Chapter 5

(Emily’s POV).

“Can you pick me up now? At my father's office?” 

“I will be right there.”

“I'm waiting outside.”

Yes, the person I called was my husband, Mike. He always told me that whenever I needed him, I could call him. And now, I was trying to rely on him.

My broken heart felt like it was breaking into pieces. The life I had hoped for was not what I had planned, and I even had to marry a man who was quite far away from me.

His car stopped right in front of me and when I was about to open the front passenger door, he got out and opened the door for me.

“Thank you.” I got inside after giving him a small smile.

As soon as the car started, my heart skipped a beat. Ben—my asshole ex-boyfriend—rarely even opened the car door for me. He did do romantic things, but it was painful to remember that it was all just a drama he was acting out.

“Did something happen to you?” he asked quietly when I didn't say anything.

“Yes. That nephew of yours is sneaky.” I didn't hesitate to tell him how I felt this time. “He kicked me out of my father's company. Can you imagine that?”

“You have to be patient because I'm going to do something about it.”

“And what's that?”

He then looked at me for a second as I looked at him. “You trust me, right? Didn't you marry me because you wanted me to help you?”

I paused to stare out the window, feeling a little regretful that the way I was talking sounded a little harsh, even though he did want to help me.

“Sorry, I was too impatient.”

Then his hand touched me suddenly, slightly jolting me as I almost pulled my hand away from him.

“That's why I asked you to be patient.”

I was quite calm now, probably because he was my husband and because I believed he would help me, I felt like I was protected by him.

When I realized the car wasn't going in the right direction, I looked at him with a frown. 

“We'll have lunch first, it looks like you need some peace,” he said when he realized why I was staring at him.

“But I—”

“As a wife, you have no right to refuse what your husband says, Emily.” 

My lips immediately closed when he cut me off. Fine. I thought he was a dominant person to his wife. 

Again he opened the car door for me and without hesitation took my hand inside as we arrived at the restaurant. He was wearing sunglasses, but wouldn't something like this be big news if anyone found out? What if someone took a picture of him with me and then the gossip spread?

“Order something,” he said as he took off his glasses.

I opened the menu book and looked through the restaurant's menu. Unfortunately, I couldn't concentrate, instead, I was really curious about him, for some reason all of a sudden.

“Emily?” 

“Ah! Yes?!” I was surprised when his hand touched me again. I wasn't used to it because he always touched me out of the blue.

He even looked at me in surprise and sighed while leaning back calmly. “It's like you've never been touched by him.”

I knew he meant Ben, but it was true. For at least the past two years Ben had hardly touched me, and stupidly, I didn't even know what was wrong with him at the time.

“At least that's true, for the last two years he hasn't touched me. So I'm used to not being touched by anyone since then. Sorry.” Was all I could say to him, hoping that this wouldn't upset him.

“That's OK.”

I swallowed and tried to concentrate back on the menu book. I thought the cream corn soup and butter bread would fill me up this time. So I ordered that and waited for the waiter to serve it on our table.

A few minutes into the wait, Mike kept looking at me. He didn't touch his cell phone at all to fill the void, but he did look at me intensely. 

“What's wrong?” I finally tried to ask.

“You've calmed down enough.”

I nodded with a smile. This was also his blessing, I was quite calm but if I thought back about the assets I had, of course, I really couldn't just calm down.

And suddenly he took out his cell phone, calling someone. He didn't even take his eyes off me either.

“Hey, how are you, my nephew?” 

My eyes widened with my lips half open to hear him calling his nephew—Ben, my ex-boyfriend.

“Yeah, I heard you're managing your girlfriend's father's company. I'll help you out if you don't mind.”

“Sure. I'm going to the office after this. See you later.”

As soon as the call ended, I gave her a curious look. “Are you going to tell me something? About your plans?”

“I'm going to pretend that I can help him take over. He knows that I was in some company in a successful way, after which he will feel grateful and I can take over in the same cunning way as him.”

“Can you do that, Mike?” 

He nodded and was full of confidence. “You'll see the results, in the meantime you just need to enjoy your time as my wife. I won't betray my partner, just so you know.”

“But you will betray your nephew,” I argued.

“He's sneaky, Emily. He's a man who has never known gratitude. As his uncle, I must deter him. And I know his character very well.”

I nodded at his seriousness and found it impossible not to believe him.

By then, our order was in front of us. Mike and I ate lunch together. Even this time it felt calm and peaceful. It felt like the man in front of me had the energy of wind and water that cooled and calmed me down, even though he was arrogant if I looked at him.

“I'll take you to the hospital. How is my father-in-law?” 

My heart skipped a beat and I felt like my cheeks were turning red at his question. For the first time, he was asking how my father was, even mentioning the word 'father-in-law.' Do you think you would not feel this heartbeat if you were in my position?

“Well,” I said with a gulp, ”he's still in critical condition but the doctor says the possibility of recovery is in sight.”

“So my help counts. Tsk! That hospital seems to lick as much money as they want.”

I knew what he meant but I didn't think he would be upset with how hospitals sometimes treated their patients depending on how much money they were willing to pay.

“You are my dad's savior, Mike,” I smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“Save your thanks for when your dad is fully recovered and can go home. In the meantime, I'll get his company back as a reward for his recovery. You must assure him of that.”

Suddenly, my heart felt touched by his words, and once again, I had palpitations. This ... couldn’t be me falling in love with him, right? Because if I did, it was too soon.