"Is Master Knight really frigid like the rumours say?"
The few words at the end were too soft to be heard!
Arya caught up with the conversation and understood what Mia meant. Her pretty little face turned red as she glanced over at the man.
He was pouring some tea with his head lowered. She only saw the handsome side profile of his, which gave her a sense of tranquillity. She was suddenly reminded that she had once called him a quiet beautiful man. It was a perfect description of him right now.
However, she had no idea how to answer Mia's question since she was not really sure because...
"So, is he?" Mia asked again.
Arya averted her gaze away from him unnaturally and said to Mia,
"Of course not! Go rest earlier. I'm hanging up."
She hung up on the call and left her phone aside before unconsciously taking another glance at him oddly.
He noticed an odd gaze focused on him, so he sipped some tea and turned over. She was staring right at him with her pink lips pursed as if she wanted to say something but was hesitant.
She had just come out of the shower and only had a loose pastel-coloured sleeping robe on. Her neckline was slightly open, revealing her collarbones and her fair skin hiding under her long, black hair. They seemed to glisten under the dim lights, and he could smell the refreshing fragrance from her, fuelling the beast inside his blood.
He took a deep breath before putting his arm over her shoulder while he asked quietly,
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Her long eyelashes twitched a little. She leaned onto his chest as her eyes met his gaze. Thinking about it, she raised her eyebrows and smiled.
"I just suddenly thought about how you're quite good-looking."
It was a rare compliment from her. Seeing her warm smile softened his heart, and he grabbed onto her cold hand with his long fingers.
"Don't say something like this to other men..."
He lowered his head and kissed her on the forehead. Before she could react, he captured her pink lips as well.
She could not control herself as she grabbed his collar in front of his chest...
He was going strong on her, not giving her any opening at all. His hand snaking around her waist was starting to get naughty as he started exploring her waist through her long hair.
His refreshing scent was everywhere. In just a brief, intimate moment, the temperature around rose. She was put down onto the sofa without even being aware of it.
She then realized their sleeping robes were ruffled. His robe sash was in her hand. As for her, her chest was exposed and since she was just done with her shower, inside was...
With her last ounce of willpower, she grabbed onto her falling robe, but the moment her fingertips reached the fabric, his large hand locked down her wrist. He looked at her with sparks in his eyes, his raspy voice sounding magnetic.
"Missus, time to fulfil our obligations of husband and wife!"
He hugged her tightly as if he wanted to merge her into him. His sparkling eyes did not look away from her at all.
She turned her head away, embarrassed. Suddenly, Mia's words echoed in her mind and she could not help but mumble,
"Aren't you frigid?"
Frigid?
Xavier could not wait but to prove her wrong right there and then!
The temperature was still on the rise when she noticed his grip tightened. He was coming onto her ferociously and she could feel a sense of danger when she looked into his eyes.
"The newspapers said so, and also... You're not really... very intimate... with me." Her voice was so quiet that it was barely audible while her pretty little face was bright red.
"Frigid... I see... Good..." He stared at her and an odd smile appeared on his handsome face. He said quietly,
"Do you want to find out now?"
Before waiting for her to react, he lifted her up and went into the bedroom.
The curtains rolled down and two black figures flew out from inside the semi-transparent veil. They fell onto the ground, and soon there was the sound of her voice complaining,
"Gentler—"
He laughed quietly before he stopped for a bit and looked at her lying down under him.
"No woman would ask that."
A smile appeared across his handsome face again. It was very different than usual. In fact, it was much more seductive!
...
The truth was that even though he acted coldly towards people, he could become a wild beast in bed, so wild like a general that had never lost before.
After three rounds, Arya could not stand it anymore. Amidst the panting, he said,
"Can those muscular men measure up to me? I told you you'd regret what you said."
Her breathing was getting uneven as she stared at him. He was acting cheeky, so she talked back stubbornly,
"How do you know they can't? Xavier, in your older days..."
Before she could finish, the man started his fourth round of attack. He was determined to make her admit defeat!
At that brief moment, Arya realized her fault. She should have listened to Mia's reminder— never provoke a man who was in heat; the woman would be at the short end of the stick.
Unfortunately, she experienced it firsthand, so...
The night still had a long way to go. The cold wind breezed through the window gap and it was very dark inside the bedroom. The only source of light was from the lamp beside the large window. In the meantime, an intimate game was happening behind the curtain veils. There were occasionally short moans in the quiet darkness, and it only stopped briefly after midnight...
The next morning, Arya woke up feeling sore all over.
She opened her eyes slowly after rubbing them a little. Then, she turned her head over at the position beside her — it was empty.
She took a deep breath. Their intimate moments from last night rushed back into her mind. Her little face started to get red.
