Chapter 106: Chapter 106 A Royal Gesture
Author
The row of spotlights on the hotel corridor ceiling cast a warm glow in Yardley’s eyes. His hand was still gripping Nancy’s wrist.
She stared at him and forgot to pull away.
Five seconds passed in silence. Then they both let go at the same time.
Yardley pulled a blue handkerchief from his suit pocket. He wiped the tea stain on his chest.
"Do you work here?" His voice was cool.
Nancy pressed her lips together. "Yes, Mr.Wolfe."
"I see." The tea stain was still wet. He took off his jacket and held it over his arm. "When you apologize to guests, you don’t need to touch them."
Yardley walked past her to the elevator without another look.
Nancy just stood there, stunned, after the elevator doors closed.
[Had he just said she was being inappropriate?]
Yardley pressed the button for the first floor. He watched the numbers change.
He couldn’t calm down.
[This was the first time a woman had made him lose control.And he’d only met her once before.]
Yardley’s lips pressed into a thin line.
[ Did she remind him of someone from his past?]
The elevator opened with a ding.
All that heat in Yardley’s eyes disappeared instantly.
"Boss, should I take your jacket?" His assistant was waiting by the elevator.
Yardley held the jacket against his stomach. He moved away from his assistant’s hand. His voice was cold. "No. I’ll carry it."
The assistant bowed. "Yes, Boss."
Elara
Nancy’s face was bright red when I saw her in the staff dining room.
"Nancy, are you okay? You look really flushed."
Nancy shook her head quickly. "I’m fine, Elara."
She said hurriedly, "Elara, I need to get some food."
I watched her walk away quickly.
Something was definitely bothering her.Nancy was always so calm and professional. This wasn’t like her at all.
I didn’t want to be nosy, so I went back to eating.
Later, Nancy seemed normal again. Maybe I was overthinking it.
The afternoon meeting went perfectly. I waited until the end to thank Yardley.
Yardley sent his team away. He raised an eyebrow casually. "Don’t be so formal. We’re family now."
My heart jumped. I almost laughed out loud.
I never really thought of myself as part of the Wolfe family.
I wasn’t sure if Dominic told his brother about our fake marriage.
So I texted him a warning:
[I think your brother figured out we have a contract marriage.]
His reply was calm: [Don’t worry about it. He’s too busy to care about my personal life.]
That made me feel better.
--
When I returned home, Dominic asked, "What did you and Yardley talk about today?"
"Nothing much," I replied. "I just thanked him for his help, and he said not to be so formal because we’re family."
"The company’s finance team was doing inventory at the hotel today," I added. "I was nervous about hosting corporate meetings. I’m still learning."
Dominic leaned back, flicking a silver lighter in his hand. "You did fine. Yardley may be strict, but he’s not that difficult to deal with."
He suddenly lowered his voice. "Besides, didn’t he say it himself? We’re all family."
I met his intense gaze and looked away quickly, taking a couple bites of rice. "Got it."
Then I changed the subject. "Do you have time to help me pick out a gift for Yardley ?"
I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, so I quickly added, "And for your father and Orion too. We can get gifts for everyone."
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. The smile on his lips disappeared. "So everyone gets a gift except me?"
He said slowly,"Shouldn’t I be the one you’re most grateful to?"
I felt embarrassed. "What do you want?"
After my previous gift disasters, I was genuinely afraid to buy Dominic anything.
His mood instantly brightened. His lips curved back into a smile. "Finish your dinner first. Then we’ll go shopping together."
Dominic smiled lazily, emphasizing each word: "As for the gift, I’ll pick it myself!"
My heart skipped a beat. I immediately lowered my head.
He’s my contract husband, I reminded myself. Just a contract. Nothing more.
When Dominic parked his flashy Bugatti at a busy night market, I looked up in confusion.
"You want to pick out gifts here?"
Dominic stood with one hand in his pocket, like this was totally normal. "Yes. Problem?"
"No."
The night market was crowded. His car was getting tons of stares.
I hate being the center of attention. I tensed up and clenched my fingers.
Dominic noticed immediately. His voice was low against my ear. "Stay closer to me."
Before I could react, his large hand landed firmly on my shoulder.
The warmth spread through my thin shirt.My earlier discomfort disappeared completely.
Dominic casually tightened his fingers. His tone was casual. "Why are you staring at me?"
"Am I more interesting than these little stalls?"
He didn’t expect me to respond. It was just his usual teasing.
Finally, he led me into a phone case shop.
I was completely confused. "Are you getting a new phone case?"
Dominic’s phone still had the boring case it came with.
[Was his gift idea really making me buy him a phone case?]
Dominic didn’t answer. Instead, he browsed through the cases on display and quickly selected two.
He walked to the counter and turned toward me. He waved me over. "Come here and pay."
The shopkeeper shot this well-dressed guy a dirty look. Then he looked at me sympathetically. "That’s 98 dollars total. Just scan here."
I paid without thinking much about it. "All set," I told the shopkeeper.
I watched Dominic swap out phone cases like it was urgent business.
What was the rush?
"So this is the gift you mentioned?"
Dominic didn’t answer. Instead, he held out his hand. "Give me your phone."
I hesitated before handing it over.
He popped off my old case and snapped on one of the new ones.
Dominic grinned. "Perfect."
He held up both phones side by side for me to see. His voice was ridiculously proud. "What do you think? Pretty awesome, right?"
That’s when I noticed the matching design.
Both cases were the same style - his in navy blue, mine in soft pink. They had matching patterns that would line up when placed together, like puzzle pieces.
