Edward walked wearily and slightly fatigued. He had just arrived home and was about to enter the bedroom. Glancing at the circular watch on his wrist, it showed seven o’clock in the evening. Today’s workload had drained his energy and mind so much that he had to come home late.
As he entered the room, Edward didn’t find Chloe there. However, his hearing caught the sound of water splashing, indicating that his wife was currently busy in the bathroom.
Sitting down at the dressing table, Edward began to take off his jacket and loosened the tie around his neck. As he was about to stand up, his eyes unintentionally caught a picture that caught his attention. He saw clearly on Chloe’s phone screen that someone had just sent her a text message. And the problem was, Damian Dimitri’s name was printed there. What on earth was that guy sending a text message to his wife for? What business did they have behind his back?
Edward approached slowly, leaning forward and squinting one eye, trying to read the content of the message displayed on the phone screen without touching or unlocking it.
Damian: [Meet me tonight at 9 PM at Flight Bar and Club. There’s something we need to discuss about yesterday’s plan. You know we have to act fast while we still have the chance.]
Edward immediately snorted. A moment later, he chose to walk towards the walk-in closet. He grabbed some fresh clothes, preparing to clean himself up, taking turns with Chloe, who had finished her bathroom rituals.
When they were done, instead of going for dinner, Edward went straight to the bed. He laid down and pulled the blanket, preparing to sleep, even though the clock had just struck eight in the evening. He was truly exhausted this time. He didn’t greet his wife as he usually did tonight.
Meanwhile, Chloe, who had been busy in front of the dressing table, looked puzzled. She was confused by her husband’s behavior-his silence, leaving just like that, and acting as if she didn’t exist. Usually, he would always say something, even planting a kiss on her forehead or cheek, although Chloe didn’t really like that. But Edward didn’t seem to care.
Curious, after finishing her makeup, Chloe approached Edward. She intended to say goodbye before leaving the house. She needed to think of a proper excuse so Edward wouldn’t ask too much about where she was going tonight. He shouldn’t suspect anything about her plans, or everything could be ruined.
“Are you not having dinner first?” Chloe asked casually. She had to keep up appearances to avoid suspicion.
Edward shook his head slowly. From under the blanket, he peeked and replied, “No, I’m very tired and just want to rest. I’m feeling very sleepy now.”
Chloe nodded, refraining from asking too many questions. It might lead to a long discussion. So, she chose to ask for permission to leave immediately.
“I’m going out for a while. Some friends invited me for dinner and to meet at a café.”
Edward looked expressionless. He knew his wife was lying to him. But this time, he chose to remain silent.
Let’s see how far you’ll go with this game, my dear. You think I’m foolish enough to be deceived easily.
While tightening the blanket around himself, Edward whispered softly, “Sure, go ahead. Enjoy your event. Just don’t come back too late.”
Chloe smiled in relief. She thought Edward would ask a lot of questions as usual. Fortunately, tonight he was being more friendly.
Afraid her husband might change his mind, Chloe hurriedly got ready to leave. Before actually leaving, she didn’t forget to kiss Edward’s cheeks in turn. And with that, she found out something else, even slightly surprising.
“Are you feeling sick?” she asked, full of questions. “Why is your body so warm?” There was concern in her words as she could clearly feel that Edward’s body temperature was not normal.
“I’m fine. Probably just tired,” Edward replied.
Chloe, who was initially standing, chose to sit on the edge of the bed. Her right hand reached out to touch Edward’s forehead, trying to make sure of his body temperature.
“But your body is clearly warm.”
Edward pushed Chloe’s hand away from his forehead.
“I’ve already told you, I’m fine.”
Chloe shook her head.
“No… no… you need to take a fever-reducing medicine. I’m sure your body temperature is high.”
She then reached for the thermometer, which was available in the nightstand, and used it to check her husband’s body temperature.
“39. 5 degrees. You do have a fever, Ed,” Chloe pointed out. She got up and walked decisively towards the dressing table. She opened a drawer and took out a tablet to give to Edward.
“Now, you get up and take this medicine.”
With a lazy sigh, Edward adjusted his position and reached for the glass of water along with the tablet that Chloe had brought for him intentionally.
“I already took some,” he replied. A second later, he lay back down, preparing to sleep. “Now please go. I want to rest.”
Chloe didn’t immediately get up. She let Edward close his eyes first before she got up and left the room.
Meanwhile, after hearing the bedroom door close, Edward opened his eyes again. He slowly tried to stand up and walked towards the walk-in closet. He thought he should change into lighter clothes than what he was wearing now.
As he walked slowly, suddenly, his balance was disturbed, and he almost fell to the floor if Chloe hadn’t quickly caught him. Carefully, she guided him back to the bed.
“Why did you come back?” Edward’s voice was whispered, almost barely audible. “Is there something you forgot or—”
“Stop it. No need to talk so much,” Chloe quickly interrupted. She was too lazy to hear Edward’s babbling. Whether he was sick or healthy, he was so chatty. “I thought, I can’t possibly leave you in this condition.”
