Filed to story: When His Wife Can’t Forgive
Still, this was their special day – the day Alicia had accepted his hand in marriage, the day that marked the rest of their lives together.
How could he just leave her all alone?
Caden cupped Alicia’s face and placed a tender kiss on her lips.
“It’s just Gerry. That rascal never likes seeing me so happy. He must be trying to disrupt our night.”
Alicia almost choked on air.
However, knowing Gerry’s personality and his penchant for such antics, she didn’t find it hard to believe Caden’s words.
She slowly relaxed, and Caden took that as his cue to slide his hand downward and remove the rest of her clothes.
A crimson spot on the fabric caught his eye, causing him to freeze.
“Alicia, is it your time of the month?”
She blinked up at him, dumbfounded by his question.
She made quick calculations in her head and said, “No, I should have a few days left.”
Alicia sat up and glanced at her pants.
Sure enough, there were bloodstains on the crotch and the backside.
How was that possible?
Her cycle never came early; it was always delayed.
“Is it because of all the excitement?” she asked in utter bewilderment.
“This is the first time my period arrived early.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than she felt the familiar sting in her lower abdomen.
It was a clear sign that she was about to have her period.
As it was, Caden had no choice but to restrain himself, despite the overwhelming desire raging inside him.
He hopped off the bed and called housekeeping to send for sanitary pads and warm water.
Outside, the night sky was still lit up with Caden’s grand proposal.
After tending to Alicia’s needs, the couple cuddled in bed and waited for sleep to claim them.
Caden’s hand rested on Alicia’s lower abdomen, the warmth of his large palm soothing the mild ache that throbbed there.
“You’ll have to abstain for at least a week,” Alicia teased.
Caden swept his thumb across her lips.
“You’ll feel better in a couple of days. I’m sure we can figure something out by then.”
Feeling her cheeks burn, Alicia opened her mouth and bit his thumb.
Caden didn’t even flinch.
Instead of pulling away, he slipped not only his thumb but also his forefinger, playing with her delicate tongue.
“You’re really something else,” he rasped.
“This mouth of yours feels exactly like the one down there.”
Alicia quickly covered his mouth with both hands, forbidding him to speak any further.
They were entwined in another torrid kiss when Caden’s phone rang yet again.
At last, albeit with much reluctance, he pulled away from Alicia.
“I might really have to deal with this.”
Knowing Hank, Caden was sure the man must be worried out of his wits by now.
If he continued to ignore him, Hank might show up unannounced.
If that happened, things would ultimately get out of hand, and Alicia would only end up overthinking the situation.
She clutched his hand and stopped him.
“What’s really going on, Caden?”
Thinking that he couldn’t hide it from her any longer, he opted for a concise version of the truth.
“There have been some issues with the company. I’ll probably be stuck there until the crack of dawn. Don’t wait up for me and just sleep, okay? Good night.”
He got out of bed and proceeded to dress himself.
Sadly, a very particular part of his anatomy was still wildly awake, making it almost impossible for Caden to zip up his trousers.
Alicia felt both sorry and amused as she watched him struggle with it.
“Come back early,” she called out, her flushed face saying everything that was on her mind.
Caden felt a wave of emotion sweep over him, but at the same time, he couldn’t shake off company matters.
He was in a dilemma.
Something occurred to him – so this was how a king felt when he was torn between his duty and his personal desires.
Really, though, who in their right mind would willingly leave such a warm and sensual embrace?
He might as well cut his lifespan in half.
“Looks like I won’t be getting much peace tonight,” Caden grumbled.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what my employees will think when they see me in this state.”
Alicia giggled.
“You’ve only got yourself to blame for being aroused so easily.”
“Who told you to be so tempting?” he retorted.
“A single look is all it takes, and the vision of you is seared into my mind.”
Alicia nudged him forward.
“Get going already.”
As Caden made for the door, Alicia called out to him again.
“There’s something you have yet to say to me, Caden.”
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Caden knew what she meant, of course.
But he thought of the sorry state of his body and decided he would make things even and deny her satisfaction too.
“I’ll tell you when I get back tomorrow,” he said.
“Dream of me tonight.”
Alicia pouted as she wrapped herself in the blanket.
“Fine, then. Don’t say it. Just leave. I’m going to sleep.”
Caden did leave, and as soon as the door closed behind him, Alicia let out a long sigh.
She settled back against the pillows and watched the fireworks display on the seaside.
The sight was so captivating that she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
“Caden,” she whispered into the dark room, “I love you.”
“Mr. Ward, sorry to bother you, but things are getting out of hand. Since last month, the overseas market has been slipping into a monopoly, and the company is in chaos. Confidential information has been leaked, and the competition seems well prepared, undercutting us with aggressive pricing and targeting us directly. Employees are feeling the pressure, and we’re seeing a flood of resignation letters.”
As Hank spoke, he couldn’t bring himself to meet Caden’s gaze.
The tension in the room was almost suffocating.
Caden stayed calm and asked, “Did we just find out about this?”
Hank nodded.
“I noticed something strange in one of the lines and got a bad feeling. I sent a team to dig deeper, and turns out, half of our internal data was already stolen.”
Caden’s eyes narrowed.
“This has to be Dorian’s doing,” he muttered.
Dorian had made his move a while back but kept it under wraps until now.