chapter 5

The cellphone on the desk began to ring for the third time, and the man sitting before his desk glanced over at the caller ID reluctantly before answering his phone.

"Tell me quickly," Jake said immediately, picking up.

"Are you down for drinks tonight?" Mason quickly asked.

"No, I have plans for tonight."

"Come on, you are always turning me down. What's your excuse this time?"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? Tell me, why did you call?" Jake demanded impatiently; he knew Mason wouldn't call him over such trivial stuff.

"You are so mean. I just wanted to tell you I saw your girl going into her father's room. What is your relationship with her, if I may ask?" Mason demanded that, although he has been good friends with Jake for many years, Jake barely open up to him.

"What does that have to do with your job? I kindly request that you transfer her dad to the VIP ward and provide the best treatment, which I believe you have taken care of, so why are you calling during work hours?"

Mason laughed nervously, saying, "Do you have a crush on that girl? I mean, she's very gorgeous and youthful."

"Oh, you mean my wife? Of course, she's very pretty. Did you think I would settle for less?" Jake replied nonchalantly as he resumed his work.

"Huh? How is that possible? When did you get married?"

"What do you mean?" This time around, Jake's tone was laced with anger and annoyance.

Gulping down his saliva with difficulty, Mason chuckled again. "I mean to say congratulations. I'm very happy for you."

"Don't worry, I will take care of Mr. Young. Give me a call once you change your mind about going out for drinks."

Danielle glanced down at her wristwatch and noticed it was getting pretty late; surprisingly, she didn't get any calls or texts from Jake like she had expected.

She contemplated for a while, pondering whether to give him a call or not. At the end, she sighed in defeat as she found herself already dialing his number.

"Are you the one who got my dad transferred to the VIP ward?" Danielle asked directly as soon as Jake answered his phone.

"What do you think?" Jake responded and added, "Are you done at the hospital? Wait there, I will come over to pick you up myself."

Danielle wanted to argue, and as she opened her mouth slightly to reject the idea, she then realized she hadn't been to his place. "Okay, I'll be waiting then," she simply said and hung up.

While back at the office, Felix walked through the door and stood in front of Jake's desk. "Boss, the car is ready," he announced, adjusting his pair of rimmed glasses at the bridge of his nose.

Jake nodded in response, and as Felix turned to leave, he heard his boss announce from behind him, "Tell the employees that they will be working overtime tonight." He stood up, grabbed his coat, and strided out of his office majestically.

Felix felt a shiver run down his spine. This had been going on lately for over a week at the company, and it was all due to the shortage of employees, thanks to the boss, who had been going about firing the employees even for the slightest mistakes they made.

As they finally arrived at the hospital, Jake brought out his phone and informed Danielle. In no time, he watched as she approached the car and got into the back seat. She sat down, making sure to keep a far distance from him as she leaned her body on the door as if the car were too tiny to accommodate her.

This was one of the reasons Jake was interested in Danielle; to him, she is one of a kind. Everything about her was amusing, and a small smile was displayed on his lips. "Are you sure you are comfortable in that position?" he asked, arching his brows.

She nodded her head. Jake rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist all of a sudden. He then pulled her closer to himself.

"What are you doing?" She couldn't believe he would do such a thing to her. Her gaze involuntarily went to the rearview mirror, catching the driver watching them.

She wriggled in his embrace, but his grip on her was too firm, and when she resigned to fate helplessly, he did the unexpected. He grabbed her chin and looked into her brown eyes before smashing his lips on hers.

The kiss was so fierce and forceful that Danielle felt suffocated in his arms. She tried to push him off, but her strength was no match for his; he only let go when they were both feeling breathless.

"What is wrong with you?" She exclaimed, trying to steady her rapid breaths.

"What do you mean? You are my wife, and I'm your husband. Is it wrong of me to kiss my wife whenever I want?"

Danielle was left speechless. He was too thick-skinned; he knew better than anyone that he had forced this marriage and relationship on her. He had taken advantage of her helplessness to get her, although she didn't know what his motives were. But she had the feeling his intentions were pure towards her.

"Stop being so clingy, like you haven't been with a lady before," Danielle muttered under her breath, and unfortunately, Jake heard her.

"It's been so long since I touched a woman, and that's why I have been looking forward to tonight, which is our wedding night, my dear wife," Jake responded with a haughty smile.