CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: WHAT’S SO EMBARRASSING ABOUT WANTING YOUR OWN HUSBAND?!

The sapphire blue Phantom cruised along the loop.

Seraphina Thorne was driving, silent the entire way.

She had overheard Ethan Sterling and Sean Hale’s conversation just now.

It wasn’t hard to guess that the reason Ethan hadn’t come home these few days was to avoid passing his severe cold to her.

The car stopped at a red light, and she stole a glance at Ethan.

Probably because the cough had kept him from sleeping well, the bloodshot eyes were rather noticeable.

...

Seraphina suddenly found herself unable to understand this man.

For commercial interests, he didn’t hesitate to marry his nemesis’s ex-girlfriend.

Yet to avoid giving her a cold, he isolated himself in the office.

So which...

Which Ethan Sterling is the real Ethan Sterling?

Seeing him cough again, Seraphina quickly handed over the bottled water from beside her.

"Drink some water to soothe your throat."

Ethan took the bottle she offered but didn’t drink, instead meeting her gaze with a sideways glance, suppressing his cough.

"It’s only been three days, and you’re so eager to bring me back? Can’t live without me, Mrs. Sterling?"

The streetlight filtering through the window cast a faint golden edge on his profile.

With most of his face covered by a mask, Seraphina couldn’t read his expression.

But those eyes bore the familiar defiance and audacity she knew so well.

Even with a voice hoarse to the point of being almost inaudible, he was still the same rascal!

"I just wanted to remind you to pay the property fees."

Seraphina shot him a glare and started the car.

In the passenger seat, Ethan let out a raspy laugh.

"The property fees for The Paramount Gardens are due every March. Mrs. Sterling, your lying skills need work. If you miss me, just say so. What’s wrong with missing your own husband?!"

Seraphina gritted her teeth in frustration.

Had she known, she wouldn’t have picked him up, and let him cough his life away alone in the office.

Knowing she couldn’t win in a verbal spar with him, she turned to focus on driving.

Ethan watched the way her lips pressed together in irritation.

The laughter spread beneath his mask, reaching his smiling, almond-shaped eyes.

They parked by the roadside near their community, and Seraphina went to a pharmacy to buy some throat lozenges.

Then she headed to the nearby fruit shop, selecting several pears with plans to make him some rock sugar pear stew back home.

While scanning her phone to pay, she suddenly remembered something.

After slipping her phone back into her pocket, she returned to the car.

"My phone’s dead, can I borrow yours?"

Ethan fished out his phone and handed it to her, "The password is the same as the apartment."

Seraphina took the phone back to the fruit shop and entered the four digits "0921," unlocking the phone without a hitch.

After paying, she glanced toward the car parked at the curb.

She located the food delivery app on Ethan’s phone, opened it, and checked the orders.

The latest orders on the app matched the takeouts she had received.

So it was him!

"Here you go!"

The shop assistant handed her the bag of pears.

Seraphina took the pears and returned to the car, casually passing the phone back to him.

Taking the phone, Ethan suddenly seemed to think of something and sat up straight.

"Mrs. Sterling, did you use the chance to sneak a peek at my photo album?"

Seraphina restarted the car, "I’m not interested in invading others’ privacy."

Ethan reclined back in his seat and turned on his phone.

Seraphina glanced sideways at him.

The screen displayed his photo gallery, as if he were sorting through his album.

When she had handed the phone back to him, he seemed a bit nervous.

Could it be...

There’s something in his album she shouldn’t see?

Probably pictures of other women!

Back at the apartment, Ethan went to the master bedroom to shower, while Seraphina removed her coat and headed to the kitchen.

With her sensitive respiratory system, others might recover from a cold in a week, but for her, it could drag on for at least two weeks.

Thus, every autumn and winter, Seraphina dreaded catching a cold.

In the past, her father would often have the servant make rock sugar pear stew for her to soothe her throat and nourish her lungs.

Following the servant’s method from memory, she prepared the ingredients and set the pot on to make the stew.

When the pears were tender and the syrup thickened,

she poured a bowl and placed it on the dining table.

"Come have some pear stew?"

"Just leave it, I’ll drink it later."

Ethan’s voice called from the study.

Workaholic!

Seraphina sighed and took the bowl to his study.

Ethan sat at the desk, surrounded by a sea of computers, files, and spreadsheets, sprawling across the entire table.

