Chapter 124
"Miss Gu, this is a gift specially prepared for you by the CEO."
The assistant respectfully handed over an exquisite gift box, its gold-embossed logo gleaming under the sunlight.
I glanced at it but didn’t reach out.
"Take it back."
The assistant hesitated. "But the CEO said—"
"I said, take it back." My voice was icy as I cut him off. "I don’t need it."
The assistant opened his mouth to protest but fell silent under my sharp glare.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally withdrew the box.
I turned on my heel and walked away, the click of my heels echoing crisply against the marble floor.
Behind me, the assistant called out anxiously, "Miss Gu, the CEO truly cares about you—"
I stopped in my tracks and let out a cold laugh.
"Cares?"
Slowly, I turned back and spoke each word deliberately.
"Tell him I don’t need his charity."
The assistant paled, the gift box suddenly burning in his hands.
I left without another glance, though my heart ached as if pierced by needles.
How dare that man think luxury gifts could make up for everything?
My phone buzzed suddenly.
A message flashed on the screen:
"Why did you refuse my gift?"
I stared at it for a long time, fingers hovering over the keyboard.
In the end, I typed only three words in reply:
"You don’t deserve it."
The conversation circled back to the same issue.
"Daddy stays with you at night because he's worried you might be scared," Emily Johnson said, forcing her voice to remain gentle.
The two little boys blinked their big, innocent eyes.
"But Mommy, we're really not scared," David said, tilting his head. "Daddy should go back and sleep with you."
Tommy immediately nodded in agreement, his chubby face serious. "Yeah! Me and David are big boys now."
Emily sighed inwardly. You might not be scared, but I am!
A young man full of vigor—what if things got out of hand?
"Mommy," David suddenly leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "do you not like Daddy?"
Emily's heart skipped a beat.
"But if you don't like Daddy, how did me and Tommy get here?" The little boy answered his own question with terrifyingly clear logic.
Who taught him that?!
"Mommy, please forgive Daddy," Tommy chimed in sweetly.
"Yeah, let Daddy come back to sleep with you!"
Emily assumed the boys just wanted their family to be happy—completely unaware that someone had put them up to this.
In the kitchen, Michael Stone sneezed as he added firewood to the stove. He remembered his wife liked cleanliness. Though she didn’t bathe daily in winter like summer, she still washed every few days.
"Daddy!" David bounded into the kitchen. "Mommy said you can go back to sleep with her!"
What?
Emily's eyes widened. When did I agree to that?!
This was pure slander!
But Michael acted as if he didn’t notice his wife’s stunned expression and calmly nodded. "Then you two will sleep alone tonight."
This man climbs the ladder way too fast!
"We’re not scared!" David thumped his little chest confidently.
Emily didn’t want to watch this father-son act any longer and turned to wash up.
"Honey, wait for me—"
Just as she was about to close the door, a large hand stopped it.
"It’s cold outside," Michael said pitifully.
"You can sleep with the kids," Emily gritted out.
"But David steals the blanket, and Tommy kicks me," the man whined like a scolded puppy.
Meeting those dewy eyes, Emily almost softened.
"Do whatever you want," she relented.
With months left before the college entrance exams, they couldn’t keep sleeping apart forever.
"Honey, I promise I won’t touch you," Michael swore solemnly.
Can a man’s promise be trusted?
"I’ll warm the bed for you," he added.
I don’t need it!
The temperature was still around 68°F at night—nowhere near cold enough.
Without the kids as a buffer, Emily felt uneasy.
"Honey, stop reading. Time to sleep," Michael said, already stripped down to his undershirt and slipping under the covers.
The blanket outlined his muscular frame, hinting at well-defined pecs.
A sudden thought crossed Emily’s mind: Does he really have an eight-pack?