Fated Marriage Spoiled by My Ice Billionaire novel Chapter 814

Chapter 814 Afternoon Rest

Harold was quietly eating his dinner when Claudia’s question broke the silence.

“So, are you heading home after this?”

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After a brief pause, he added, “I’ve got nothing else going on. I’ll leave whenever you’re finished and ride. back with you.”

Claudia softly replied, “Oh,” and glanced at him sideways before returning to her meal.

Once lunch was over, Claudia had some work to wrap up, so Harold made his way upstairs alone to the third floor–where she usually relaxed whenever she stayed over.

He stepped into her room, took a quick shower, and wrapped himself in one of her fluffy pink towels. Then he sank into her soft bed, buried his face in her pillow, pulled the comforter up, and drifted off to sleep.

It was nearly six by the time Claudia finally came upstairs.

When she entered, she found Harold asleep on his stomach, his shirt off, the room filled with the steady, deep rhythm of his breathing.

She sat gently beside him, studying his face. –

Golden lateafternoon light spilled through the window, painting half the sky in shades of orange and red.

Under the warm glow, Harold’s suntanned skin looked even richer.

“Harold,” she whispered softly.

He was deep asleep. She tried his name twice, but he didn’t stir.

Pressing her lips together, she leaned over to tug the comforter a little higher over his shoulders.

Just then, Harold couldn’t hold back any longer. His eyes opened, landing directly on her.

Claudia startled backward.

A faint smile touched his lips as he reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her into him. In one smooth motion he rolled over, pinning her gently beneath him on the bed.

The comforter lay rumpled between them. In the quiet, amberlit room, only their mingled breaths could be heard.

“You were awake?” Claudia blinked, still trying to catch up.

How had she ended up underneath him? Everything had happened too fast to process.

Harold braced himself on his elbows beside her and brushed his thumb lightly along her cheekbone.

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18:24 Mon, Jul 6

Chapter 814 Afternoon Rest

“Woke up when you walked in,” he admitted.

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Truth was, he’d been awake the whole time, secretly hoping Claudia might try something–maybe stroke his cheek or trace the lines of his back.

But she hadn’t.

A tiny flicker of disappointment had tugged at him before he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Claudia’s gaze drifted to the sunset outside the window. “I’m getting hungry,” she murmured.

Harold couldn’t help a low chuckle. He traced the arch of her eyebrow with his fingertip/“Right. Gotta fuel up first.”

She gave him a light, halfhearted push.

Harold rose from the bed. At some point the pink towel around his waist had come loose, and it dropped to the floor as he stood up.

Claudia immediately yanked the comforter over her head, hiding.

Harold glanced down, then casually bent to pick up the towel before heading to the closet to change.

She stayed buried under the covers, not daring to peek. Only when he was fully dressed did he pull the comforter back.

“Haven’t seen it before?” Harold teased, a smirk playing on his lips.

She kept quiet, cheeks warm.

She had seen–just never with the lights on, and never so clearly.

That brief, highdefinition image was now permanently etched in her mind.

“Come on, up you get. Let’s go eat.” Harold decided to ease off–he wasn’t that much of a tease.

Seeing he was fully dressed, Claudia finally sat up.

They were almost done with their meal at Serene Manor when Harold’s phone buzzed–a call from Harvey.

Claudia was seated right beside him and could faintly catch Harvey’s voice through the receiver.

“You busy?” Harvey’s tone was clipped.

Harold glanced at Claudia. “Go ahead.”

“Something’s come up at the company. Howard’s already at the office. I’ll send the files over in a bit―can’t make it back soon enough.”

Harvey had originally tried reaching Damian, but Damian and Isabelle had taken Zander on a trip and

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18:24 Mon, Jul 6

Chapter 814 Afternoon Rest

weren’t back yet.

Left with no other option, he’d dialed Harold.

“Alright,” Harold replied simply before ending the call.

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He checked the time. It was evening here, which meant Harvey, overseas, was probably burning the midnight oil.

Harvey’s voice had carried a layer of fatigue–a clear sign he was dealing with something complicated.

Noticing Harold’s frown, Claudia asked, “Everything okay?”

“Some issue came up at the family company. I should go check it out. You finish your dinner–don’t wait for me.” He gave her head an affectionate pat and stood up.

“Okay,” she answered softly.

As a public official, Harold wasn’t allowed to run a business. Whenever Harvey hit a wall with a company problem, they’d usually discuss it privately at home. Harold rarely stepped in directly–but his business instincts were just as sharp as his brother’s.

This time, with Harvey overseas and unable to handle things stateside, his special assistant Howard had reached out to Harold again. Howard had done the same the last time Claudia was in a bind–Harvey had been abroad then, too.

Whenever Harvey wasn’t around, Howard knew Harold was the one to call.

Before heading out, Harold leaned in and left a soft kiss on Claudia’s lips.

Once back in the penthouse, Claudia called Chelsea to ask about the Cross family background.

Chelsea quickly copied and pasted some info from a website and texted it over.

Reading through it, Claudia was taken aback.

The Cross family’s profile was… substantial, to say the least.

She was about to ask for more details when Chelsea hurriedly said, “Swamped right now–just message me if you need anything else!”

So Claudia didn’t press further. She stared at Harold’s WhatsApp screen on her phone for a long moment before finally locking it and heading off to shower.

It wasn’t until nearly 1 a.m. that her phone rang again. But it wasn’t Chelsea calling; it was Joseph.

“Sorry to bother you, Ms. Bowman–I saw you were her last contact, so I tried you. She’s had a bit too much to drink. Any chance you could come pick her up?”

Chelsea had ended up thoroughly drunk at Joseph’s bar.

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18:24 Mon, Jul 6

Chapter 815 Bar Encounter