“Now you can go meet Alexander. The twenty-four hours I’ve given you with him. So never betray me, even if it’s just a kiss.”
“You must be crazy, Maxime. I am Alexander’s wife. You’re restricting even a simple kiss? Where is your conscience?” Cesilia asserted each word that came out of her mouth, while adjusting her dress.
“I don’t care. Remember, if you so much as touch Alexander, I’ll make your life difficult, Cesilia!” Maxime threatened, pointing his index finger at her.
“Fine, that means I can hug my husband.” Cesilia confirmed.
Maxime nodded, although he felt hurt knowing Cesilia would be in the arms of another man, even if it was her husband.
“I’ll allow that, but not this.” He brushed Cesilia’s lips with his thumb. “Remember, your whole body belongs to me.”
“Whatever, then I’m leaving.” Cesilia got up from Maxime’s lap. But he stopped her and pulled her back down onto his lap.
“Alexander is about to leave here, right? So there’s still some time he’ll spend before reaching home.”
He caressed Cesilia’s back.
Cesilia pushed away Maxime’s hand. “Don’t ask for that again!” She rolled her eyes lazily, knowing what he wanted.
“You’re very clever, my dear. As a farewell gift, since I won’t be able to touch or enjoy your body for the next twenty-four hours.”
“Maxime, I have to prepare everything to welcome my husband’s return. I can’t rely solely on my mother-in-law. What would Alexander think if …”
“You know my stance, right? So please don’t argue if you really want to go. Remember, Cesilia, I’m really tired of having to repeat myself and ask you over and over to understand that my words are orders not to be disobeyed.”
“Fine, if that’s what you want. Where?” Cesilia hopped off Maxime’s lap, as she couldn’t possibly engage in intimate activities in a room that anyone could enter.
Considering Maxime’s position as a leader with many subordinates outside.
“Here? Where else do you think?” He gestured for Cesilia to lift her dress.
Cesilia shook her head.
“How many times do I have to say that my words are commands you must obey!”
As a result, Cesilia let go of her dress. She sat on Maxime’s desk, as he desired. The sounds of pleasure echoed as Maxime entered. He left the door unlocked, allowing anyone to come in. He didn’t care who saw them; he wanted to expose their relationship to the public without his interference.
Cesilia couldn’t express how exhausted she was. From the desk, sofa, and bathroom, she did everything to satisfy Maxime. Her body felt numb due to his rough actions, unlike Alexander’s gentle touch.
Ignoring all the pain and fatigue, Cesilia tried to appear happy as she could finally go home after so long.
Cesilia was well aware that she couldn’t serve Alexander as before, as Maxime truly made her feel like an object with identification marks. No one was allowed to touch her anymore. But that wasn’t the issue now; what mattered was Cesilia could go home and welcome Alexander’s arrival.
Furthermore, Cesilia put on a thick face when she encountered Mery, who was preparing dinner to welcome Alexander and Casandra’s return. Frans and Robert were also present, eagerly awaiting the return of their friend with his new status. Despite this being Alexander’s second marriage, the two men were still excited to hear about his first experience with unboxing his second wife. It might be bizarre, but that’s how their friendship worked.
Although Robert was still single, he still sought advice and tutorials on how to approach the wedding night, preparing for his future marriage. That’s why he often sought guidance from Frans and Alexander after their wedding nights.
“After this, you should marry your sweetheart,” Frans teased, chuckling a bit because Alexander was now married for the second time, while Robert was still single.
The three of them had been friends since high school, and Robert was the unluckiest among them. Frans got married first, even though his wife’s life was cut short. After Frans got married, Alexander followed suit, although Cesilia was busy with her own world. Despite that, Alexander had left his bachelor days behind, and now he married Casandra, hoping she would be a good wife for him in the future.
Robert merely sneered at Frans’s teasing. He wanted to retaliate, but he didn’t want Frans to know that he still hadn’t captured the girl he had his eye on. So, he lied and said he had found the love of his life, just so Frans would stop asking him to contact a matchmaker.