Although she had asked him to forgive her, he would not just let her go so easily.
Damn it!
She started to get angry. As she was struggling to get out of bed, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps and she instantly grabbed the blanket to cover her chest. She looked over at the source of the footsteps.
Xavier was brimming with vigour as he came out from the bathroom, having changed from his sleeping robe into his usual black shirt.
"You're up?"
He saw her frustrated eyes, but he just went towards the wardrobe calmly with a meaningful grin on his face.
"Xavier, you liar! Profiteer!"
She angrily grabbed a pillow and threw it at him!
He easily caught the pillow threw at him. Raising his eyebrows, he grabbed an outfit for her as well. He walked towards the bed and handed her clothes to her.
"Get washed up. Grandmother has come over in the morning and is preparing breakfast for us downstairs. If you don't want to be late again, you'd better be quick."
She glared at him before turning away from him.
"Are you angry?" He glanced at her and asked, holding the clothes right in front of her.
"You're really petty, aren't you? I admit that I lost control for a little. It's my fault. If this makes you feel better, I apologize. I'm sorry."
"How insincere!" She stared at him and grabbed the clothes. as she was about to pick up her sleeping robe on the floor—
Ka—
The door opened.
They both looked towards the door to see Bella's beaming face.
"Grandmother!"
In shock, Arya unconsciously grabbed the blanket and covered herself up.
"Oh, I didn't see anything. I didn't see anything at all!"
Although Bella said that, her sharp eyes scanned the whole room. She did not miss Arya's naked shoulder along with the rumpled clothing on the floor...
It was obvious what had happened there last night. These youthful things!
"I just came in to take a look since you guys haven't gone downstairs yet. The door was open as well. That's alright, Arya. Grandmother didn't see anything at all. Go wash up and come downstairs. I'll head back down first!"
Bella left the room swiftly with a big smile plastered across her face.
Arya was relieved when she heard the sound of the door closing. The man beside her was casually knotting his tie. She was impressed by his calm expression.
"Don't you know the meaning of embarrassment?"
"Can I make Grandmother forget what she saw if I feel embarrassed?"
He frowned slightly and looked at her. Then, he grabbed her clothes and passed them to her.
"If you can get better at handling yourself socially, Victoria couldn't have taken advantage of you every time. Her acting is genuine, but what about yours?"
"I'm not an actress anyway. I don't need to act for a living like her," she defended herself, but her eyes obviously darkened.
"Haven't you heard of the phrase 'life's like a movie; it's all about your acting'? You don't have to put up an act with people close to you, but it's not a bad thing to put on a show once in a while to avoid being taken advantage of."
He patted her head and laughed. "Oh, well, it's alright. I'm here."
Arya was startled. She raised her eyebrows and glanced at him in astonishment.
"Mr. Knight, are you trying to sell your loyalty to me this early in the morning?"
She blinked several times as she asked seriously while looking at him in the eye,
"Do you wish for me to become a woman like Victoria?"
"As long as you know how to differentiate the circumstances, I don't mind." He stood up and looked at her from above.
"Alright, go and wash up. I'll pack up the stuff and bring them downstairs."
Arya was quiet for some time before nodding without fully understanding it. She grabbed her clothes as she dragged the blanket together with her and walked into the bathroom.
Xavier started picking up their clothes from the floor as her figure vanished into the bathroom...
After she was done and went downstairs, Xavier was having his breakfast at the table. Bella was unpacking the stuff she had brought for them from the Knight Residence.
"Remember to get Emma and the others to water the seeds I planted in the backyard. I'm sure it'll grow once the climate gets warmer. The flowers will surely be beautiful during summer."
Bella suddenly remembered what the elder at home had reminded her about. She would come over these few days to water the flowers as well as make some food for the kids.
"Got it, Grandmother," Arya replied.
"At the opening ceremony of Imperial Sky Entertainment City a few days ago, your grandfather went for a while, but he lost interest when he found out you both left early. I checked with James and realized someone gave you trouble. Are you alright?" Bella had heard something regarding Arya and the Johns family.
"I'm alright. You don't have to worry about me, Grandmother," Arya looked at Bella gratefully as she replied.
"That's great then. By the way, I wanted to shop at the New Era Plaza this afternoon to buy something for your grandfather. Arya, come and accompany me. Uncle John took leave this afternoon. Xavier, come back to the Knight Residence for dinner as well. Your parents are coming back tonight too."
Uncle John was the chauffeur at the Knight Residence and he was on leave that day. Mainly, she also wanted to go shopping with Arya...
She replied Bella and promised to meet her at the New Era Plaza at 3 p.m. later.
After breakfast, Arya told Xavier when they were preparing to get to work,
"Maybe you should drive a car yourself. I'll go back to the Knight Residence with Grandmother."
