Chapter 18 - Breakfast is Ready

It's already 11:30 pm and a car pulled over in front of their house which to his surprise is his wife. He rushed outside as soon as the realization that she had driven home on her own kicked in. It's only been two days since he called to make her sleep and yet here she is, she must have pushed her limits again.

He rushed to her side and pulled her for a warm hug and a kiss on the forehead. He never thought its possible to miss someone this much just by being away from her for nine days.

"Why were you alone? You're tired. You should have asked me to pick you up if Ms. Lee can't do so." he said while helping her with the luggage.

"It's fine, I know you're also tired. Hannah had an emergency family matter so she had to fly back to the country at an earlier flight." she came back earlier this morning.

When they are finally inside the house, the fatigue unexpectedly kicked in and she yawned as a result. Lim Yi Sheng who's looking at her intently had a full view of the yawn she had made. He never expected to see her yawn so cutely and this made him smile.

"Come here." opening his arms with a smile.

Xi Ana, who's eyelids are now closing on their own walked towards her husband and circled her arms on his waist feeling the comfort of her husbands warmth.

He didn't really expect her to obediently come to him that's why the action made him extremely happy inside. He kissed the crown of her head.

They stayed like that for a few minutes when he suddenly felt that the woman in his arms have already fallen asleep. He kissed her closed eyelids and carefully carried her on his arms towards their bedroom.

"You couldn't be more defenseless, my dear." the thought that only him could see this sight makes him so possessive. He doesn't like anyone else, see his wife asleep. No other man is allowed to see her in this state other than him.

He set her down on the bed gently and pulled the blanket over her. Strands of hair were covering half of her face so he brushed it off revealing her mesmerizing face. She doesn't wear make up and its not like she actually needs one. She's already beautiful as she is.

He stared at her for quite some time. He bent down kissing her forehead, then both her closed eyelids, placing kisses on both her cheeks then planting a kiss on top of her nose. Lim Yi Sheng once again stared at the sleeping face of his wife, until he placed a gentle and soft kiss on her lips that lasted for about five seconds.

"Just how low will you make me go, Ana?" he smiled to himself and finally going to his side of the bed to sleep.

- - -

The man was suddenly alerted when he realized that his wife was not on his arms when he woke up, he immediately stood up and looked for her at the bathroom. There was a feeling of fear building inside him.

When he found that she was not in the bathroom nor inside her office, he became really worried. Not even in his office, he checked even though she doesn't actually goes in there. Their offices were adjacent to the master's bedroom which makes things a lot convenient for the both of them.

He knows that he's acting strange, she might have gone to the company, or she just went down but the fear is still growing inside him. And because he can't seem to find his wife on the second floor he decided to go down without even trying to tidy up himself.

His hair's a mess and he's still in his nightwear. Rushing downstairs, he felt his worry washed away when he smelled the aroma of herbs coming from the kitchen. Without any intention of slowing down, he rushed towards the kitchen and found the woman cooking, her back to him.

Upon reaching her, he immediately hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder taking in her scent.

"I thought you were gone." he mumbled and snuggled his face on her neck. This has been his favorite thing to do for the past few weeks.

She knows it's a bit of an exaggeration from his side but she felt the sincerity and warmth from his words. "I'm just cooking. I decided to take a day off since there is no really pressing matter at hand at the moment."

"Then I'm taking a day off as well." he said and stopped snuggling, he just let himself be contented on resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Why are you so early cooking by the way?" she turned and looked at the man beside him. Her puzzling reaction made Lim Yi Sheng frown.

"Didn't you see your sister in the living room?" he straighten his head but his arms are still circled around her.

"She came here wanting to talk to you but since you are still asleep and I don't want to wake you up, I offered to have breakfast."

So that's why she called a few days ago asking him to put her on the list of person allowed to enter Imperial, he didn't expect to have a sudden visit from his sister today.

"Then where is she?" just as he asked, a woman walked out from the communal bathroom intended for visitors.

Seeing her brother still clinging on the woman, she didn't know what to feel or say so she decided to pick on his brother's get up.

"You could have at least change your clothes before going down, big brother." pointing at his nightwear.

Though he looked like someone who just woke up she can't deny that her brother's charisma and handsomeness is beyond words. If girls were to see him, they would do whatever it takes to sleep with him.

