Chapter 97 The Couple Had a Cold War
Nora lay down and turned to look at him. "Steven, I think Olivia might be planning to get a divorce."
Steven raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"
"Because she now knows that Willie has made up his mind not to let her work at the company." Nora said helplessly, "The Reed family people clearly know Olivia is capable, but they insist on keeping her at home. Those two at the company - one manager and one supervisor - they obviously don't have the ability, but still get to run things there. Isn't that ridiculous?"
"When it comes to benefits, everyone has selfish motives." Do they care whether Olivia is capable or not? As long as they block her, her piece of the "cake" gets divided up among them.
People who have nothing - who wouldn't want that tasty piece of cake?
"True. If Olivia really goes back to the company and takes control of the finances, how would Terry keep stealing company money and taking kickbacks?" So the person most afraid of Olivia returning to the company is Terry.
His current office used to be Olivia's, and the business he manages was previously handled by Olivia.
Steven said, "Right now, if Olivia wants to go back to the company and they won't let her, they'll definitely come up with many ways to block her."
"Exactly!" Nora took a sip of water and said, "Today Willie went to see Olivia with a diamond ring, trying to coax her to come home. You know what? He never used to be willing to buy her these things. The most expensive gift he ever gave her was a necklace for $4,000, which he bought the first year he made money."
"After that, nothing. Usually, he'd only buy her little pieces of jewelry for a few dozen dollars, and even those were guilt gifts because of his affair. But the cheapest thing he's given his mistress is an LV bag. Who knows how much money he gives her every month? This Willie is really calculating."
Steven agreed. This Willie clearly looked selfish, with his heart completely biased toward his own family.
They chatted for a while, then Steven closed his computer and grabbed clothes to take a shower.
Nora listened to the sound of water while playing on her phone.
Twenty minutes later, the water stopped.
Nora quickly put down her phone and pretended to sleep.
The lights in the room went off.
Nora felt inexplicably nervous.
Steven walked over, lifted the covers, and lay down beside her.
Nora's body immediately tensed up.
Steven lay flat on his back, his hand naturally resting, and accidentally touched her fingers.
Like an electric shock, her fingers tingled.
Nora instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but he grabbed it, and their fingers intertwined...
The corners of Nora's lips unconsciously lifted. She turned her head and met his strikingly handsome features. "What? I was just about to fall asleep."
Steven hummed in response, moving his head closer, eyes looking at her. "Better control yourself tonight."
Nora froze, her face flushing. "Why do you always say that? I've never taken advantage of you, okay?"
"How haven't you? Every time you sleep with me, you cling to me like an octopus, making it so I can't even move."
Nora felt embarrassed - she really couldn't help this.
She was the same way when sleeping with Olivia, which is why Olivia refused to sleep with her after just one night.
"Then... if I hug you tonight, just pinch my arm. When it hurts, I'll let go." Nora said softly.
Steven smiled and said, "I'll bite you instead."
"What?"
"If you cling to me, I'll bite you." Steven's eyes were suggestive.
Nora's face flushed, and her heart raced. She immediately turned her head away.
But Steven hugged her from behind, their bodies pressed together, very intimate.
Nora stiffened. "Steven, what are you doing..."
Steven held her seemingly boneless body in his arms and chuckled. "It's getting cold. Having a body pillow to hold isn't bad."
She felt very uncomfortable, especially with his breath hitting her neck, hot and ticklish, like a feather teasing her...
She wanted to leave his embrace and burrow into the covers, but Steven wouldn't let her, following along.
His long arm wrapped around her waist, using both hands to lock her tightly in his embrace.
Before Nora could react, his hand had already slipped under her pajamas, gently squeezing.
Then he whispered something in her ear.
Nora was too embarrassed to move.
He said, "Soft, like cotton candy."
Nora bit her lip in embarrassment, afraid that any sounds might escape.
She remembered Olivia's words: "All men are like this."
She wasn't wrong. Even someone as aloof as Steven, once in bed with a beautiful woman in his arms, had plenty of tricks.
Steven gently kissed her neck and asked in a husky voice, "Is your period over yet?"
"No, you just asked yesterday." Why does he ask every day?
Is he that eager?
Steven felt the days were incredibly long. How could a five-day period feel like fifty days?
"Do you want to?" Steven looked at her and suddenly asked this question.
Nora froze, opening her eyes. He was looking at her with very heated eyes.
She could tell what he meant right away.
The way a man looks at a woman.
Nora lowered her lashes shyly. "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean - you don't understand?" He whispered in her ear, pulling one of her hands under the covers.
Nora was so startled by the heat that she pulled her hand back, her whole face red.
"You!" She was so flustered that she didn't know what to do. "You're being a pervert!"
"Don't tell me you don't feel anything." Steven looked at her knowingly, his pupils deep.
Nora's heart was racing. "I just think, aren't we moving too fast?"
"Are we?" Steven looked at her.
Though before, he had been quite restrained. It's all Nora's fault, always teasing him.
Now he wanted nothing more than to devour her whole.
"We should take it slow." Nora looked at him.
Steven's kisses stopped. He raised his eyes to look at her. "Why? Is there someone else in your heart?"
He thought of that blue shirt.
The heat in his eyes instantly faded, turning ice cold.
Before Nora could understand what happened, Steven suddenly let her go and got up to go to the bathroom.
Water rushed into the bathroom.
The intimate atmosphere in the room vanished completely.
Nora was stunned. Why did things suddenly change again?
After Steven finished his shower, Nora immediately closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. It was too awkward - she didn't know how to face him.
Steven stood in the darkness, his features full of gloom.
A few days ago, he had specifically gone to her room to look. That blue shirt had been put away by her, folded in a delicate box.
This proved she had always cared about that shirt - sometimes taking it out to wash, sometimes hanging it up, sometimes folding it again.
So who exactly was this man?
After Steven lay back in bed, he didn't touch her again. He returned to his previous position, back turned to her, in a very defensive, cold state.
Nora gently bit her lip in the darkness.
Still... couldn't she reach Steven's heart?
The next day, after Olivia got up, she kept having Braxton Hicks contractions.
Nora went in to check on her. "Olivia, what's wrong?"
Olivia said, "Maybe I'm too tired. I need to rest. Lying down for a bit will help."
She'd been in a bad mood these past few days, constantly worried. This was probably why her stomach kept feeling uncomfortable.
Nora said, "Olivia, then just rest at home today. Don't go to the company."
"Okay." Olivia agreed, lying in bed to rest, sighing. "Pregnancy is so hard for women. So many restrictions."
"This is a little life. It's not easy from conception to birth."
Nora comforted Olivia, tucked her in, and left the room.
Steven was awake, standing at the entrance, expressionless as he changed his shoes.
Nora was just about to speak when Steven opened the door and left, leaving her with his cold back.
He didn't even glance at her.
Nora's heart ached slightly.
Steven was always so moody.
She felt a bit tired.
Always treating her with this silent treatment - it hurt her too.