"Is he serious about her?" Ethan asked while stroking his jaw with one hand. His other hand was tucked into his pocket.Lucas pushed his glasses up and said confidently, "Yeah. He's definitely serious."Zachary had both hands in his pockets. He said rather doubtfully, "I can only hope he's being serious."…The following day, Lucille woke up with a pounding headache. She lay weakly on the bed and blearily texted Samuel to let him know she wouldn't be heading to work that day. Then, she dozed off.Shortly after, her phone started vibrating. It annoyed her to the point of forcing her to wake up. She cracked an eye open and answered the phone. "Hello?"Spencer had just finished a meeting and had returned to his office. He narrowed his eyes when he heard how hoarse and weak Lucille sounded. He checked the time—it was 11:30 am. Was she still asleep? And why did she sound so off?His heart clenched. "It's me. Are you at home?"Lucille's brain had short-circuited from the fever. All s
Mack entered the apartment. He stood before the coffee table and said respectfully, "I've fixed Mrs. Layton's door, boss."He found the atmosphere a little weird but couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.…An hour later, Spencer went into the bedroom to check Lucille's temperature. Fortunately, the fever had subsided, and he sighed in relief."Now that the fever has subsided, you just need to make sure she sticks to a clean diet when she wakes up. Tell her to take her medication and rest for a couple of days. She'll be good to go after that," Lucas said.He pushed his glasses up and continued, "I noticed that she keeps a lot of chocolate and candy around, so she probably also has low blood sugar. She should be fine as long as she doesn't bleed, though."There wasn't anything else he could do, so he left. He had plenty of work waiting for him at the hospital.…Lucille didn't know how long she slept. When she woke up in a daze, it was already 3:00 pm. She slowly propped herself up i
"I'm not worth it," Lucille said. Her eyes dimmed.Spencer moved his hand from her head to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. He wasn't in any rush to respond to her words. He placed a warm hand on her cheek and gently caressed it.The physical contact made Lucille's hair stand on end. Her cheek tingled from his touch. He was so close to her that she could see her reflection in his eyes. It was as if she was all he could see.Then, Spencer said, "You're worth it."He sounded confident and firm. Lucille couldn't help widening her eyes at his words, and she clenched her fists on her blanket.Spencer reminded, "Have you forgotten what I told you last night?"She recalled what he'd said to her at the hospital. He'd told her he would protect her and asked her to learn to rely on him.Spencer narrowed his eyes when he saw her bite her lip. She looked so fragile and unguarded that he couldn't help swallowing. He wasn't enough of a monster to take advantage of someone who was sic
Spencer felt a little awkward as Lucille stared at him. This was his first time doing something so inappropriate in his life. He raised a fist to his mouth as he cleared his throat.Lucille felt a little upset. She'd spent thousands of dollars on that lock and had only used it for two months. Yet he'd smashed it!Spencer said, "I've already gotten it changed."Well, she couldn't say much since he'd already replaced it. He wasn't an outsider, after all. He was supposed to be her husband, even if it was only in name."I've temporarily set the password as the date we registered our marriage. You can change it later if you want," he continued.To his surprise, Lucille said, "No, it's fine. We can just stick to that."She grabbed the water and gulped some before taking her medication. He watched her and smiled warmly. He was happy that she hadn't turned him down.Spencer spent a little more time with Lucille, only leaving and heading back to his company when he was sure she was fine.
It was only 5:00 pm when Lucille ended her call with Bailey. She didn't feel like sleeping, so she called Samuel and had him email her whatever documents that needed her attention.At 5:30 pm, her phone rang. She glanced at it and answered it."That was fast. I guess you already woke up from your nap?" Spencer's gentle voice rang out on the other end of the line.Lucille felt her heart skip a beat. The tingling made her feel uneasy. She bit her lip and hummed in agreement. Spencer continued, "What do you want for dinner tonight?""Huh?" She was taken aback. Then, she asked tentatively, "Are you… Are you gonna cook?"After all, he'd revealed to her a couple of hours ago that he could cook."Yeah. I'll have Kent drop the ingredients off at your place, and I'll head home to cook for you once I'm done with things here. Or do you want to walk around a bit? I can accompany you to the supermarket, and we can get the things ourselves." Spencer gave her two choices.Lucille didn't know w
Kent said, "Yes, boss."He left the room and ran into Mack. He immediately latched onto Mack and said, "Boss just told me to buy a bunch of ingredients and deliver them to Orchidstone Garden. Do you think he's going to cook for Mrs. Layton?"Mack was taken aback. "I guess?"Kent lamented, "Boss has never cooked for anyone, not even the Laytons. Mrs. Layton's only been around for a few days! Think about that!"Who would've expected the CEO of JM Corporation and the current head of the Layton family to know how to cook? He frequently cooked for himself, too.As far as Kent and Mack could remember, he'd never cooked for anyone other than himself, though.…Kent arrived at Orchidstone Garden at 6:30 pm. He dropped the ingredients off before leaving. About half an hour later, Lucille heard the doorbell ring again.She opened the door to see Spencer standing outside. He wore a black suit as usual, paired with a silver-gray tie. He looked like a debonair gentleman, and he exuded matur
"Do you need help?" Lucille asked. She stood behind Spencer. She'd felt a little embarrassed sitting around while he bustled around the kitchen. She didn't know how to cook but could still help with certain simple tasks.Spencer turned to see her guileless eyes darting around. He asked, "How about you wash and slice the vegetables?""Sure!" Washing and slicing vegetables was about the only thing she could do. It was what she used to help Bailey with when she came over to cook for her.She rolled her sleeves up and grabbed the vegetables that had been laid out. She got to work. Spencer lowered his head slightly to see her washing and slicing seriously.He smiled slightly at the sight. He'd never felt like this before. It was an odd feeling. He seemed to be filled with satisfaction and happiness. He wanted things to be like this for the rest of their lives.Lucille was engrossed in her task when she suddenly felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her, starting from her ear. She st
If not for Spencer holding Lucille up, she wouldn't be able to stand. She felt like something was threatening to explode from her stomach. It made her feel horrible, but she couldn't get it out. It was stuck there.She never would've expected that she'd one day have too much to eat. Was this how it felt to die on an overly full stomach?"Do you have any indigestion medicine at home?" Spencer asked.Lucille thought about it, then shook her head."How about we head downstairs to get some, then? We can take this opportunity to take a stroll."She frowned. She did not want to leave the house, let alone walk. Spencer's expression was helpless, but he was more patient and gentle than anything. He coaxed tenderly, "C'mon, let's go. You'll feel better after a short stroll."Lucille struggled with the thought for a few seconds. Ultimately, Spencer dragged her downstairs. She was wholly unwilling. If she had a choice, she would've just gone to bed and hoped she would wake up feeling better