Zethan had no idea how things had escalated to this point. His cutely stubborn wife had sohow managed to push him to the brink—over a bowl of soup.
Him. Zethan. The well-mannered, always-composed Zethan, was actually annoyed over sothing so trivial as a bowl of soup.
This woman.
She was seriously sothing.
He shook his head in disbelief.
And then, to his surprise, she didn't feed him again.
Instead, Lilia casually lifted the spoon and began eating the soup herself.
Zethan blinked, stunned. 'Wassheserious?'
Lilia let out a soft sigh of satisfaction. "You know what? I've changed my mind. This soup is really good. Wow. So, I'm eating it now."
She continued eating, completely ignoring him, leaving this poor, helpless man of hers hanging.
Then, as if rembering sothing, she turned to him and giggled.
"Oh, right! No soup for you."
Zethan narrowed his eyes. What?
Lilia smirked. "This is payback for not giving the steak that day when I wanted it. Just take it as your punishnt."
His eyes widened slightly before narrowing again. She was serious.
"What?" she teased. "Can't I punish you? If you can punish , then I can too."
Then, to his absolute horror, she winked—
Exactly the way he had done to her earlier.
Zethan could not believe this woman.
She was really sothing else. Sothing entirely different from what he had thought. And before he even had the chance to process what had just happened...She had already finished the entire bowl of soup.
Her small tongue poked out, licking her lips.
Zethan stilled.
To his surprise, he found himself smirking.
"I'm beginning to like this," she said, her eyes glinting with amusent.
Zethan raised a brow.
"Anyti you leave out of the blue, I'll be the one punishing you." She giggled, the sound light and carefree.
It was strange—despite calling it punishnt, she couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth. Excitent.
Maybe it was because, in this small mont, she felt like they had truly spent ti together.
Just then, a knock echoed through the room.
Another knock.
Before the door finally opened.
Lucas stepped inside, carrying a bag.
Zethan imdiately recognized it—it was a change of clothes for him, likely because of the earlier stain incident.
Lucas set the bag down on the table before stepping back, waiting for further instructions.
Zethan turned to Lilia. "You may go now."
She nodded before glancing at him one last ti. "Take care of yourself."
Lucas gave them space, stepping outside to stand by the door, silently waiting.
Zethan had just started to stand when Lilia suddenly leaned in, wrapping her arms around him in a quick hug.
Before he could react, he felt the softest press against his cheek—a fleeting kiss.
Then, just as swiftly, her lips brushed his in a light peck.
"This is your lucky cheek kiss," she whispered, mischief dancing in her eyes.
Before he could even process what had just happened, she pinched his cheeks slightly.
And with that, she turned on her heel, the sound of her flip-flops echoing against the floor as she rushed toward the door.
Zethan remained completely still.
Watching.
Processing.
And most of all—speechless.
—
Lilia sat at the back of the car, her eyes silently moving as she observed the interior.
She realized that Zethan must be close to Lucas.
She wanted to ask a question—she couldn't hide the fact that she was also very curious about Zethan's well-being.
She hesitated a bit before speaking.
And then, she asked quietly, the confidence in her tone unmistakable, "About my husband? When will he be returning?"
Lucas fell silent for a mont before finally speaking about Mr. Zethan.
"I'd say we don't have a fixed date. Mr. Zethan can be unpredictable when he goes out. He might return sooner, or he might take longer—it all depends on his mind."
Lilia nodded at his response, and Lucas returned the gesture before they continued down the road.
After a while, the car ca to a stop in front of the mansion.
She stepped out and walked inside.
Normally, Evie stayed outside, but today felt different—almost as if Evie wasn't aware of her return.
She wouldn't bla her. Everything had happened so fast.
Then, a woman arrived. She had blonde hair and was wearing Evie's like uniform.
The woman spoke quietly. "Welco back, Ms. Lilia. I'm Anna, and I'll be the shift maid. Ms. Evie has left for dical treatnt, so today is her day off. I'm here to fill in."
Lilia realized she felt more comfortable in Evie's presence, especially during als, simply because she was used to her.
