Chapter 9 Be A Good Mrs Bolton

• Cathy jolted a little in her spot, a deep shade of red creeping across her face. Her heart was pounding so loud that she felt it might pop out of her chest any second. She quickly turned away to avoid his gaze.
• "Your cooking, it's not bad." The man lowered his head to take another mouthful of noodles. "The butler said you were looking for me?"
• It was only then that Cathy remembered having some business to discuss with him.
• "Master Adrian."
• The woman raised her head and straightened her back, giving him a solemn look. "Before marriage, I had no idea that you had twin sons."
• Adrian quirked a brow. "Before marriage, I had no idea that you'd steal my wine over something that happened with your ex."
• ...Oh
• She suddenly recalled a dream from last night in which she sat in a bathtub with the man who was currently in front of her...
• Unless... that wasn't a dream?!
• Biting her lip, she sucked in a breath and asserted, "It was my fault for stealing your wine. But don't you think what you did to me after was equally absurd? So, we're even!"
• Adrian raised his head and looked at her with deep, bottomless eyes. "Do you think that having a one-time bath with me is worth 5.48 million?"
• Crash! The phone that was in Cathy's hand fell to the ground with a loud smack.
• Those bottles of wine that she found particularly unpleasant to drink, were worth a total of 5.48 million?!
• She paled, body freezing to the spot while her brain attempted to digest the hefty amount that had just left his lips. After a long while, a sheepish grin made its way to her face. "Those bottles of wine..."
• "Were all limited edition," Adrian finished the sentence for her. "Regular people could never even dream about getting their hands on it."
• Cathy gulped nervously, but continued insisting anyway, "But even if those wines were expensive, what you did to me yesterday... was not as simple as merely having a bath together!"
• Setting his chopsticks down onto the bowl, he tilted his head with a small smirk on his lips. "Then tell me, what else did you and I do last night?"
• Thinking of him last night... the blush on Cathy's face instantly deepened.
• She forced out a cough. "A-anyway! You were way over the line!"
• "How was I over the line?" His gaze was ever alluring, sending a surge of heat through her body. "Just how much of last night do you remember?"
• He was not supposed to sound as charming as he did, and Cathy cursed at herself for thinking so. She turned around in panic and squeaked out in a tight voice, "If I remembered correctly, we got married yesterday."
• "Then, what I did to you seemed to be legal." His husky voice rang out from behind, causing the blush to spread to her ears, she was certain he could see it even when facing away from him.
• There was a long pause while Cathy drew in deep breaths to recompose herself. Finally, she spoke firmly, "Then... what do you want? I don't have 5.48 million."
• She only had 548 sans the million.
• "Be a good wife. Do your job well as Mrs. Bolton." Somehow, that sounded more like a sincere plea than a command. "And be a mother to Arius and Abner."
• "But..." she hesitated, "I don't think I have what it takes to be a good caregiver. I'm afraid I might not be able to take care of them well." That was the whole reason she needed to talk to him in the first place.
• "It doesn't matter. They're mature enough to take care of you."
• Cathy's grip on her arm tightened.
• "Of course, if you really feel bad about it..." He trailed his eyes down her slender back, reliving the image of her sultry figure laying in the bathtub last night. The next words that came out of his mouth were laced with teasing insinuation. "It can always be compensated with meat."
• Meat...
• Cathy immediately bolted up the stairs, not sparing him another glance. She ran into the bedroom and slammed the door shut, trying to catch her breath while his words continued echoing in her mind.
• "We're married."
• "What I did to you was legal."
• Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard outside the door, and they seemed to be approaching her room.
• Cathy's breath hitched and she squeezed her eyes shut, as if to stop herself from making any noises that might give away her location.
• Meanwhile, her thoughts unceremoniously brought back the passionate events from last night, of how she whined and unraveled with the touch of his fingers.
• Even if not all, it seemed that some of the rumors were true! He probably played with his two ex-fiancées until they died!
• Her face paled as the footsteps grew louder. The man from five years ago had made her averse to the idea of male and female. This was also the reason she had never once kissed Xavier despite being in love with him for so long.
• Xavier had told her she was ill but had never offered to find her a doctor nor help with the bills. Each time, he would let her endure pain and sufferings on her own.
• Until she couldn't anymore...
• The footsteps seemed to be right in front of her door now, and her whole body began to tremble.
• However, they walked past her room and faded away into another direction down the corridor. The faint sound of a door opening and closing could be heard a while later, and then it was just silence.
• Cathy sighed in relief, letting out a breath she had been holding in this whole time. Was he just going to let her off tonight?
• Whatever, she was too tired for this. She trudged to her bed and threw herself onto the mattress, staring up at the ceiling in a daze.
• The whole night, Cathy tossed and turned in her sleep, frequently waking up to check if the glass of water by the door had toppled over.
• Thank goodness.
• When she woke up in the morning, the door was closed as she had left it to be, and the glass of water seemed untouched, indicating no signs of intrusion. Her stomach that had been churning all night finally relaxed, and it was only then she realized how hungry she was.
• Getting out of bed, Cathy washed herself up before heading downstairs to make some breakfast. Being the disciplined kid that he was, Arius came down shortly after, while his brother Abner, who was following closely behind, only came down because he could smell breakfast being made all the way from his room.
• "Good morning, mommy," Arius greeted Cathy with a smile as soon as he saw her. He then turned to Abner with a glare and nudged him.
• Abner hesitated for a moment, before lifting his face to glance at Cathy. "Good morning, mommy," he murmured, almost inaudible.
• Cathy was stunned for a while, but then she put on a soft smile and greeted them back, "Good morning."
• Having been single for twenty-five years, she was not used to being called mommy by two five-year-olds. It reminded her of the child she would've had five years ago. The fetus was only eight months old when she got into a car accident. If she had been more careful at that time, perhaps her baby wouldn't have died prematurely. And perhaps by now, it would be as big as Arius and Abner, right?
• She looked back up at the two adorable little kids, a rueful smile appearing on her face. "I'll be a good mommy to you."
• Maybe this was fate. Maybe God was granting her a second chance at motherhood to foster Arius and Abner. So that now, she could finally make up for her carelessness in the past, right?
• At the thought of this and Quinn's constant urging, she went into the kitchen and carved a rabbit into two hard boiled eggs and handed them to the kids.
• "Eat well, mommy's going to work!" the woman yelled out, hurriedly grabbing her coat and bag before dashing out the door.
• Abner took one look at the cute little rabbit-shaped egg in front of him and frowned slightly. "Brother, she's so childish."
• Arius glanced at him. "She thinks you're childish."
• "But she made two, which means she also thinks you're childish."
• "You're childish."
• "No, you're childish!"
• While the twins bickered, Adrian came out of his room and walked down the stairs in his suit and leather shoes. The two kids immediately called out to him as soon as they saw him. "Daddy, come here!"
• Hearing his sons' excited voices, he quickened his pace and headed over to them. "What's wrong?"
• "Here." Arius pushed the plate with the two bunny-shaped eggs towards him.
• Abner beamed brightly in his seat. "Daddy, this is the breakfast that mommy had prepared for you out of love."
• Adrian quirked a brow as he stared at the peculiar dish in front of him. "For me?"
• "Yes!" Abner nodded vigorously. "Mommy said that these two rabbits are her waiting to be eaten by you!"
• Adrian's frown only deepened at the sound of that. But before he headed out the door, he straightened his back and called out to the butler. "Butler, pack these up and bring them to my office."