CHAPTER 5

"Congratulations, Eli, you finally solved the problem of your family's company." A restrained smile accompanied Aeun's remark. She brought a stack of thick documents that immediately made me frown. "And since you did a good job, sign these." She placed them on my desk and swiftly turned to leave. "Have fun," she added sarcastically before exiting my office. I let out a sigh and shook my head—will the workload ever end?

After my conversation with Mr. Caje yesterday, the partnership with them yielded immediate results. Lee Corp is back on track, and I no longer have any major issues. Should I be grateful to Mr. Caje for what he did?

Having completed the documents from Aeun, I excused myself to visit Blu Arte’s and oversee my company. Upon entering the hallway, Mr. Fort greeted me and said someone had been looking for me. He didn't mention a name, so I headed straight to my office, where he indicated the person was already waiting.

Upon arriving, I froze—my secretary was referring to Mr. Caje. I walked over to my swivel chair, set my bag down on the desk, and quickly glanced at the handsome man sitting on the sofa, arms crossed, his gaze fixed intently on me.

"You kept me waiting a while, wife." I almost choked at the sudden term.

"What do you mean by 'wife'?" I snapped, quickly rolling my eyes at him. "What are you doing here? A bit early for an effort, Mr. Caje."

"I need you," the words hit me like a splash of cold water.

"W-what?!" I asked, taken aback.

He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. Glancing briefly at his phone, he placed it on the center table in front of him. "Cava Corp is having a night out on Saturday. As Vale's business partner, you need to attend."

"No." I refused instantly. I don’t have time for a night out! I’d rather sleep all day than do something like that!

"You’re going because I want you to," he said with a hint of arrogance. I raised an eyebrow; his confident gaze didn’t falter a bit.

"If I don’t want to, no one can force me," I said firmly.

"Really? I thought you agreed to be my fake wife? Why do you seem to be backing out this soon?" His tone sounded almost mocking, and I let out a sigh, crossing my arms in response.

"Just because I agreed doesn’t mean you own my time. Mr. Caje, even spouses have different priorities in life—maybe you don’t know that? Want a tutorial? I can recommend a site." I smirked, pleased to see him maybe getting a bit ruffled by my words.

"I don't need a tutorial, I’ve got my own originality." He rose from the sofa, and he began to approach me. He leaned in slightly, resting both hands on the armrests of my swivel chair. His face was now inches from mine, close enough that our lips almost touched. A flutter hit me at our sudden proximity. I swallowed hard, lost for words, as if my voice had vanished. "You're my wife, got it? And you need to uphold that, Ms. Felicity Rose Caje."

I couldn’t make sense of it—the way he teased me should have annoyed me, but why am I getting flutter?!

‘Snap out of it, Felicity Rose Lee! Don’t fall for that handsome face!’, I told myself. Just then, the office door swung open. Mr. Fort paused mid-step, catching sight of our positions, and quickly excused himself, making a hasty exit.

"Anyway," I refocused on him as he spoke again. He seemed completely unbothered that someone had caught us in that position. "Let’s have dinner together, my treat." He said while exiting my office, leaving before I could even respond. I massaged my temples, frustrated by his antics.

"Boss!" I glanced at Mr. Fort with a wick of amusement as he re-entered my office. I gave him a curious look, and he grinned, giving a thumbs-up. "Your boyfriend’s quite handsome, boss. Is it a secret relationship?" I rolled my eyes at the question. Why did it have to be everyone’s business? Does it really matter if I have a boyfriend? Tsk.

Just as Bryle wanted, we had dinner together after office hours. I was curious about his invitation, so I couldn’t help but ask, "Is there something that you wanted to tell me? Just say it. I know we didn’t come here just for the food." I asked him straight, "Do you need to demand something again because I’m your wife?" I almost wanted to roll my eyes at the word ‘wife’. He raised an eyebrow, seeming to catch the sarcasm in my tone.

"You're right, I do have something to say," he began. "My sister is coming this weekend. So, there's something we need to do."

"What?" I asked half-heartedly; my attention was on the food in front of me as I toyed with it using my fork.

"Since you’re my wife, you need to move in with me." I dropped my fork onto the plate with a loud clang.

"What? Are you out of your mind? We can’t live together! We’re not actually married!" I retorted, my irritation rising. He stared at me expressionlessly, seemingly weighing his next words.

