2

I steeled myself and pretended not to know him well.

"Um, Boss, could I borrow some money?"

I deliberately stressed the word "Boss," hoping Jensen Sterling would get the hint and play along!

But he must have been half-asleep, because he just blurted out, "Huh? Don't you have all the money?"

Me: "..."

My colleagues started giving me strange looks.

I cleared my throat loudly, about to smooth things over, when Jensen Sterling spoke again.

"I'm tired from watching the kid. How are you going to reward me?"

I decisively hung up the phone, determined not to let Jensen Sterling say another word!

'He was really something else! The more he tried to help, the worse he made it!'

The looks my colleagues were giving me were all wrong!

I gave a weak, guilty smile under their suspicious gazes.

Seeing their eyes practically glued to me, inspiration struck, and I quickly said, "What's with those looks? The boss is obviously drunk!"

"What, you think I could actually marry Mr. Sterling? If that were true, why would I be working myself to death every day? You're giving me way too much credit..."

I said it with heartfelt sincerity.

My colleagues exchanged stunned glances, then breathed a collective sigh of relief. "That's true."

"A man of Mr. Sterling's status would marry a lady from a wealthy family, if anyone."

"Exactly! If any of us could marry Mr. Sterling, who would still be here putting up with this crap every day? I'd go home and just rot. Who wouldn't love a life of just eating and waiting to die!"

As a few colleagues started bantering back and forth, the others finally bought my explanation.

I let out a huge sigh of relief inwardly. The colleague next to me immediately patted my shoulder with a look of grave sympathy.

"Stella, you're going to get chewed out tomorrow."

Me: "?"

I still hadn't processed what he meant, and I looked at him in confusion.

Another colleague immediately chimed in, "You just broadcasted Mr. Sterling's drunk PDA session... Tsk, good luck, Stella."

Me: "..."

I finally understood what they were talking about.

But Jensen Sterling...

My mouth twitched.

'Getting him to scold me would be harder than getting him to resign as CEO.'

We've been childhood sweethearts for years, and in all our time dating and being married, he's never once even gotten angry with me.

'I figured the odds of him actually scolding me were pretty low.'

But my colleague's words reminded me that if he *didn't* scold me, the whole thing would look too suspicious.

My feelings were suddenly a complicated mess.

The moment I got home, I stormed into the room, grabbed Jensen Sterling, and started shaking him violently.

"What the hell were you spouting on that video call! Do you have any idea how socially dead I am in front of my colleagues now?!"

Jensen Sterling was lying on the bed reading. Hearing this, he just grinned and said, "What's the big deal? This is the perfect chance for us to go public. Then I can show you off openly!"

'Looking at his excited expression, I started to wonder if getting a divorce right now would solve the problem.'

Jensen Sterling nonchalantly put his book down.

He tilted his head up, gave me a slight smile, and then, with a firm tug, pulled me into his arms.

Before I could even brace myself, he had me pinned on the bed.

The next morning, I slowly woke up in Jensen Sterling's arms.

3

Jensen Sterling, surprisingly, didn't get up early today.

He's usually much busier than I am, so I normally sleep in while he gets up and heads to the office.

I was still a bit dazed when I saw the faint smile on his face.

It wasn't until he leaned in for a kiss that I suddenly remembered what happened yesterday.

"Jensen Sterling! We're not done with yesterday's business! You have to give me a harsh scolding when you get to the office today, you hear!"

Jensen Sterling looked at me teasingly, completely unconcerned. "Oh? And how would you like me to scold you?"

He leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "Like last night?"

My face instantly turned red.

I shoved him away and scrambled out of bed, putting distance between myself and this indecent man!

Jensen Sterling laughed heartily.

I couldn't be bothered with him. I quickly changed and went downstairs, ready to give my son, whom I hadn't seen all day, a big kiss.

My son, Chase Sterling, is already four years old this year.

He's perfect in every way—cherubic, well-behaved, and bright—just a little too clingy.

Normally, those two are always bickering over who gets a few more minutes of my attention.

And sure enough, the moment I got downstairs, my son was already leaping into my arms.

