CHAPTER 152: A FRIEND’S ADVICE

The next morning, Claire, who had been sleeping beside Margaret, woke up first. Immediately, she missed her mommy and daddy.

After getting a quick nod from Margaret, she tiptoed down the hall on her little feet, heading straight for Zeke’s room.

"Daddy... Mommy..." she called softly at the door.

"It’s Claire..."

"Mommy... Daddy..." she tried again, knocking lightly on the door. "Are you still sleeping?"

When no one answered, she stretched up on her tiptoes and grabbed the doorknob. To her surprise, it turned easily. The door creaked open, not locked at all.

Claire pushed the door open all the way and slipped inside, seeing Cassidy and Zeke still deep in sleep. She walked slowly toward the bed, then gently climbed up onto it.

She quietly watched as Cassidy and Zeke slept in the middle, still tangled under the covers. She had no idea that under the blanket, her mom and dad weren’t wearing a single stitch of clothing. Not understanding any of that, she carefully scooted closer to Cassidy and, with a soft giggle, gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Morning, Mommy," Claire said softly.

Cassidy, half-asleep, jolted awake as she felt something wet on her cheek. Blinking, she realized it was Claire’s little kiss. A sleepy smile spread across her face.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Cassidy said gently. "Did you sleep well?"

Then she felt something warm against her stomach. Her eyes went wide as she turned and saw Zeke still lying there, eyes closed, asleep.

Fully awake now, Cassidy’s face flushed deep red as memories of last night and the intimate moments with Zeke came rushing back. She realized that under the blanket, she and Zeke had been naked and now Claire was right beside her. Cassidy felt a wave of embarrassment, not wanting her daughter to know that her parents were in such a state.

Suddenly, Cassidy felt a poke on her behind. Her face heated up instantly as she realized what it was.

She wiggled, trying to pull away from Zeke, which stirred him awake. Half-asleep, he mumbled, groaning, "Baby, just a little more sleep."

"Daddy, wake up," Claire called cheerfully.

Zeke’s eyes widened when he heard Claire’s clear little voice so close. "Hey, princess," he said, trying to stay calm even though he was panicking inside.

"How did you get in here?" Cassidy asked, a little curious.

"I called for you, but you didn’t answer. The door wasn’t locked, so I just came in," Claire said simply.

Cassidy kicked Zeke lightly with her heel, annoyed he hadn’t locked the door. Lucky for them, no one else had walked in while they’d been... intimate.

"Daddy, let’s go play at great-grandpa’s playground!" Claire said excitedly.

"Princess, Daddy can’t. I have work to do. And aren’t you supposed to go to school?" Zeke said, hoping she’d leave quickly. He was panicking that she might see them naked.

"Oh, right. I need to get ready for school. Mommy, help me take a bath," Claire said.

Cassidy felt awkward under the covers. "Sweetheart, how about you ask Grandma Margaret this time? She’d love to help."

Claire thought for a moment. "Okay, I’ll ask Grandma Margaret," she said, hopping off the bed and leaving the room.

Once Claire was gone, Cassidy and Zeke let out a long, relieved breath.

Cassidy sighed. ""That was close... You should’ve locked the door. We’re lucky Claire didn’t see anything. I don’t even want to think about what I’d say if she did."

Zeke chuckled. "Sorry, baby. I thought I locked the door... must’ve forgotten."

Cassidy scoffed. "Go shower. Don’t you have work?"

He hugged her quickly. "Or... we could shower together?"

Cassidy shook her head. "No, I just want to sleep more. You go first."

"Okay, sleep a little longer. I’ll shower," Zeke said, kissing her forehead before lifting the blanket and heading to the bathroom.

Zeke laughed as he watched Cassidy hide under the blanket. "Why are you still blushing, baby? Weren’t you so bold with it just last night?"

"Shut up, Ezekiel," Cassidy muttered, her face burning even more under the covers.

When he comes out, Cassidy is already dressed in her pajamas. Without looking at him, she grabs her clothes and slips into the bathroom for her turn to shower.

A while later, Cassidy steps out, fresh and clean. Just then, Claire comes back into Zeke’s room.

"Mommy, Daddy, Grandma says we should come for breakfast at Great Grandpa’s house."

"Okay, princess. Thank you for telling us," Zeke says while trying to fix his tie.

