Chapter 15: Ex-Boyfriend's Pestering

I bumped my head against his arm, "Hey, what's wrong with you?" He returned to the present moment after a while, blinked, and coughed lightly, "Nothing. Now sleep." "Well, sing a song for me." "I only know one song." He said seriously, "Don't laugh at me if I don't sing well." Elias, probably afraid that I would keep bothering him, simply agreed to sing to me. I agreed, closed my eyes, and prepared to listen to the heavenly voice. And then... "... Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky..." Gosh, why did such a handsome man have a mouth? If I had another chance, I would have gone to bed and slept well. Why did I beg him to sing a nursery rhyme for me? When he finally finished the song, my ears were almost ruined. "Please forgive me for not singing well." He was very modest. I wanted to cry, but I had to pretend to appreciate it, "Honey, you're great. In fact, I think I'm very sleepy now, so why don't we each go to sleep?" Seriously, after listening to him sing a song, I needed a night to recover myself, or his image in my mind would be completely ruined. I was wrong for thinking that a man with a good voice could sing well. I was narrow-minded. All night long, my ears were filled with Elias' song. As annoying as it was, miraculously, I didn't dream about Ian. The next day, when I woke up, there were sandwiches and milk and perfectly fried eggs on the dining table. I wasn't good at cooking. After a rare cooking experience that almost resulted in a disaster, Elias put a "No Jacqueline allowed" sign on the kitchen door. "Honey, you're an excellent cook." I never hesitated to compliment him, "I'm so lucky to be married to you." After years of being in the business world, I could easily say something to please someone at any time. Elias rolled his eyes at me as usual. I knew what he meant by the look: I'd be damned if I believed you. "Do you want me to bring you lunch today?" He asked. It was his day off, so he asked me that. I thought about today's schedule and basically, I would be at the office. Besides, my dear husband wanted to bring me lunch, so I couldn't refuse. After breakfast, the driver was waiting downstairs. I wanted to give Elias a good morning kiss, but he walked away with the plates in his hands. He really lacked a sense of romance. When I got to the office, Yvette informed me, "Boss, the team of Project Y is waiting for you in the conference room." "Okay." I nodded, "You can go over there first." When I got to the conference room, I saw Ian sitting at the end of the conference table. Well, Silas gave me a big gift in addition to a jade bracelet worth several million dollars: my ex-boyfriend. To be precise, Ian had been assigned to TR Group as one of the main leaders of the Y project. "One of", well. If the Y Project expanded, it would definitely impact Silas' status. What exactly was his intention in placing Ian under my nose at this time? But for now, I could only stay put and take one step at a time. After the meeting, everyone else left except Ian. I knew he had something to say. However, I didn't want to talk to him. "Mr. Yates, do you have anything else to say? If not, I'll ask Yvette to take you to your new office." "Jacqueline..." I glared at him as he opened his mouth. He immediately rephrased, "Boss, I have something to say to you alone." I glanced at Yvette and she closed the door and left first. I said lightly, "It's just the two of us now, please say what you have to say. I have a lot of work to do." "I know you feel resentment towards me and have doubts in your mind, but I can assure you that I don't have any intention to harm you. Silas is not in command of me." I looked at him in astonishment. He knew all about it? "Jacqueline," Ian smiled bitterly, "we've been together for years at least. How can I not know what's on your mind?" I looked at him quietly. I hated being seen through, let alone by my ex-boyfriend. He stepped closer to me, his eyes affectionate, "Jacqueline, you only need to understand one thing, this time I came back to compensate and apologize to you." Compensate? Apologize? I smiled coldly, "Mr. Yates, what have you done wrong?" "I..." He was about to speak when he suddenly swayed, I consciously held his arm. Seeing his face pale, I asked, "What happened to you?" At that very moment, the door to the conference room was opened. Elias, carrying the food, stood in the doorway. Er... Ian took a step back. "You forgot to bring the rose tea I made for you this morning." Elias broke the ice by walking over to me and handing me the thermos, while his clear black eyes were fixed on Ian. A strong smell of gunpowder filled the air. "This is..." Ian asked knowingly. I took Elias' hand graciously Elias looked down at my hand but didn't move. I said, "He's Elias, my husband." "Elias..." Ian frowned as he muttered. "Since you are busy, I'll leave you to it." Elias reached out and rubbed my head. It was an intimate action he normally didn't do to me. While I was surprised, he lowered his head and gave me a peck on the lips, his eyes full of love, "Come home early after work, I'll make you a delicious meal." "Oh, okay." My brain was still a bit overwhelmed by his sudden closeness. Elias came and went in a hurry, and from the beginning to the end, he ignored Ian as if he didn't give a damn about my old lover. This act was very insulting to Ian. I wanted to laugh. I didn't expect Elias, who was usually serious, to be so cunning inside, and to have skills when it came to "revenge" on others. I was complimenting Elias in my mind, when Ian walked up to me at some point and said with jealousy and resentment, "He's very nice." "Yes, he is." I glanced at Ian lightly, "At least he's loyal and won't betray me." He stiffened and then said, seemingly innocently, "But I always feel like I've seen him somewhere." I didn't answer. "Jacqueline, it's not that I'm bad-mouthing anyone. But do you really know him? If you married a stranger on impulse, I hope you'll stay alert, at least..." He took a step closer to me, "Jacqueline, don't be fooled."