She always woke up in cold sweat in the middle of the night. There was no one else in the empty bedroom except her.After that night, Laurence never returned to the villa, and she kept her promise not to ask about his whereabouts or what he did outside. These days, they would only meet at the company, and he would act as if nothing had happened. He neither made things difficult nor treated her as special at work. Their relationship returned to before, strictly professional. Any flirting between them and hope that he had some feelings for her disappeared.Zoey quickly adjusted to this new status quo and resumed her responsibilities at work. She thought it would be best if they could maintain this distance during the contract period. However, her wish was quickly shattered.After half a month, Laurence returned to the villa. He only wanted to appease his anger, so he did not beat around the bush. Zoey was forced into bed by him. Her wrists were held against the bed, bound by his belt. Sh
Zoey was stunned and astonished by his words. Laurence noticed she was dumbfounded. He traced his fingers against her soft skin and pursed his lips.“What’s wrong?” he asked in a raspy voice.Zoey pinched herself, and it hurt a little. She came to her senses, her eyelashes fluttering, her dark eyes pierced through the man before her, and tears pricked the corner of her eyes. Suddenly she felt as if she was in a dream—her young and unfulfilled dream as a teenager. She held no expectations when she asked the question. She even regretted overreaching her boundaries the moment she spoke.Zoey felt a lump in her throat. She carefully asked, “Did you hear what I asked?”Laurence pressed harder on her cheeks and gazed down at her face. It was evident that she was nervous. Her lips were pursed lips and her body was tense. The soft lighting shone on her wary face, making her seem very vulnerable and fragile.He answered calmly, “Loud and clear.”Laurence grasped her hand, which she clenched t
She gave up resisting. …The next morning, memories from the wild night before flooded Zoey's mind and she cried her eyes out.Laurence turned around to look at her in bed. She was frail, and her dark hair draped across the bed, covering her porcelain skin. He always felt she was the prettiest at this moment. But she was too slim to hold. Laurence straightened his tie. “I’m going to the office.”Zoey followed suit, the bedsheet awkwardly wrapped around herself, and grabbed her clothes to change in the bathroom. Laurence chuckled lightly, not knowing what she was shy about. It wasn’t anything he had never seen before. Zoey changed into something formal, but since it was snowing and cold outside, she put on a coat as well. Nevertheless, Laurence thought she was dressed too lightly. “Aren’t you cold?”“There’s heating in the office,” Zoey answered. Laurence frowned in silence. He brought out a scarf from his closet and wrapped it around her shoulders so it covered half of her face;
George despised Laurence's nonchalant demeanor as if everything was under his control and he was invincible with victory in his hands. Others may not know, but George was very aware that Laurence's personal secretary was his wife. Their marriage was a secret, so few knew any details. George found out by accident, but he never said a word and kept silent. However, since Laurence had no mercy, he would not hold back either. George had to play a few dirty tricks to maintain his seat in the board of directors. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would fall into this young man's hands. As the saying goes, like father, like son. Laurence was even more relentless than his father. George did not believe Laurence did not care at all. When Laurence first entered the company, he was so respectful to the directors and even called him uncle. But as soon as he gained a foothold, he turned his back on them and removed everyone from the board of directors without hesitation. If Georg
Zoey felt slightly uneasy. The look George gave her as he left sent chills down her back. But she remembered that George did not know of her relationship with Laurence, so those words definitely weren’t meant for her. “Miss Jenner, is this scarf your husband’s?”The black scarf did not seem like it belonged to a woman.Zoey hesitated before answering, “Yes.”Anne winked at her and teased, “It seems you’re getting along well with your husband.”Zoey was too embarrassed to admit that she was far from getting along with Laurence. However, they did return to their previous amicable relationship.“We're doing good.”“Is your husband good in bed?”Zoey was speechless. She realized single women nowadays were very interested in the sex life of married couples. She blushed and mumbled, “He’s okay.”She answered humbly on behalf of Laurence. He was indeed quite skilled in this aspect.Anne’s next words shocked her. “Can he go for seven rounds a night?”Zoey covered her mouth in shock and den
Zoey felt her cheeks redden and as she was hesitating, there was a ping from her phone again. Even Zoey could sense he was running out of patience through the phone. “Hurry up.” Zoey was not sure if there was anyone else in the office. She looked around nervously and pushed open the door to his office. As soon as she entered, she was greeted with the familiar scent of tobacco. Laurence was wearing a pair of glasses he rarely wore. The golden frame sat elegantly on his nose, which gave him a distinguished yet mysterious air. He casually removed his glasses, his demeanor intimidating even without saying anything. He wore a black shirt that highlighted his narrow waist and broad shoulders, neatly tucked into his pants which emphasized his long and slender legs. Laurence absently tugged at his tie and asked, “Are you in a hurry to leave?”Zoey looked at the clock and reminded him politely, “Mr. Scott, it’s already late.”It was already past ten, which meant she would arrive home around
Young Laurence chuckled heartily. He leaned against the wall weakly, like a sickly young man.“Sorry.”Just as she considered forgiving him, he pinched her cheeks and blurted, “Little ugly duckling.”She shrugged his hand away and huffed, “I don’t want to talk to you.”He was probably afraid she would really get mad. He quickly added, “But I would still like you even if you were ugly.”From what he said, Zoey was on cloud nine at that time. Zoey still did not know what that French sentence meant. She later checked what ugly duckling was in French, but it was completely different from what he said. He had tricked her.…When the meeting ended, Zoey was hugging a pillow and staring off into an empty space.He took the pillow away and asked, “Did you fall asleep?”Zoey raised her head and their eyes met. She yawned and said huskily, “Is it over?”Laurence paused for a second. He had always thought her raspy voice sounded familiar. There were even a few times when he mistook Zoey for Sarah
Zoey used to think he would never care about her, but yesterday he admitted that he had feelings for her. She knew he wouldn’t say that just to please her.The elevator door opened with a ding. The basement parking was brightly lit. However, it looked very empty. Zoey sat in the passenger seat with a blank face, her thoughts drifting away. She only returned to her senses to say thanks when Laurence reached over to put on her seatbelt. They were out of luck today as the car wouldn’t start no matter what he did.Zoey looked at him and asked, “Is there something wrong with the car?”Laurence frowned and unbuckled his seat belt.“I’ll go take a look.”Zoey sat in the car and watched as he opened the bonnet. Laurence seemed to have knowledge of everything. After some time, he returned to the car and explained, “There’s something wrong with the engine. We’ll call a cab.”Zoey nodded.The wind was howling outside the company. The air felt cold and frigid against their skin. Zoey wrapped the s