your cramps worse.
You don't want your belly to hurt, do you? Isn't it nice to have someone who cares about that? Don't you want your husband to take care of you?"
At first, Caroline was fine. The previous medicine had taken effect.
But with his reminder—and perhaps the emotional tension of the conversation—she felt a sudden sharp twinge.