PREGNANT BUT REJECTED AS A BILLIONAIRE WIFE

After thinking it over, Deasy realized that it might be a good idea and beneficial to let Lucas stay in her apartment temporarily.

Last night, as she was getting ready to sleep, the man truly took care of her. He didn’t stop massaging and stayed with her until she fell asleep.

Even when she woke up this morning, Deasy initially didn’t find Lucas. She briefly thought that he might have decided to go home.

However, after getting cleaned up and stepping out of her room, she caught a whiff of the enticing aroma of cooking. Following her instincts, Deasy headed for the kitchen. And sure enough, there was Lucas, dressed neatly and busy with something on the stove.

Wearing her pink Hello Kitty apron, Lucas looked cute. Deasy couldn’t help but laugh at his appearance, which should have resembled that of a professional chef but ended up looking more like a young masterchef on television.

“Lucas.”

Deasy called out intentionally. Curious, she wondered what the man was cooking that had him looking so serious in front of the stove.

“Ms. Deasy.”

He turned and greeted her. Sporting a wide smile that, upon closer inspection, turned out to be quite sweet. Wait a minute… seriously, Lucas looked really sweet this morning. His aura was noticeably different from usual.

“Wearing a hat, wearing a bracelet. Good morning, my dear.”

Just as she was greeted, Lucas had turned into a skilled charmer. Deasy wondered why he was resorting to rhyming and teasing so early in the morning.

“No need to start, Luc.”

Lucas chuckled. While continuing to cook, he spoke again.

“Are you already up? I thought you were still asleep.”

“I’m up. It’s almost eight, Luc. I have to work, so I can’t afford to oversleep.”

Lucas laughed again. Seeing Deasy approaching, he quickly intervened.

“Stop! Don’t get too close.”

“Why?”

“Just in case, you will fall in love with me, my dear.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Lucas chuckled. He turned around, pulled a chair, and guided Deasy to sit down.

“I’m afraid you might get splashed with hot oil. So, it’s better to sit here,” he said, then returned to the stove. “By the way, how was your sleep last night? I noticed you slept really soundly. You could probably be transported by aliens to another planet, and you wouldn’t even notice, that’s how deep you were in slumber.”

“Exaggerating,” Deasy responded to Lucas’s hyperbolic statement.

But, in reality, it couldn’t be denied. Despite experiencing an unpleasant incident, as far as sleep was concerned, Deasy’s night had been of exceptional quality. She hadn’t experienced any dreams, restlessness, or waking up like in the nights before. Was it due to fatigue or because she felt comfortable with Lucas by her side?

“So, what were you doing, messing up my kitchen?” Deasy continued her interrogation.

“Me?” Lucas asked, turning around. “What was I doing? Trying to gossip with the fish in the neighbor’s aquarium.”

“Luc!” Deasy scolded. She was trying to be serious, but Lucas was just joking.

“I’m cooking, of course. Why do you keep asking?”

“I know you’re cooking.”

“So, why ask?” Lucas protested. He enjoyed debating and teasing Deasy until she got annoyed or frustrated. “Maybe you’re trying to find a topic to chat and get closer to me?”

Deasy sighed. Asking “What are you doing?” had led the conversation in various directions.

“What I mean is, what are you cooking? You seem really busy.”

“Oh, I see, just say it directly from the beginning. Is Ms. Deasy doing this on purpose to make our conversation longer?”

Deasy sighed wearily. For heaven’s sake, how could she have a normal conversation with Lucas?

“Oh, there are tomatoes being sold by the vendors. Whatever! It’s up to you what to cook.”

See, Lucas liked it when Deasy got irritated and wore a sulky expression like she did now. For some reason, her beauty multiplied when she was annoyed and sulky like this.

“I’m cooking olive rice with butter-fried chicken,” Lucas revealed as he served the dish he had prepared earlier.

Seeing Deasy still pouting, Lucas laughed again. This time, he also pulled a chair. He seated himself, then grabbed a spoon, ready to feed Deasy.

“Don’t be mad. I was just kidding. Let’s eat first. If we’re late in eating, our child in your belly will get hungry.”

Deasy sighed and then reluctantly accepted the spoonful that Lucas offered to her lips. She chewed slowly, trying to savor the various flavors that emerged from the food she was eating.

“It’s delicious,” Deasy said honestly. “Where did you learn to cook? I’m a woman, and I’m not even good at cooking.”

Lucas smiled.

“Thanks to YouTube. I watched cooking tutorials on YouTube, Darling.”

“Really?” Deasy replied with narrowed eyes. “I don’t believe that you learned to cook this well just from YouTube.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“Nope.”

