All Chapters of Sunshine and The Beast: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

109 Chapters

10: Before The Wedding

MatthiasCountdown: one day before the marriage.Some people sure didn’t know when to stop, because they kept trying to ruin my mood despite knowing damn well nothing would change. If years trying didn’t do shit, what made them think that a day would?I gotta admit, they really got me to my limit.After I took Althea to her penthouse, I chose to rest a bit in my car. But just before I wanted to close my eyes, my phone rang.“Mr. Cox, we’ve done all as you said.” My assistant, Ren, said. “Those paparazzi were sent by Davos. We’ve gotten rid of any footage they took and warned them for any suspicious news.”That old man really didn’t know when to stop, huh? “He should worry about his coffin rather than bothering a woman twice his age.”“He’s been eyeing Erbeauty for quite awhile now,” Ren replied. Leonardo thought he could control Althea by treating her with those fake acts at first. His new target unexpectedly getting married to someone else was definitely not on his list. Everybody k

Last Updated : 2025-01-08

11: The Wedding (I)

AltheaMy only reference of weddings were the depictions given by the media. You know how it went–that stereotypical grand weddings with a bunch of people invited, a giant cake that cost more than the annual wage of an average worker, completed by fancy catering as if it was prepared by a 3 Stars Michelin Chef (and probably it was). The merrier it was, the more in love were the groom and the bride. I never really dreamed of a wedding. Survival was always my priority. It still was. Despite all the preparations I’ve done, the fact that I sat next to my new husband and known as “Mrs. Cox” still didn’t feel right. All those wishes seemed like nonsense. This wedding was nothing but an act, a part of my survival plan.I remembered every single word that we exchanged at the altar. How both of us looked at each other, tried to convince the world that love was in this marriage.“I, Matthias Cox, take you, Althea Lewis, to be my wife. To be my friend, faithful partner, and my life from this

Last Updated : 2025-01-09

12: The Wedding (II)

AltheaThe wedding was over. Finally.It took a lot of my energy to meet a lot of people. I also met a few of my father’s colleagues, including Leonardo and Josh. While Matthias once told me Leo was planning for something, he was cool when we talked. He congratulated me on my wedding and asked about my experience working with big business so far.“If there is anything you need, you can reach me out. You can ask for Josh’s help too. He might know your father’s business better, since they were working together before.”“I’ll remember that, Leo.”Sure, I would remember it. But doing that? No promise was made.Maybe I started to get the grasp of living like the rich.Despite all of my energy being drained to attend the wedding–as the bride, of course–it was safe to say it all went smoothly. We expected some small annoying events, but so far it’s right on track, just as we planned. Even after the wedding was over, and we were on our way to the house. There would be no need for a hotel whe

Last Updated : 2025-01-10

13: No Love

AltheaTo be a wife was not easy at all.Based on my research—which was totally taken from the internet as my single source—you would know what to do when you were married. It supposed to feel natural, since you were doing it with and for the love of your life. That was why there was no fixed manual about how to be a good wife. When you knew, you knew.But it seemed like I needed that sort of manual, because Lord help, I didn’t really know what to do. The wedding was barely an opening. A prelude from the whole act.Did every couple on earth really marry for love so they didn’t need any manual or guidebook?Maybe one day, I would write this down and the first ever manual book of how to be a good fake wife. They said business was about finding an opportunity, no? Might as well use this one.But the problem was, I needed to be good first, so I could tell others how to do the same. Yet the questions still remain with no answer.I stared at the connecting door as I woke up. This was his re

Last Updated : 2025-01-11

14: Honeymoon to Venice (I)

MatthiasI visited Italy a few times for business trips, but this was my first time here without any business agenda.It still was business, though not like the usual business I did. This time, I didn’t need to meet any investors. I didn’t have to stay awake for late night meetings, or to have some arguments regarding the deal. I just needed to exist, to be here beside the woman who people knew as my wife.Althea Cox. That name suited her quite nicely.Our flight was 10 hours, more or less. We chose to go with a commercial airline and use our private jet as a distraction. Media would find out sooner or later, but I wanted at least the three days of this honeymoon to be shit-free. I asked Ren to use my private jet to meet my new investor in Bali, Indonesia. Two birds in one stone.I didn’t know if there was something interesting in Venice, but Althea named that, so here we were. Once we arrived at the airport and took our luggage, we grabbed a taxi and went to the hotel. The streets

Last Updated : 2025-01-12

15: Honeymoon to Venice (II)

