CHAPTER 180: THIS IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT.

"Baby boy... are you coming in or not?" Augustine purred, tilting his brow upwards in a playful challenge. "And this is the final time I’m asking you, Pookie. Are you getting in? Or should I come out there and carry you myself?"

Hearing Augustine’s daring question, Charles quickly averted his gaze to the sidewalk, scanning the bustling crowd with a frantic look.

There were lots of individuals walking past, and as much as Charles liked the idea of being spanked by Augustine, he also knew the wiser choice was to get into the car.

’Besides, I don’t want my picture uploaded for the entire world to see,’ Charles grumbled inwardly.

Just as he was about closing the distance between himself and Augustine’s car, Augustine slowly pushed the door open with a sly grin.

"You left me with no option, baby boy," he purred darkly.

"Get in!" Charles snapped, rushing over to the other side of the car.

Without wasting a second, he yanked the door open and slid into the seat, slamming it shut behind him before letting out a sharp breath.

"Can’t you think about what would happen if any image of us leaked to the public?" he sneered, shooting Augustine a cold glare. "And don’t ever pick me up from work again. We don’t know if someone’s hiding somewhere, waiting to snap a picture."

Augustine let out a soft chuckle as he nodded his head, closing the car door before winking playfully at Charles.

"Your wish is my command, pookie," he purred, a sly smirk dancing on his lips as he turned on the car engine with a smooth twist of his wrist.

Charles exhaled sharply, fastening his seat belt as he shift his gaze to the window to avoid looking at him.

"How was work?" he asked coolly, his voice laced with indifference as he watched the city blur past.

"Stressful as usual," Augustine replied sincerely, his voice low. "But since today was my first day back at the company after the car accident... the workload was fucking draining."

He exhaled heavily, his fingers tightening slightly on the steering wheel.

"And," he added, flicking his gaze briefly from the road to Charles seated beside him, "I even brought some paperwork home to finish." Augustine added, averting his gaze away from Charles as he stare at the passenger seat.

Charles, who hadn’t been looking at Augustine, could feel the weight of his lingering gaze.

Slowly, almost cautiously, Charles turned his head toward Augustine—only for his eyes to follow where Augustine had been glancing.

The passenger seat was piled high with dozens of documents, the thick files practically screaming for attention.

"You haven’t fully recovered, babe," Charles purred softly, his voice dipping into concern. "You shouldn’t be stressing yourself like this."

Charles fingers itched to reach out, to caressed Augustine’s shoulder, but he held himself back, chewing the inside of his cheek instead.

"Ohh! I really do love the sound of ’babe’ from your mouth..." Augustine drawled with a playful tone, focusing on the road with a teasing glint lighting up his eyes.

Charles scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically. "The fact that I’m calling you ’babe’ doesn’t mean I’m not mad at you, okay."

He crossed his arms against his chest, determined to keep up his façade of anger, even as the corners of his lips twitched, threatening to betray him.

"Wait? You are still upset?"

Charles nodded, his gaze focused on the passing scenery outside the window. "I’m really upset. It took forever for my legs to stop feeling numb."

"Pookie... I’m truly sorry." Augustine muttered, his voice softer now, tinged with genuine regret.

Charles nodded again, this time his expression softening a little. "I know none of what happened at your office was your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong," he admitted, though the frustration still lingered beneath his words.

Charles exhaled deeply, his gaze dropping to his thigh. "I was just upset with myself for getting mad at you... and embarrassed for being caught by your Dad."

Augustine smiled warmly, his voice soothing. "You don’t have to be embarrassed, Pookie. My dad’s a chill guy, unlike my mom. I honestly don’t think he saw anything."

"Pfft!" Charles playfully scoffed. "I know damn well your dad saw everything," Charles whispered, chuckling softly.

"Pookie, I might be a liar in some cases, but believe me when I say my dad saw nothing," Augustine said, his voice confident, almost teasing. "My dad can barely see without his glasses, and he wasn’t even wearing them."

