"What the hell are you doing?" Nancy's eyelids flew open, and she swatted his hand away. She sat up in the bed, and her gaze met Yaacob's. At this moment, he was wearing his bathrobe with the belt wrapped loosely around his waist. From the way he was perched above her, Nancy could see every crevice of his well-defined abs through the gaping bathrobe. His gaze was sharp, burning with fiery passion. It was no secret what he was thinking. Nancy pulled her collar up and shot him a warning glare. "Not tonight!" Yaacob's expression darkened at this. "Is it because of him?" "No, it's not. What does this have to do with him?" Nancy peered at him out of the corner of her eye. "It's because of something else. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what." She still remembered how quickly he had been to kick her out of his study. Now that they were not yet on speaking terms, how was she supposed to make love to him? Even if she relented, it would not be enjoyable for either of them.
"Where do you keep your underwear?" Nancy shouted in the direction of the bathroom. "The top drawer of the closet!" Nancy pulled open the top drawer which, sure enough, revealed rows of neatly folded men's boxers. Nancy initially thought that men who had higher standards of living would gravitate towards black, white, or gray in their wardrobe choices, and Yaacob would be no different, but to her surprise… His underwear drawer was filled with boxers of all shades, from red, orange, and yellow… down to purple and indigo. It was as though he were trying the colors of the rainbow. "Did you find it?" he shouted again, thinking she was having trouble finding it. "Yes, coming!" Nancy ignored all the other colors and instead grabbed the only pair of black boxers she could see. She pried the bathroom door open just a crack and stuffed her arm through it, holding the boxers in her hand. "Here!" "Bring them inside for me!" What an unreasonable man! Nancy silently cursed him f
Nancy decided she would pretend this never happened unless Yaacob brought it up. Perhaps neither of them would want to bring it up considering there were other people here. Nancy was hoping Yaacob would forget about this when all of a sudden he said, "Before we start our meal, I believe someone has something to say." Nancy's heart leaped into her throat. Before she could even summon the courage to say anything, however, Yaacob called out, "Xander, Lucy?" Xander and Lucy exchanged glances, then stood up and made their way to Nancy, each clutching a glass of mine in their hand. "Nancy, we're sorry for how we treated you the last time we met. We sincerely hope you can find it within yourself to forgive us," Lucy said. Xander, despite casting her looks of extreme reluctance, also raised his glass and said, "Sorry for how we behaved last time." Although one could argue that his apology was not sincere, Nancy could tell that it already took him a lot to put down his ego to sa
"Who knows what Yaacob is thinking? Maybe she's of no value to him at all, and maybe he just likes her," Xander retorted. "Impossible!" Lucy would rather think that the only reason Yaacob married Nancy was for her valuable role in his master plan than believe he liked her for who she was. She reiterated, "There's no way Yaacob would fall for someone he had just met. After all… we all know why he was arrested four years ago. He would never make the same mistake twice!" "Don't even bother trying to figure out what Yaacob is thinking, Lucy," Xander advised her. "I don't think he and Nancy are right for each other, but neither are you and him!" "Xander…" "That's enough! Also, this is the last time I'm tolerating you using Anna for your selfish gain! Stop trying to trip Nancy up in front of Yaacob. He's smarter than you think!" A sheepish look crossed Lucy's face when Xander said this. Before she could even deny her involvement in Anna's appearance, however, Xander turned and head
Nancy could not help feeling insulted by this. "Hey, what do you think I am? Some kind of prostitute?""Hey, my money doesn't grow on trees. There's no such thing as a free lunch," he said matter-of-factly.Nancy was a little offended by this. She felt like she was just there to satisfy him physically, yet at the same time, he spoke to her in such a solemn tone that it made her feel like he was dishing out philosophical advice. Perhaps it would be more convincing if he were not stark naked."Well, you can insult me, but not my integrity!" Nancy said defiantly. "I don't want your money. Do you think I can't make my own?""Okay then!" he replied, smiling, and put the card back into his wallet."Hey, wait!" Nancy stopped him. "Can you loan me some money first?"After having lived in poverty for over a month, Nancy had basically gotten a clear idea of the entire Athenapolis market. Even if she made her own money, she would only be able to afford a luxurious piece of clothing after
Yaacob's tone sent chills down Nancy's spine. She instinctively inched backward and shook her head. "No… No!""Then why are you getting away from me?""I… I'm not!""Really?""Y-Yes!" Nancy cleared her throat and feigned calmness.The next moment, Yaacob turned around and fished out a knife from the nightstand drawer."Hey, what are you doing?" Nancy was stunned by this. She retreated until her body was on the edge of the bed, but Yaacob advanced toward her.The blade brushed against her thigh, but the next moment, Yaacob spun it toward him as he reached out to grab an apple from her side of the nightstand. "Apple?"Nancy's heart finally calmed down when she saw him pick up a bright red, juicy-looking apple from the fruit bowl. "No thanks. I don't have an appetite."Yaacob paused, then handed her the knife instead. "Well, put this on your nightstand. There's an old wives tale that says you'll stop having nightmares if you keep a knife by your head!""Um… I don't need that, ei
"Nancy, have you heard of someone named Randall Smith?" "No, I've never heard of him before." Nancy shook her head. "Who is he?" "He's the head of a very elite underground organization abroad. In a way, he's been tiptoeing on the edge of legality. This man is extremely powerful and has very strong connections all over the world, but all he does is dirty work." "Hey, weren't you going to tell me about Yaacob?" Nancy interjected. "Why are you telling me this?" "I'm getting to it. My point is, Yaacob is close to Randall Smith, and the two of them even proclaim to be best friends. Some of my friends have seen Yaacob frequenting the casinos in Las Vegas that belong to Randall Smith. Combined with the fact that he somehow managed to acquire an immense amount of funds soon after returning to Athenapolis, I'm sure you can understand what I'm getting at." Nancy's heart lurched when she heard this. "Hey, speaking of this, there's something I want to ask you. Do you know if the properti
"Hey!" Nancy was utterly stunned by this turn of events. "What are you doing?" Yaacob did not reply and instead, grabbed her arm and tossed her right into his car. His expression was so dark that Nancy did not even dare to continue fighting back. She watched in silence as he sped toward Amethyst Coast, his expression the coldest she had ever seen. A storm was coming. She could feel it. The moment they got home, Yaacob dragged her into the study and locked the door. "What… What are you doing?" Nancy asked, staring at him in horror. "I'm giving you one chance to explain why you were seeing him behind my back," Yaacob said coldly. He sat down in his leather chair, placing his legs up on the tabletop, staring at her like the grim reaper. Nancy wrung her hands in terror. She knew that she had to pick her words very carefully. Her life was at stake here. "Would you believe me if I said it was just a coincidence?" "Do I look like an idiot to you?" he glared at her. "Alri