After dropping Natalie off, Desmond went back to the company where Zaria had to work overtime because Natalie's family called him. He felt awful for having left her to handle all his matters on her own while still tending to Lucy, so he started looking for ways to make up to her. Hence, he bought a bouquet and ordered muffins from Blackout on his way back.

"How did it go?" She asked when she felt his presence behind her. She turned when she was done printing out a document, to see him buried behind a bouquet of orchids.

"Are those for me?" She was pleasantly surprised.

He smiled as he handed them over to her. "You have worked so hard."

She noticed a box of chocolate amid the flowers, which she took with a brilliant smile. "They are lovely. Thank you."

Just as she spoke, her assistant entered the office with a small box in her hand, which she gave to Desmond.

"This is for you." He gave the box to her which she opened curiously.

"Norman's blueberry muffins? Thank you!" She threw herself into his arms joyously. It had been long since she last went to Black light since she had been so busy. Norman's muffins were just what she needed on a tired day.

"Oops…" She pulled away when she realized that she had hugged Desmond in the presence of the assistant and almost squished her muffins while at it.

"She will not breathe a word." He assured her, and she nodded in relief.

"Are you going home? I'm done already." She asked, taking a bite of the delicious muffin.

"I still have work to do but before that, I need to rest." He took her hand and went back to his office. As soon as she finished reporting everything he needed to know, he stood up and directly went to his resting chamber.

"Zaria?" He called from the room. "Come here."

She went over hesitantly and tried not to watch him rip off his tie and shrug off his shirt. "I thought you wanted to rest."

"Not on my own." He pulled her to bed with him. "Together with you."

"But the time…" She reminded him that it was time to leave work already and she would be late if she didn't leave soon.

"Let's lie down for a few minutes." He wrapped his arms around her, securing her tightly so she wouldn't move as he rested his head on the fluffy pillow.

"Okay." He must be tired, so she would spoil him just this once.

"Aren't you going to close your eyes?" She peeked up at him after a while, realizing that he didn't seem to be asleep.

"I don't need to. As long as I have you in my arms. I only need to recharge a little."

She frowned at the sound of his response. "Did something go wrong when you went to see the Sparks?" She asked. Did they cause him trouble? He sounded as though he had to deal with a lot of troublesome twists.

"That's what they're good at." His lips twitched. "But not anymore."

"How come they gave up? That's so unlike them unless… Natalie told them the truth about her relationship with Devonte?" She guessed. After meeting Natalie Sparks, she was certain that the woman could do anything to ensure her daughter married Desmond, and that did not exclude killing off any potential threat. How could she give up so suddenly?

"I gave them a reason to stay away from me." He laughed at his own perfect excuse. "I said that I had received an offer from a tycoon to marry their daughter in exchange for limitless benefits. They think it is the mayor's rumored wife-to-be."

"Who is the mayor's rumored wife-to-be?" Zaria asked, baffled that the mayor was going to get married. Since it was revealed to the public that he and his wife were long divorced, she had barely heard any news of him and didn't know that he had a new girlfriend.

"I'm certain that you know her. Her name is Amanda Black." He explained.

"Shera Black's mother?" She had heard of the woman before, but she was a simple woman who kept to herself and wouldn't be known by the public if she wasn't the mother and mother-in-law of Olphire's current most popular power couple. In fact, it was only on her daughter's wedding day that her existence came to light.

"Then they really did keep it a secret." She would never have guessed that a relationship existed between the mayor and Amanda Black.

Speaking of secrets, he thought about their relationship and asked, "Do you still want us to be a secret?"

"I don't know. Are we a secret to begin with?" She blinked. Almost everyone in the company knew about their relationship and those who were not certain suspected them. How were they still a secret?

"That's a good point." He smiled.

"Let things flow naturally." She suggested as she looked up at him, entangling her fingers with his.

"I agree." He didn't want to continue keeping the truth either. Being secretive was making other men think they had a chance with his Zaria, which made him wish to clear out the entire male population from the world.

"Are you thinking up nonsense that's making you jealous again?" She chuckled, noticing the sudden frown on his face.

"What am I to think when everyone wants to snatch my woman?" He lowered his head and kissed her lips to mark his territory.

____

AN

For those who don't know about the cameo characters, they are characters of Villainess 101: The President's Wife is a Vengeful Devil. If you haven't read the book, don't worry. The cameos don't change this book's major plot and are only here for a short while, I only added them because they are in the same city and I miss them so much T_T

If you would like to read Villainess 101, check my profile and add the book to your library or look it up on the search engine.