Chapter 26
Chapter 26
The golden morning light filtered through the large windows and cast itself upon Jeremy’s chiseled side profile. His thick lashes fluttered as his eyes opened slowly.
One of his arms had gone numb after he slept on it through the night, but he felt refreshed, his spirits as new as the morning sun beyond the windows. He blinked and looked around, surprised that he had slept soundly through the night on Joanna’s old bed.
It was before ten last night when he sprawled over the bed and fell into a dreamless slumber. He didn’t stir once in his sleep.
As he stared at the sun slowly rising outside the window, his eyes widened. Bewilderment and confusion flickered across his face.
Why hadn’t he ever shared a bed with Joanna? He reckoned it was because she had the body of a seductress. If he got into bed with her, he doubted he could keep his hands off her. He might very well perish atop her.
More importantly, he refused to allow himself to lust over someone as vicious and wicked as her. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t want her!
As if touching something filthy, Jeremy bolted upright in bed and clambered down. He then stormed out of the room like he couldn’t stand being in there a second longer.
Once he was in his bedroom, he headed straight for the shower. He took off his clothes, fishing out his phone from the pocket of his trousers. But just as he was about to set it aside, he noticed the missed call from Joanna on his screen.
Jeremy paused as he stared at the screen, his mind going blank.
He couldn’t believe Joanna had called him last night. In the decade they had known each other, she hardly ever called him first, not even when they were contractually bound as husband and wife.
She never asked him where he was and when he was coming home. But every time he did come home, he would find that Joanna had laid out everything for him.
His slippers would be set out by the threshold, and a glass of water would be poured out for him. She would have already made a hot and delicious dinner, leaving it on the table whether he ate it or not.
Whenever Jeremy came home tired, Joanna would give him a shoulder rub and draw him a hot bath to help him unwind. She would kneel by the tub to wash his hair and scrub him down.
In the morning, Joanna would pick out his clothes and necktie. She would then place the ensemble in plain sight, cufflinks included. By the time he went downstairs, his favorite breakfast would be waiting for him.
Chapter 20
Matching shoes would have been set out by the threshold, ready for him to slip into and head off to work. Joanna would have helped him out of his slippers and into those shoes.
She remembered everyone’s birthday in the Habsen family and would get the most appropriate gifts for them. She was always a pleasing, rellable figure.
With her around, Jeremy was nothing but an overgrown man–child.
Joanna did everything for him, even the most trivial of chores. She would never bother him or get in his way. Instead, she worked hard to please and take care of him. She had been like a super housekeeper.
Jeremy was used to having her wait on him hand and foot. He took her for granted and never cared about her feelings. He never once asked her how she was or what she was feeling-
In hindsight, Joanna hadn’t called him more than a handful of times throughout their almost three years of marriage. Perhaps she truly didn’t care about him and only worked for the money.
After all, she was getting 100 million dollars a year out of the contract. She hadn’t so much as gone out of her way to do all those things for him as she was getting paid for her work.
But the question remained. What prompted her to call Jeremy last night?
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