Gabriella could sense Max was approaching. The closer they were, the tighter she clenched fists. Her cheeks were blushing like a tomato.
Just before the man bit her lips, a knock on the door caught their attention. Gabriella could hear a small snort from her front. Only then could she breathe again and open her eyes.
“Yes?” Max stared at the door with an eyebrow raised in displeasure.
“Sorry, Sir. Your secretary is waiting at the guard post. He insists on coming in to see Master,” a servant reported from behind the door.
“Just tell him that I’m enforcing protocol five!”
“He’s still insistent, Sir.”
A quick gasp was immediately heard. “Please tell him to contact me by phone!” After giving the order, Max grabbed the phone and activated it.
Knowing her husband’s annoyance, Gabriella did not dare to move. Every now and then, he checked Max’s expression out of the corner of her eyes.
“Can I go now?” she asked carefully.
“We’re not done yet,” Max said with gaze locked on the phone and one hand still resting on the crook of his wife’s waist.
Gabriella bit her lip and fell silent. Her hands squeezed together furiously.
“Should I run to the bedroom and lock the door? But, what if he opened it with the spare key? Should I block the door with a chair?”
“Max, what are you doing? Do you forget that today is the deadline given by your father?” Sebastian’s voice startled Gabriella. The husband turned out to put on loudspeaker mode.
“Of course I don’t forget,” Max said as he placed the phone on the table so his hands could pamper his wife freely.
“Then why don’t you come up with a solution and instead lock yourself up in your palace?”
Max smiled a bit and looked at his wife who kept furrowing her brows. “There’s more important thing that requires me to stay home.”
“Don’t tell me you don’t care about your position anymore. Awake, Max!”
“I am fully aware, Bas. Don’t worry!” The man’s hand was gently stroking Gabriella’s hair.
“Then, what are you going to do with the board of directors meeting tomorrow? Don’t you want to do something?”
Max took a deep breath and then turned his gaze to the phone.
“I’m still thinking about it. Come on, Bas, don’t disturb my leisure time. Stop waiting there! The gates won’t open for you.”
“You are really-”
Max pressed the red button without the slightest hint of guilt. A second later, his gaze turned to the woman who was still on his lap.
“So you want to do it here or in our bedroom?” the man asked, revealing the tension that had sunk.
“Eh?”
“Want to do it here? Okay!”
As soon as Max tightened his grip, Gabriella’s hand spontaneously held his broad chest.
“I just want to practice presentation!” the girl snapped quickly. One of the husband’s eyebrows immediately lifted.
“So, you’d rather have that job than serve me?” Max asked intimidatingly.
Gabriella spontaneously gulped and blinked awkwardly. “Yes.”
A second later, the man furrowed his brows in thought. After a few moments, he nodded in agreement.
“Then you should learn this presentation slide.”
As Max reached out for the phone, Gabriella lowered her feet to the floor. However, before she could tread, the husband had already raised her feet again.
“Where are you going?” Max inquired in surprise.
“Move to my seat. Didn’t you tell me to learn the slides?”
“But, I didn’t tell you to move. Watch this!” Max showed his phone to the woman who let out a sigh.
“Shouldn’t I do this in a normal way? Your legs will get sore if you carry my weight for too long,” Gabriella grumbled with furrowed brows begging for pity. However, the husband just shook his head faintly.
“Don’t be fussy! Now, watch my explanation carefully! I don’t want you just freeze in front of the board of directors tomorrow.”
With pursed lips, Gabriella listened to the CEO’s words. She had no other choice since she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of many people.
***
“Is the mockup finished?” Gabriella asked as she approached the miniature building in front of Max. The man who had just glued the tree decorations straightened up and turned his head.
“Yes. How about you?”
The woman with glazed eyes nodded weakly. “I have already repeated ten times. It should have stuck in my brain.”
“Good! Then take a break. I still have to put this mockup in a safer place.”
Without saying much, Gabriella went to the room. After taking her favorite bear, the woman climbed into bed and fell asleep.
A few minutes later, Max followed with a serious look. His mind was still on the secret mission tomorrow. Too many worries weighed on his brain.
However, as soon as he saw the beautiful woman lying on her side on the bed, the tension suddenly loosened. Within seconds, the man was standing by his wife’s side.
