Chapter 6

With such a small apartment, the couple soon found themselves in a dilemma not long after finishing dinner. They were both tired and wanted to rest, but there was only one bed in the house. Olivia kept fidgeting as she wondered how she was going to bring the issue up while Alexander was busy cleaning the dishes in the kitchen. She kept stealing glances in his direction and Alex continued acting like he didn’t notice. “Aren’t you going to bed? It must have been a long day for you,” Alexander asked as he dried his wet hands. “Yes, but how…” she trailed off, unsure of how to ask him about their sleeping arrangements. “Don’t worry, I’ll take the sofa. You can use the bed,” Alexander offered generously. Olivia looked at his tall figure, then looked at the sofa and knew that he was not going to be comfortable. “Is it appropriate?” she asked while feeling guilty. She was already in this marriage for selfish reasons. So she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable knowing that he was going so far to accommodate her in his life. “Then should I join you in bed?” Alexander asked as he walked towards her before stopping right in front of her. “If you want us to consummate our marriage, I definitely won’t be having any issues with that,” he added and opened his arms as if to hug her, only for her to quickly step back. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said and quickly fled to the bedroom, shutting the door tightly behind her. Alexander wasn’t expecting her to move so fast, so he looked at the closed bedroom door with a stunned expression before chuckling in amusement. He went to the laundry room and took out the extra bedding he put there and went to lie down on the sofa. He looked up at the white ceiling while sorting out his jumbled thoughts. He had previously asked someone to investigate his fiancee’s identity, but after getting married, it was like his wife and fiancee were two different people. When he compares the information he has of her and what he had witnessed so far, there were too many contradictions. He can’t help but suspect that his wife isn’t really the eldest daughter of the Shaw family. As his thoughts trailed off in this direction, he suddenly felt bored. He already married the ‘oldest daughter’ with the approval of the Shaw family, so there was no reason for him to continue overthinking it. In the future, when it is appropriate, the two of them will have a divorce since they were both forced into this marriage by their families. Finally feeling some peace, Alexander drifted off to sleep. - The following day, Alexander was woken up by the delicious smell of food. He tiredly squinted his eyes before he got up from the sofa to stretch his sore muscles before noticing that Olivia was in the kitchen. “You can cook?” he asked, obvious surprise in his voice. He never thought she would have any life skills at all. “Good morning,” Olivia responded with narrowed eyes, and Alex couldn’t help but raise his brows in interest. “Good morning,” he responded with a chuckle. “I’m almost done. Go freshen up first,” Olivia ordered and to his surprise, he listened to her and went to the bedroom to freshen up. When he stepped out of the room, Olivia was already placing breakfast at the small dining table. He felt sceptical about her abilities, but after years of experience; he masked his doubts with a smile easily. “I just whipped up something simple with what you had in the fridge. I hope it’s to your taste,” Olivia said modestly and Alexander nodded before picking up his fork and taking a bite. Olivia watched him nervously and only put her heart to rest when she saw him raise his brows in surprise. “This is really good,” Alex said generously and a faint blush appeared on Olivia’s face. “If you enjoy it then eat some more,” she responded and kept her eyes on her plate to hide her blushing cheeks, not knowing that Alexander could still see her reddened ears. With a smile, he continued to eat his breakfast. He was initially just going to have a few bites to humour her since he was very particular with his food, but he didn’t think that he would enjoy her cooking as much as he did. “I’m going out today,” Olivia said after finishing her meal. “Oh,” Alexander responded vaguely as he looked at her. It was only now that he noticed that she was already dressed to go out. “Yes, don’t forget to do the dishes once you’re done eating,” Olivia reminded him as she gathered her purse and Alex hummed to show that he had heard her. “I’ll see you later,” Olivia said before leaving the apartment. Alexander stared at the front door for a few seconds before chuckling in amusement. This was the first time someone asked him to wash the dishes, it was a very refreshing experience since it happened so naturally that he forgot to be surprised. Maybe having Olivia as a wife wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. After Alex finished his breakfast, he took the dishes on the table to the kitchen and just when he was about to start cleaning up, he heard the doorbell ring. He went to open the door only to see Caden standing outside with his briefcase. “Your early,” Alexander said as he went back inside. His assistant followed him inside and closed the door behind him. When he went to the living room to take out the files he had brought for his boss, he was surprised to see Alex washing the dishes in the kitchen. These were the things he would normally deal with himself. He wanted to ask, but seeing the warning in Alexander’s eyes, he held himself back. He wanted to start reporting about work but he suddenly received a phone call. He quickly picked it up and silently listened to the person on the other end of the call. “Noted,” he finally said and ended the call. “What is it?” Alex asked him as he started drying the dishes with a clean towel. “It seems that the madam had gone to the Shaw family,” Caden reported honestly. “Ah, is that so?” Alexander said with a mysterious expression. He knew that they had said that they wouldn’t interfere with each other’s private lives, that was why he didn’t ask questions when she said she was going out. But this was not really private, since she had gone back to see his in-laws. Why did she go back without saying a word about it to him? He couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in that pretty head of hers.