Xavier grabbed the car keys on the table and replied,
"James will come and pick me up. Let's go."
He went over beside her and a refreshing scent passed her. She went out of it for a moment. By the time she turned her head back at the sofa and wanted to take her briefcase, she realized that he was already holding it.
At the garage, she took the keys from him and opened the car door to get in. She then drove the car out and stopped for Xavier to swiftly sit in the front passenger seat.
She thought about it before suggesting,
"Since James has become a project manager, you only have Rick with you now. Do you need another assistant? Things might get really busy after some time."
"I've notified our branch in France. There'll be a new assistant coming in a few days." After he replied, he suddenly remembered something and turned to look at her.
"The stakeholders meeting for Johns Media is happening in several days. Vice President will attend as the second largest stakeholder. You..."
"I'll go with him," Arya answered before he even finished his sentence with a clear gaze at his handsome face. Her eyes looked determined.
"I should go for both work and personal reasons. I'm responsible for this project as well and I cannot back off."
His eyes were glowing as he threw her a meaningful glance. He smiled and nodded, recognizing her determined expression. Sighing, he lectured,
"That's the right mindset. Sometimes, the idea of sacrificing for others doesn't work well. Life wouldn't be so tough if you lived a little more selfishly, and I hope you can do so."
She did not reply to him. Instead, she accelerated the car quietly.
"I didn't do anything with the document you gave me about the 20% of Johns Media's shares. It's still under Mother's name. I think we should give it back to her. After all, it's something Father left for her. Maybe it means something significant to her," Xavier spoke up after a brief moment of silence.
Arya was a little shaken up when Arianna and Benjamin were mentioned. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened as her eyes clouded over.
Arya struggled for a while before finally opening up as she slowed the car down.
"Xavier... I feel that my parents still have feelings for each other. Do you know that my father still misses my mother every New Year? After their divorce, my mother was enraged on several occasions due to some Johns family matter. In the end, my father would compromise... but I don't understand why..."
"During the year I was expelled from the military academy, Mother looked for Father and asked him to deal with it for me, but... that was the first time I saw my mother cry. I then realized she's not as strong as I imagined. In fact, she was fragile. Her pride and coldness were just her protective barrier. I asked her the other day if she still misses my father, and she told me she's given all her feelings to Father, so she can't love anyone else anymore..."
It was just like Arianna to always feel very distant to others. The relationship between the mother-daughter pair seemed cold, but only people close to them understood that Arya was very protective and loving towards her mother, Arianna.
Xavier did not say anything. He looked at her quietly and played the role of a loyal listener.
"And Father... I want to know what happened between them, so I want to test them a little..." She mumbled at the end, refocusing on the road in front again as her clear eyes glittered.
Xavier was quiet for some time before saying quietly,
"Everything will get better. You don't have to be unhappy about this."
She did not respond to him again and just looked ahead silently, speeding the car steadily.
Just as she sat down inside her office, her assistant, Reena, came in with several documents.
"Director Johns, these two documents need your signature." Reena opened the documents and put them before Arya.
Arya took them and looked through it. After that, she swiftly signed her name at the corner. When she handed them back, she said,
"Reena, please get me some stationery and toys like the last time I asked you to. Send it to me here tomorrow at noon."
Reena nodded. She had been with Arya for a long while after all, and she understood what she meant. She must be visiting the orphanage up in the north...
"Noted, Director. I'll get it done later. It'll be here quickly!"
Assistant Reena put on a smile as she closed the documents. Then, she asked out of concern when she saw Arya did not seem well,
"Director Johns, what's wrong? You don't look very well!"
Arya suddenly stiffened.
After her business with Xavier till midnight, she still had to wake up early for work today, so she kind of felt exhausted as she thought about those unhappy moments.
"I'm fine," Arya replied indifferently.
"Director, you don't look very well. Remember to take a break if you're tired. You must be exhausted working for the opening ceremony of Imperial Sky Entertainment City. By the way, Director, did you see the papers? The female star, Victoria, is being discussed right now because of her pouring wine onto you that night. It's all over Weibo! Many of our staff followed Victoria's Weibo to get updates on the news. It seems that she hired many keyboard warriors to defend her and push the blame onto you! Fortunately, people weren't sure if you're the one that's in conflict with Victoria... However, her fans seem to be pretty aggressive..."
Reena was suddenly reminded of this matter, so she reported it to Arya.
She had found out about what happened after reading the entertainment magazines yesterday. Initially, she thought that things would just die out after several days like usual. However, the matter snowballed into a much bigger issue and caused a big fuss on Weibo. Someone even posted the close-up photo there and it was gaining a lot of attention.