Lim Yi Sheng, on the hand squinted his eyes on her and removed himself from hugging his wife but his other hand is still holding onto her waist. "You could have at least told us you were coming, that way, we could have ordered food instead. Your sister-in-law just came back from a business trip last night and I wanted her to rest today at the very least."

Hearing her brother's words she felt a little bit guilty but it's not like she actually asked her for it, she thought. Furthermore, hearing him say 'sister-in-law' doesn't sit right with her, she can only recognize Mo Chuxia as her sister-in-law and no one else.

"I didn't tell her to cook you know, why do I get scolded for something so simple?" as the words escaped her mouth, she suddenly felt regret upon seeing the change in her brother's facial expression.

She was throwing a tantrum the other day because she learned that her brother is already married without her knowledge. For her, it would have been okay if it was Mo Chuxia but because it's not her she came here ready to gauge out the eyes of the woman who seduced her brother but she didn't expect Xi Ana to be there.

"Lim Shinyi, you should be reminded that disrespecting your sister-in-law is disrespecting me." his words were as sharp as blade which sent shivers down her spine. She knows its not good to make him angry.

Just as she was about to apologize to ease her brother's anger the woman beside him held his hand which is on her waist. She shut the stove off after transferring the omellete she cooked last.

She gave his hand a squeeze which made him soften, "Yi Sheng, I insisted on cooking. Your sister's line of work is very taxing on the body that's why I said I will cook food that are on low carbs, ordered food, even from the most expensive restaurant there is, it will still be full of preservatives."

"See, you heard her." this remarks of her was ignored. Lim Shinyi felt as if Xi Ana is trying to win her favor, but in reality Xi Ana is just being considerate towards her.

"For the past nine days you only slept for about 15 hours at best and today is your only day off, I would do everything to make you rest for the entire day." seeing the expression from her brother's face she can't help but release an exasperated breathe to calm her nerves. How could he show an expression like that to her, he's never been that concern towards her! Isn't their marriage suppose to be considered as a business venture? Just, what happened exactly?

"I'm fine, besides this is not tiring at all. I have the whole day to rest anyway. Go on and tidy yourself, I'm gonna set the table." she gave a light pat on his cheek.

"I'm gonna ask Auntie Bai to come here immediately, I wanna have you all to myself for the rest of the day." his comment was deliberately ignored but she smiled at him.

"Go on." she insisted and he obediently followed.

Lim Shinyi rolled her eyes and went back to the living room, she doesn't have any intention to help her at all.

After a couple of minutes, his brother went down wearing casual clothes which surprised her.

"Aren't you going to the office? Why are you wearing like that?" since things came to this, she planned to talk to him privately on their way to his office but it seems that's not going to be possible as well.

"Ana is on a day off so I decided to take a day off as well to accompany her." the dislike she has towards the woman is increasing. Her cold brother has been truly smitten by that vixen.

Seeing her sister's expression he immediately clarified something, he has a general idea what she wants to talk about anyway.

"If what you're about to tell me lies along the lines of divorce and getting back with your Sister Chuxia then just keep it to yourself. Xi Ana is now your sister-in-law whether you like it or not. The way you acted a while back might have left you unscathed but the more you continue to be unreasonable towards her, even I wouldn't be able to help you and I don't intend to anyway." their mother also told her not to provoke Xi Ana when she expressed her dislike towards her in front of their mother.

"We both know that this marriage is-" she was not able to finish her sentence because someone did it for her.

"A business venture. That's what you're about to say, right?" she walked towards Lim Yi Sheng and instinctively, his arms moved on her shoulders.

Since she said it herself, Lim Shinyi thought that she might as well say a piece of her mind. "Yes, why are you holding onto my brother when clearly this is just about business anyway."

"But that doesn't change the legality of our marriage, don't you think so? I would tolerate your hostile behavior for today but believe me if I said that there won't be a next time." her smile gave Lim Shinyi felt as though she really offended her this time but this not the time to back down. If she can be the reason for their divorce then she can endure her brother's wrath.

"What do you want? More money? More connections? Aren't you satisfied with what you currently have?" she doesn't know anything about the corporate industry and all she knows is that she Xi Ana's family is crazily rich like them.

To her surprise, someone else other than them spoke in a way that has no intention of being benevolent. "It seems like someone came marching here without doing any research. Just who are you to speak to my sister like that?"

Xi Chen barged inside, he's details were already registered on the door's security lock so he managed to enter without having someone open the door for him. "Just to make things clear, whoever you are, my sister doesn't need your approval for anything."