Edward grimaced. He also couldn’t figure out why he suddenly had a fever like this. He felt fine earlier this afternoon.
“No need to overreact. If you want to leave, just go. No need to worry about me.”
“Tsk…” Chloe clicked her tongue. “If you were really okay, you wouldn’t have lost your balance like earlier. Luckily, I came back. Otherwise, you would have fallen and collapsed on the floor. Moreover, what were you planning to do? Weren’t you already asleep?”
“It was just a coincidence.” He continued to make excuses. He enjoyed provoking his wife’s emotions. “I just wanted to change into lighter clothes to absorb the sweat. I feel hot now.”
Chloe sighed softly. “Let me get them for you.” She got up and went to the walk-in closet, getting fresh clothes for Edward to wear. The next moment, she helped him put them on while grumbling.
“Maybe it was a coincidence that you lost your balance. But that coincidence could have been fatal. I’m sure all this happened because you’ve been overworking yourself and pushing too hard!” Chloe scolded. Lately, she admitted that Edward had been too busy with his work. “You were born wealthy, Mr. Martin. You shouldn’t work so hard and strain yourself like this.”
This time, Edward couldn’t help but laugh. It was amusing to see Chloe’s angry expression.
“Okay, Mrs. Big Shot. I apologize for making you worry,” he said softly, while giving her a slight smile. “So, what should I do now?”
Chloe stood up and spoke.
“Now you stay put here. Don’t go anywhere. Let me make you some hot soup so that your body condition can improve.”
Edward nodded softly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll follow your advice.”
Chloe placed her bag back on the nightstand. Before leaving, she changed her clothes first. After that, she walked to the kitchen. With efficiency, she cooked and prepared chicken soup for Edward.
Meanwhile, in the room, Edward could clearly hear how Chloe’s phone kept vibrating. There might be someone trying to contact her.
Filled with curiosity, Edward directed his hand to open Chloe’s bag, which was right beside where he lay. Slowly, he took out the smartphone from there and peeked to see who had been calling her.
“Damn Damian!” Edward muttered softly. He felt a bit emotional seeing his cousin’s name displayed on his wife’s phone screen. “I’m curious about what plans they’re making behind my back,” he mumbled. He then put Chloe’s phone back in its place.
Luckily, Edward acted quickly because a few minutes later, Chloe entered the room. If he had been a bit late, she might have caught him snooping through her bag and phone.
“Come on, wake up!” she ordered. She walked closer, carrying a tray with the warm soup she had painstakingly prepared. “I’ll feed you.”
Edward complied with Chloe’s request. He was secretly pleased that she was taking care of him like this.
“Have you eaten yourself?” he asked in between bites.
“Yes, I have. You don’t need to worry about my meals. Unlike you, I don’t prioritize work over my health. Being wealthy is pointless if you’re always sick.”
Edward laughed again. His wife was quite straightforward in her teasing. Was there something wrong with being focused on getting work done? That’s what he thought inwardly at that moment.
“Oh, my goodness! You really enjoy scolding me,” he said with a chuckle, continuing to eat the food she fed him.
Set after their meal and a brief conversation, Edward decided to continue sleeping. Meanwhile, Chloe was busy checking her phone, noticing how Damian had made numerous calls and sent her several text messages.
Damian: [Why didn’t you come? I waited for you for so long.]
Damian: [Answer my call!]
Damian: [Don’t play games with me, Chloe! You should know who you’re dealing with right now.]
Chloe sighed repeatedly. She wanted to ignore it but eventually chose to leave the room. She needed to contact Damian and explain why she had canceled their meeting tonight.
Just as she finished talking to Damian and was planning to go back to the bedroom to join Edward in bed, Chloe heard her husband mumbling. It seemed that the high fever was causing Edward to talk in his sleep.
“Chloe…”
“Chloe… don’t go.”
Chloe sharpened her hearing. She even moved closer to hear what Edward was actually saying in his sleep.
“Don’t leave me,” he whispered softly with his eyes still closed.
Reaching her right hand to touch his forehead, Chloe could feel that Edward’s body temperature was rising again.
“Ed… wake up,” she called while gently patting his cheek. “You have to take medicine again.”
The one awakened responded immediately. Edward opened his eyes, but instead of complying to take the medicine, he pulled Chloe into his embrace.
“Ed…” Once again, Chloe tried to reason with him. “You need to take the medicine. Your body temperature is rising again.”
Edward shook his head.
“I don’t need medicine. I just need you right now.”
“But, Ed—”
“I beg you, just for tonight,” he interrupted, pleadingly. “No one knows if I can still hold you like this tomorrow or not.”
“What do you mean? Are you planning to go somewhere? Are you planning to die?” Chloe asked, confused and quite certain about what she had just heard.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Edward dodged the question. “It’s just that you always refuse to sleep while hugging me. So, what’s wrong with it? If tonight, I ask you to hug me until I fall asleep. Just for tonight, I beg you.”
Chloe didn’t answer, allowing Edward to go back to sleep while he tightened his embrace around her.