“Do I need to show you my old scars to make you believe?”

“Oh my, that sounds like an old commercial, Luc. It really gives away your age.”

Lucas and Deasy both laughed afterward. But it couldn’t be denied that when it came to cooking skills, Lucas had been honing them since his school days. Living on his own abroad forced him to be self-sufficient and do everything by himself without the help of others.

“But, my cooking is delicious, right?” Lucas asked again to make sure.

While chewing her food, Deasy nodded. Whether it was food that Lucas bought or food he cooked himself, it all tasted great to her. From the beginning until now, whatever Lucas offered or spoon-fed directly into her mouth, she never threw up or spat out any of it.

It always suited her palate and made her feel full. Veronicaonce commented to Deasy that perhaps she didn’t vomit or feel nauseous because the baby in her belly liked anything his father gave. Proof of that was when she ate porridge that Lucas sent, she ate it eagerly. Meanwhile, when she had bought the same porridge herself, she couldn’t stomach it.

“That means your baby just likes and wants to eat what Daddy gives, Des. Look, when I sent you chicken porridge, you ate it happily. But when I bought it from the same place, you couldn’t eat it.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Let me be dramatic; that’s your child, right?” Veronicaquipped.

“Lucas’s child, Ve.”

“Well, it’s for both of us, you know. So, both of your kids.”

Upon reflection, Veronica’s words had some truth to them. Even if Deasy bought food, she felt unsatisfied until she had the menu that Lucas sent to her apartment every day.

It was strange, indeed. But it was genuinely happening. If Lucas knew about her odd cravings during pregnancy, he would probably be surprised and even more conceited.

“Well, I won’t lie; your cooking has been delicious since yesterday. What you send every day suits my taste.”

“See? Especially when I feed you. Oh, it must be even more enjoyable.”

“No, really. It’s just normal. Proof is, when you disappeared, I happily ate on my own. Your child inside me didn’t complain either.”

Deasy’s once cheerful face turned sour. She was irritated thinking about Lucas, who had disappeared for a few days.

“Oh, now you’re sulking again. I’ve already apologized so many times. I was genuinely busy. That’s why I’m paying off the debt of disappearing a while back by staying here with you, Ma’am.”

“But, Luc…” Deasy interrupted the man beside her. She felt that something needed to be clarified here. “Are you seriously planning to stay here for the next nine months?”

“Seriously, we’ve been separated for a long time.”

“Oh God, please forgive my sins.”

Deasy was frustrated. She was confused about how to talk to Lucas so that he wouldn’t keep joking with her.

“Luc, I’m really serious.”

“Yes. I’m sorry. But about your question, I’m not joking. Don’t worry. I won’t stay for free. If needed, I’ll pay monthly rent and even clean up here.”

“It’s starting to sound like hiring a housekeeper.”

“Well, it’s better than you hiring all sorts of house help. I’d rather help. It’s free, after all. Plus, I don’t want what happened last night to repeat. You have no idea, all the way to the apartment, I was worried. I was afraid something would happen to you. If I had been even a little late last night, I don’t know how you would be.”

Lucas’s last statement, though casual, sounded so honest that it surprised Deasy. It had a meaning where she felt so important and valuable that Lucas was so concerned about what was happening to her.

In terms of looks, Lucas was far from Deasy’s ideal type. But his behavior, acts of service, and love language made him mean so much to Deasy. And Lucas often pampered her. Truly, Deasy had never received such special treatment before.

“Thank you for helping me. Even if you had been late, I might not be sitting in front of you right now.”

“The most important thing is that you’re okay now. Whether today, tomorrow, or anytime in the future, I will do my best to take care of you from anything.”

Deasy nodded. After finishing the meal, she got up and prepared to go to work.

“But…” Lucas stopped her before Deasy left. “Is it okay if, outside of working hours like this, we talk informally?”

Deasy rotated the ball in her hand. After a while, she nodded in agreement. After all, it wasn’t a serious issue if Lucas called her by her first name.

“It’s not a problem. Instead of you calling me ‘Ma’am’ all the time. It’s like I’m married to your father.”

Lucas laughed. He approached Deasy and then led her out of the apartment unit.

“Well then, I’ll take you to the office first. Later in the afternoon, I’ll try to pick you up.”

Deasy was stunned for a moment. She felt awkward hearing Lucas speak to her so familiarly.

“If you’re busy, you don’t have to. I can go home with the office driver or with Veronica.”

“Don’t, later it will inconvenience Mrs. Veronica. Anyway, I’ll let you know later in the evening whether I can pick you up or not. Just don’t go home alone.”

***