6. Married for Bussiness

Darwin seemed to struggle to shift away from Vivian's embrace. Lowering his gaze, he found his lover still peacefully asleep, her arms wrapped around his waist.

After Vivian's visit yesterday, Darwin had left his office right away to spend time together in her apartment. Last night, he had finally decided to stay over. After all, today was a holiday, so he didn't need to rush to wake up and head to the office.

Adoringly watching the still-sleeping Vivian, Darwin slowly shifted his body. He moved a bit, then propped his head up with one elbow. His free hand gently caressed Vivian's cheek. Occasionally, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead before descending to her lovely cheeks. Eventually, Vivian let out a soft sigh and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey, love..." she murmured, her voice husky from just waking up. Darwin had to admit, Vivian was stunning in every moment. Her gentle demeanor only made him more infatuated.

Throughout his life, Darwin had only felt this way about Vivian. Not to mention the sacrifices she had made during their long-distance relationship. Even now, she was willing to wait for him despite his forced marriage to another woman.

Because of all the sacrifices Vivian had made, Darwin was determined not to leave her. He even promised that someday they would get married and be together.

"Good morning, Sweety."

Vivian blinked, then smiled, burying her face in Darwin's neck. She inhaled his scent deeply. Shortly after, she hugged him tightly, as if she couldn't bear to let him go.

"Don't you want to get up?" Darwin asked as he continued hugging her.

Still hugging him, Vivian shook her head.

"I'm still sleepy and I want to spend more time missing you."

Darwin smiled and brought his hand up to gently stroke Vivian's disheveled hair.

"Isn't it enough yet? I even stayed overnight instead of going home just to be with you."

Vivian pouted playfully. She still hesitated to let go of her lover. She wanted to continue being together. She wished no one could disturb them.

"I want to stay with you, Win. The last time we were like this was during your honeymoon in Bali. We could only be together again a month later," Vivian whined, making Darwin feel even more conflicted and reluctant to leave her.

"But haven't I been visiting you whenever I'm not busy?"

"Yes, but we only meet briefly, right? We've never spent the night together."

Darwin fell silent and sighed deeply. Since officially becoming Veronica's husband, as far as he could remember, he had only spent time with Vivian once during his honeymoon in Bali. Instead of enjoying the vacation with Veronica, he chose to spend time with Vivian until he returned to Jakarta.

After that incident, Darwin had only met up or gone out with Vivian occasionally. It was only last night that he spent time with her again, even staying over. He did it all to make up for his recent busyness.

"Are you willing to wait for me a little longer? I promise, once things stabilize, I'll divorce Veronica and marry you right away."

Vivian nodded and smiled. She hadn't forgotten this promise from Darwin.

"Yes, I'll wait for you no matter how long it takes."

"In that case, can I go now? This afternoon, I already have plans to meet Kennedy."

Vivian pouted. She was still reluctant to let Darwin go.

"Please," Darwin pleaded once more. "I promise, I'll pick you up for lunch tomorrow."

Vivian's reluctant expression finally softened into a smile. She leaned her face forward.

"You can go. But there's a condition."

"What's the condition?"

Instead of answering, Vivian brought her hand to Darwin's face, pulling him closer. She then kissed him deeply and demandingly.

While their lips were locked, one of Vivian's hands moved down to Darwin's broad chest, caressing it gently. She intentionally teased him. After a moment, she broke the kiss and whispered in a sensual tone, "Hold me tightly until you're satisfied, then you can go."

Darwin chuckled. He immediately granted Vivian's request. After all, it wasn't difficult to simply hold his lover in his arms until she was content.

The next moment, Darwin embraced Vivian tightly. He pulled her close and held her as if he didn't want to let go at all. They enjoyed the remaining moments they had left.

***

Satisfied with keeping his girlfriend company, Darwin decided to head home right around lunchtime. As he arrived, he felt slightly surprised. When he parked his car in the driveway, he noticed another luxury car that he didn't recognize was also parked there.

