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24: Take Me To Dinner
Last Updated:
2025-01-30 12:16:38
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Sunshine and The Beast 25: Ruined Dinner
AltheaEveryone knew who Matthias Cox was. It wasn’t a new thing for me to hear someone greet him all of a sudden, let it be men or women. This was definitely not my first rodeo. When we were out together on our date before the wedding, people greeted us on our way. Some media outlets openly approached us and asked for photos.But this was different. There was no camera, recorder, or any devices. It was only a woman with red plump lipstick, perfect manicure, and big boobs that came to our table. “You remember me, right?” When I heard it the second time, I felt like something was off. I knew I wasn’t that experienced with people and their personality, but even so I could feel when something was fake. Rather than sweet, I found it annoying. If I was Matthias, I would make the same expression too.Well, maybe not exactly that. I didn’t like it, but hearing it wouldn’t make me stiff and turned into a stone all of a sudden.“There is no way you will forget me,” she said once again, this
Last Updated : 2025-01-31Sunshine and The Beast 26: Distraction
MatthiasAfter all these years, she appeared.Five years have already passed, but she hadn’t not changed much. She was still the same Sloane Floyd I knew back then. Still with that bold look, flirtatious smile, and touchy as ever. She was definitely still with the same mindset too: she thought I was still in her grasp. Meeting her tonight wasn’t on my wishlist, or any other time. She was like a thorn in my body, so small that I didn’t notice, but when she appeared, I remembered the scars she caused. It was still there, burnt, and it needed to be calmed down. I wanted to take my mind from something I’ve thrown away years ago. I needed some distraction.And Althea happened to be with me.Since the start, she had stolen my attention. I didn’t think much of Sloane. She was not the reason why I took Althea with me. It was Althea herself. She took my sole focus with the way she looked at me and Sloane, to the way she stood up and said, “He is mine.”She said it as if she wanted to claim
Last Updated : 2025-02-01Sunshine and The Beast 27: One Night, One Mistake
AltheaToo many things happened out of the plan tonight.It was supposed to be a simple dinner, that was all. There was no making out in the parking lot, getting horny in the car, and went back to our penthouse rather than going back to Ilya.I didn’t expect all of these, yet it did. Did I regret it? I wasn’t really sure. I didn’t want to think about that either. Or to be exact, I couldn’t. My mind was occupied with whatever Matthias did to me. There was no time to think. The moment we arrived and went into our penthouse, Matthias slammed me against the wall, fusing his lips into mine once again. He took no time to dominate me, and all I could do was to succumb to his control.The things we did in the car were hot, but it wasn’t worth mentioning compared to what we were currently doing. This time, his hands were all over me, exploring every inch he hadn’t touched before. My face, my neck, my shoulder, my boobs, even my hips. He slipped his right hand inside my blouse, while the othe
Last Updated : 2025-02-02Sunshine and The Beast 28: Act in an Act
AltheaArt came with many forms and shapes, and had their own appeal. For me, painting was special because of one thing: because the artist could be anything without showing themself, hiding behind a canvas and a sheet of paper. I could make anything to represent me, while still standing behind the screen.Acting and stage play, on the other hand, was not my thing. Me from 3 months ago definitely wouldn’t have any thoughts about acting, let alone entering an acting school or courses. But these past few days, I was seriously considering it. Maybe I needed it as part of my survival kit afterall. Acting wasn’t that easy. And this time, I was forced to up my game, to act cool and fine not just in front of Ilya, but also Matthias. Both for two entire different reasons.“Morning, Althea.” Ilya's voice greeted me.I turned and saw her already wearing a casual outfit. Today, she had a flight to go back to New Zealand. If I wasn’t mistaken, her ticket was at 2 PM–I remembered that because Mat
Last Updated : 2025-02-03Sunshine and The Beast 29: I Want You
AltheaHusband.He said it, right? Or did I hear it wrong?There were some occasions where he claimed to be one, but that required a third, for, or God knew how many spectators. We were a husband and a wife when someone watched. Did someone watch us?I turned my back, scanning our surroundings. The airport was packed with a bunch of people, voices came from here and there. But here, we were only a few people out of many. Those who came here had their own purpose and business rather than to watch a fake marriage plan. No camera or media in sight. So why did he act like this all of a sudden?“No one is watching us,” he said, grabbing my attention back to him. “What are you looking for?”Your sanity. I almost uttered that to him. “So why are you saying that?”“Saying what?”“That I’m avoiding my husband.”He raised his eyebrow. “That is true, though.”“What is–”“I’m your husband, and you’re avoiding me.” He answered that with such confidence–no, it wasn’t like he was proud saying that
Last Updated : 2025-02-04Sunshine and The Beast 30: New Investor
Althea“Morning.”I doubted myself if I already woken up or was it the dream that was getting a little bit too realistic, but the scent of coffee and toast was way too good. It’s just I didn’t expect to hear Matthias greet me the time I stepped out from the bed.Should I call it our bed now?I walked to the kitchen as he put a glass of coffee with two egg toast on a plate. “Mrs. Lare asked for a day off because of her grandson's birthday.”Was it because I haven’t regained my full consciousness, or his cooking seemed quite delicious? I didn’t even know he could cook. “Thanks.” He nodded slightly and sat himself on the other side of the table, facing me. Judging by his look, he already took a bath. Maybe I should've too. His scent was still on me. Not that it was bad, it’s just … well, it wasn’t like I wanted to smell him all over my body forever.We sat there without any conversation going. He was busy with his food, while I had mine. The room was quiet, but that silence felt diffe
