"Hmm, alright. I'm going back to the hospital. Thank you, Doctor." Grace answered and ended the call, but her gaze was fixed on Noah, who didn't stop smiling.
"The hospital bill has been paid. That's what you did, right?"
Noah only raised his eyebrows and shoulders when asked like that by Grace.
"Noah, answer me. You paid for my mom's hospital bills, right?" Grace asked again.
"Tsk. Call me 'honey, babe, or darling'. I'm already your husband," Noah grumbled instead of answering.
"Is it that important to talk about calling you like that right now? I'm serious, Noah. Please don't joke around!" Grace complained, "Are you still the same man who just moments ago threatened me with a cold face?"
"Yes, it's still me, and I need to hear you call me affectionately. And that's your first obligation because I have every right to ask you to call me that," Noah said casually.
Grace hissed and tapped her forehead. She was always helpless against Noah's silliness when he teased her.
Grace started to try, clearing her throat to clear it.
"D-darling?"
Noah chuckled at Grace's attempt. He also knew that seven years was not a short time to get used to the sweet greeting between them. Moreover, ever since they started dating, Noah was the one who always greeted Grace with affection.
"What? I didn't hear you call me," Noah teased again.
"Noah!" called Grace in annoyance, and she turned around.
Noah was getting excited. Slowly, adorable moments like in the old days were being created bit by bit.
Noah turned Grace around again to face him and asked, "Is it so hard to call me that?"
"This is not the right moment. Please understand, Noah... I'm asking you a serious question," Grace replied, clearly relenting.
"I'm serious too," Noah said again as he brushed the ends of Grace's hair. "Come on, let's get in the car. Let's talk in the car. You want to get to the hospital, right?"
Grace obediently followed Noah's lead: "So, you're the one who paid off all those fees, right?"
Noah just smiled and answered Grace's question once they were in the car.
"You don't want to ask how I feel about being your husband?" Noah asked softly, and it left Grace speechless.
Guilt weighed heavily on her heart when she realized that she had never thought about how Noah felt. Always thinking about her problems and ignoring Noah.
Noah smiled and took Grace's hand again. "Just ignore it if you're still not comfortable with our marriage."
"About Aunt Gina's hospital fees, I paid for everything even before you accepted my proposal," Noah finally answered.
Grace gasped and now sat facing Noah, saying, "You did that? So you deliberately set me up with the option to get married? So what if I refuse to marry you?"
"So what? I have two million percent confidence that you will accept this marriage proposal. Besides, if you refuse, you can't run away from the debt I've already incurred for your mother's hospital fees."
"I'm sure my beloved is still the same woman as before. You never run away from responsibility."
Grace almost cried with annoyance at Noah's answer, as if it were no big deal.
"But don't think about all that anymore. Think of it as a little wedding gift from me since you're already my wife."
Grace burst into tears. She was upset that Noah's affection and trust for her were so great, while she had dimmed her love for Noah and turned it into hatred so that she could survive life after Noah left her.
"I'll always be a foolish man when it comes to you, darling." Noah caressed Grace again and wiped away her tears.
"And your second obligation after becoming my wife. You can't cry sad tears anymore. Even if you still want to cry, those tears should only fall because you can no longer contain my love for you."
Instead of stopping crying, Grace burst into even more tears.
"Can I hug my wife already? Please, honey, I can't take it anymore."
Grace had not yet lost her confusion and sadness. Noah, who had just asked, immediately hugged Grace, even before Grace answered until Grace could only continue crying while occasionally smiling in the arms of the man who had just married her.
"If I hadn't pushed you so hard earlier, I might not have been able to hug you like this. From now on, don't think about anything alone. You already have me, and vice versa. I don't allow you to be sad anymore, so please work together to make our household happy, darling."
In that warm embrace, Grace enjoyed a different feeling. It was as if she were unreal and back in the world of before, where Grace had always felt so happy with Noah by her side.
