Chapter 2006


    Idle chatter filled the air as Seth and Cicely made their way home. They touched upon various trivial


    matters before realizing they had arrived at their doorstep.


    "Go take a shower. I''ll whip up some pasta for you," Seth suggested as they entered their cozy


    apartment.


    Cicely chuckled. "How''d you know I haven''t eaten much tonight?"


    "Did thest food poisoning episode not teach you anything?" Seth retorted with a knowing look.


    Indeed, she had learned her lesson well.


    The memory of being rushed to the hospital with a terrible stomach ache was not one she would


    soon forget. Pain was something she feared, and hospitals were her least favorite ces. So,


    needless to say, she avoided eating recklessly when out and about.d2


    With an obedient "I see," Cicely made her way to the bedroom.


    Half an hourter, she emerged to find Seth reigniting the stove. In two minutes, he had poured a


    hearty sauce over the perfectly cooked pasta and topped it with a boiled egg before handing the


    dish to her.


    The vor was delightful. Cicely''s pte, refined over the years, was hard to please. But tonight,


    she relished every bite, unsure whether Seth''s culinary skills had reached a peak of perfection or if


    it was simply because Seth had made it for her.


    After watching her eat for a while, Seth stepped out onto the living room balcony to answer a call on


    his phone. "Send me the blueprints, and check the progress on thest two set designs. We need to


    stay on schedule with the shoot."Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.


    By the time Seth finished his call and came back, Cicely had put down her fork and knife. Noting the


    half-eaten te of pasta, he asked indifferently, "Full already?"


    She nodded, "Yeah, I can''t eat anymore."


    Seth sat across from her, pulled the te toward himself, and started eating with her utensils.


    Resting her chin on her hands, Cicely asked, "Didn''t you have dinner?"


    "No," was his simple reply.


    She watched him in silence, not mentioning anything about the Diaz family or Patty. There was an


    unspoken agreement between them. If Seth didn''t bring it up, she wouldn''t ask. Not about their


    secret marriage or anything else. Only the Ellis family, themselves, and Emiliana, whom Cicely had


    met that evening, knew they were husband and wife. Their hidden marriage was another silent pact


    between them.


    Perhaps Cicely had an inexplicable trust in Emiliana, or maybe it was because Seth had been


    called back home by Patty once agai, and she just needed an outlet for her emotions. She had


    never went to visit her mother-inw after they got married, nor received any blessings from her.


    She even suspected Patty preferred Danielle or anyone but her. The exact reasons were unclear,


    but her intuition was strong.


    Patty didn''t know that they had got the marriage license. As for the wedding ring, Seth refused to


    wear it on his ring finger. Whenever he returned to the Diaz family, he was always alone. Did she


    have any feelings about this situation? Yes, she did.


    However, she couldn''t appear in front of Patty. Since Seth chose to keep it a secret, he must have


    his reasons. If Patty was another kind of obstacle, she couldn''t provoke it, so she timidly hid herself


    and avoided causing any trouble.


    She just wanted to be with him peacefully, to stay in their own little world of just the two of them,


    without any third person interfering. Things were fine as they were. She didn''t want to disrupt their


    harmonious rtionship.


    It seemed that she had never analyzed a situation in such detail before.


    After Seth finished the pasta, he gazed at her and suggested, "Instead of watching me eat, you


    should''ve gone to take a shower."


    She shook her head, "I''d rather spend every second I can with you than take a shower."


    A slight smile crept onto Seth''s lips. "Is that so?"


    "Yeah."


    "Good to know."


    And by that, he meant that after cleaning up the dishes, he carried Cicely straight to the bathroom


    and then to the bed, her cheeks flushing a vivid red.


    As Seth applied ointment to her injuries, Cicely''s initial resistance faded, and she let him tend to her.


    She was content with his devotion and gentle care since their got married. There were moments, in


    the thick of their intimacy, when she almost asked him if he loved her. But she knew better than to


    risk the peace they had, so she suppressed the thought, having yed out the scenario in her mind


    too many times already. She couldn''t imagine Seth ever saying those three words to her.


    *


    Cicely rolled into Seth''s arms. Both of them had the scent of the same shower gel, but she preferred


    the scenting from him.


    "This is nice. Can''t I just stay here all the time?" she mused.


    "This ce is not convenient. You will be better taken care of at the Ellis family. I don''t think your


    father would want you to stay here. You still have two years, and you can spend more time with


    him." Seth reasoned.


    Cicely took his exnation with a grain of salt. "Okay."


    "But since you''re injured, if you want, you can stay here for a bit. And in the future, you''re wee


    anytime."


    "Okay."


    He looked down at her, his fingers gently ying with her hair. "Not happy?"


    She took a deep breath and snuggled closer to him. "If I say I''m not happy, will you let me move in?"


    Seth was silent for a moment before changing the subject. "Did you enjoy the party tonight? What


    show did that girl you took a liking tond?"


    Cicely smiled subtly before settling back into a neutral expression. "She got a part in a period drama


    with aplicated name I can''t remember. It''s been heavily promotedtely; I''ve seen it all over the


    inte. Right, don''t you have a series in the works? Maybe give her a shot. She must have some


    talent to secure a role amidst suchpetition."


    "I''ll have her audition for the next project. There might be a role suited for her. But the current


    project''s cast is already set."


    "I know. I wasn''t suggesting you have to cast her in this one."


    Seth''s lips curled into a smile as he teased her earlobe. "Already lobbying for someone else''s


    interests on our second night together?"


    Cicely arched an eyebrow yfully, "Consider this me doing you a favor by hooking you up with


    some top-notch talent."


    "I guess I owe you one, then."


    With that, his long fingers gently tilted her chin upward as he leaned in, sealing their conversation


    with a series of deep, lingering kisses.