Last Updated : 2025-02-05Sunshine and The Beast 31: Her Mother
AltheaMy mother, he said.There was a time when I wondered what my mother was like and why I ended up with Granny instead of my parents, like most children. These questions went unanswered for years, until I decided to stop thinking about them.“Thinking about someone who isn't there is just a waste of time.” Granny once said. I agreed with her. Whether my mother was there or not, the wheel of my life kept turning. However, Tristan's words this time seemed to freeze time and my ability to think. I stared at him for God knew how long, trying to reciprocate with the fact that someone really knew my mother’s existence.Was it weird to say that I felt a little bit of stab in my chest? Jealousy, perhaps. Or some other feeling I haven’t experienced before. “Mrs. Cox, are you okay?” I blinked fast, then let out a small cough. “Ah, sorry. It’s just a little bit unexpected. I haven’t really talked much about my mother with other people.”And by that I meant not at all. Never. “I’m sorry,
Last Updated : 2025-02-06Sunshine and The Beast 32: The New Guy
Matthias“Missing your wife already?”I tried not to throw my iPad to Ren’s head and let him put the wine I’ve requested before on the tray table. “You told her before you went, right?” I rolled my eyes. “You don’t have to tell me that. Of course I did.”It wasn’t my first time going on a business trip abroad.As a network security company with clients all over the world, I often had to fly to various countries. However, this was clearly the first time I traveled with the status of being someone's husband. This time, I had to tell someone that I needed to go.I thought there would not be any different. Whether she said yes or no, I still needed to go.But it did. It felt different. I was hundreds of feet in the air, and someone below was waiting for me. “Just don’t die, okay? I don’t want to be a widow so soon, at least not in a few days.”That sounded better for me than to hear her giving a melodrama show like when a man had to leave his woman. “You better stay alive while I’m away
Last Updated : 2025-02-08
Latest chapter
Sunshine and The Beast 59: I'm Mad, But ...
MatthiasIt was always better to say nothing than to say something unnecessary. That was what I believed.Before this shit started to happen.There were things that were better left unsaid. I lived my life long enough, learned my lesson well enough to know that speaking things might bring trouble. And I hated trouble–even when the reality was trouble liked me quite a lot to come on my way.Gwen was nothing. At least for a few years now. I didn’t like to talk about her, nor did I feel the need to do so. She was something I chose to leave in the dark, to keep in a box and throw it away as far as possible.Yet she walked in, once again, with reasons I couldn’t explain. I ignored all her messages, mails, even calls. I made sure she didn’t get any access to reach me. Some people were better to be treated that way.So how could Althea meet her? And what the fuck with that “Matthias’s dearest”? Hearing it almost made me throw up.And now, Althea wouldn’t even look at me.For three days, she
Sunshine and The Beast 58: Hurt
AltheaWas it normal to feel like you were hurt by something, but also felt guilty because you feel hurt? I didn’t know what kind of paradox this was called, or if it was only something that I made up to feel less insane–and failed anyway. I went back to the office, eating nothing, drinking nothing, speaking nothing.I stared at my laptop screen for what felt like hours, but the words blurred together into incomprehensible lines of text. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, useless, frozen. No matter how much I tried to push past it, Gwen’s words replayed in my head, over and over, an unrelenting echo.Matthias’s dearest.The way she said it, the way she looked at me—like I was an outsider in my own marriage. And wasn’t I? Wasn’t that exactly what I was? A placeholder. A name on a contract. A woman with no right to feel anything.And yet, the sting in my chest refused to fade. It pressed deeper, sharper, until it felt like I was suffocating under the weight of something I shouldn’t e
Sunshine and The Beast 57: Broke Down
AltheaThe words lingered between us, thick and suffocating. Matthias’s dearest.I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe. My grip on the coffee cup was painfully tight, my knuckles white from the pressure.Gwen’s smile remained perfectly poised, as if she were savoring the reaction she’d just pulled from me. Her hazel eyes gleamed with something unreadable—amusement, curiosity, maybe even satisfaction. She wasn’t just saying it to inform me. She was testing me.I forced myself to swallow past the lump in my throat. “Oh,” I said, my voice thin. “I see.”That was the best I could come up with? I see?Gwen hummed lightly, tilting her head as she studied me. “I thought Matthias would have mentioned me. We go way back.”Go way back.Each word chipped away at the weak wall I had built around my heart. It was stupid, wasn’t it? To feel anything at all? I was nothing but Matthias’s fake wife. A legal obligation. A name on a contract. But that didn’t stop the unease slithering beneath my skin, wrappin
Sunshine and The Beast 56: That Woman