Setting the bowl on the small tea table beside the sofa, Seraphina walked over to his side.

"Work is endless, why not rest early today?"

Ethan Sterling stood up and lifted her into his arms.

He didn’t carry her horizontally but rather like carrying a child, holding her waist, with her legs straddled as he brought her to his chest.

Seraphina Thorne was startled and hurriedly grabbed onto his shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"Since Mrs. Sterling insists, as your husband, I must satisfy you!"

Ethan held her, walking briskly out of the study room, laying her down on the bed and, in one motion, propped his hands beside her pillow, reaching to tug at her sweater.

This madman!

Seraphina raised her hand to brace against his shoulder, her face annoyed.

"Coughing like this and still fooling around, do you really want pneumonia?"

Ethan’s hand paused at her waist.

His eyes, visible outside the mask, looked at her deeply, "Mrs. Sterling, feeling compassionate?"

Seraphina glared at him, "I don’t want to catch a cold with you!"

Ethan wanted to say something more, but his throat tickled instead.

Straightening up, he walked out quickly, closing the door behind her.

Seraphina looked around, realizing he had brought her back to her own room.

Guessing he was just teasing her, she sighed in relief but heard the faint sound of a cough from outside the door, making her sit up quickly.

"Don’t forget to drink the pear water."

"Got it!"

Ethan responded from the other side of the door, then turned back to the study.

He pulled down his mask, picked up the sugar water on the table, and drank while flipping through the files and documents on the desk.

If Seraphina had paid a bit of attention, she would have noticed.

The desk was covered with documents related to Zenith Group.

In recent days, Ethan had been working overtime, focusing on the Zenith Group acquisition.

Now, Adrian Chamberlain already knew about his relationship with Seraphina.

Ethan had to speed up his pace to acquire as much original stock of Zenith Group as possible before Adrian became suspicious and guarded.

Only then could he gain control over Zenith Group ahead of Adrian and fulfill his promise to Seraphina.

The business world is like a battlefield.

If he stopped, he would give the enemy a chance.

The next day, Seraphina woke up early and took Ethan to the hospital for a check-up.

Fortunately, the X-ray showed that Ethan’s lungs were not infected, and his cough was only a result of throat inflammation in the late stage of a cold.

Seraphina was finally relieved and drove him back to the base of The Finance Tower.

After finding a parking space, she handed him the car keys.

Ethan turned his face away, not taking the keys.

"It’s so late, just take my car so you won’t be late."

Seraphina was about to refuse, but he had already turned his face to lightly peck her lips through his mask.

"See you tonight, wife!"

After saying that, the man left the car without looking back.

Seraphina sat in the driver’s seat, biting her lower lip.

He had kissed her so many times, yet this kiss through the mask, without actual contact, made her heart uncontrollably flutter.

This sly devil, really knows how to tease!

Calming herself, Seraphina glanced at the time.

After the hospital delay, it was close to nine.

Today was her first official day at the orchestra, and being late wasn’t ideal.

Without delay, she restarted the car and left the parking lot.

Driving as fast as she could, she managed to reach the building where the orchestra was housed at 9:20.

Noticing a red Jaguar parking in front, she politely slowed down.

After parking the car, Felicity hopped out of the Jaguar, holding the car keys.

Seeing a few young orchestra members nearby, she raised her right hand with a smile.

"Good morning, everyone!"

The musicians turned their faces, seeing her and her car, all with looks of amazement.

"Felicity, that car is amazing!"

"Wow, I wish I had my own car."

"Yeah, no more cramming into subways every day. Today was so crowded I almost missed my stop."

...

Felicity’s vanity was greatly satisfied.

A young female musician suddenly nudged her companion’s arm.

"This car must cost over a million, right?"

"Not that expensive." Felicity was inwardly pleased but continued to feign modesty, "With taxes and all, it’s just around seventy to eighty thousand."

"Oh, Felicity, I was talking about that one?" The musician pointed behind her.

Before Felicity could turn around, another musician spoke up.

"Don’t recognize the little golden figure on the hood? That’s a Rolls-Royce, easily a few million."

...

Felicity turned around to see a majestic sea blue Rolls-Royce smoothly park next to her vehicle.

The door opened, and a young girl with an exquisite face stepped out, holding the car keys.

Behind her sunglasses, Felicity’s eyes widened instantly.

Se...raphina?!