40 Chapter 40: My Husband

It wasn't too long after, and Stuart arrived at the Victoria hotel to pick up Edie. It was entirely silent in the car without Mr. Bates and Ivan. "What do you want to eat?" Stuart asked her in a low and tender voice.

With a mysterious smile on her face, she blinked, "It's a secret. You will find out soon. I can promise you one thing, and that is you have never eaten there before." She can't remember ever being this happy. Stuart thought she seemed more elegant and charming than usual. It was something different, something he had never seen in her before.

Staring at Edie, his eyes grew soft. Edie kept guiding the driver. After passing several blocks, they arrived in front of a shabby lane as wide as the car. "Mr. Yates, this is...." the driver hesitated. Stuart lowered his head to ask Edie, "We are going here?"

"Yes," Edie nodded.

"Stop, we are walking in alone." he sounded so profound and sexy.

"Mr. Yates, you can't do this. How could you go into such a place." the driver became nervous.

His young master should only be walking on carpet. How could he walk into such a dirty place?

Pitifully, Stuart got out of the car, without even looking back at the driver. Edie took his hand and turned around to check on him. They walked several hundred feet and then they saw a little restaurant. It was modified from a residential house. They couldn't see many customers inside.

"Here?" he said.

"Yes," looking at Stuart's facial expression. "It may look a shabby little building, but the food here is quite good. I have tasted many foods in the high-end restaurants, but by far, this is the best one yet. My mother and I used to come here a lot before she passed away.

They entered the restaurant, and it was completely empty. Edie made a sound, "Aunt River, I am back." A middle-aged woman, about fifty years old, ran out of the kitchen. She was so surprised to see Edie."Edie, my little girl. It has been a long time since I have seen you.

Smiling, Edie said, "I told you, I would come again. See., I'm here."

"Oh my god. You look gorgeous. I almost didn't recognize you." Holding her hands to take a good look at her, Aunt River felt a little sad, "You look skinnier. What happened? Why have you lost more weight?"

"That's all right. You look pretty. People must be so jealous of you." After that, Aunt River burst into laughter. Then, she saw Stuart. Seeing his cold, unconcerned face, she became a little nervous. Rubbing the corner of her clothes, she lowered her voice, "He is..."

Edie wasn't sure how to introduce him. Beyond her surprise, Stuart introduced himself, "Aunt River, I am Stuart Yates." Hearing his introduction, Edie was surprised and stared at him.

He was a big man. Even the mayor would have shown him respect. She didn't expect he would be so polite in front of her Aunt River, who was just a poor woman. Looking at both of them, she saw a handsome man and a gorgeous woman. She felt they were really a perfect couple. "You are his girlfriend? Right?"

"No....." Edie said sharply. She was shocked by what her Aunt had just said, "We are just....."

"I am not her boyfriend," Stuart started to explain. Edie started to calm down and felt relieved, but then he said, "I am her husband."

What? How could he say this???? "Stuart Yates!" Raising his eyes, he looked at her with his jade-black eyes, "Are we not married?" This time, Edie was rendered speechless. Looking at them bickering, her Aunt automatically assumed they must be in love. Tears started to fill her eyes,

"It doesn't matter if you are married or not. I have been worried about you. It does make me feel better knowing that there is someone taking care of you. Your mother would be so happy if she were here."

Edie could see the sadness on her Aunt River's face. She didn't want to upset her anymore, so she silently admitted, "he is my husband."

"Oh my, I am so happy for you. I kept hoping and praying this would happen. Come in, and I will make some food for you."

She turned around and walked into the kitchen. "Stuart," Edie said as soon as her Aunt left. She turned towards him, "What are you talking about?" Whenever she got angry, her face would become red, and her eyes would have a bit of a sparkle to them.

He seemed to enjoy it when she got angry. "I was just honest."

"But, you know it's a fake marriage?"

"Allow me to remind you, darling. The Yates was equipped with the largest information network in the world. If we don't want to be exposed, we had better get used to telling everyone." Stuart stopped for a second, "Mrs. Yates."

Edie didn't know how to deny him. What he was saying was the truth. She slowly walked into the kitchen with her mouth pouting. Stuart couldn't get over how he felt. Even her thin lips looked sexy, plump, luscious, and still kissable.

With a light smile at the corner of his mouth, he followed her inside. To his surprise, the restaurant was quite clean. They sat down, and Edie saw Stuart looking around the room. She said out loud, "You have never been to such a shabby place before, am I right?"

"Not shabby," he was commenting on the room, even though his eyes were fixated on her face.

He really didn't think it was shabby at all. Every moment he spent with Edie, it didn't matter where they were, but every place looked perfect to him.

"Actually, when I was a little girl, the business was always good. I lived around the corner. The boss saw my mother and me and felt sorry for us. He often helped us when we needed it."

Remembering things from the past wasn't always easy for her. Stuart could tell from the look in her eyes. Staring at her, Stuart listened to her in silence.

"When my mother got sick, she couldn't take care of me anymore. So, she sent me to Greg's. I suffered a lot there. Aunt River would secretly give me money. If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would be here today. Pitifully, nice guys finish last. Six years ago, Uncle River was in a car accident, and their son died also. After that, Aunt River had no incentive to run the store."

Stuart looked at her with affectionate eyes. He didn't know how such a confident and strong woman could have suffered so much. Edie smiled again, "Yes, it's all in the past. I have a new life now. My future will be much better. I really want to thank you for today. You have everything, so I didn't know what I could give you. That's why I brought you to my favorite restaurant."

"My pleasure," he said. He was so thrilled that she was willing to share her story with him. He thought the past would be forgotten and now and he will protect. Edie's Aunt walks toward them, bringing in a big pizza. It had all kinds of meat and vegetables on it. It was delicious.

They started eating one bit after another. "This is really yummy. Have some more quickly before it gets cold. This was made by Aunt River's hands. Quite special." Edie was so excited.

They didn't use any forks or knives. It was by no means proper etiquette. They didn't even wash their hands before they ate. Stuart found that he didn't hate that at all. Instead, he quite enjoyed it, and then Edie paid for the bill.