He’s probably losing his mind. Does he think I’ll just agree with his whims? I barely know him, so why would I move in with him?

"Are you afraid I might take advantage of you? Don’t worry, I’m not interested in you." I was taken aback, wow? Me? Not your type?

"Do you even know who you’re talking to?" I asked sharply. "I’m one of the most renowned painters—" He cut me off abruptly.

"How many times do you need to introduce yourself as a famous painter? It’s getting pitiful." I furrowed my brow at his remark. What does he mean by a few times? I just said that once in front of him, huh?

"Tss. Whatever you say, still my answer is no." I rolled my eyes, feeling irritated by his face. Too handsome, really. I shouldn’t stare, or I’ll get distracted!

"If you don’t want to move into my house, I’ll just move into yours." He suggested out of the blue. "We need to make our act convincing if we want people to believe us."

"I can’t live with someone I barely know!"

"I don’t know you either."

"Oh!? I thought you knew me?!" This guy is so confusing! Argh!

"Well," he paused, casually taking the icing from his drink. I watched him, and he added, "I do know you, in a way you don’t remember." I swallowed hard as, after saying that, he licked the icing off his finger. The gesture was distracting. I averted my gaze and quickly focused on my vibrating phone.

I checked it; it was a message from my grandfather. I opened it and saw that he was informing me of his intention to visit the company. I winced at the news—they would definitely be staying at my residence. And whenever my family is at my place, I hear their persistent invitations again—to join them for a dinner meeting that inevitably leads to the announcement of an arranged marriage. They've been doing this since I graduated from college, and it's frustrating; they want to marry me off to the children of their business partners.

"Alright, fine. I'll move into your house," I said, catching the faint hint of satisfaction in his expression. "But we’ll have separate rooms," I added as a condition.

"Do married couples have separate rooms?" He asked, with a hint of a smirk directed at me.

"Of course," He gave me a quick, amused smirk and finished the rest of his red wine. "I’ll only sleep in your room when your sister arrives."

"Whatever." I smiled wilyly at his reaction. I got the feeling he was a bit ruffled by my refusal—he really does have a crush on me. I knew it.

After we finished eating, we decided to head to the parking lot. We both had cars, and it just so happened they were parked right next to each other. We stopped walking once we reached the row where our vehicles were.

"Wife," Bryle called out to me, making me turn around. Though I was a bit irritated by the term, I decided not to complain. "See you tomorrow, pack your things, okay?"

"Alright—"

"Calix?" My smile faded when I heard a woman’s voice. I scanned her from head to toe, "It’s you! How are you? I didn’t expect you to be here!"

"I didn’t expect you to be here either, Valerie," Bryle said, as the woman leaned in for a kiss on the cheek. He didn’t resist, which made my eyebrow rise in surprise.

"Anyway, Vale invited me to join the Cava Corp night out. I decided to tag along this time, missing the chance to bond with you guys." She wrapped herself around Bryle’s arm like a vine, and I winced at the sight. It felt like I was invisible, standing beside the two of them.

Feeling a growing irritation, I tuned out their conversation. Besides, it seemed he wasn’t going to introduce me to Valerie anyway, so I decided not to intrude—I’d just head home.

"Wait," I paused as I was about to get into my car, hearing Bryle’s call. "I haven’t introduced you to my fiancée yet," he pulled me closer and slipped an arm around me, leaving me a bit stunned. "Valerie, meet my fiancée, Felicity."

"Felicity? You mean Felicity Rose Lee?!" Valerie asked Bryle with surprise, "Wow! You’ve picked a high-profile wife," she commented, sounding impressed, and quickly shook my hand. "Hi, Felicity, I’m Valerie San Diego, Calix’s friend."

"N-nice to meet you, Valerie." I smiled awkwardly and shook her hand.

"Anyway, I'll head out first. It seems you two have matters to discuss." With a playful smile, she took her leave. I exhaled and promptly brushed Bryle's hand off my shoulder.

"I’m heading home. I still have a lot of work to do tomorrow." I said casually.

"I’ll pick you up tomorrow." I furrowed my brow at that—how and why would he pick me up? He doesn’t even know where I live, or does he?

I didn’t bother responding; I simply got into my car and drove away from the restaurant. No formal goodbyes. He could figure it out himself—I didn’t give him my address, after all.

Let’s see if he manages to pick me up.