Chapter Fifty

"Stephen Chu, are you trying to distract me?" Brielle glared at him as she remembered why she screamed at the first place. "Damn it. My full name. Really?" Stephen didn't like it when she called him by his full name. It made me feel like a chastised child.

"So you've changed your name?" Brielle looked at Stephen with a questioning glance, not realizing why he was pissed off. "Don't push it. Or do you want a repeat of what happened last night?" Stephen's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared at Brielle. Since when was she able to drive him mad so easily?

Brielle closed her eyes and tried to recall how many things she agreed to last night. She blushed when certain scenes ran in her mind. 'He set me up again.' "Well, you didn't say that I need to call your husband every day." Brielle wasn't willing to compromise. he only asked her to say it once. It's his fault he didn't make the rules clear.

"Good. It's time for me to replay what happened last night and make the rules clear this time." Stephen moved to grab Brielle but she was not there. In a flash, she was by the door and out of his reach.

"Don't come near me. I will pound you if you come any closer." Brielle threatened him, hoping that would be enough. She knew that if she were caught by him, she wouldn't be able to go out for a whole day.

Stephen was stunned for a second, but he recovered quickly. 'She wants to play with me' he thought. 'I haven't exercised for a while. bring it, woman!' He tried to conceal his anticipation. "You started it. Don't start what you can't finish." Stephen knew he'd win. Even Fan couldn't bet him. She didn't stand a chance.

"Ha! I'm not afraid of you. Don't mess with a colonel!" Brielle thought his fighting skills would be rusty -- he didn't need to fight because his bodyguards would do it for him. "Really? Are you suggesting that I'm easy to deal with?" Stephen got excited and moved towards her.

"No! Stop right there. I swear I will clock you if you come closer." He didn't stop, so Brielle swung with her fist. Stephen leaned away, and her first sailed past him, striking only air. he didn't miss a beat, countering with a sweep.

Brielle sneered and avoided his foot. One of her long legs swept past his another foot too, and she threw a cross punch back at him. 'He's really good at it.' she thought. Stephen blocked, and followed with a sidekick to meet Brielle's crescent kick. Their legs met full-on, and you could hear them collide. Brielle cried out, not in pain but in shock, as his bath towel peeled off and pooled on the floor.

Stephen took advantage of her shock and grabbed her, not caring about his appearance at all. "You're shameless!" Brielle grunted, struggling to escape his grasp. Stephen was used to being naked.

"Shameless? If you continue to struggle, I will show you what's real shamelessness." Stephen whispered in her ear, and she froze immediately. She knew what he meant. "Free me first." Brielle already felt him, aroused, pushing against her.

"Don't move, let me hold you for a while, otherwise you won't get past the door." Stephen was trying hard to control his desire. Why did his feelings soar every time he was around her?

Brielle was speechless. What could she do? Her husband could turn into a full-on lust machine in the blink of an eye. And what about the hickeys he felt all over her body? It just seemed to turn him on more!

"Stephen, are you done? I promised Claire that I would go shopping with her today." Is she didn't show up today, there would be severe consequences. "I'll let go for now, but never call me by my full name again." Stephen was determined that she would bend to his will.

"What should I call you now? Honey? Sweetie?" Stephen thought for a moment. What did he want her to call him? Brielle smiled mirthlessly. "I prefer you to call me a husband." Stephen was transfixed. Even mad she was still gorgeous, and it threw him into a lovestruck trance every time.

Brielle looked up and fell straight into his gaze as if she were going to penetrate the layers of darkness to reach his heart. She wanted to see if he was telling the truth. Brielle touched his handsome face, gently brushed his heavy black knife-shaped eyebrows, his straight nose, and stopped when she reached his attractive thin lips.

He saw the deep affection in her eyes again. He was confused by her gentle touch. he didn't know whether her love was for him or someone else. Just as Stephen wondered why Brielle stopped, she kissed him. When he tried to wrest control of the exchange, she withdrew coldly. It was a power play and she would win.

"Stephen, I will always be your loyal wife, until you say otherwise." She looked at him firmly. Stephen was stunned for a while after hearing her promise, then he bowed his head and kisses her until both of them were out of breath.

"Thank you. My wife. I'll remember what you said. And I want to tell you I have your back. I'll support you, always and forever." Stephen touched her forehead gently and made his first commitment ever.

Claire examined Brielle closely, smirking. She was hard to read at this moment. "Is there anything wrong with me? Why are you staring at me?" Brielle said while pulling up the collar of her blouse, trying to hide the love marks that Stephen gave her. She wondered what Claire possibly saw.

