Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Helena should not have tried. Indeed, what did she expect from a pair of lingerie? Nothing more than a sexy nightgown to seduce and tempt men, as happened to her husband. Luckily, Aaron let her go after lunging at her with a merciless kiss. Well, although his hands were wildly groping for her body anywhere. Yet, her greatest fear did not come true. It should relieve her. That was right, wasn't it?

He was even kind enough to let her hide all morning. Oh, imagine how embarrassed she was! She, who had not wholly given her body to touch by him—Aaron knew that well—had actually challenged her own luck by standing half-naked, nearly naked, in front of him. So, she could not blame him if it ignited the embers of lust. And frankly, the fire burned inside her too. But before it was too late, she managed to stop it.

Helena smiled sarcastically. Did she really do it? Wasn't her husband the one who had control over everything from the beginning? Her passion rose because of the man who was so greedy about kissing her lips. If he didn't stop, she wasn't sure she could resist every touch of him and deny her natural desires. She was really grateful that Aaron could endure everything.

Her morning might have gone smoothly without one of her daily routines. Having breakfast with her husband. However, she could no longer escape the promise she had made. She was cursed for recklessly agreeing to his offer. But the more cursed for her brain, which gave the idea of trying lingerie last night! And why did Aaron suddenly open her room? As far as she remembered, their interaction stopped when she said goodbye to sleep or work tempted him to lock himself in the study room. Was he just checking on her—had she been asleep or not? Did it mean he often did that?

Her thoughts suddenly stopped when some people passed beside her with incoherent chatter that brought her back to her senses. Her hand reflexively rose, glancing at the watch pinned there. Lunchtime had come, and she still couldn't see the bridge of his nose.

She leaned back until her back touched the back of the chair. Her meeting with Fynn went well. The designer showed his designs while walking around and projecting his plans on her empty future cafe. So far, she agreed with his idea and asked him to keep her updated. After that, they had lunch together. She meant only Rachel and Fynn. She already had other appointments with her husband, so she couldn't join them.

Helena let a heavy sigh. She initially planned to cancel her meeting with Fynn or let Rachel meet him alone. After all, Rachel would report the results of their meeting. But then, she felt terrible when she broke her own promise. This principle also led her to keep her promise to Aaron, even though the memory of last night clearly left her with immeasurable shame. But she couldn't avoid him forever, could she? How could two people who lived in the same house, especially a husband and wife, ignore each other? She eventually would have to overcome her embarrassment. If it wasn't lunch, then dinner would make her face to face with her husband. She liked it or not.

Her mind wandered again. After her brain could process last night's incident better, she questioned her own body's reaction. If all-night relief greeted her, she no longer felt the dominance of the feeling this morning. The disappointment was secretly tucked inside her. Why did Aaron stop? Their status was legal as husband and wife, so why did he stop? If Aaron continued to tempt her, she was definitely... she was definitely...

She shook her head hard. No. That was wrong.

She shook her head again. No. That was right.

Ah, she was confused. Right and wrong became ambiguous in her eyes. Her hands covered her face to hide her frustration about her incoherent mixed feelings. What should she do with him? Or it should be about what should she do? He had changed. Aaron had admitted his mistake, and he was patiently waiting for an apology from her. So, when would she change?

She was startled when a touch landed on her shoulder. She almost scolded that person for surprising her. But as soon as he sat down in front of her, her lips suddenly locked. Instantly, she felt heat run down her cheeks. Her face must be blushing. He was absolutely sure about that. Otherwise, that person would definitely not tease her with his words.

"Still not enough hiding from me this morning, eh?" He chuckled, amused, and mocked her body reaction, which showed how red it was after seeing him.

That person was Aaron. Who else? Only that man could tease her to where she wanted to disappear from the earth.

Helena tried to control her heartbeat to remain calm. Yes, she needed the calm if she wanted to deal with him at this time.

She straightened her back. Her hand moved to reach the menu book on the table. "What do you want to eat?" she asked, trying to distract her mind.

Aaron leaned his face onto his hands. His eyes were fixed on every expression and movement of his wife's body. "I was right. You look very sexy in that lingerie. I'll thank Sophie later," he said, which sounded more like a monologue to himself.

For a moment, Helena froze. She didn't like being reminded of the last night's incident, especially by him. However, she had no other choice, right? Given her husband's nature, the man's teasing would not stop there.

"I'll buy you more lingerie. Make sure you try them all."

Right? His pranks would continue because she had accidentally pressed the start button.

"I want to eat fried rice. What do you want?" she asked, trying to keep her mind focused.

"I think I also need to buy some sexy underwear for you. I'm afraid you'll be traumatized by what happened last night."

Again, Aaron reminded her. Unknowingly, her grip tightened on the menu book she was reading. Helena couldn't deny the embarrassment that was creeping up her body again. "I-I'll order some juice," she stammered a little. She was clearly struggling to keep her composure and her focus in place.

"But I hope you're not traumatized. I want to see you trying everything. In front of me." He deliberately slowed his speech at the end of his sentence and mercilessly threw his temptations against his wife.

Enough! She couldn't take it anymore. She put her hands on the table a bit rough—and showed that she was getting annoyed with all his words—then stared angrily at her husband. "Stop it!" she hissed furiously.

This was his favorite part. Managed to seduce his wife and annoy her. How cute her reaction was. Helena also looked sexier with a red face holding embarrassment. Oh, he couldn't hold it in much longer. With the view she presented last night, he didn't promise to maintain his control if a similar incident happened again. Her body was too seductive to ignore.

"Okay. I stop." Finally, he decided not to add to his inner satisfaction anymore. Actually, it wasn't because of her request that made him stop. It was his sanity that he did not want to continue his temptation. Helena, who was blushing in front of him, and the memory of last night was enough to bring heat to his body. Of course, he didn't want to take the risk of publicly showing his passion in the public space. It was too risky for her.

He called a waiter and ordered food for their lunch. Next, he waited for their food to come in silence. But his eyes did not leave her. How she avoided his gaze and was busier on her phone. He knew it was only a diversion. Her movements were too stiff. Sometimes, her head moved restlessly between wanting to keep looking down or looking up, which would automatically meet his eyes.

"Oh, Mr. Houston. What a coincidence that you're here."

The soft voice of a woman joined them and immediately caught the attention of both of them.