"Don't think about money anymore. No matter how much money I give you, it's not enough to pay for my happiness to be with you again like before."
Grace, who was beginning to calm her breathing and sobs, began to release Noah's embrace from her. She accepted that Noah's affection was indeed that proud and that he was the man Grace loved.
"Noah, thank you so much. I don't know what or how to tell you. I'm confused by all this." Grace sincerely thanked him.
"You just being born on this earth makes me so grateful. Just be my obedient, cute wife, and don't change a bit from the Grace I know. I only need you by my side. Nothing else."
Noah's words always soothed Grace. If that was the case, how else was she supposed to answer the doubts in her heart?
"Then what about your fiancé? What about your parents if they find out we're married? And my mom? She'll be even more shocked than this," Grace worried again.
"I'll figure it all out later. For now, let me enjoy the victory of having you. Everything else is not more important than you, Grace," Noah replied, kissing his wife's forehead again.
It was almost dark when Noah's 14-billion-dollar Aston Martin finally entered the hospital area of Great Eden Hospital Center, and Noah parked his car in the parking lot reserved for the doctors there."Can I come in? I want to see Aunt Gina for a minute," Noah asked as Grace busily unbuckled her seatbelt."You want to come in to see my mom, but she's still in surgery, right? And what if my mom gets sick again after seeing you?""I can't keep you company in there anyway. I'm going straight to work after confirming the payment of the hospital bill, and even now I'm already running late," Grace said with an honest answer."Alright then. I'll visit Aunt Gina later when she's better.""For God's sake, I don't want to hide our marriage from Aunt Gina for long," he said as he stroked Grace's cheek."Already, hurry up and get inside," Noah replied, a little disappointed because he wanted to continue being with Grace even though it was a hospital, not a place to date."Hmm, I'll go in first.
'Noah Blair? I think I've heard that name before. It can't be Noah Blair, the sole heir of Cruise International, Zara Jones' fiancé, right?' Jonathan was still trying to remember the name of the man in front of him."Noah, you don't have to say anything to him. Just get out of here." Grace didn't want Noah to reveal their relationship to Jonathan unnecessarily."Come on, so the reason you're rejecting me is because you already have another guy paying off your mom's hospital bills, right? Ok, I get it," he said with a mocking smile."You're a doctor here, right? I'll make sure you receive your termination letter from this hospital if you don't watch your tongue. So now you just remember my name and stay away from my women!" Noah spoke firmly and immediately drew a clear line for Doctor Jonathan."Okay, clear enough for me," Doctor Jonathan answered Noah directly before turning to Grace. "Grace, thank you for everything. I'm sure I'll repay you someday." He said it irritably and left wi
Now, Noah's expression was colder than before he left Grace just a moment ago. He was sure the call from his mother was not as simple as expressing her longing for her son."What else is Mom up to?" he muttered in annoyance.Less than forty-five minutes passed before Noah finally arrived at his family's large mansion. As he got out and was greeted by the doorman, Noah saw a new luxury car parked there."Did my mom buy another car?" Noah asked the doorman who received his car keys."No, Mr. Noah. That's not Madame's car. It's Madame's guest car."Hearing the answer from one of the workers at the family mansion made Noah raise one eyebrow suspiciously."Well, park my car out front. I won't be here long," Noah ordered before entering the main door of the house.Just as he entered, Noah immediately noticed that there was someone other than Mrs. Sayla smiling and welcoming him into the living room."Noah, welcome. Come quickly, son. Zara's been waiting for you, you know!" Mrs. Sayla greete