“Mom thought you wouldn’t come home,” Mery quipped when she saw Cesilia entering the dining room. Everything was neatly prepared, but her daughter-in-law had just come home to prepare for Alexander’s return.
Cesilia didn’t know how she found out about the event she was preparing, and Mery looked annoyed and displeased that Cesilia was involved in their dinner plans.
“Of course, I’m home, Ma. Alexander is coming back from who knows where today,” Cesilia retorted, equally sharp in her response to Mery’s question.
She quickly sat in the chair usually occupied by Alexander, so Casandra wouldn’t take her place later.
Frans and Robert exchanged glances, observing the cold dispute between Mery and Cesilia. They decided to excuse themselves and wait for Alexander on the back terrace. They could sense that something was off and expected there to be tension between Cesilia and Alexander when he arrived. Certainly, they would argue before getting to the main event of the evening.
Moreover, Alexander had left without informing Cesilia where he was going and how long he’d be away.
“Please behave nicely when Alexander arrives,” Mery warned after receiving a message from Alexander saying they were close to home.
At 10:30 PM, it was too late for dinner, but it didn’t matter for Mery to welcome Alexander and Casandra. There was no such thing as being late in her eyes.
“You should also respect Casandra as your co-wife,” she reminded Cesilia when she heard the sound of Alexander’s car approaching the front yard. Cesilia, who had been ignoring all of Mery’s warnings, let out a small snort and quickly got up to greet her husband’s return.
“My love… you’re finally back.” Cesilia hurriedly ran to meet Alexander, embracing him even though he had just gotten out of the car.
Initially, he intended to open the door for Casandra, but Cesilia’s presence made him change his mind. Cesilia intentionally chased after him and hugged him, not wanting him to treat Casandra like a wife.
In Casandra’s eyes, she could do anything alone without needing Alexander’s help, for example, opening the car door and unloading their belongings later.
“I’ve been waiting for your arrival, my love. I missed you so much,” Cesilia tightened her hug around Alexander, ignoring Casandra’s presence as she had just gotten out of the car.
From Casandra’s gaze, Cesilia could tell that the girl didn’t like what she was doing to Alexander at the moment. She was also sure that Casandra was developing feelings for her husband.
“I missed you too, but I want to help Casandra first to get our belongings from the car. After that, we can talk in the room, so you wait in the room.”
“Why should I wait in the room? Isn’t Mama preparing a dinner event? Besides, Frans and Robert are inside,” Cesilia explained, not wanting to wait for Alexander in the room. There was a dinner event in the dining room that was being prepared.
“Mama is preparing a dinner for us? It’s almost late at night, Ces. So there won’t be any event anymore, including Robert and Frans.”
Alexander didn’t believe it, as Meri hadn’t told him anything about it.
“Believe it or not, it’s up to you.” Cesilia walked ahead, seeing Meri waiting on the terrace. She didn’t want to argue, so she reluctantly took a step back from Casandra.
Cesilia’s departure was used by Alexander to help Casandra. He took out and dragged the suitcase into the house. Without saying anything, Casandra simply followed from behind. She composed herself, trying to be strong in facing Alexander and Cesilia’s intimacy.
“Wait in our room, not here,” Alexander protested when they arrived in his and Casandra’s room.
“But I miss you. Especially since you blocked my number,” Cesilia complained playfully, immediately hugging him and taking the suitcase from Alexander’s hand. “Come here, I want to explain everything to you.” She dragged Alexander to the bed, and they sat side by side on the edge.
“Are you going to explain or argue?” Alexander retorted, not sure if Cesilia would be honest with him.
“I’ll explain about work later. Now I want to talk about the feelings in my heart.” Cupping Alexander’s cheeks, ignoring her previous promise, Cesilia passionately kissed his lips, expressing her longing.
Regardless of Alexander’s lack of response, what mattered was that her yearning was fulfilled, with Casandra standing at the bedroom door, witnessing the heated moment.