Chloe smiled politely and replied, “For now, I don’t need anything, but… can I ask a question?”
“Of course,” Leta nodded confidently. She couldn’t possibly deny her employer from asking questions.
“Does Edward often spend time here?” Chloe inquired.
Leta shook her head rhythmically. “Mr. Edward used to come home here frequently, but lately, he spends more time in his apartment. He only visits this house occasionally.”
“Ah…,” Chloe cleared her throat and nodded in understanding. “Previously, did Edward often bring women home?”
Leta’s forehead wrinkled slightly. “Forgive me, does that mean your husband used to bring his dates home before you got married?”
Chloe nodded. “Yes, that’s what I meant. No need to be shy or secretive. Just tell me everything. I just want to know Edward’s behavior before marrying me.”
“Well…,” Leta began to share. “As far as I can remember, Mr. Edward used to bring women home quite often. I even remember who some of them were.”
“Did they stay overnight?” Chloe asked.
Leta shook her head. “Mr. Edward did like to bring women home and change partners frequently, but none of them ever stayed overnight.”
“Oh, I see,” Chloe replied, but in her mind, she couldn’t fully believe Edward’s claim that he had never slept with anyone but her. After all, men were often like that, right? They lied to the women they were pursuing.
“Forgive me if I may be forward, ma’am. Everyone knows that Mr. Edward is a playboy. But from what I’ve observed, he is a polite, responsible man who doesn’t play with women’s feelings,” Leta said.
Chloe couldn’t help but chuckle. For some reason, hearing an argument that portrayed her husband as a responsible man made her doubt even more. Her common sense refused to believe it.
In Chloe’s mind, if Edward was really like what Leta described, he wouldn’t have left Nathalie. Especially not after committing such a physical act that resulted in her sister’s death.
Thinking about Nathalie, Chloe suddenly remembered something. She quickly grabbed her phone and opened the gallery. She found a photo of her sister and showed it to Leta.
“Have you seen this woman? I mean, did Edward ever bring this woman home?” Chloe asked.
Leta rolled her eyes, trying to recall if Edward had ever brought the woman in the photo home. She pondered for a while before answering, “I’ve never seen this woman before, ma’am.”
“Are you sure? Take a closer look at her face,” Chloe insisted.
Leta responded, “I’m very sure. Mr. Edward has never brought anyone who looks like her.”
Chloe nodded weakly, assuming that maybe Nathalie had never been brought to this house but to Edward’s apartment instead. Who knows, right?
“Alright… I think that’s enough of my questions. Thank you for your time. You can go back to work now,” Chloe said.
Both of them stood up and prepared to leave the living room. Leta returned to her duties, while Chloe continued to explore the house before deciding to enter her room.
After dinner, Chloe chose to return to her room immediately, while Edward continued working in his office. As she waited for bedtime, Chloe killed boredom by reading various novel titles. Sipping the chamomile tea Leta had prepared, she tried to enjoy her first night staying in Edward’s house.
A few hours passed, and from the doorway, Chloe saw Edward entering the room. He went straight to the walk-in closet to change his clothes. Chloe assumed he would come out wearing pajamas, but that wasn’t the case. Edward appeared shirtless, casually walking past Chloe and climbing onto the bed.
“Why are you staring at me like that? I’m not a ghost, Darling,” he teased.
Chloe winced, feeling too lazy to respond. “Are you going to sleep?” she asked.
Edward nodded. “Of course. I need to rest soon because I’ll be back to work tomorrow as usual.”
“Tsk…” Chloe clicked her tongue. “That’s not what I meant.”
Edward looked puzzled. “Then what do you want to ask?”
“I mean, do you always sleep like this? Shirtless? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?” Chloe bombarded her husband with so many questions that it made Edward want to laugh.
“Not really. I only do this when I’m married to you,” Edward responded.
Chloe furrowed her brow. “Huh?”
“Yes, I purposely did this to show off my muscular body to you,” Edward admitted.
“You’re insane!” Chloe exclaimed in annoyance. It was her fault for asking in the first place. Even if he were to be completely naked, she shouldn’t have cared.
Not wanting to engage in further conversation, Chloe tightened the sheets and decided to close her eyes, hoping for a peaceful night’s sleep without any disturbances from the irritating man next to her.
However, just a few hours later, Edward, who had also fallen asleep, woke up feeling something was disturbing his sleep. He felt someone’s hand patting his body gently.
Opening his eyes, Edward saw Chloe looking restless in her sleep. She was even mumbling and repeatedly calling someone’s name.
“Sis… Sis… forgive me.”
Edward propped himself up slightly, gently patting his wife’s cheek.
“Chloe… Hey… Darling…”
“Brother, I swear I’ll kill that man.”
Edward was increasingly puzzled by every word that came out of his wife’s lips.
“That man must die, Brother!”
With reluctance, Edward shook Chloe’s body a little, hoping she would wake up from her sleep.
“Chloe… wake up, Darling.”
Then, Chloe’s eyes slowly opened. Her breathing was heavy, and sweat was glistening on her forehead and chin. Her gaze immediately fixed on Edward, looking empty and melancholic.
“Are you okay? Were you having a nightmare? I saw—”
Without hesitation, Chloe hugged her husband tightly, acting like someone frightened. It was a complete 180-degree turn from the usual Chloe, who openly displayed her dislike for Edward.
“Calm down. It was just a dream,” Edward continued to reassure her. “You’ll be okay.”
Gradually, Edward loosened her grip, trying to see Chloe’s face, which was now streaked with tears.
“Why are you crying?” he asked gently, caressing Chloe’s face and wiping away her tears.
“What was so bad that made you cry like this?”
Chloe was taken aback. She stared at the gentle gaze reflected in Edward’s eyes. But then, she released the hug and turned away, pulling the sheets.
“I want to sleep,” she said.
Edward let out a soft sigh, not fully understanding why Chloe’s behavior kept changing. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening to her, causing her to act strangely.
“Okay, I won’t bother you. But if you need anything, I’ll be right beside you,” Edward assured her.
He then briefly kissed Chloe’s hair before lying back down, allowing his wife to rest again.