Holding hands for a very long time

However, Primrose's plan to keep their relationship a secret ultimately couldn't be realized because an unexpected incident occurred. When she and Joel arrived at the company this morning, a male colleague saw them arriving together and told everyone else. And when Primrose went out to find Nancy for a chat, she happened to overhear their conversation. "That's right, I saw Primrose sitting in Joel's car this morning with my own eyes. It definitely wasn't like her hitching a ride with Joel the way we usually hitch rides with colleagues, because I even saw them holding hands and exchanging a sweet goodbye kiss in the car." "Really? This gossip is quite thrilling." "But isn't Joel already married? Moreover, Primrose is married too; it's just that we've never met her husband." "It's possible they are a married couple, right? I think both Primrose and Joel are respectable people; they wouldn't do something as immoral as having an affair." "But we can't rule out that possibility either. Anyway, nowadays, there are many people who appear upright but engage in shameless actions." "That's true. Anything is possible, so we shouldn't jump to conclusions without clear evidence." Primrose stumbled upon this conversation, and her emotions were thrown into disarray. She glanced at Nancy, who was standing with her arms crossed in a corner, shrugging her shoulders in a seemingly innocent manner toward Primrose. At this moment, Nancy shouldn't say anything. After all, Nancy was Primrose's best friend, and if she stood up to defend Primrose, it might arouse suspicion. Primrose cleared her throat, showing that she hadn't heard anything. "What are you all talking about? Can I join in?" The faces of everyone quickly turned awkward, and they hurriedly found excuses to leave. Primrose didn't inquire further and chuckled, glancing at Nancy with a playful look. Nancy slowly approached, pulling Primrose into a quiet corner. "How do you plan to handle this? Going public? After all, you and Joel are legally married, and we can't let them speculate like this." Primrose knew Nancy was concerned about her, so she smiled and tilted her head, responding, "I guess we'll have to go public sooner than expected. I'll talk to Joel about it later." "While they may forget about this in a few days, we can't let them think I'm an adulterer." Nancy nodded in agreement, patting Primrose's shoulder to console her. Primrose continued to shake her head, assuring Nancy that this matter wouldn't affect her too much and that she didn't need to worry. Afterward, Primrose and Nancy left the secluded corner and returned to their respective offices as usual. As work hours approached, Primrose was again familiar with the routine of entering Joel's office. She hadn't had a chance to speak before Joel pulled her into his arms, his warm breath brushing against the tip of her nose, radiating warmth. "Sweetie, even if we're apart for just a little while, I miss you so much." Primrose also embraced Joel, and her response made him even happier. He kissed her lips, and the atmosphere quickly became hazy. Primrose's breathing gradually became erratic, and her soft hair cascaded over Joel's shoulder, creating an alluring scene. "Don't worry; I'll handle everything." Joel suddenly uttered a sentence without a clear beginning or end, but Primrose could still understand what he was referring to. She nodded gently, then playfully nestled in his arms as if coaxing him. "Aren't you tired? Take a break in the room for a while. We have the company's annual meeting later." Joel carried Primrose and laid her down, and since her body was still aching, she didn't resist but affectionately clung to Joel, issuing a gentle reminder. "Remember to wake me up later. I'm afraid I'll oversleep." Joel nodded, tidied Primrose's disheveled clothes and hair, and kissed her forehead before leaving. Primrose quickly succumbed to sleep. When Primrose woke up, it was already a few hours later, and the meeting was about to begin. Joel softly woke her up, and she groggily opened her eyes, looking around in a daze. Joel helped her adjust her clothes and fix her messy hair before they both walked into the meeting room together. Joel cleared his throat and began, "If everyone is here, let's begin." Having said that, Joel inadvertently dropped a small notebook from his pocket. A deputy director sitting nearby quickly bent down to pick it up and asked in a low voice, "CEO, did you drop your marriage, mmm, marriage registration certificate?" Joel's voice became dreamy, and his gaze gradually became unfocused. He calmly accepted the notebook and replied, "Thank you for picking it up for me. Actually, I wanted to inform you all that