Charles raised an eyebrow, his expression sharp. "So tell me... how did he know I was hiding beneath your office desk then?" he asked, his tone laced with suspicion, a sly smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Augustine swallowed hard, clearly caught off guard. "Umm... he must have made a wild guess," he stammered, trying to cover up the situation.

Charles hissed, shaking his head slowly. "I don’t believe he did," he spat, a sneer curling on his lips.

His eyes locked onto Augustine’s, a mixture of amusement and suspicion dancing in his gaze. "And by the way, this isn’t the road to the mansion. Where are we going?"

Charles noticed that Augustine had taken a completely different route, heading toward the heart of the city instead.

"Hey!" Charles called out, his voice sharp as he realized Augustine was still ignoring his questions.

Augustine finally averted his gaze from the road, glancing at Charles with his brows raised. "What?" he replied, his tone playful but tinged with curiosity.

"Come on Augustine. This is not the route to the mansion right?"

"You’re right, this isn’t the route to the mansion." Augustine said, his eyes quickly flicking back to the road. "Honestly, I’m taking you out on our official first date. Not some spur-of-the-moment thing, but a carefully planned evening designed to sweep you off your feet."

Charles blinked in surprise, his breath catching in his throat. "A date?" he echoed, a skeptical smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Augustine’s eyes flickered briefly to Charles before returning to the road, the excitement clear in his voice. "Yes, Pookie. A real date. No interruptions, no drama—just you, me, and a night to remember."

Charles could feel a sudden heat rise to his cheeks, though he tried to hide it by looking out the window. "I’m still mad at you," he muttered, his voice betraying the warmth beginning to grow inside him.

Augustine chuckled softly. "I know, but I’ll make it up to you tonight. Trust me, Pookie. This is going to be different."

Author’s Note:

Hello, readers!

I made this Chapter a bit shorter because I wanted to pour my heart into this Author’s note. After all, if I’m not communicating with my readers, then who else should I be communicating with? Haha.

Anyway, the past few days have been hectic for me.

I’ve started uploading only one Chapter per day instead of two. I have lovely readers, and heaven knows I’m always grateful for that.

But am I doing something wrong? This is a genuine question because I feel like I might be.

Well... I get just one comment from a single reader, even though I have tons of readers.

I sometimes leave an author’s note asking for at least some feedback or suggestions for this novel, but it’s funny how I don’t get any responses.

Ironic right?

I know I’m not writing to ghosts. I pour my heart and soul into this novel. I don’t even get paid because I can’t meet the monthly requirements for the numbers of unlocked privileged Chapters for my novel.

I’ve never complained about not getting paid; all I’m asking for is a little interaction from a few readers.

Gush... This is heartbreaking.

I’ve lost some of my spark for this novel, and that’s me being honest.

Lately, I feel like I’m doing something wrong.

I have readers who bypass the novel, readers who find ways to avoid purchasing privileged Chapters, or readers who open different accounts to cheat the coin system... like, guys...

I’m human!

Don’t you all want me to gain something from my sweat and sleepless nights?

Like... I’m not even asking for much.

I haven’t asked anyone to purchase privileged Chapters... because clearly, out of almost 600 individuals who added my book to their library, if just ten people bought ten privileged Chapters each, I could at least get paid.

I had also made my privileged Chapters to be cheap just to meet this requirement but... gush! Honestly I’m short of words.

Out of almost 600 readers... only three or four people actually purchase privileged Chapters.

Pfft!

Now, I rest my case but imagine that if any of you wrote a novel and found out it was being treated like trash, how would that make you feel?

No... this isn’t why I’m writing this author’s note.

I’m writing it so that you can interact with me every once in a while, so I don’t feel anxious about Chapters that I shouldn’t be anxious about.

I know many readers will skip this author’s note... many already have. Gosh, this is devastating.

I’m a paranoid writer with anxiety, and even on my worst days, I still write because this is my passion.

Sigh!

Also, if any of you have trouble understanding any previous or future Chapters, let me know.

I’m sorry for all this ranting. I won’t be doing author’s notes like this anymore, so rest assured, it won’t be happening often. Or maybe occasionally, but not too often.

Have a nice day.