“Tch, what’s so good about sleeping hugging a teddy like that?” Max thought with a faint snort. For some reason, he did not accept seeing his wife’s peaceful face.
“In fact, sleeping in my arms would be much more comfortable,” he muttered before shaking his head in annoyance.
After a blink, Max suddenly flinched. He had just detected jealousy in his heart.
“Wait a minute! What am I thinking of? Ah, my brain has started to bother again. It must be because there’s been too much pressure lately.”
While contemplating the strangeness, the man put the cell phone on the table then went to the bathroom. However, until he finished washing his face, the astonishment still refused to leave.
“But what I did in the workroom was also unnatural,” the man muttered as he climbed into bed. Eyes full of suspicion were then cast on Gabriella’s back.
“There must be something wrong with this woman. Why do I get distracted every time she’s around? She must have used magic.”
After watching his wife’s back for a moment, Max’s gaze shifted to his cell phone. Wasting no time, he reached out, trying to reach the table beside Gabriella.
“I better perfect the plan for tomorrow.”
Just as his hand was about to reach for the phone, Gabriella suddenly shifted into a supine position. Max was wide-eyed. There’s no time for him move the support so that his head was right above his wife’s face.
“Damn!”
Max didn’t notice that his pupils had dilated. All he noticed was a faster-than-usual heartbeat and a strange gurgling of blood in his veins.
For a few seconds, the man didn’t dare to breathe and continued to stare at the woman below. The image of the night he was in power also automatically swirled, provoking the passion to rise from rest.
“Oh, God! Why are her lips so captivating?”
Max gulped and slowly moved his hand to the girl’s cheek. However, just as he was about to land a kiss, Gabriella’s wide eyelids suddenly shot up. A small pop in his chest suddenly spread surprise.
“What are you doing?” the woman asked with wide eyes. The drowsiness was gone in an instant.
“I … want to get my cell phone,” Max said as he rushed to grab the thing he had failed to get. Disguising his awkwardness, he sat with eyes forced to stick to the screen.
Meanwhile, Gabriella continued to stare at him suspiciously. The teddy in his chest was already held tighter.
“W-why haven’t you slept yet?” she asked with vocal cords pinched. Max glanced at her.
“I still have work to do,” the man who was actually just swiping the screen replied.
A second later, silence froze the air. Max quietly checked his wife’s movements, while Gabriella kept eyes on the distance between them. If the man suddenly attacked, he was ready to fight.
“Why? Do you think I will ambush?” Max asked suddenly, making the woman blinked.
“N-no. Didn’t you say that I’m not your taste? You definitely won’t be tempted even if I don’t wear clothes,” Gabriella said casually. She didn’t know that what she said sounded like sarcasm to Max.
“Yes, of course I will not be tempted,” the man said lying to himself. “Then, is that why you are disappointed?”
The woman’s brows suddenly arched in disapproval. “Why am I disappointed?”
“You sound disappointed. Are you sad that your husband is not interested in spending the first night with you?”
Gabriella’s eyes widened for a moment. “Right, it’s our first night,” she thought before swallowing hard.
“Of course not. I’d be happy if we didn’t do it,” the woman said loudly.
A second later, Max turned to face him. Gabriella reflexively sat up and hugged Snowy tighter.
“Do you forget? We’ve done it before,” the man teased, successfully making his wife’s cheeks turn red.
“Why are you bringing up that again?” Gabriella asked, glancing the other way.
“I regret doing that to you. Instead of getting pleasure, I got misfortune. I just want you to know that. So, don’t think about me like that.”
Gabriella rolled her eyes, mocking Max’s words in her heart.
“Do you understand?” Max asked as he drew closer to his wife. The woman spontaneously raised both hands just in case.
“Yes, yes, I understand. Don’t startle me like that!” Gabriella said annoyed.
A crooked smile appeared on the man’s face. “Apparently, you were secretly expecting me, hm? Otherwise, there’s no way you’d be this nervous.”
The woman’s lips trembled more than the blink of her eyes. “Who’s nervous? No one!”
“You’re nervous!” Max’s index finger pointed almost to the tip of his wife’s nose.
“No!” Gabriella spontaneously lowered the accusing hand. When she realized, her hand was holding her husband’s upright index finger.