Noah left his mother in anger. He went down the stairs and then passed Zara, saying, "You're coming with me." He said it coldly.Zara was both excited and anxious, but she nodded and followed Noah out of his parent's house.Noah opened the car door and said, "Come in, we'll talk inside.""Hmm, okay," Zara replied without forgetting to smile gracefully.Noah started driving his car quietly and without looking at Zara for even a second. The atmosphere was awkward, and Zara didn't know where to start."Why are you here? Don't you still have to be in London?" Noah began to ask."Hmm, I'm attending a meeting to discuss a fashion show collaboration I'm doing with a fellow designer. So I stopped by your parents' house first because I missed Uncle and Auntie," Zara answered very carefully. Noah's aura was so cold at the moment."I know what you guys are talking about isn't as simple as you say. Admit it, my mom discussed remarriage plans with you, right?" Noah's tone was colder this time."No
The truth was that Grace was still not used to it and needed a little more time to adjust to her relationship with Noah, but Noah's unyielding nature could only make Grace sigh heavily."I told you that you don't have to pick me up tonight. I can go back to my mom's by myself," Grace commented."I also told you that I would pick you up when you got off work. So don't complain too much," Noah answered calmly, but Grace realized that something was different."You don't have to stay at your mom's place anymore because we're going to live together," Noah ordered.Grace immediately refused.Noah looked at her with a complicated expression on his face. "We're already husband and wife, so we won't be living separately after we get married, right? Unless you think that with all that I've done to you, you'd be willing to let me live a lonely, dry life.""And if I get sick, then you'll ask me for a divorce. For anything, Grace. I still think that you have a mind to ask me for a divorce.""I did
Noah, who saw Grace's gloomy silence, gently tugged on Grace's chin to make them look at each other again."What are you thinking about again? Is something still missing this time?" Noah asked softly while caressing his wife's cheek.Grace shook her head softly and said, "Nothing. Everything is enough for me. It's just...""It's just what?" Noah asked again."It's just that I'm still afraid of my mom and your parents if they find out we're married. It's like a time bomb ready to explode at any moment," Grace said glumly."Even if it does go off, you won't get hurt because I'll protect you. Can't you still trust me?" Noah reaffirmed the protection of his love for Grace until Grace burst into tears.Noah kissed the tears streaming down his wife's beautiful face. He replaced the tears of sadness with the warmth of his lips."Fight your fear. Where is the Grace I know who dares to face anything, anyone? Why do you have to break down and sadden yourself just because of what outsiders say a
It was already 2 a.m., but Noah, who had finished cleaning up, was still busy with a pair of new toys in his hands until the exhausted body owner protested against her husband's naughty behavior."Noah, please. What time is it?""2 am," Noah replied casually as he savored the softness of the squishy creation of God. He was enjoying his new, eternal addiction.Grace sighed heavily, her body already exhausted from keeping up with her husband's unbelievable stamina. With her eyes reluctantly open, she grumbled again, "Don't you get tired of holding my boobs?""I'd have to be the biggest fool to get bored with a wonderful wife like you," Noah replied softly as he kissed Grace's exposed back. "Well, you go to sleep. I'll wake you up later.""You should sleep too; you're leaving early tomorrow, right?" Grace responded in her half-consciousness. She could no longer bear her sleepiness and tiredness.Noah just smiled. He freed his arms from Grace's body so that she could sleep comfortably in
Grace managed to escape the drama of Noah's love that kept wanting to hug her, kiss her, and end up making love again. With her footsteps struggling to walk normally, Grace arrived at the hospital."Eve, there's a new patient who came in last night, right? What room is it in now?" Grace, who had just arrived, immediately asked Eve, a fellow nurse who would be alternating shifts with her.After Eve explained that the newly arrived VVIP patient had been temporarily secured, they sat down at the nurses' station to chat."Hmm, that's... The room your mother should be in," With a scared look, Eve finally told the truth, "Because that's the only room with facilities equivalent to this type of patient, Grace. I'm sorry, I should have confirmed with the patient's family first even though the room hasn't been used yet," now she felt very guilty.Eve felt guilty because she knew that Grace's mother would be in the room after the doctor confirmed that she could be discharged from the ICU. But si