"Mommy! You didn't come give me a goodnight kiss last night!"

I hugged my son as he looked up at me, his big, dark eyes brimming with grievance.

I found it a little funny and patted his head. "Mommy got home too late yesterday, and you were already asleep. How about I make it up to you today, okay?"

"No!"

Jensen Sterling's voice suddenly cut in.

Before I could react, he had already lifted our son out of my arms and pulled me into his own.

"Why should my wife give you a goodnight kiss? She has me, and that's enough!"

Jensen Sterling felt no shame whatsoever about getting jealous and vying with a child for attention.

The moment his feet touched the floor, our son started protesting indignantly.

"Daddy, you've been hogging Mommy for days! It's my turn for her to spend time with me!"

Jensen Sterling immediately tightened his grip on me, eyeing our son with a vigilant look.

"No way! If you want someone to keep you company, go find your own wife! Why should my wife keep you company!"

"You...!"

Our son's face turned red with anger.

But he was just a little kid with a limited vocabulary; of course he couldn't win an argument against Jensen Sterling.

I pressed a hand to my forehead, my head aching. 'These two probably have the same mental age,' I thought.

I pushed Jensen Sterling away and gave him a disdainful look. "You're a grown man, picking a fight with a child. Have you no shame?"

Jensen Sterling immediately put on an aggrieved expression.

He mumbled quietly, "What's so shameful about fighting for my own wife? Even a kid shouldn't be allowed to steal another man's wife."

I shot him an amused glare, then picked up our son and went straight to the dining table to get ready for breakfast.

Jensen Sterling followed behind me. As he sat down, he shot a glare at our son, who responded by making a defiant, goofy face at him.

I put a fried egg on each of their plates.

I sincerely hoped the food would shut them up.

4

After breakfast, we got ready for work.

The nanny took our son to kindergarten, so Jensen Sterling and I prepared to go straight to the office.

Ever since we got married, I've always ridden in Jensen Sterling's car to work.

But to keep our relationship a secret, I usually get out a little early, a short distance from the office.

Today was no exception.

As I sat in the passenger seat, resting my chin on my hand and gazing out the window, I suddenly started thinking about the origins of my relationship with Jensen Sterling.

The story of how we got together is actually quite remarkable.

For a long time in the past, my family and the Sterling Family were on roughly the same level.

You could say we were betrothed before we were even born.

Before we were born, our parents had joked about arranging a marriage for us, saying it was the only way for them to truly become one family.

But later, not long after I was born, my family's company faced a crisis and went bankrupt.

My parents were so overwhelmed with paying off debts that they naturally cast the so-called marriage arrangement to the back of their minds.

Until I was twenty-two, I had no idea this part of our past even existed.

Then one day, when I was twenty-two, the Sterling Family, who we hadn't been in contact with for many years, suddenly reappeared.

It was Jensen Sterling who came to our door, stating bluntly that he was there because of the old marriage agreement.

When I first heard it, I thought he was a con artist and threw him right out of the house.

But when my parents came home and heard what had happened, they both fell silent.

Over the years, my parents had started a small company. Although it was nothing compared to what they once had, it was at least enough for us to live a normal life.

I had always thought we were just an ordinary, comfortable family. It wasn't until my parents told me about our past that I was shocked to realize I had almost been the heiress to a great fortune.

Back when my parents went bankrupt, the Sterling Family had wanted to help them.

But my parents were too proud to accept their help, and they eventually lost contact with the Sterling Family.

No one had expected Jensen Sterling to show up on his own initiative and ask to honor the marriage agreement.

After hearing the full story from my parents, my entire worldview was turned upside down.

After that day, my parents reconnected with their old friends for the first time in a long while.

And Jensen Sterling began to appear more and more in my life.

He would show up out of the blue and suddenly declare he was going to pursue me.

He courted me with a relentless, full-blown offensive for three months, and I finally couldn't help but give in.

We fell for each other, and our parents also let go of their past grievances and reconnected.

Our marriage agreement then became a matter of course.

Jensen Sterling and I married soon after, and the following year, our child was born.