Isaac smiled at Irene but did not answer.Irene put down her fork right then. "Fine. You're not going outside today."Although her marriage with Isaac was going steady, there were times she had to play along too.She stared at the man before her, who was in the prime of his life and brimming with vigor. And there certainly was no shortage of attractive ladies in this country, not to mention her own mother's tumultuous marriage… She got up from the table and walked around to him, sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck as she purred, "Stay home today with me.""I'm just teasing you," Isaac replied, putting an arm around her waist. "I won't have time even if you asked—but I'll get home soon."Irene looked him straight in the eye. "Is it really work or are you seeing a pretty face?"Isaac smiled as he pinched her cheek. "You're really lacking confidence, huh?"That was not the case, but a man's ego should be stroked—if she was unmoved, he would definitely think t

Irene tensed up immediately, her fingers clenching over her phone right then. Still, she quickly feigned nonchalance and told Zachary, "Isaac just called me to his office. I'm going now."She hailed a taxi, while Zachary said nothing as he left. Irene kept watching Zachary until he had gone quite far and asked, "Is Lulu in trouble?" Eagle was smart enough to tell what was going on on her end and did not press the issue. "Yes, ma'am. There's a little issue with her surgery."Irene frowned. "She just had one surgery, didn't she? Wouldn't it be a while before she can have another?""Yes, but Ms. Adams wants it to be done with and is asking for the next one already. She was very insistent.""Did the doctor agree to it?" Irene asked."He did when I asked, but he also stated that it would be exceedingly difficult," Eagle replied. "The main reason is due to her health reasons, and the surgery caused further compromise.""So you mean to say she went through with it, and there's a p

Isaac raised a brow and slowly pried Irene's fingers off his collar before pressing her palm over his chest. "I know you have steady hands, but could you bear to take my heart?"Irene stiffened, not about to back down. "Why wouldn't I? You're going to cheat on me.""Then you can have my heart right now," he breathed as he wormed his other arm around her waist and pulled firmly, pressing her against himself. Then, leaning in to breathe into her ear, he added, "Along with all that I am."Irene flushed into her ears right then as she got flustered.Even his palm burned.Shyly lowering her gaze, she pouted. "Don't try to entice me and think this is over…"Isaac continued to nuzzle her ear. "Well, what did I do?""That woman—""Were we having sex?" he asked, cutting her short.Irene was speechless but answered, "Nope."She was just being paranoid and certainly did not see them getting intimate.She trusted him from the bottom of her heart—it was not easy for them to get togethe

"Okay," Isaac answered softly.They arrived outside a nice restaurant, and he threw the car keys to the valet as soon as he alighted before heading inside with an arm around Irene.It was a Franconian restaurant with local specialties: beef bourguignon, foie gras, escargot, and the like. However, Irene preferred Zidonian food—there were not that many foreign dishes that suited her palate. Naturally, Isaac could tell that she did not like it. "I'll take you to a Zidonian restaurant next time.""Good," Irene replied. "Our country's food is more to my taste."Isaac raised a brow. "Our country's food is special in its way, but you should learn to accept different flavors too. It's a bad habit to be picky.""Am I being picky?" Irene asked."Yes."Irene was speechless—how was she being picky? Just because she was not used to foreign food?It was just that her stomach was Zidonian and rejected other food."Here, you can have this," she said as she put an escargot on Isaac's plate

"Yeah," Isaac said. I've sent him off."Irene laughed. "Efficient, aren't you?"Isaac chuckled exasperatedly in turn. "I have to be—it's your order after all."Irene lowered her head and bit her lip as she purred, "I will properly reward you once I get home."Isaac certainly missed her since it has been over ten days since she had been to Minerva. The days felt like years, and yet he had to restrain himself too.After all, he would only hurt more if he kept letting her flirt with him, so he hung up right then!Irene was left staring at her phone, speechless and frowning. What was with him? Was he upset? There's no way, right?Worried and reluctant to let him stay angry, she sent a text to appease him.[Darling.]No response.[I miss you.] This time, it was accompanied with heart emojis.Still no reply!She then sent a cute emoji… and there was no reply once more.Irene blinked. [I'm going to get upset if you still don't reply.]This time, there was a reply, but it was