Chapter 9 Be a Good Mrs. Quinn

Lila Cross's face turned crimson instantly, her heart pounding as if it might burst from her chest. She quickly turned away, too afraid to meet his gaze. "Tastes good," Adrian Quinn remarked coolly, eating the noodles she'd made. "Walter Briggs said you wanted to speak with me?" Only then did Lila remember why she'd come. "Mr. Quinn," she said, lifting her chin to meet his eyes with resolve. "Before we married, I didn't know you had twin sons." He arched a brow. "Before we married, I didn't know you'd sneak a drink of my wine for your ex-boyfriend." Lila: "..." She recalled last night's dream—or was it a memory?—of them in a bathtub together. She bit her lip. "It was wrong of me to drink your wine, but didn't you do something unforgivable afterward?" "We're even," Adrian replied, his dark eyes locking onto hers. "Do you really think one bath with me is worth five million four hundred and eighty thousand?" "Clang—!" Lila's phone clattered to the floor. Her face drained of color. After a long silence, she managed a weak smile. "Those bottles..." "All limited editions," Adrian said flatly. "Unavailable to ordinary people." Lila: "..." Still, she pushed back. "Even if the wine was expensive, what we did last night wasn't just sharing a bath!" Adrian set down his chopsticks, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Then tell me—what else did we do?" The memory of what he'd done to her made Lila's cheeks blaze red. She stammered as she rose. "You were completely out of line!" "How so?" His eyes held a hypnotic power. "Which part do you remember, hmm?" His voice was dangerously seductive. She couldn't bear to look at him—turned away, throat tight, voice trapped. "If I recall, we got married yesterday," he said calmly. "So anything I do to you is perfectly legal." Lila's face burned. After a long pause, she finally whispered, "Then… what do you want? I don't have five million four hundred and eighty thousand." "Be a good Mrs. Quinn," he said lightly. "Be a good mother to Lucian and Noah." Lila bit her lip. "But… I'm not mature enough. I don't know how to care for others. I'm afraid I'll fail them." "Don't worry," Adrian reassured. "They're mature enough to take care of you." Lila: "..." "Of course, if you truly feel you owe me…" Adrian's voice dropped, low and husky. "You could always pay with your body." Lila's face turned beet red. She bolted upstairs, rushed into her bedroom, and slammed the door! His words echoed in her ears. "We got married. Anything I do to you is legal." Then, steady, heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway, heading straight for her room. Lila clenched her lips, heart pounding. Memories of last night—his fingers teasing her in the tub—still swirled in her mind. The footsteps reached her door but then continued to the end of the hall. She heard a door open and close. Then, silence. She exhaled, long and slow. He wasn't coming for her tonight? Exhausted, she collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. All night, she drifted in and out of sleep, each time checking if the glass of water by her door had been knocked over. Thankfully, in the morning, the door was untouched, the glass still standing. Her heart finally stilled. Lila got up, washed quickly, and went downstairs to make breakfast. Lucian, ever punctual, was already down. Noah, a late sleeper, only stumbled down after the scent of breakfast reached him, hair a wild mess. "Mommy, good morning," Lucian said with a smile, then shot Noah a warning look. Noah bit his lip, glanced at Lila with reluctant flatness. "Mommy, good morning." Lila froze, then forced a smile. "Good morning." After twenty-five years of being single, she wasn't used to two five-year-olds calling her "mommy." Strangely, she thought of her child from five years ago. During the accident, the baby had been eight months along. If only she'd been more careful, the child wouldn't have been born too early and died. If that child had lived, they'd be about Lucian and Noah's age now. She looked at the two boys, a soft smile forming. "I'll be a good mommy to you." Maybe this was fate. She'd lost a child five years ago. Now, five years later, heaven had given her Lucian and Noah. Perhaps it was making up for her past mistake. With that thought, urged by Chloe Fortune, she rushed into the kitchen, boiling eggs and cutting them into little rabbit shapes. "Be good and eat. Mommy has to go to work!" She set the plates down, grabbed her coat and bag, and hurried out. Noah frowned at the cute rabbits. "Bro, she's so childish." Lucian glanced at him. "She thinks you're the childish one." "But she made two. She thinks you're childish too." "You're childish." "You're childish!" Then, Adrian Quinn descended the stairs, sharp in a suit. The boys called out, "Daddy, come!" Hearing their excitement, he walked over. "What is it?" "Here." Lucian pushed the rabbit-shaped eggs toward him. Noah grinned. "Daddy, this is Mommy's breakfast made with love." Adrian frowned at the clumsy little rabbits. "For me?" "Yeah!" Noah nodded. "Mommy said she's these little rabbits—she wants you to eat her!" Adrian: "..." He glanced at the rabbits. "Walter, pack them and take them to the office."