"It's too late. You can't hide those, anyway. Uh-huh! So how many times did you do it last night?" Claire asked in a low voice, suddenly leaning close to Brielle. Her evil smile clearly showed what was on her mind.

She blushed immediately. She was hoping to hide her love bites with a high-collared blouse, but it was to little avail. Claire noticed them right away. "Claire, you're so absence!" Brielle was speechless. What a dirty mind!

"Huh! Why do you simply criticize me? Your Stephen is a brute. Do you know what time it is?" Claire sipped her coffee. Huh! She remembered Stephen had hung up her. She hoped Brielle would call back. She waited a long time for Brielle to give her a ring.

"It's not even 1 pm. Still early." Brielle blurted out the lame remark, but she tried to make light of it with her tone. "Yes! Of course! Early, if you like exercising late at night!" Claire sneered at Brielle. She found Brielle much more attractive than before. 'Maybe the magic power of love?' she thought. 'If she could be more enthusiastic she'd be the perfect woman.'

'What's wrong with Claire? Why is she all of sudden mocking me? Was it something she ate? Why is she so harsh to me today?' Brielle wondered. "Just go ahead and laugh. You won't be so full of laughter when it's your turn." Brielle squinted at Claire and took a sip of coffee, rather relaxed.

"Huh! Unlikely!" Claire said, disapproval coloring her voice. 'I'm totally different from this lovestruck fool. I would never be caught up in an erotic situation. It wouldn't stop me from being me.' Claire thought.

"What about Mr. Cold?" Brielle raised her eyebrows and smirked. She watched Claire's face closely to see her reaction. "Who is Mr. Cold? Claire asked in bewilderment. She couldn't think of anyone that appellation referred to.

"You know, who else would it be? Chloe was calling you sis-in-law all day yesterday. Come on..." Brielle sneered. She was annoyed at Claire and wanted to make her pay for ribbing her about being late.

"Wait! Thomas? No way! We barely know each other." Claire shook her head in disapproval. But secretly, she did find the man intriguing. "Really? I think he's very interested in you, Claire." Yesterday, Brielle caught Thomas staring amorously at Claire the whole night. And he seemed pretty confident around her, too.

"Cut it out, Brielle!" Claire lost it when she heard that Thomas was interested in her. "Think of the possibilities," Brielle answered, totally flip about the situation. She continued to sip her coffee leisurely.

"There won't be any possibilities. By the way, where is Ariel? Why didn't you bring him with you?" Claire asked Brielle in an accusatory tone. She was disappointed. She wanted to spend some time with the little guy.

"He didn't want to go along. he said he'd get bored." Brielle replied. When she mentioned her son, her tone became very soft and gentle. She still remembered his insistence on not going with her this morning. His dad was entertaining some big clients, and golf sounded more fun to Ariel.

"Wow, what a naughty boy! He'd get bored shopping with women? So would he be happier shopping with men?" Claire felt irritated by Ariel's choice. She blurted out these words without thinking. 'Such a little devil! The little boy is annoying! Like father, like son! They're both heartbreakers!' Claire thought.

"It's his father's influence. He's stayed with Stephen for too long." Brielle said. She was also very upset about this. She felt that Ariel was not as happy to be around her as before. he seemed to be more comfortable with Stephen. When she saw his smiles around Stephen, she wondered if she was wrong for depriving the boy of father's love.

"So what happened between you and Stephen? I thought you were separated. You haven't seen each other for years." Claire asked. 'Both Stephen and Brielle thought that their paths would never cross. But what got them together again?' Claire wondered.

"I didn't expect this. It just happened. All I wanted was for him to be happy, but my desire to be close to him eclipsed all that." Brielle smiled with self-mockery. She took a sip of her coffee, feeling depressed.

Claire patted Brielle on the shoulder to comfort her friend. She now understood her heart. She remembered that Brielle gave up her major in painting because of a casual word from Stephen. And she loved the painting! And her irresponsible father agreed to finance her overseas study, as long as she never returned to the house.

"Claire, do you think that I'm silly? I desperately fell in love with Stephen, even though I was sure nothing would come of it. But all these years, loving him has become a habit. If I stopped loving him once day, it's only because my heart stopped beating." Brielle said these words to Claire very calmly. her gaze was hollow and distant.

"Does Stephen know you feel?" Claire felt very sad now. A lump formed in her throat, her eyes burned from tears that started forming. If it were her. she'd just let the man know her feelings, and see what he had to say.

"I don't know. I never thought about telling him. But if he doesn't love me, then hope would die in me, along with my pride and self-esteem." Brielle said. She thought id one day Stephen really fell in love with her, she would tell him that there was a girl who grew up with secret love for him. She grew stronger in her firm belief, and matured with the passing days, missing him the whole time.