Chapter 7

The morning sunlight softly reflected off the marble floor of the family room as Darren stood near the large window, his phone pressed to his right ear. His voice was low and firm as he discussed the third-quarter projection figures with someone on the other end of the call—his client from Singapore, who would be arriving that evening.

"I sent the revised contract last night," Darren said, his tone professional and unwavering. "You can check your email this morning. If there's anything that needs to be discussed further, we can—"

His sentence was abruptly cut off when a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his waist from behind. The soft scent of lavender soap wafted from Lyonna's hair as it brushed against his back. Darren froze for a moment, his body tensing, while the client's voice on the other end of the phone continued rambling without pause, completely unaware of what had just happened in the family room.

Darren turned around, ready to voice a protest with the sharp look he usually used to drive away anyone who dared touch him without permission. But before he could utter a single word, Lyonna had already moved in front of him, rising slightly onto her toes and placing a brief kiss on his lips—only for a fraction of a second, just enough to silence whatever Darren was about to say.

Darren's eyes widened. The hand holding his phone reflexively dropped, his thumb accidentally pressing the mute button.

"You—" Darren hissed softly, his voice caught somewhere between anger and surprise.

"Did you already forget our agreement?" Lyonna whispered, her face still that close to Darren's, her eyes staring directly into his without blinking. She glanced toward the wide-open family room door, where two servants stood carrying trays of morning tea. Both had stopped in their tracks after witnessing the scene before them.

Darren followed Lyonna's gaze, and his jaw immediately tightened when he realized they were being watched. A wave of disgust quickly spread through his chest, along with the exhaustion that made him want to pull away from her embrace and simply walk away. But he restrained himself. He took a deep breath, forcing the corners of his lips upward into a smile that looked perfectly natural to anyone who did not know him well.

"Wait a moment," Darren murmured softly, only for Lyonna, before pressing the phone back to his ear. "Sorry, there was a slight interruption," he said to his client, his voice calm again as though nothing had happened. "All right, I'll confirm again by email. Thank you."

He ended the call, slipped the phone into his trouser pocket, then turned fully toward Lyonna. His hand rose, wrapping around Lyonna's back in an embrace that appeared warm from the outside, even though there was only coldness pressing against his chest.

"My wife," Darren said, deliberately raising his voice slightly so the two servants still standing at the doorway could hear him, "I'm leaving for the office at nine this morning. Don't forget, our guests from Singapore are arriving at seven tonight."

From the corner of his eye, Darren saw the two servants exchange glances, faint smiles appearing on both their faces. One of them, a middle-aged woman who had served in the household since before Darren's marriage, lowered her head politely and whispered to her companion.

"Thank goodness, Sir and Madam are finally getting along," she whispered, her voice still faintly audible to Lyonna.

Lyonna smiled when she heard that, although the smile felt heavy at the corners of her lips. She knew exactly what was really happening behind this embrace—a carefully arranged act to maintain their image in front of anyone watching. Yet a small part of her secretly enjoyed the warmth of Darren's arms around her back, even though she knew it was all unreal.

"I'm going to steal your clothes," Lyonna said, taking half a step back while looking at Darren's shirt, which was still open at the collar. Her hand rose, reaching for the dark blue tie hanging loosely around Darren's neck, then began straightening it with meticulous movements. Her fingers moved deftly, tightening the knot until it was neat, while Darren stood still, restraining himself from stepping away from her touch.

"I can put on my own tie," Darren muttered, his voice low, meant only for Lyonna's ears.

"I know," Lyonna replied without looking up, still focused on his tie. "But this is part of the agreement. A good wife helps her husband get ready before he leaves for work."

She continued by straightening Darren's suit collar, gently patting his slightly rumpled shoulders, making sure every fold of the fabric looked perfect. Darren simply let her, his eyes watching Lyonna's face as she seriously devoted herself to the small task, as though it were genuinely important to her.

After finishing with his suit, Lyonna's hand rose again, this time touching a strand of Darren's slightly disheveled hair at the front. She gently smoothed it, her fingers combing Darren's fringe backward.

"My husband is so handsome," Lyonna murmured, her voice soft but clear enough to be heard, her eyes looking at her handiwork with satisfaction.

Darren restrained himself from scoffing. Such a sweet sentence felt foreign and strange to his ears, like something forced out of the mouth of someone who actually did not like him at all. However, he merely responded with a faint smile, one that did not reach his eyes at all, before stepping back.

"I'm leaving," Darren said, his voice returning to its usual flatness once the two servants had left the family room.

Lyonna nodded, her hands still folded in front of her chest as she watched Darren's back disappear toward the main door. Once her husband had truly vanished behind the door, the smile on Lyonna's face slowly faded, replaced by a long breath she had been holding in.

She stared at her own palms, still remembering the warmth of Darren's skin that she had just touched. This act should have been easy—she only needed to pretend for another ninety-eight days, and then everything would be over. Yet for some reason, every time her lips touched Darren's, even if only for a fraction of a second, something inside her chest throbbed strangely, something she should never have felt toward the man who, for the past two years, had regarded her only as an unwanted replacement.

Lyonna slowly shook her head, trying to drive the thought away, then walked toward the kitchen to make sure the preparations for dinner that evening were running smoothly. There was an important guest she had to welcome tonight, and she had no time to think about feelings that should never have existed.

"Enough, Lyonna. Just enjoy the ridiculous agreement you made yourself."