"This small chip tracks my exact location?"
Sander could sense the hint of disgust and disappointment in her gaze after seeing him nod to confirm her query. From her widening eyes to her flaring nostrils, there was no denying how infuriated she must have felt because of his unintentional discovery. He couldn't blame her for reacting that way. Despite knowing what Wilson is capable of, he didn't think the man was so elaborate on keeping tabs with his daughter.
"How did you know that there's a chip in the locket?" she inquired.
The Mortel Malls President heaved a sigh and turned his gaze back to the piece of metal on top of the table. It was an alarmingly familiar scene. The only difference now was that he was the one bewildered and betrayed back then. Just reminiscing about that horrible experience made his insides twist and turn.
"It's just a hunch," he managed to keep it brief.
A hand reached for his nape as he tried to shrug the nostalgia out of his system. When he noticed Primrose's keen eyes closely observing his grim expression, he shifted his gaze away and turned to fix the locket back to its original form. After that, he handed it over to diminish the curiosity building up between them.
"It's already late," he glanced at the sun-shaped clock hanging near the stairs before facing back at her. "Do you want to stay here for the night? I doubt you'd want to go back to your art studio where your father can easily trace you."
She bit her lip and traced fingers through her jaw. "Will that be okay? I don't want to cause any more inconvenience to you after all that has happened."
"You should get used to it. After all, this can't be the last of their antics."
Her brows furrowed with his nonchalant response. "What do you mean by that?"
"We're only leaving the country, Primrose. Not the planet." The man stood up from the sofa and removed the loose knot of his necktie. "As long as there's an airline capable of flying them to New Caledonia, I don't think our families will completely leave us alone."
That bitter reality put a sour taste in his mouth. Not that he wasn’t expecting this to escalate tremendously, he just didn’t know it would happen so soon.
His fake wife’s distant and empty stare seemed to imply that she had the same sentiments as him. Everything slowed down as he watched her run a jerky hand through the strands of her red hair. No matter how much she tried to fake a small smile on her lips, the man could see through the worry in her eyes.
“How sure are you that my father won’t find us here?”
“Let’s put it this way,” he placed both hands in his pockets. “Even my family doesn’t know where I live. The only person who knows about this place is my assistant, Elisha Summers.”
“Your family doesn’t know where you live?” she repeated his words in disbelief. “How is that possible? Everyone in your family seems so obsessed with you.”
Sander couldn’t help but snort and shook his head. Anyone who has ever interacted with his family had the same impression, but no one had enough guts to smack it to his face. Well, he expected no less from the feisty lady.
“It was my only condition when Dad asked me to help him run the company,” a bitter smile unknowingly spread through his lips. Upon noticing his feelings seeping through, he managed to brush it off and reverted to his usual countenance. “Anyway, even if Wilson tracks us down, there’s no way he can step inside my property.”
Instead of responding to him, Primrose leaned over to scan each corner of the house. She was cupping an elbow with one hand while tapping her lips with the other. When her gaze focused back on him again, an awkward smile crept on her face.
“What?” he asked.
“Well—” her voice contained hesitation, “—are we alone in this house? I don’t see any maids or security personnel lingering around.”
“All helpers in this home only work until five in the afternoon. As for the security, you don't have to worry. They’re on their stations closely monitoring us.”
“Ah, so you’re usually left alone in this huge house every night? What if something happened? How do you call out to the security team?”
Her rapid questions made him snort audibly. He failed to conceal his amusement. It continued to show as a hint of mischief twinkled in his eyes.
“What are you laughing at?” the lady hissed at him and raised an eyebrow.
“Who? Me?” He pointed a finger to himself. “I’m not laughing. What are you talking about?”
“You are,” she scowled at him and clenched her jaw.
“No need to fake your concern. Drop your weird imagination because I’m not the type who assaults women inside my own sanctuary.”
“W-what?” A flush crept across the lady’s cheeks while shifting away from his gaze. She pulled her knees together and straightened her back in an attempt to regain her composure. “T-that’s so not what I meant. Stop being weird.”
“Fine, whatever you say.” He shuffled his hair and was about to walk in the direction of the kitchen when he remembered something. “Anyway, should I call Quintana and ask her to bring you some change of clothes—” his words halted, immediately reminded of what happened. He saw how much Primrose tried to ward off the trembling of her hands after hearing him say her assistant’s name. “Ah, nevermind. I’ll just ask Elisha if she could drop by your studio.”
Sander has already met Quintana a couple of times since the marriage deal between them started. At first, he found no reason to doubt her assistant because the lady seemed to trust her completely.