AltheaIt seemed like I needed a tutorial about how to not overthink things.Days had passed, and by this time, I should have stopped thinking about that name: Gwen. And yet, I couldn’t.Every time I looked at Matthias—when we had breakfast together, when he returned home late at night with that same unreadable expression—her name echoed in my mind like a whisper I couldn’t silence. Who was she? Why hadn’t he said anything about her? Was it because she was just another person in his long list of acquaintances, or was it because she was someone I was never supposed to know about?The worst part was, I knew I had no right to ask. I was his fake wife. Nothing more. We had a contract, an agreement built on necessity, not love. If there was another woman in his life—someone he truly cared about—what place did I have to question it? And yet, knowing all this didn’t make it any easier to ignore the gnawing unease that clawed at my chest.Matthias, on the other hand, remained as composed as e
Sunshine and The Beast 55: The Blackmailer
[Folded page, extra POV]The dim glow of multiple screens illuminated the darkened room, casting jagged shadows against the walls. The only sound was the faint hum of machines, a steady pulse in the silence. Rows of code scrolled down the largest monitor, lines of encrypted data shifting in real time. Another screen displayed a series of documents—emails, phone records, confidential case files. Each one meticulously compiled, each one tied to a single name: Matthias.The blackmailer leaned back in their chair, fingers tapping idly against the desk as they scanned the information. Matthias had taken the bait. He was cautious, but that was expected. He was a man who thrived on control, on understanding the rules of the game better than anyone else. Which made it all the more satisfying to shift those rules beneath his feet. The misdirection had worked, at least for now. New York had been too easy, too obvious. But it served its purpose—it forced Matthias to react. And a man in motion wa
Sunshine and The Beast 54: Digging Secrets
MatthiasThere’s a reason why dealing with idiots is exhausting.Sure, expecting too much often leads to disappointment rather than satisfaction, but I’m fairly certain every person is at least given a brain to think. Some just choose not to use it, letting it rot into nothing more than dead weight in their skulls. And the worst part? They don’t even realize it. They move through life making the same mistakes, refusing to take responsibility, blaming everything and everyone except their own incompetence. It’s almost impressive—the mental gymnastics they go through just to avoid admitting they’re the problem.I tended to stay far from those types. I’d rather deal with nobody than waste my time getting mad over someone’s stupid and questionable behavior. But unfortunately, in business, avoiding them entirely wasn’t always an option. Some of them were clients. Some of them were investors. Some of them were people who, for whatever reason, had power they didn’t deserve.And people like me
Sunshine and The Beast 53: Ask Him (Or Not)
AltheaThe morning light seeped through the kitchen window, casting a soft glow over the table. The scent of coffee lingered in the air, mixing with the faint crispness of toast and the subtle warmth of eggs fresh off the pan. It was quiet, save for the occasional clink of silverware against plates and the low hum of the coffee machine.Matthias sat across from me, his fingers wrapped around a steaming mug, eyes still heavy with the remnants of sleep. His shirt was slightly rumpled, his hair still damp from a shower, a few strands falling over his forehead. He wasn’t reading the newspaper or looking at his phone like he usually did. Instead, he was watching me.I didn’t know if he was waiting for me to say or do something, but I didn’t feel like doing anything at all.Maybe it was because of the lack of sleep. Last night was tiring, sure. I had barely had enough sleep or food since my aunt’s funeral. My body was tired, I couldn’t lie. Yet as I lay in bed, I couldn’t get myself to slee
Sunshine and The Beast 52: New Message
MatthiasThe drive home was steeped in silence, broken only by the low hum of the engine and the rhythmic pattern of rain against the windshield. The darkness outside stretched endlessly, mirroring the weight pressing against my chest. My mind was a battlefield, tangled in the web of revelations Cyan had unearthed—threats that had never truly disappeared, ghosts from a past I had fought to bury.Fenny’s death wasn’t random. It wasn’t some tragic accident or an unfortunate coincidence. It was deliberate. A warning. A message.And somehow, all of it led back to the past—the one I had tried so damn hard to leave behind.By the time I pulled into the driveway, exhaustion was gnawing at the edges of my mind, but the tension in my body didn’t ease. The house stood still, bathed in shadows, save for the faint glow bleeding from the living room window. I lingered outside for a moment, breathing in the crisp night air, letting the rain soak into my skin. The cold did little to ground me.Insid
Sunshine and The Beast 51: Same Suspect
MatthiasI drove through the quiet streets, my grip tightening on the steering wheel. The rhythmic tapping of rain against the windshield did little to drown out the thoughts hammering in my skull. The blackmail letters sat on the passenger seat beside the laptop I had retrieved from Fenny’s apartment, a silent accusation in the dim glow of the dashboard. The weight of them pressed against me, heavier than paper had any right to be. My mind churned through possibilities, each one darker than the last. Every turn of the tires felt like it was carrying me deeper into something I wasn’t sure I was ready to face.Fenny was dead. And now, staring at the threats she had received, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t just about her. This was bigger. A tangled web I had somehow been caught in long before I even realized it.I pulled up to a nondescript building in an industrial district, killing the engine and stepping out. The air was thick with the scent of rain-soaked pavement and
