Chapter 216
Vivian had already showered in the guest bathroom. Her hair was wrapped in a microfiber towel, the dampness clinging to the elegant slope of her neck. She wore a black silk v-neck pajama set that dipped daringly low.
Without her usual provocative slip dresses, this look carried a uniquely seductive charm of its own.
She turned her head. “You’re done washing up?”
“What are you looking at?”
“Just looking at-”
Vivian abruptly cut herself off. A sudden realization hit her. Earlier, in the walk-in closet, this man was completely visually impaired, and Martha Gable wasn’t anywhere around. How did he know her clothes were mixed up with his?
Her calculating gaze swept over his eyes. Feigning nonchalance, she said, “Reading something I don’t really understand. Can you read it?”
The man’s expression remained perfectly stoic, not a single muscle twitching.
“What do you think?”
Displayed on her laptop screen was an academic paper authored by a renowned Italian economist. It was the original manuscript, the screen entirely filled with dense, complex
Italian text.
A flicker of suspicion crossed Vivian’s eyes before she broke into a bright giggle. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t joke about your eyes. That was mean of me.”
Her apology was rapid and seemingly genuine.
She stood up, pulled him over by the hand, and made him sit down.
“You smell so good.”
Fresh out of the shower, the faint scent of his body wash wasn’t overpowering, but it lingered tantalizingly in the air. His sharp, immaculate features radiated a distinct, cool crispness, and the slight parting of his bathrobe revealed hard, defined pectorals.
Vivian reached out, but the man reacted instinctively, pulling the collar of his robe tightly shut before she could make contact.
“Seriously…”
She muttered under her breath, “You guard yourself like I’m a thief. Why don’t you just put a padlock on it?”
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11:32
Chapter 216
Silas exhaled a heavy breath. He was just about to stand up when the woman tugged hard on his arm, pulling him back down.
“Alright, alright, I won’t say anything else. Just sit with me for a bit.”
“Why do I need to sit with you?”
“If you don’t spend time with me, how are we supposed to build a connection as husband and wife?”
Vivian pulled her laptop onto her lap and cleared her search history. “Our relationship is already on life support. If we don’t try to fix it, we’re doomed. And let me make one thing perfectly clear, Silas. I have absolutely no intention of getting a divorce.”
Silas remained expressionless, though his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of her screen She was drafting a corporate restructuring proposal. It looked highly professional. If executed strictly to those parameters, the company’s growth would skyrocket effortlessly.
However, for a mid-sized enterprise, pivoting into a new market required immense capital, and building brand reputation wasn’t something achieved overnight. The first necessary step would be massive fundraising.
He seamlessly averted his gaze.
“Do you plan on clinging to me for the rest of your life?”
“How is it clinging?”
Her eyes shone brilliantly. “I call it absolute devotion. Moving from like, to love, to ultimate intimacy. A lifetime goes by in a flash. Why waste all that time jumping from one person to
another?”
The man let out a cold scoff.
“You certainly didn’t mind wasting time with that Granger guy.”
“If it wasn’t for him, how would I have met you?”
Vivian looked up at him, a sly glint in her eyes. “Just like how Grace didn’t cherish you, which led you straight to me. You are my absolute favorite prize.”
*You are my absolute favorite prize.*
She spun out these ridiculous lines like it was second nature.
Silas’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He stayed completely silent.
“All done.”
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