However, being the skeptic man that he was, he won’t deny that he eventually instructed his men to look into Quintana’s background as soon as his father suggested this marriage. In the end, he found nothing suspicious. Considering how he was dumbfounded and blindsided by the situation, he could barely imagine how hurt Primrose was because of this unexpected betrayal. The hint of lingering grimace on her visage was evident to that.
“ I didn't have my phone with me at that time. Can I ask how you found me?” she tried changing the flow of their conversation to lift the tension in the air.
“It was Sydney. She noticed something’s off with Quintana, that’s why she secretly went after you and rang me up.”
The way her face lit up with silent gratitude and it brought a tingling warmth on his limbs. Her eyes, glowing with relief, remained glued to him as if she couldn’t find the exact words to express her gratefulness.
“Thank you to the both of you. I meant that from the bottom of my heart.”
His mind went into a trance. For a split second, all his attention was directed to the sincerity glowing in her eyes. He even tried to nod in order to suspend the quick tensing of his body.
It was the first time she gazed at him that way. In fact, many of the sides he saw of her today were something he had never seen in her before. The anger, fear, and sadness— all of it stirred the feeling of familiarity sleeping deep inside of him.
“No problem,” he uttered as soon as he got his discernment back. “I’ll just get you a temporary change of clothes before I call Elisha to fetch your things and bring us dinner.”
“Okay.”
Four hours had passed since they finished eating. Right now, Primrose was left bored in the master bedroom. His fake husband told her to rest here because, apparently, his guest room is under construction. She was reluctant at first, but he said that he would be working all night long anyway, and there was an extra bed in his study if he ever felt sleepy.
“But I can’t sleep.”
This was her dilemma. She thought about walking out of the room and staring at the mesmerizing garden again until her eyes dropped into slumber. However, she didn’t want to run into Sander so late in the night or be the cause of another inconvenience for him.
Her gaze shifted to the small antique clock on the nightstand, realizing that it was almost ten-thirty in the evening. Like a kid trying to get past her bedtime, she managed to convince herself that the man might be already asleep at this hour. After all, it was a long and tiring day for both of them.
From striding to the door until stepping out of the room, the lady was careful in every step she took. Heck, she even managed to conceal the sound of her breathing.
Her whole body only froze upon reaching the living room, where Messi Sander Mortel could be found busily scanning papers despite only having the laptop's light to aid his endeavours.
Unlike earlier, he was already wearing his navy blue sleepwear and sporting some reading glasses. He also seemed more laid-back than usual while sitting on the carpet in a cross-legged position.
The red-haired lady rubbed the back of her neck amid her disappointment. She took a quick breath and tried not to make a sound upon turning to walk back into the room. Along with her tiny steps were a prayer that he wouldn’t notice her presence.
“Why are you still awake?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and heaved a quick breath upon hearing his voice. When she heard the clicking of the switches, she decided to face him in defeat.
In cue with the lights, she raised both hands mid-air like a criminal caught in action. The man tilted his head while trying to figure out what she meant.
“Sorry, I just wanted to gaze at the garden because I can’t seem to sleep—”
“Sure, sit down. Suit yourself.” The Mortel Malls President casually went back to his seat and returned to rummaging papers on the glass table.
“Y-you sure? I don’t want to disturb you.”
“It’s okay. I’m capable of working and talking, that's what I do all the time anyway.”
He didn’t meet her gaze and continued on dabbing his fingers on the keyboard.
"Why are you working in the living room? You said you'll be in the study, right?"
When he couldn't reply right away, her gaze went to the tablet screen laid on the tabletop. All the CCTVs around the house could be seen there, so she got an answer to her query right away. Sander flipped it over in an attempt to hide it, but it was too late.
A knowing smile painted her lips as her light footsteps brought her to the sofa across to where he was sitting. He frowned after she beamed at him teasingly.
"You should save that energy. We have a lot of things to do tomorrow."
"Ah, wedding prep?" Primrose stretched her arms forward. "But we already agreed to keep it simple, didn't we?"
"Yes, but you have to remember that my parents will be there." He removed his eyeglasses and stopped fiddling his fingers in his laptop. "As much as we want to get this over with quickly, I'm sure you know how picky Sandra can get."
"Oh, I know," she exclaimed without hesitation. Just remembering the face of Sander's mother sent chills up her spine. "She wouldn't let us relax until the last minute, would she?"
"That's my best guess, especially after I inform her about changing the wedding dates tomorrow."
"Where are we going first, then? To the witch house to announce the start of the hunt?" she asked.
"To the dress shop," the corner of his mouth moved up as his eyes darted to the rings on her finger. "You should at least pick a wedding dress you like. After all, those paper rings are not as light as we intended them to be."