Holden chuckled casually.
He really couldn’t understand it. How could Sarah have such a “specific” taste-being head over heels for a guy like that?
Holden had always despised overly infatuated people.
To prevent Sarah from falling into that mindset while living in his house, he thought it over and decided to delete all three of Ronald’s messages.
After her shower, Sarah remembered she’d left her phone on the couch. She hurried out to get it and saw Holden as soon as she reached the living room.
From Sarah’s point of view, Holden was truly a handsome guy-he had the looks, the body, and the charisma. It was just a shame he had embraced one of the extreme versions of the domineering CEO trope.
In the novels Sarah had read, there were two types of domineering CEOs. The first was like Ronald, with questionable intelligence, who tormented the female lead physically and emotionally, believed the villainess, and let her harm the female lead until finally his intelligence returned, and he dealt with the villains to live happily ever after with the heroine. Of course, this type always had a history with countless women.
The second type was the man who was naturally allergic to women, maintaining his purity by never getting involved with anyone except his destined true love.
As a character doomed to a tragic fate as the “vicious crush,” Sarah was keenly aware she belonged to the category of “those other countless women.”
So, no matter how good-looking Holden was, Sarah only glanced at him briefly. She knew her place and had a strong survival instinct. She wasn’t about to risk her life for some romantic entanglement.
She looked around for her phone but couldn’t find it until she noticed her pink-cased phone in Holden’s hand.
He was casually playing with it right in front of her.
Sarah was baffled. “Mr. Holden, I think you have my phone.”
“999 Times of Love: The Runaway Bride of Mr. Billionaire,” Holden chuckled, “My dear wife, is this what you usually read?”
Sarah was caught off guard. “Uh…”
What else could she do?
Sometimes she had to read complex books to match her roles, train hard for action scenes, or wear a coat in the summer and a dress in the winter during filming.
After working so hard, how could she not relax with some sweet, mindless fluff? She wasn’t about to read Les Miserables or War and Peace seven or eight times, was she?
Not wanting to be mocked for her taste, Sarah defended herself, “Mr. Holden, you just don’t understand how charming the men in those stories are.”
Holden raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Sarah continued, “They’re billionaires, rulers of business empires.”
Holden replied, “Oh.”
By sheer coincidence, Holden was also a billionaire.
Sarah added, “They’re five-foot-eleven and better-looking than movie stars.”
Holden responded, “Oh!”
Coincidentally, Holden was six-foot-three and better-looking than Ronald, who could easily pass as a movie star.
Sarah went on, “They give their wives mansions worth a billion.”
Holden replied, “Oh!!”
By chance, this very estate was worth 1. 2 billion.
Holden smiled and said, “Then I’ll give this estate to you, my dear wife.”
Sarah cautiously looked at Holden, like she was staring at the most admirable person in the world, and asked, “Really???!!!”
Holden lightly tapped her head with her phone. “Take the stairs to your left, go up to your room, and in your dreams, everything will be real.”
Sarah snatched her phone back from him, expressionless. She knew it.
But then, something came to her. “By the way, Mr. Holden, if I suddenly start acting, would that break our contract? Would your family oppose it?”
Holden scoffed. “What right do they have to oppose?”
Sarah asked, “I heard some wealthy families can be pretty strict.”
“Mrs. Holden, if you play nice, as long as I’m happy, you can do whatever you want.”
Sarah was immediately intrigued. “Even getting you to invest a billion in an epic female-led sci-fi interstellar war movie?”
“In your dreams, sure. I’ll allow it.”
Sarah stomped her feet hard on the floor with anger, and headed upstairs to bed.
Butler Ted sighed, “I always thought she was a graceful and gentle lady.”
Holden chuckled softly.
It was soon deep into the night.
Butler Ted brought Holden a glass of water, making sure he took his medication before going to bed.
But Holden knew all too well that these pills did little for him. Insomnia would come regardless.
He’d been busy with some projects lately and couldn’t rely on alcohol to numb himself. Surprisingly, after sharing a bed with Sarah for two nights, he’d slept remarkably well.
Their rooms were adjacent, so in the dead of night, if there was too much noise from Sarah’s room, Holden could hear it. This was why Butler Ted had warned Sarah not to make a sound once Holden returned home.
It was clear Sarah had forgotten this. Her phone rang in the middle of the night. Without checking who it was, she answered.
A slightly tipsy voice came through, “Sarah, I had a fight with Elisa.”
Sarah asked, “Ronald?”
She practically cursed Ronald in her head. It was the middle of the night, and he was losing his mind by calling her.
Of course, Sarah knew Ronald had fought with Elisa. She’d witnessed it firsthand.
From the next room, Holden heard the name “Ronald” and sneered. He wasn’t spending twenty million a month to have Sarah chatting with another man in the dead of night.
Sarah had no desire to stay up and be someone’s emotional dumpster, so she quickly hung up the phone.
Before she could catch her breath, there was a knock at the door. When she opened it, Holden stood there with a cold expression.
He was dressed in a black silk robe with intricate embroidery that made him look even more striking.
Sarah was nearly dazzled by the sight.
“Mr. Holden?” she asked.
Holden said coldly, “Did Butler Ted not tell you there should be no noise at night?”
Sarah replied, “Uh, sorry.”
Holden turned to leave. “Next month’s salary is docked.”
Sarah quickly grabbed his arm. “No, wait, please don’t!”
She had been working non-stop since she traveled into this book and hadn’t received a single paycheck. With payday just around the corner, docking her salary would be a disaster.
Sarah’s fingers held onto the sleeve of his robe.
Holden glanced at her hand. Her fingers were delicate and soft, almost as if a gentle squeeze would make water come out.
Sarah followed his gaze, looked at her hand, and then suddenly let go, sighing. How could someone like her, with the aura of an evil supporting character, dare to touch the big shot with plot armor?
“Want to make it up to me?”
Sarah nodded.
Holden’s lips curled slightly. “It’s not impossible.”
Sarah instantly felt a spark of hope. She knew Holden couldn’t be that cruel.
His narrow, deep-set eyes glinted with a hint of mischief. “Let’s sleep together tonight.”
Sarah’s guard went up. “Just sleep together? Nothing else?”
Holden smiled. “My dear wife, do you think I have that kind of interest in you?”
Sarah was silent. It seemed like he really didn’t.
“Fine, let’s sleep together tonight,” she agreed.
After all, Mr. Holden was so handsome, and they’d already shared a bed before.
Sarah found a small corner of the luxurious bed and lay on one side.
She wasn’t sure why Holden had asked her to do this, but she figured there must be a reason.
Would Holden lose control in the middle of the night and violate her? Sarah doubted it.
If the male lead of this story wasn’t interested in her, would someone as powerful as Holden be?
Definitely not.
Holden had way more self-control than Ronald.
Well, maybe Holden was impotent.