Primrose and I are legally married. If anyone doubts it, you can check my marriage registration certificate." Joel placed the little red notebook on the table, but obviously, no one dared to open it. People exchanged glances and eventually applauded Joel and Primrose, showering them with compliments on being such a lovely couple. The rumors ended in a way that Primrose couldn't have imagined. She accepted the compliments with wide eyes, looking at Joel, who had a mischievous glint in his eyes. She knew that he had intentionally done all this to put an end to the malicious gossip, but she hadn't expected him to handle it so seriously. "Alright, let's not digress any longer. Let's begin the meeting," Joel said, raising his voice and proceeding to chair the meeting as usual. Primrose, however, hadn't fully regained her composure. Her heart was still pounding with emotion. It wasn't until the meeting ended and everyone left one by one that she sat there in silence, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Joel, as always, gently helped her up and, for the first time, held her hand as they walked back to his office. Upon entering the room, he couldn't resist cupping her chin and kissing her lips gently. The tender kiss left Primrose's heart tingling with excitement. When it ended, she could still hear Joel's low, incredibly seductive voice whispering in her ear. "Are you satisfied with how this was handled, sweetie?" Primrose gazed directly into Joel's eyes and nodded. Everything related to her meant a lot to him, and this was the best way to handle it. She had initially thought that he would just make an announcement about their relationship at the end of the workday. She didn't expect him to address it during such an important meeting. From now on, no one in the company would dare speak ill of their relationship. "But why did you have our marriage registration papers in your pocket? Don't you always carry it with you?" This was also the most surprising and curious thing for Primrose. After all, marriage registration papers were not something normal people carried around. She had long stored them safely in a drawer at home and hadn't touched them. Today, Joel had been at the company all day, and without any prior preparation, he had managed to pretend to drop the marriage registration papers to make the announcement. It could only be because he always had them with him. Joel's gaze began to shift, and he couldn't look into Primrose's eyes. He lowered his head onto her shoulder, responding in a subdued voice. "This is because you seem to be don't want to publicly acknowledge me as your husband? I thought maybe one day, out of the blue, you might change your mind. So, I prepared in advance to make sure you wouldn't change your mind." Joel's voice had a hint of helplessness, making Primrose pout and smile. She didn't expect Joel's thoughts to be so naive. Thinking about it, she felt that Joel had always been the one compromising and enduring, and she proactively hugged his neck, kissed Joel, and softly spoke. "I'm sorry for being so thoughtless and not wanting to publicize our relationship before. Now that everyone knows, can we hold hands and come to the company like this every day?" This time, Joel's eyes revealed satisfaction as he embraced Primrose and kissed her deeply before responding. "That's absolutely allowed." Joel finally received an answer that left him satisfied, and he even thought how fortunate it was that their colleague had seen him and Primrose being intimate this morning. Otherwise, they might have had to keep their relationship a secret for much longer, something Joel wasn't keen on at all. The two of them then happily sat next to each other and completed their work. Primrose sat on Joel's lap, reading a book, while Joel diligently worked with a pile of documents on his computer. When it was time to leave, the two openly walked out of Joel's office hand in hand. Joel took the initiative, holding Primrose's hands in front of all their colleagues and whispering in a low tone, just audible to the two of them. "This is the first time I've held your hand in front of so many people like this; to be honest, I'm still a bit excited. Sweetie, how do you feel about that?" Primrose smiled and calmly accepted the curious and admiring glances from those around them. She gently held Joel's hand tighter and leaned in closer to him, responding in a soft voice. "Well, you'll have to get used to this feeling soon because from now on, every day we'll be holding hands like this in the midst of a crowd." Primrose thought that she and Joel would continue holding hands like this for a very long time throughout their long journey ahead in life, and never be apart.