Intrigued, Darwin entered the house. Once inside, he was taken aback to find his father-in-law and his own father sitting in the dining room. They seemed to be getting ready for lunch.

"Hey, Win."

Damian Ashborne, Veronica's father, noticed Darwin's arrival. The middle-aged man immediately greeted his son-in-law, who stood not far from the stairs.

Magnus Walters, who was also there, turned to look. Veronica stood up, followed by Darwin, who reluctantly walked over to the dining area.

"Dad," Darwin greeted awkwardly. He suddenly felt nervous and unsure how to respond, knowing he was about to be interrogated by both his father-in-law and his own father.

"Have you eaten? Let's have lunch together. You must be tired after working overtime at the office."

For a split second, Darwin was taken aback. He glanced at Veronica for a moment, then looked back at his father-in-law.

"I-I mean—"

"Yes," Damian interrupted. "According to Veronica, you've been working early mornings to handle end-of-month overtime. I'm really impressed by your dedication to setting a good example for your employees. Despite being a leader, you're not afraid to put in extra hours, even sacrificing your days off to ensure the work is done properly."

Magnus, beside Damian, smiled and chimed in. He was also beaming.

"You should've seen whose son-in-law he is. Darwin has turned out so well thanks to my upbringing."

Damian glanced at Magnus, exchanged a smile, and nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. Knowing that your personality and sense of responsibility align with mine, I agreed to have you marry Veronica, my beloved daughter."

The two middle-aged men laughed, throwing their gazes at Darwin, who was still standing there, bewildered.

"Well then, why don't you change your clothes, Win?" Magnus instructed his son. "After that, come back to the dining room quickly. We're having lunch together. It's a shame for your wife to have prepared so much food if it doesn't get eaten."

Darwin nodded. The guy managed to smile, even though he still looked awkward.

"Yeah, Dad. Give me a moment, I'll change clothes first."

Right then, Darwin glanced at Veronica, signaling for his wife to come upstairs with him.

Understanding the hint, Veronica complied. She followed Darwin's steps, quickly ascending the stairs. Right in front of Darwin's room – because they've actually been sleeping in separate rooms all this time – Darwin roughly grabbed Veronica's arm. He ushered her inside and firmly locked the door.

"Since when were my dad and your dad here?" he inquired, his gaze sharp.

Actually, he could have asked in a nicer way. Darwin was either too arrogant or maybe just too proud to treat Veronica kindly even once.

"Since 10 AM," Veronica replied casually.

"And in all that time, you couldn't bother to let me know? Were you purposely trying to embarrass me?" Darwin retorted, his anger showing. His emotions were escalating.

Without fear or offense, Veronica responded calmly, still smiling.

"If I had contacted you this morning, do you really think you'd have agreed right away?"

Darwin fell silent. Veronica's simple question left him unable to answer.

Meanwhile, Veronica quirked the corner of her lips. Grinning, she threw another sentence his way.

"I tried to contact you. But your phone was off. Maybe you deliberately turned it off so I couldn't disturb you while you were having a good time with your mistress."

Darwin instantly got angry. He grabbed Veronica's chin forcefully, his grip causing her to wince in pain.

"She's not my mistress. It's you who's ruining my relationship with her! You should be aware of your position."

A smile blossomed on Veronica's lips again. Unlike before, this time she wasn't the least bit afraid to face Darwin, who was clearly so emotional toward her.

"But now you're my husband. I'm your legitimate wife. The woman outside of our marriage is just a nuisance. You should be thankful that I didn't embarrass you in front of my dad and your dad. You should be grateful because I haven't laid a finger on your mistress until now. Although, if I wanted to, I could."

Right then, Darwin released his grip on her hand. This was the first time he heard Veronica boldly retort back at him.

"I guarantee you'll regret it if you dare to touch her!"

"No need for too many threats," Veronica replied quickly. "Now, you better get yourself ready to be nice in front of my dad and your dad down there."