This sudden change felt so out of the blue, and she wasn't really free like she was when Evie was here.
Even though Evie seed professional, there was a certain warmth about her, as if she naturally emitted a comforting aura.
In contrast, Anna maintained a strictly professional deanor.
Lilia nodded, and then Anna spoke. "Would you like to have your lunch now?"
Lilia shook her head. "I already had sothing. Maybe later."
Anna nodded before bowing slightly.
Lilia then made her way upstairs.
She opened the door and stepped into Zethan's room.
The mont she closed the door, she decided to take a bath and freshen up.
After her bath, she changed into a loose, baggy shirt and a maxi skirt.
Then, she began to explore the room.
It dawned on her that she hadn't really taken the ti to do so before.
If this was truly Zethan's, then she had every reason to explore it now.
As she moved around, her gaze landed on a small table.
Well, not exactly small—it was a neatly arranged study desk, ticulously organized for quick study sessions.
There was no denying it now. This was Zethan's study.
She walked toward the desk and noticed an assortnt of books stacked on top.
Just looking at them made her head spin slightly.
It wasn't that she wasn't smart, but these books seed... advanced.
Curious, she reached out and pulled open a drawer.
Like the rest of the room, everything inside was ticulously arranged.
There didn't seem to be anything particularly important for visitors—until a black card caught her attention.
She picked it up and examined it.
Bold golden letters glead against the dark surface:
ZethanLyall.
And beneath the na, a number.
Sothing clicked in Lilia's mind.
Even if he was not here, couldn't she just call him?
She could, right?
Without thinking, she spun on her heel and rushed toward the bed, her heart pounding slightly. It was a silly impulse, but for so reason, she felt as if the mont she looked away, the card might vanish into thin air, as if it had never been there in the first place.
Grabbing her phone from the nightstand, she quickly entered the number and saved it.
Then, almost instinctively, she nad the contact:
'MyHusband' (with a cute pink and red heart emoji)
As soon as she did, she realized she was smiling. A small, almost timid smile, yet undeniably there.
At least now, she could call him if she wanted to.
There was nothing wrong with that.
She could even ask Lucas about it later.
Satisfied, she placed her phone back on the nightstand and let out a quiet breath. Her body still held a strange tension she couldn't quite place, but she pushed it aside. The exhaustion from the long day finally caught up with her, and the soft comfort of the bed was too tempting to resist.
She lay down, allowing herself a brief mont of rest.
....
A loud, insistent knocking yanked her from sleep.
Lilia jolted awake, her eyes snapping open as she sat up abruptly. For a mont, she was disoriented, blinking against the dim lighting of the room. Then, irritation settled in.
Who would dare knock like that?
Was it the new assistant? Had she not been taught proper manners?
The knocking didn't stop. If anything, it grew more frantic.
Sothing wasn't right.
Suppressing a sigh, she threw the blanket off her legs and made her way to the door. As she pulled it open, she was t with the sight of the blonde maid standing before her, head bowed, disheveled strands of hair falling over her face.
Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her, her fingers twisting anxiously together. Panic clung to her features, evident in the way her wide, pale blue eyes darted toward Lilia before quickly lowering again. Her usually fair complexion looked even more ghostly under the warm glow of the hallway lights.
Lilia's brows furrowed.
Sothing was definitely wrong.
"What happened?" Her voice was quiet yet firm, cutting through the thick tension in the air.
The maid hesitated for a second, her lips parting as if she was struggling to find the right words. Then, with an almost reluctant breath, she spoke.
"Miss Lilia... the makeup artist is scheduled to arrive in an hour, and your dress will be delivered around the sa ti. We would like you to co downstairs for preparations. It's... very urgent."
'Preparations?'
Lilia's frown deepened. There was sothing odd about the way the maid spoke, her voice laced with nervousness.
Her expression remained unreadable as she tilted her head slightly. "For what?"
The maid visibly swallowed, her hands tightening into fists.
Then, almost as if the words were a burden she had been dreading to deliver, she whispered:
"Miss Lilia... your wedding. It's tonight."
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