"Baby, can you help me with this?" he asks, turning to Cassidy as she’s about to leave with Claire.

Cassidy pauses, then bends down to Claire. "Sweetheart, why don’t you go to Grandma Margaret first? Mommy will help Daddy with his tie."

"Okay, Mommy," Claire answers, then happily runs off, leaving the two of them alone.

Cassidy walked up to Zeke, grabbed the tie already hanging around his neck, and adjusted it carefully. "Done," she said, giving his chest a light pat.

"Thank you, baby," Zeke replied before kissing her lips. "Let’s go." He held her hand and led her out of the bedroom.

Margaret and Claire were waiting in the living room. Once they arrived, the four of them headed to Bastiano’s house.

Unlike yesterday’s lunch that filled the entire dining table, the breakfast was simpler. Still, everyone ate with appetite.

After breakfast, Cassidy, Zeke, and Claire said their goodbyes to Margaret and Bastiano. On the way, Zeke dropped Claire at preschool first before taking Cassidy back to the villa and then heading to the office.

***

During a short break at the office, Zeke suddenly remembered something. He picked up his phone and called Thomas.

Thomas answered with his usual cheerful tone, "What’s up, Ezekiel?"

"I want to ask you something," Zeke said straight to the point.

"Of course. What is it?"

"How did you propose to Hannah?" Zeke asked.

He had never liked Andrew’s way of proposing to Karen. It felt cringe. That’s why he wanted to hear how Thomas had done it with Hannah.

Zeke’s mind had been restless. He wanted to propose to Cassidy, to ask her to marry him again. But this time, it had to be perfect—romantic, memorable, something that would stay in Cassidy’s heart forever. He wanted her to feel joy when she recalled the moment.

That’s why he turned to Thomas for advice.

"You want to know how I proposed to Hannah? So... are you planning to propose to someone? Did you get back together with your ex-wife, or is there another woman?" Thomas asked, surprised but curious.

"There’s no other woman."

"So you really got back together? Congratulations, brother. Then... you’re planning to propose to Cassidy?"

"Yeah, something like that. Enough questions—just answer mine," Zeke replied, steering the topic back.

"Alright, then. I proposed to Hannah in Italy. I took her there for a vacation, making it feel like just another trip, nothing unusual."

Thomas paused briefly before continuing, his tone brightening with excitement. "I picked a place with a breathtaking view—the sea behind us, flowers all around. It was somewhere Hannah had always wanted to visit. Normally it’s full of tourists, but I rented the entire place for the day."

He chuckled softly at the memory.

"To make it look more natural, I even hired a few actors to blend in as tourists. That way, it didn’t feel empty. And when the moment came, they quietly left, leaving just the two of us."

A smile could be heard in his voice.

"That’s when I got down on one knee, opened the ring, and asked her. Hannah cried as she said yes."

"How was that? Impressive and memorable, right?" Thomas boasted with pride. "Even now, whenever my wife and I go on vacation, she always asks me to take her back to that place."

"Thank you, Thomas. I’ll think about it," Zeke replied before ending the call.

To be honest, Zeke was a little surprised—Thomas’s proposal was exactly the kind he preferred: private, meaningful, and unforgettable.

He could imagine proposing to Cassidy in the same way.

But he needed the right place. And with their enemies still unidentified, planning a trip abroad made him hesitate.

He picked up his phone, which he had set on the desk not long ago, and called Nolan, instructing him to come up to his office.

"Have you gathered any information about Ivan’s activities? Tell me—was he the one behind it?" Zeke asked.

"We’ve collected some details about Mr. Romanov’s activities," Nolan explained. "It doesn’t seem like he’s the culprit. Over the past year, he’s been traveling back and forth to America, but all of his meetings and movements are tied strictly to business partners. Everything checks out. Nothing suspicious or unusual about him."

Zeke frowned, tapping his fingers against the desk. "If not Romanov, then who is it?"

Nolan hesitated before speaking. "There is... one person who stands out, Sir."

"Who?"

"Mr. Emilio Perez."

"Who is he?" Zeke’s brows furrowed; the name meant nothing to him.

"A businessman in the oil and gas industry."

"I’ve never heard of him."

"We discovered that the shell company we traced earlier was once acquired by Mr. Perez. We also found evidence that Baker had accepted bribes from him. But since you’ve never had direct contact with Mr. Perez, we can’t be sure he’s the main suspect."

***