Set Aflame

It's not like Cassidy never praised Adrian in the past.

In fact, before she lost her memories, she kept showering him with affectionate remarks, loving smiles and gazes, sickeningly sweet compliments and everything else that a hopeless romantic would give. There wasn't a day when he wouldn't be praised by his wife.

Even with the smallest things like the way he wore his clothes or how he styled his hair, she would definitely notice them. During that time, though, he didn't really put so much thought into them. He's already used to receiving praises and compliments from people, after all.

But within these previous months that Cassidy acquired quite a drastic change, Adrian had been feeling dry for some reason. He didn't want to admit it nor even pay any attention to it before, but he's aware of how dry and dull his days had been.

Every morning, he was expecting that he'd get a kiss or a hug. But instead, all the eighteen-year-old Cassidy would do was glare daggers at him before racing him for the bathroom. It's as if getting to the shower first is some kind of a prize that she's willing to compete with him for. 

Right now, though, Adrian felt how that dryness turn into something that gave him a fulfilling feeling. It just happened the moment Cassidy flashed him an ear-splitting, approving grin.

"Also, thank you for coming to back me up at the last minute, bossman..." she chimed in once more, still beaming at him.

"Regardless of the fact that you're just obliged to do that, I appreciate the thought-"

"Hey, wait, what do you mean by 'obliged'...?" he trailed off with an incredulous look.

"You think that looking after my own wife is mere obligation?"

"Well, uhhh... Yeah? I mean, it's not like there's any other motivation as to why you'd go that far, right? Much like how you're just obliged to put up with our marriage, you're obliged to look after me."

The way Cassidy points that out matter-of-factly strikes a nerve with Adrian. 

She might as well be saying that rushing all the way back to the mansion just to escort her is mere obligation too. If it is, then that can also mean that he's only obliged to feel worried and concerned about her -

He's only obliged to be filled with thoughts of her day in and day out, feel uneasy when she's not around, and overthink at every situation that involves her. 

"You..." Adrian started again, narrowing his eyes at her.

"You don't really see me as a sincere guy, huh?"

At that, Cassidy suddenly bursts into a fit of laughter.

Taken aback by her reaction, his eyes widen for a second before squinting once more. He then feels his brow twitching in annoyance as she continues on with this mirthful display of hers.

For some reason, this irks him a lot.

"Oh man... Please, don't kid around with such a serious expression. But then again, bossman is always good with dry humors..." Cassidy quipped teasingly.

"You can be such a mood."

"Well, I'm not trying to be," Adrian just chose to sigh in miff before looking ahead again, his brows scrunched tightly together.

Indeed, he feels irked.

At this point, they're only a few meters away from their service. They can already spot their car from this distance, but for some reason, they can't find the driver anywhere. They weren't able to reach him through multiple calls earlier due to low reception on his part.

That's when Adrian feels his cellphone vibrate all of the sudden. He then pulls it out and finds a text message. Thinking that it's the driver, he halts on his tracks for a moment and reads it.

"Don't come near the car," was strangely what the content said, much to his nonplus.

Adrian realizes that the message is indeed from the driver. But then, he has no idea what's up with it. Rather than an order, though, it comes out to him as more like a warning.

The lack of supporting details and the ominous vibe that the text is emanating - they're enough to perturb him to a certain extent.

"Hey, bossman, I can't find the driver!" Cassidy called out to him from a distance, already a few meters away from the vehicle.

Seeing his wife so dangerously near to a potential hazard, Adrian was thunderstruck for a second before being thrown into panic. He then hastily called back to her and rushed to her direction, making her flinch and turn to look at him in surprise.

"Get away from there!"

Then suddenly came a bloodcurdling, defeaning sound.

At that very second, the car exploded.

It's as if a bomb has just been activated, blasting everything away before setting off a sea of flames. The horrendous explosion happened in a blink of an eye. It was so sudden and grisly that it struck the two extremely shell-shocked and horrified.

With that, their entire sight is now completely filled with smoke and fire.