For the next seconds to come, Adrian only remains stiff and silent on his spot, an appalled and thunderstruck look splattered across his face all the while.

Never in his entire life did he experience getting thrown up on. He did prepare himself for something like this, and was even confident that he could handle it as tidy as possible. After all, he himself had been in that drunken state during several occasions before.

​​

But then, Adrian did not expect that he'd be the one catching the mess instead of a bowl.

"Okay, alright..." he then sighed in exhaustion while slumping a little.

"This is gonna be a long night."

Before Adrian went to the bathroom to change his shirt, he made sure that Cassidy was still tucked in bed. He placed some towels and a bowl on the lamp table beside her bed in case she vomited again. With all that, he knew for sure that things would be fine while he's away, especially since he has sped things up on his part.

Changing into a new top had only taken him less than three minutes, but contrary to his expectation, that's just long enough for his wife to plot another mischief.

"Cassidy?"

As soon as Adrian got out of the bathroom, he found Cassidy no longer in her bed. Nonplussed, he searched around the room until he saw that the door had been thrown wide open. That's more than enough to send him sprinting out of there like a madman.

Knowing his boisterous and wild wife, she could be planning anything when she went out of that door. At her current state, it wouldn't be wise to let her out of sight even just for five minutes. For all he knew, she's already sliding down the handrails of the stairs or getting ready for a midnight joyride with her motorcycle.

"Cassidy!"

Much to his relief, though, Adrian immediately found Cassidy in the living room as soon as he took a look from the terrace at the second floor. Judging by the direction she was just heading off to before he called her, she appeared to be planning to go outside.

"What are you doing? It's dark out there, and everyone's asleep by now," he said as he descended the stairs in a hurry.

"Leave me alone! I feel hot. I wanna go cool my head...!" she cried out before patting her pockets and realizing something that made her eyes fly wide open in surprise.

"Hey, wait, where's my key?"

"Key...?"

It takes a few more seconds for Adrian to process what Cassidy said. He then finally realized what she's been referring to as she started to scramble and scan around the room in a haste. That's when he crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at her, a stern expression layering over his unsmiling frame.

"You do know that you're not in your right mind to drive right now, right?" he sharply pointed out with a frown, making her flinch a little for a second.

"But I wanna go!" she childishly retorted.

"And I don't want you to-"

Right then, though, Cassidy finally spotted the key of her motorcycle lying on the coffee table. Seeing her face brighten up for an obviously bad reason, Adrian perks up and turns to look at what she's staring at. For a moment, they just intently peer at the key on the table, making some kind of tension build up in the air around them.

That's until both of them realize that they're just at the same distance away from the key.

"Oh no, you don't..." Adrian hissed as soon as Cassidy began to make a dash for it.

For a drunk person, she sure could run like a track and field champion. She even had those passionate, fiery eyes on as she charged in like a bull. But then, despite all that, he still managed to beat her to it since he was faster and had longer legs than hers. Also, he didn't act all dramatic like her when he ran.

"Bossman!" Cassidy hollered in vex the moment he snatched the key away.

With a smug smirk on his face, Adrian raised his arm away from his wife as she continued to reach for it. She's already jumping frantically at this point, which amused him greatly.

"Give it up. With your height making you look like a small fry, you stand no chance," he boasted with a small snort, much to her annoyance.

"I'm no small fry! I'm just cute-sized!" she retorted with an indignant huff, amusing him even more.

"Oh...? But you're far from cute. Have you even seen yourself earlier when-"

Then, he paused.

Adrian abruptly cut himself off when Cassidy finally settled down and looked up directly at him. With a gap of only a couple inches in between them, they can already feel each other's body heat and smell each other's scents. She's now almost leaning on his chest, staring up to him with her big, innocent eyes.

At that very moment, he finds himself completely drawn by the look on her face. Her lips drooped into a frown while her bright, gleaming crimson orbs were downright absorbing. He knew that she's just feigning her sudden tamed mien, but he still couldn't help but be locked on his spot.

By then, his half-lidded sapphire irises are glinting enigmatically - secretly bewitched. They immediately zeroed in on her as if she's the only person in the whole world. With him refusing to tear his gaze off of her, a stretch of silence only prevails in their midst once more.

"Stupid bossman."

That's all until Cassidy snapped at his face and snatched the key out of his hand all of the sudden, catching Adrian off guard.

Without realizing it, he had already lowered his arm as well as his guard down. She took advantage of his mesmerized state and stole the key. Now, he could only watch her back away and do a mini dance of victory - with a dumbfounded expression gracing his features all the while.

"That's not fair... Using her charms like that..." he thought silently in miff, sighing at the same time.

"You may be faster than me, but I'm sneakier than you...!" she enthused blithely as if it's the greatest achievement in the world.

"You and Charlie are really easy to fool~! How can you be that stupefied just by that? You got claustrophobia or something?"

At the mention of his secretary, Adrian found himself dropping all jest.

While Cassidy continued to gush about Charles and his reaction when she did the same thing last night, she's unknowingly making him muster a steely expression hooded with a dark emotion. He then only stays formidably silent with a scowl marring his frame, no longer amused.

For the whole time she's rambling with her back facing him, he's making such a face. Yet as soon as she turns back around to look at him again, he smiles a little. Even then, though, she drops her own grin at this, thinking that for some reason, he appears greatly displeased even when he's smiling.

"Uhhhh... Bossman, you're-"

"At any rate, you're not allowed to go and drive," Adrian then cut her off out of nowhere, taking her aback for a second before making her groan in annoyance.

"Ughhhh... Here we go again. Can we just... Let's make a deal, okay? I'll be back after twenty minutes, and if I'm not-"

"Or you can try and escape now. I'll give you ten seconds to reach the door. If you're not out by then, I'll be carrying you back upstairs like a potato bag again."

At that, she can't help but gape and let out a small gasp in incredulity. He's really fond of wrapping her around his fingers like this. As much as she wants to retaliate and protest, though, he is already dead set on counting.

Not having much choice at this point - and also because she's already thrown into panic, she went ahead and took a mad sprint all the way to the door. He kept on counting the whole time, but as soon as she's halfway there, he suddenly pulled a dirty trick and sped up his counting.

"H-Hey, that's cheating-!"

"... Eight, nine, ten."

With that, Adrian took his turn to run like a track and field champion this time.

He raced all the way to his wife with a mad speed. Despite her panic, Cassidy took a second to look back at him. She then screeched like a deer caught in the headlights the moment she realized that he's already catching up to her within mere milliseconds.

"Damn big mansion!" she then bolted out exasperatedly, clearly frustrated by the length of distance that she still needed to cover to get to the door.

Little did Cassidy know that she really wouldn't have it this rough if she didn't babble about another man in front of her husband - a man who turned out to be someone who could be holding feelings for her, that is.

"As if I'd let you go," Adrian then hissed near her ears all of the sudden, making her swerve her head around in flummox.

It just happened that as soon as Cassidy finally grabbed the door knob, her husband was already standing right behind her, leaning in and embracing her middle.