Chapter 246

Chapter 246

When Alice got home, the lights were off. Samuel was curled up on the couch playing video games, and the food on the dining table had already gone cold.

She glanced at the time—it had been over an hour since he'd called. Alice gave him an apologetic smile, "Honey, you haven't eaten yet?"

"My wife wasn't home. How could I eat alone? I've been waiting for you this whole time."

Looking at the carefully prepared dinner on the table, Alice felt even more guilty.

"I'm so sorry. I had dinner with Lily tonight and forgot to tell you. I was gonna come straight home after dropping her off, but then she got harassed by this guy Marlon from school. He almost... did something to her, so I stayed with her a while longer."

Samuel, always one for gossip, immediately frowned when he heard Lily had nearly been assaulted, "Is she okay? What happened? Give me all the details."

Seeing he wasn't angry and actually looked interested, Alice told him about how Marlon had harassed Lily that evening and even tried to make her touch his dick.

"That's disgusting. At his age? I bet if Lily had actually touched it, she wouldn't be able to sleep for days she'd be so grossed out."

Alice couldn't help but burst out laughing at Samuel's blunt assessment, "That's exactly what I thought."

"So how'd it end?" Samuel put down his phone and leaned closer to Alice, fishing for more details.

Alice then told him the whole story—how they'd pulled down Marlon's pants so everyone could see, and how the cops had taken him away.

After hearing everything, Samuel looked mock-disappointed, "Man, what a shame I wasn't there. I would've had some choice words for him."

Alice couldn't help but laugh, "Like what?"

"Well, you just told me yourself—with something that small, he had the nerve to ask someone to touch it? Talk about overconfident. As a man, I would've had to set him straight. You've gotta have some self-awareness."

Alice laughed at that. Seeing Samuel's face completely free of anger, she asked tentatively, "You're not mad, are you? I really did have a good reason for coming home late."

"How could I be mad at you? Besides, Lily's safety is way more important. It's just that my carefully prepared dinner got cold."

Alice's gaze fell on the dinner he'd made, "It's fine, we can just heat it up. Let me do it."

"Didn't you say you already ate with Lily tonight?"

"That doesn't mean I can't eat with you again, right? I'll just have a little."

Hearing this, Samuel immediately stood up and carried the cold dishes to the kitchen.

"Let me handle the reheating. Your hands aren't meant for this kind of work."

Watching him bustle around in the kitchen, Alice felt her heart fill with warmth.

He was so accomplished—he could have any woman he wanted—yet he was willing to do laundry and cook for her.

How lucky was she to have found him?

Walking into the kitchen, Alice wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and, for the first time, said something romantic to him, "Honey, thank you."

Samuel's body stiffened. He turned around and looked at her in surprise, "Are you okay?"

As he spoke, he reached out to feel her forehead, looking worried.

Alice swatted his hand away, "What are you doing?"

"You don't have a fever... Why are you suddenly so sweet tonight? Is this the calm before the storm?"

Usually, though he and Alice got along well enough, she'd always been slow to warm up and not very expressive with her feelings.

Tonight's sudden tenderness and sentimentality made Samuel uncomfortable.

His first thought was that she must be sick, or he'd done something wrong.

He frantically searched his memory for recent events, and only after confirming he hadn't done anything to upset Alice did he relax.

Alice gave him an exasperated look, "You're so panicked—are you trying to remember something you did to make me mad?"

"Of course not. I'm such a good husband who loves his wife—how could I possibly do anything to upset you? I'm just a little thrown by this special treatment."

Alice believed Samuel. She was only teasing him.

He was someone who knew where the boundaries were. Though he'd hidden some of his financial situation from her before, he'd never done anything inappropriate.

So Alice trusted him.

After heating up the food, they sat at the dining table. Alice looked at the handsome man across from her, liking what she saw more and more.

"Oh, tomorrow's Zola's birthday. Bianca invited us over for dinner. You free?"

"Of course I'm free. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Zola in forever. Ever since she started daycare, I wonder how she's been adjusting."

Thinking about Zola being so young and already sent to daycare made Alice's heart ache a little.

But there was no helping it. Bianca had to work to support them, which meant she couldn't keep them by her side.

"Well, we can check on her tomorrow. Zola loves you, her aunt. Spend some extra time playing with her."

Alice had already been full, but looking at Samuel, she ate a bit more.

She was increasingly convinced that having a handsome husband made even food taste better.

"Honey, you've been staring at me for a while now. If you want something, just say it. You don't have to look at me like that."

Hearing Samuel's teasing tone, Alice sighed, "Can't I just appreciate the view? Does it have to involve dirty thoughts?"

"What's pure about two adults? It's all about physical compatibility."

Alice was at a loss for words.

Samuel's mind was always in the gutter.

Before she could respond, Samuel had already stood up and grabbed her wrist, heading toward the bedroom.

"What are you doing?"

"Satisfying you, of course. Can't have you just looking and suffering."

"You haven't finished eating yet."

Alice tried to remind him, but Samuel showed no signs of letting go.

"Right now, you're way more tempting than food."

With that, he'd already pulled Alice into the bedroom and closed the door.

"Don't pull on my clothes, you'll rip them."

Alice's protesting voice came from inside the room.

"If I rip them, I'll buy new ones." Samuel's voice sounded impatient, clearly at the end of his rope.

"Buy new ones? With your money?"

"Yeah, I'll buy them."

"When did you become so generous? That's not like you."

Though Alice now knew Samuel had money, his stingy nature hadn't changed. His sudden generosity today was pretty unusual.