Chapter 1 Husband is Home
Nora Adams never thought Steven York would show up today.
They'd been married for three months, but she could count on one hand the times she'd actually seen him.
Nora was holding a glass of water and scrolling through her phone, dressed in a white spaghetti-strap nightgown. Her slender figure seemed to glow in the dim light.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a bang.
Nora jumped at the sound, startled. Her husband had been missing for a month. She never expected him to suddenly appear.
A man in a suit staggered in, clearly drunk.
Standing at 6'2", he had a mature male charm that was hard to ignore.
"What are you doing?" Steven asked from the doorway, his voice smooth and cultured.
His features were striking, with deep-set eyes that seemed to draw you in, making it hard to look away.
Nora's heart raced. He was just too handsome!
One more look, and she'd be blushing uncontrollably.
"I'm drinking water," Nora replied softly, avoiding his gaze.
"Drinking water?" Steven took a long stride toward her.
His cool hand landed on her waist, and with a startled yelp, she was pulled into his broad chest. "Steven,"
Steven glanced at her nightgown, noticing she wore nothing underneath, and chuckled lightly. "Dressed like this, trying to seduce me, huh?"
The word "seduce" rolled off his tongue, making her blush deeper as she lowered her long lashes. "Steven, you're drunk,"
He wasn't usually like this.
He rarely smiled and always seemed aloof.
Whenever he came home, he was usually drunk, crashed for the night, and left. He seemed very busy, always traveling for business, rarely home.
"Yeah, I am drunk." He murmured, "I want some honey water."
"I'll make it for you," Nora's legs felt weak at his gentle tone.
What was up with him today?
"Steven, why don't you sit on the couch for a bit while I make you some honey water?"
Steven shook his head, a hint of fatigue in his eyes. "No, my head hurts."
"Your head hurts again? Let me take you to the bedroom to lie down. Come on, I'll give you a head massage." Nora helped him to the master bedroom.
The master bedroom was Steven's room; she stayed in the guest room.
Steven had said they wouldn't share a room until they had feelings for each other.
"Steven, lie down." Nora helped the tall man into the room.
Finally getting him onto the bed, Steven's hand, with its defined knuckles, grabbed her, and they both tumbled onto the bed.
Steven was on top.
Nora was underneath.
The position was intimate.
Nora's eyes widened, staring up at Steven's handsome, refined face. He was so good-looking that it made her dizzy.
"Steven, what are you doing?" Nora asked, flustered, pushing against his chest, her cheeks flushed.
"What's this?" Steven's hand moved to her waist, pinching her lightly.
Nora was mortified!
That was her belly!
Steven kept pinching, trying to lift her nightgown for a better look. "Why do you have a belly? Are you pregnant?"
He was babbling nonsense, half-asleep.
Nora was beyond embarrassed, swatting away his restless hand. "That's just my belly."
Did he think her little belly meant she was pregnant?
Was it that big?
Just a little bit of extra weight, okay?
Besides, they hadn't even consummated their marriage, so where would a baby come from?
"Steven, let go of me. I'll make you some honey water!" Nora said, realizing the position was too risky.
She needed to break this intimacy.
If anything happened, she feared Steven would accuse her of taking advantage of him the next day!
"Don't you like me?" Steven's gaze bore down on her, his eyes hazy yet deeply beautiful.
Nora couldn't look away.
Did she like him?
She couldn't say she liked him, but she didn't dislike him either.
Because Steven had given her a home when she had nowhere to go.
"I," Nora licked her lips, about to speak, but Steven had already let her go and turned to the side.
He curled up, hugging himself, his profile under his hairline looking both incredibly sexy and incredibly distant.
They say people who sleep like this lack a sense of security and are highly defensive.
Nora watched him for a while.
Steven had returned to his usual unapproachable self, his back to her, not saying another word.
Nora's heart twisted. She wanted to reach out to him but didn't dare, as they weren't that close.
Honestly, she didn't even know why Steven had married her.
At that time, her grandfather had liver cancer, and Nora had spent all her money on his surgery.
Her grandfather had always been good to her, but her family didn't understand. They thought she was wasting money on a dying man and kicked her out.
She was homeless, with only two hundred dollars, dragging a suitcase through the streets at night.
A car stopped, and Steven opened the door, looking like a god as he asked her, "Would you marry me?"
Nora had been stunned.
But she agreed because she felt she had nothing left to lose.
Looking back, she thought she had been brave. If Steven had been a conman, getting into his car might have cost her life.
Luckily, Steven wasn't a conman. He brought her to an apartment in Riverside, and the next day, they got married.
Steven set three rules.
One, no physical relationship until they loved each other.
Two, don't ask about his whereabouts.
Three, don't pry into his privacy.
Morning.
There were sounds of breakfast being made, and Steven lay in bed, frowning in irritation. "So noisy!"
Nora was in the kitchen making breakfast.
She liked cooking.
Hearing Steven's voice, she pushed open the bedroom door, her face lit up with a bright smile. "Sorry, I was making milk, did I wake you?"
She closed the door.
A moment later, the door opened again.
Steven, a light sleeper, was pushed to the edge by the sound of her footsteps.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
His dark, obsidian-like eyes stared coldly at her.
Nora placed a bowl of hangover soup on the bedside table.
Noticing his gaze, she turned, her pretty face glowing in the morning light.
Her eyes were large, with amber-colored pupils, very beautiful.
But Steven's gaze was like a predator's.
Nora was startled. "Sorry, Steven, I just wanted to bring you some hangover soup. You drank a lot last night, and I was worried you'd have a headache this morning, so I made you some. Remember to drink it."
Steven glanced at the hangover soup on the bedside table.
Every time he came home drunk, Nora would massage his head and make hangover soup.
Her kindness was as bright as the morning sun.
But it felt a bit fake.
Last night, Steven had decided he was going to divorce her.