Ten minutes later, the somber-eyed man descended and finally joined them at the dining table. Taking a seat right next to Veronica, Darwin made an effort to appear sweet. He willingly accepted the plate offered by his wife. Even when Veronica helped by serving rice and various dishes, Darwin didn't protest at all.

No way would he refuse or act careless. Damian, who was Veronica's father, was there.

Initially, at the beginning of their marriage, Darwin had been indifferent and chose not to care if Veronica's parents or his in-laws knew that he didn't agree with this marriage at all. However, at Vivian's request to maintain a good attitude so that Veronica's parents would continue supporting the Infinix Group to stabilize it as before, Darwin had no choice but to make an effort to treat Veronica well in front of everyone.

Without a doubt, Darwin took a bite of the food on his plate. He chewed slowly, savoring the flavors, then paused briefly before nodding. At this moment, he realized that his wife's cooking wasn't as bad as he had thought.

"How's your work, Win?" Magnus initiated the conversation at the table.

"Darwin's work is good, Dad. Thanks to Papa Damian' help, one by one, the branch companies have started to operate normally again. Well, not 100% yet, but Darwin is confident that everything will return to normal soon."

Damian raised his head, smiling proudly. Having offered help to the struggling Infinix Group, Damian hadn't expected the quick progress in normalizing the company. And it was all because of his capable son-in-law's intervention.

"When this improvement process is done, Papa is planning to give you another company to manage, Win. Let's consider it a wedding gift from Papa," Damian said then. "There happens to be a Wijaya subsidiary called Sari Melati, which is the parent company of various fast-food restaurants and is in great need of a capable leader like you. After thinking it over, I believe you're the right fit for this role."

It wasn't Darwin, but Magnus, who smiled broadly. He was thrilled that his friend was giving his son such an impressive gift.

"Darwin must be thrilled to get such a fantastic gift," Magnus chimed in. "What do you say, Win? You can do it, right?"

Darwin seemed to scratch his non-itchy eyebrow. He intended to free himself from the clutches of his father-in-law or anything related to the Wijaya family, yet he was being handed something dazzling.

"Actually, Darwin—"

"Darwin must be eager, Dad," Veronica cut in. Then she threw a smile toward her husband. "What's so difficult about leading a company like that? And if you ever struggle, let Veronica help. Isn't that right, dear?" Veronica asked, glancing at Darwin.

Darwin nodded reluctantly. Refusing seemed unlikely.

"Yes, Dad. Darwin can definitely run that company."

Damian smiled happily. He felt joyful that his offer was well-received.

"In that case, the day after tomorrow, both of you shouldn't forget to come to the gala dinner hosted by the Vortex Group executives. There, Papa will introduce you to the other leaders. After all, when Papa retires, won't it all be passed on to you? Considering that Veronica doesn't have any siblings at all. So, it's important to know many business associates in order to have a broad network."

Darwin just nodded. Even though, if he were materialistic, he should have been thrilled to become the son-in-law of Damian Ashborne. Their company ranked among the global top with above-average annual profits. What significance did Infinix Group hold for someone like Damian? That's why his father-in-law had been so willing to help when Darwin's father asked for assistance.

"Since my father and your dad have been here for a while, it's time for us to take our leave. Don't forget to come to the event the day after tomorrow. Papa will be waiting for both of you there."

Ensuring that their fathers had left, Darwin once again led Veronica to go upstairs. He brought her into her room to have a conversation.

"What do you mean by all this?"

Veronica raised an eyebrow. Just as before, she responded casually.

"There's no particular meaning."

"But I don't like the way you did it."

"From the beginning, you never liked me anyway, did you?"

Darwin chuckled sarcastically in response. Then he nodded.

"That's why you shouldn't expect too much from this marriage. Sooner or later, we're bound to separate."

Veronica took a step forward. With the same smile, she immediately retorted to her husband's words.

"Just prove your words later."

Veronica then walked away and left abruptly. She didn't care if Darwin would be upset with her again after this.