Chapter 2 Hot News

• "Mr. Raymond, you have several consecutive calls from Miss Cecilia."
• Albert dropped the pen in his hand in disgust, then looked at his subordinate coldly. "Maurice, you dare interrupt my work for such an insignificant reason?"
• Maurice, his secretary, bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, Sir, but as I mentioned, the calls have been coming in rapid succession for a while, so I thought there might be something important Miss Cecilia wanted to discuss."
• "Get out!" ordered Albert coldly.
• "Yes, Sir." Maurice walked out of Albert's office.
• Albert took off his glasses, threw them on the table, and massaged the bridge of his nose, enduring the dizziness in his head and tiredness in eyes.
• He had just broken up with his girlfriend of five days. Five days that had meant absolutely nothing. Albert ended the relationship with the blonde haired woman as soon as she mentioned the seriousness of it.
• Albert didn't need her, nor did he want her.
• His relationships with women were never about anything beyond sex. Albert as a man in his prime certainly had plenty of passion. And his self-control was almost as strong as that passion. But why would he hold back when women were so willing to throw themselves at him? Albert welcomed them with open arms as long as their desires aligned with his. Not to forget, Albert even rewarded them with expensive clothes and jewelry.
• Over the past four years, Albert had never had trouble satisfying his desires. And since the incident that made him no longer look up to women, his reputation as a playboy spread. Women targeted him, and it's true; he is a billionaire playboy. Even after holding the status of a husband, his behavior is still the same, and Albert has no intention of changing it. In fact, after discovering his wife’s super-cold behavior and not paying attention to him at all, Albert's determination to play around is even stronger.
• Albert married Sophia purely for the business that the girl's father was offering him. A business with profits that cannot be ignored. And apparently, Louis Abraham thought the same thing.
• When the girl's father offered his youngest daughter as a token of their close bond, Albert did not refuse. Compared to her two sisters, Sophia was much more introverted and reserved, which suited Albert perfectly. He didn't want someone demanding like the women he had been with before.
• Albert had thought about taking his marriage seriously, but after their wedding night where Sophia rejected him outright, Albert changed his mind. Moreover, Sophia didn't seem to care about anything Albert did afterward.
• The spoiled, arrogant girl, that's how Albert saw her.
• Sometimes, Albert forgot that he wasn't alone in the house. Sophia often locked herself in her room. So Albert felt that his married life was not much different from his bachelor days. Sophia had no intention of doing her duty as a wife, and neither did he. Their status was just a piece of paper, nothing more than that.
• Tonight, having managed to get out of all the busyness of work, Albert returned home on a Friday night as usual. The house was deserted and quiet. According to the staff, Sophia hadn't left since the party.
• What did she do all day?
• Albert didn’t really care, he was just curious.
• He went straight into his room and locked the door behind him. Albert loosened his tie, took off his clothes, and went into the bathroom. Afterward, he lay down on the bed.
• He stared at the ceiling, observing the abstract scribbles of the paint. However, after lying down for a long time, Albert did not feel sleepy. His breathing grew heavier, so he got up to adjust the room's temperature, then lay back down, pulling the blanket over himself.
• ***
• The next morning, Sophia came out of her room for breakfast. She paused for a moment in front of her bedroom door, glancing left at the dark brown door that was tightly shut. Then she continued on, brushing aside the unnecessary thoughts in her head.
• Albert only employed one housekeeper, Mrs. Florence, or Dana. Currently, the middle-aged woman was cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Sophia had wanted to help him with cooking and cleaning, but she never managed to do anything right. She couldn't cook. She couldn't clean either.
• Sophia glanced toward the stairs, it was no surprise that Albert never considered her, she was not fit to be a wife. Sophia was very self-conscious about her shortcomings, which sometimes became very annoying. No matter how hard she tried, Sophia could never do anything right. Coupled with Albert's behavior that did not reflect a husband at all, it took away Sophia's motivation to be a good wife.
• While waiting for Dana to finish making pancakes, Sophia read the latest news articles and came across a story about Albert Raymond's alleged affair.
• Unimportant news, Sophia snorted to herself. But still, she couldn't get rid of the feeling of relief in her chest that just appeared every time this kind of news appeared. However, it was not enough to get her hopes up. Albert was still Albert. In a few more days, the rumor of him having a new woman would come out. Strangely enough, the unimportant news was still published on the gossip page for women who were filled with curiosity about Albert Raymond, the most desirable playboy.
• "Why are you reading that kind of news so early, Dear? Don't ruin your day with that kind of mindless reading," Dana commented as she placed a plate of blueberry syrup-covered pancakes and a glass of fresh tomato juice in front of Sophia.
• Sophia just smiled in response to Dana's comment. She cut the pancakes with a fork and began eating. "Did he come home last night?" asked Sophia, unable to stop her curiosity.
• Dana nodded as she turned to clean the cooking utensils. "He came home late," she said.
• "Hmmm," Sophia agreed, taking another bite of the delicious pancake and sipping her favorite tomato juice.
• "It's a wonder he hasn’t been out by this hour," Dana muttered as she looked toward the stairs.
• Sophia shrugged, pretending not to care, but inside she was curious. Usually, Albert ate breakfast before her, probably to avoid any awkward situations. Because of this, Sophia deliberately delayed her breakfast time to avoid running into him.
• "Is he okay?" Dana muttered.
• He’s fine, Sophia thought to herself, almost laughing at the irony. Because there was no way Albert Raymond was not okay just because of his failed relationship with his lover?
• "I have to leave soon, I have an appointment with my husband to pick up the fresh tomatoes he’s harvested. Would you like to take the food to Albert's room, Dear?"
• Sophia stopped chewing for a moment, then looked up at Dana and nodded.
• "Oh, okay, here’s the tray," Dana said before excusing herself.
• After finishing her breakfast and drinking the tomato juice, Sophia got up with the tray in hand.
• When she reached Albert's door, she hesitated for a moment. But finally, she knocked gently on the door. There was no response.
• Sophia knocked again, but there was still no response. Did Albert really come home last night? Sophia thought to herself, knocking again harder. Still, no response. On her fourth knock, the door creaked open, revealing Albert's tall figure standing in the doorway, staring at her with a weary expression.
• Sophia frowned as she looked at him from top to bottom. Albert’s tall body was slightly hunched, his hand resting on the door frame. He looked pale and sweaty, with the top two buttons of his nightshirt undone.
• "What do you want?" he asked hoarsely.
• ***