this is sweeter than the previous one. Joshua really shows how he can be gentle to her as long as Clarice obeys him. well, what do you think?
THE KISS ENDED WHEN JOSHUA PULLED AWAY. He was still watching Clarice's flushed face under the streetlight with her eyes closed. Joshua smiled at Clarice's expression as he could sense how Clarice was enjoying the kiss without rebelling or resisting. Meanwhile, when Clarice sensed that the kiss was over, she caught her breath and then opened her eyes. From such a close distance she could see Joshua, handsome and ... charismatic. "You seemed to enjoy it, Clarice." His words jolted her out of her slumber and into full consciousness. She sat up straight and the chair Joshua had pushed back returned with a triumphant smile. "You took a chance!" said Clarice, venting her nervousness and annoyance. But Joshua didn't say anything back. He just smiled and drove back to the car. He didn't want to talk too much when he was with Clarice, because if he did, then his happy expressions would be obvious and he didn't want Clarice to take advantage of that and oppose him. "There will be no mor
CLARICE GOT A CALL FROM TRISTAN. She was in her office, busy staring at her laptop screen without seeing who was calling her. Then she was surprised to hear Tristan's voice, and she confirmed on her cell phone screen that it was him. Clarice was almost at a loss for what to say because, since last night, she hadn't contacted him. Because before Joshua threatened her by saying he would destroy Tristan if she fell in love with him, she wanted to call him and explain, but after hearing his threat, Clarice decided against it. "Clarice," Tristan called back to her. "Ah– y–yes!" "Did he sleep in your apartment last night so you didn't call me?" Apparently, Tristan was waiting for her to call him. Yet she didn't. It was for Tristan's sake as well as her own. She had had enough of the pressure of the deal Joshua had made with her. "He didn't stay over, and sorry, I was sleepy so I didn't call you," Clarice replied. "Clarice I'd like us to meet after you get off work. Meet me at my offic
"When?" asked Tristan. "What?" Clarice didn't understand what he meant as she tried to read his expression. Tristan wasn't even looking at her, he was looking down at his desk. "When is he going to marry you? Aren't you going to marry him?" She swallowed. She really didn't know when she was going to marry Joshua. All she knew was that she had to give him an answer that was definitely not a rejection. "Why are you silent? If you knew, you wouldn't be silent like this, right?" "He–he hasn't decided anything yet. I just need to meet him formally in a few days," Clarice replied. Tristan was silent for a few moments. His heart broke as he learned everything in one go. He who was in love was heartbroken at the same time. No one spoke between him and Clarice. Even Clarice was silent, bowing her head. She really wished she could leave Tristan's presence immediately and bury her face in her pillow. Clarice's most minor favorite thing to do was to hurt someone. But if she were t
This was that day. A day that would be a moment Joshua would never forget, but he didn't know how Clarice felt. He had been waiting for a few minutes at the designated restaurant to talk to Clarice. He couldn't wait to see Clarice in the dress she had bought him and the jewelry too. Joshua's heart was pounding. It never stopped pounding when it came to Clarice. He had fallen in love with her so many times that it almost drove him crazy every day, when he had been waiting for a moment like this for so long. "She must be beautiful in that dress. I can already tell," he said with confidence and a sense of determination. "Sir, Miss Morgan is here," the waiter said, informing him. "Escort her here." Joshua stood beside his chair. He stuffed his hands into his two pockets, wearing a cold expression, befitting his character in Clarice's presence. His eyes kept looking towards the entrance until a waiter accompanied Clarice who walked behind her. Joshua was completely mesmerized by Cla
"YOU ARE A SEDUCER, JOSHUA." Joshua chuckled at Clarice's reprimand. He was indeed a flirt, but only with women, which he usually did for the sake of him and her ending up in bed. But this time, the flirting was of course different. He wanted to seduce Clarice to win her love. He wanted her to only see him, not Joel or Tristan. "I flirt because your scent is intoxicating, Clarice. You make me love you like crazy." Clarice tried to restrain herself from saying anything rude to the billionaire who kept flirting with her. Clarice thought, right now Joshua wanted to make love to her so he was teasing her. "Thank you for loving me like that," Clarice said. Joshua poured the red wine into a glass. He had deliberately ordered a glass of red wine with a low alcohol content because he knew that Clarice could not drink too many alcoholic beverages. "Drink while we talk. You can give me your answer." Nervousness instantly rippled through her blood. With only red wine to drink, Clar
Tristan came to Clarice's office unexpectedly. He had come to ask Clarice to dinner, not caring if she had accepted Joshua as her future husband. Clarice stopped in the middle of her shift and saw Tristan standing there. She hurriedly approached him and looked to her right and left, afraid that Joshua or anyone else was watching her. "Tristan? How did you get here?" Clarice asked. "Would you like to have dinner with me, Clarice?" asked Tristan without answering Clarice's question. Clarice couldn't give an answer when she was so nervous. Although all she had to do was answer whether she wanted to or not. Unfortunately, Clarice had to decline Tristan's invitation since Joshua was bound to show up suddenly. "Sorry, I can't. I have an appointment with Joshua, Tristan," Clarice finally replied. "Again? Does that man give you no freedom at all? Clarice, we used to enjoy our time together, you know, right?" Clarice nodded her head. Of course, she knew. Those few weeks with Tristan w
"We're up to you because you insisted on marrying that woman," Terry said, resigned. He didn't even mention Clarice's name, but rather 'that woman' which referred to something very bad, showing that Terry really didn't want to have a daughter-in-law like her. Clarice’s throat constricted, wanting to cry. Clarice felt unappreciated in that house, and she wanted to go home and complain to whoever she could find. But she realized that she had no one but Tristan and Joshua. Ah, Tristan didn't even count, until she realized again that Joshua was the only one on her side at the moment. Clarice admitted that, although Joshua's attitude seemed to dominate and control her, he was the one who truly appreciated her and loved her with all his heart for all these years without a single drop. "Terry, I have a name," Clarice said, trying to be brave. She didn't want to be belittled by anyone, even though she might be guilty of Joel's death, but her intentions were noble and she didn't want any
"Hmm, it feels better. But I'm sleepy," Clarice said, her voice sounding soft. Joshua released the hug. He kissed Clarice on the forehead before letting her sleep on her own bed. "Sleep well, then." Clarice crawled onto her bed. But strangely, she didn't see Joshua follow her, instead, he stood where he was, looking at her. "What? Aren't you coming to bed?" "I need to check my work from my phone first. So, you go to sleep." Clarice mumbled and began to tuck herself in. She was facing to the left, where she didn't have to feel Joshua's gaze that was still gripping her. She swallowed, trying to close her eyes as her sleepiness ebbed and flowed. Hearing the footsteps of shoes moving away from her room, she opened her eyes slightly and saw Joshua's shoulder who had disappeared out of her room. It felt really strange to think about Joshua's increasingly gentle demeanor toward her. From what Clarice knew, he was very rigid and really cold, but ... "Ah, why should I think about th