AltheaI didn’t know if it was caused by Venice or my energy was drained to the bottom of the pit, but I slept so well last night.Well, afternoon, to be exact. My stomach was already full from all the airplane food when we arrived, so all I needed was to catch the lack of sleep I’ve had for two days straight. I just did not expect it to be 10 hours of sleep. It could possibly be more than that if not because of the door bell.I forced my eyes to open, then a flash of light basked me, automatically made me close my eyes again. What? Was that the call from heaven?It took me a while with constant blinking until I could adapt. The door closed again, and I saw Matthias there. He walked to my bed, then put the tray that consisted of bread, cheese butter, and a glass of milk.“Eat this and get ready,” he commanded. Yeah, husband. A good morning would be nice, but whatever.“That’s enough right? We can grab some food outside later. So get ready, fast.”“Get … what?”“If you don’t want to w

Last Updated : 2025-01-13

16: Honeymoon to Venice (III)

AltheaTo say that Venice was nice was an understatement. Sure, some places weren’t as nice as those mesmerizing photography you’d seen online, but Venice got what I’ve been looking for. In another life, I hoped I was born rich, so that I could go to Venicea thousand times and explore more of its beauty and arts.We have visited 3 museums and one art exhibition in total, and all he did was follow me around without protest. I almost thought I was accompanied by someone that was not Matthias Cox. I did not plan anything, all of those museums were mentioned by him. It’s like we were on a trip and he was my tour guide.Should I start to worry or was it okay for me to relax?“Now, next ….”I stopped him when we were walking out from the exhibition we’ve just seen. “Do you want to go elsewhere?”“Why?” He asked me back. “There were still a few museums left.”So he really had a list with him. SInce when? And why though?I’d love to do that again, sure, but I was not alone here, and even i

Last Updated : 2025-01-14

17: Honeymoon to Venice (IV)

Matthias“Are you done yet?”My gaze diverted to the bathroom door as Althea went out with a red turtleneck and a black jeans. A towel wrapped her hair, and the bathrobe was in her left arm.“Done,” I said to her as I locked my tab screen. An hour ago, Ren called and asked me to join a Zoom Meeting. CaT–Cox and Tech–had a new investor that offered a big deal, but he wanted to talk to me in person as soon as possible, hence why the sudden meeting.“In the end it’s not really a honeymoon, huh? Some people still nudge you with work.”“It’s not like we’re having a real honeymoon too.” I added, and she rolled her eyes.“But we’re pretending that we do, is it not?” “You need to do better then.” I eyed her ankle. “How is it?”“It’s fine. Thanks to the meds and the doctor.”“How about you thank me too?” I didn’t really need it, actually. “If you need a reminder, you left me yesterday.” Her eyes squinted, giving me that irritating look.“And you chose to keep walking.” I shrugged. “It’s not

Last Updated : 2025-01-16

18: Sudden (Mis)Fortune

AltheaCalm before the storm, they said.To be honest, my three days in Venice were not that “calm”, but it definitely was nothing compared to what I had to deal with today: business.I could summarize and categorize that in one word, even the fact that it wasn’t simple at all. Our newest beauty product (which was the first product of Erbeauty under me) would be released two weeks from now on, yet before its launch, someone already protested and claimed it as a plagiarized item. The first product that I had been working on was called a mere copy.Way to ruin my effort, anonymous.I knew how it felt like to be copied. As an art student, plagiarizing and getting plagiarized sometimes happened, but it didn’t necessarily mean that it was easy to deal with.In fact, it was not. And this was issued not for me personally, but for my company.“God, how foolish can they be? Their product is the one that looks like a copy.” My new assistant, Rebecca, grumbled as she offered her tab to me. “Who

Last Updated : 2025-01-18

19: Trial and Error

AltheaI felt like I’ve done something big today.Was it okay for me to be proud of myself? I did not want to be a narcissist, but it sure felt good to get a deal that might help me to solve my current problem. And it was C&D, most of all.I couldn’t clearly remember when was the last time I was proud about something I’ve done. Lately it was only bad decisions one after another, which was not something to be proud of. I had no one to tell me that they were proud of me. Granny, for example, wasn’t someone that would rain me with praises. She would only give me a small nod or tell me to work harder.Granny, if you could see this, would you be proud of me?Lorine Clarks and I had a deal not only for the investment of The Art Palette’s Collection, but also for a possible collaboration in the future. For once in a while, maybe becoming this happy was okay.Or at least that was what I thought, before I went home and found Matthias on the sofa. When I entered the room, he suddenly stood. It

Last Updated : 2025-01-23

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