Chapter 4

The weekend came and went, and Cassia was back at work early Monday morning. Thorn was still asleep when she left. She didn't wake him up because he didn't want to be woken up, so she just let it go. She did leave a decent breakfast on the table for him once he woke up. and now on her office table, she smiled politely when her boss, David Benzon, passed her table.

Cassia was thankful that Sir David didn't stop at her table again, like he used to. She is sure that Mariz will look at him again because she likes their boss and will make up a story to defame her. She works with her, and they are in the same department, so if possible, she doesn't want trouble, but this is always the one who starts it.

She always hears from her friend Zehannah, who is also her colleague but in another department, that she should forgive her because she is the one who can lift the mind; she is the one who understands, but sometimes Mariz really overdoes it. If her mother doesn't scold her for what she's doing, she'll definitely fight back physically.

That was why when her boss just walked past her table, she was pleased, but then her boss just had to ruin her day by coming back to her table.

In all honesty, her boss was handsome, but she wasn't just interested.

"Good morning, Cass." That baritone voice of his boss says, "Have you had breakfast yet?"

Cassia politely nodded. "Yes, sir."

Her boss sighed dramatically, "Cass, it's early Monday morning and you're already breaking my heart. I missed you so much last weekend. How about having lunch with me later?"

Cassia wants to tell her boss that she is married, but she has no proof to show. There wasn't even a ring on her finger, so she held her tongue and replied politely.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but Zehannah will have lunch with me later." David already knew who Zehannah was. How many times has Cassia made her best friend an excuse just to escape David's nagging? "But if it's okay for you to be with Zehannah, it's okay for me to have lunch with you."

David just sighed heavily. It knows that Cassia is just running away from temptation. In David's mind. 'Someday. You won't be able to run away from me, Cass.'

"How about dinner?" David still does not give up.

"I'll stop by the grocery store later." Cassia's lying.

"Let me accompany you then," David said quickly.

"I'm with Zehannah." Cassia added to the lie she was weaving.

David's shoulder fell. "If that is so, how about tomorrow? Have lunch with me?"

Cassia didn't really know what to say to make David feel that she didn't want him, but the secretary came to her to remind her of the meeting she had with the Advertising Manager for the promotional campaign to be done.

"Excuse me, Sir." Cassia stood up and left the table. "I have a meeting with the Advertisement Manager. I have to go. I can't be late."

David did nothing but let Cassia go. And as Cassia walked towards the elevator that would take her to the conference room, she heard gossip from Mariz's table.

"Why hasn't that girl left our department yet? Isn't she the owner's daughter?"

"Perhaps his parents see her as incompetent, so they don't want to give her a high position."

"It's embarrassing, daughter of the owner of the company, but the position is only assistant."

"And have you seen her car? Goodness! It's so old. I thought she was rich."

"And you know, that's why Sir David is courting her because of her parents. If it wasn't because of her rich parents, Sir David wouldn't be interested in her."

"Agree! I mean, look at her; she's not even that pretty. She looked so bland. I bet no one would be interested in her other than Sir David."

Cassia heard all that, but she pretended to be deaf and went straight to the elevator with her secretary.

"Ma'am Cassia, are you all right?" Cassia's secretary, Danna, asked with concern. "Just don't pay attention to what they say to you."

Cassia smiled at Danna and said, "I'm okay, Danna. Let's just focus on our work."

Danna nodded and silently followed her boss towards the conference room.

At the same time, In Thorn's house, Thorn just woke up and found himself alone on the bed. It seems that my wife has gone to work. Thorn thought as he yawned and got up.

My spouse. Thorn actually chuckled at those two words. Those words were so new to him, but they rolled off his tongue so smoothly.

Shaking his head, he entered the bathroom to shower. After showering, he immediately got dressed and went down to the kitchen to have coffee. He would not function well without coffee before going to work.

"Did Cinnamon have breakfast?" Thorn asked himself as he entered the kitchen. Then he was stunned while walking to see the stainless steel food cover on the table.

He frowned as he approached the table and lifted the stainless steel food cover to see if there was anything inside. To his surprise, there was a bacon and spinach scrambled egg and fried rice hidden inside, along with a yellow post-it note from his wife.

'Good morning. I'm no chef, but I cook breakfast. - Cinnamon'

Thorn couldn't help chuckling when he read 'Cinnamon' at the end. "She actually wrote Cinnamon and not Cassia." He laughed softly again, then took a fork to taste what his wife had cooked.

He is not used to eating breakfast. A cup of coffee is enough for him, but he doesn't want to waste his wife's cooked food. Using a fork, he tasted the bacon and spinach scrambled egg he made, and then he found himself sitting on the table to eat more.

It actually tastes better than he expected. "She can cook," Thorn mumbled while eating. His coffee was forgotten as he finished the breakfast his wife had made. He only remembered the coffee after he finished eating.

It had been a long time since someone cooked him breakfast, and he forgot his coffee. He shook his head, then cleaned up the food before making coffee.

After finishing his coffee, he left home and drove to his restaurant. He actually didn't need to be there; all his restaurant's branches had capable managers overseeing them, but he was also one of the main chefs in his own restaurant here in the country.

His restaurant was quite different from other restaurants. His restaurant had ten floors, and each floor offered a different cuisine—Filipino, French, Italian, Greek, Japanese, American, Caribbean, Thai, Spanish, and Mexican—and each floor had its own set of chefs. While he didn't belong to a specific floor, he helped any floor that needed an extra hand.

And it looks like today, a helping hand was needed on the French cuisine floor.

Arriving at his restaurant, Thorn immediately changed into his chef uniform in his office, and he was greeted by his employees while walking towards the kitchen.

Thorn immediately got involved in helping with the cooking as soon as he entered the kitchen. Everyone was busy, especially when lunch came. Each floor was packed with customers enjoying their food while they worked their asses off in the kitchen with agility and precision.

They just rested after lunch and ate very little. It was already two in the afternoon. and as the chefs took turns to rest, Thorn couldn't help overhearing the conversation the two women chefs on the French cuisine floor were having on their break while he was assisting the head chef.

"Oh my God! That's beautiful." A female chef said, "Does he have to propose to you?"

"Just last night," Chef Stef replied excitedly, "it's a shame because I can't always wear this ring. I'm just eating now, but later, when I get back to work, I'll take it off again."

"That's fine; what are you doing? But the ring he gave you is beautiful. Your wedding ring is definitely better than that."

At that point, Thorn, who was overhearing the conversation, stopped what he was doing to curse himself for forgetting one of the most important parts of his marriage. Shaking his head at himself, Thorn finished cooking and let the head chef take over.

He then left the kitchen and went to his office on the top floor of the building.

He took the cell phone he left on the table when he got dressed earlier and called one of his friends who could help him. After setting an appointment, because of the traffic, Thorn went to meet his friend early at his friend's store, and he took his time choosing the best of the best for him when he arrived at the store.

By quarter to six, he had already finished choosing, and he was now on the way home. When he was about to enter the gate of the Bachelor's Village, he was stunned to see his wife's familiar car also entering the village.

Thorn honked at his wife, who honked back, making him chuckle. Upon entering the village, Thorn was at the back while his wife's car was in front of him. When they got to the outside of the house, Thorn used the gate remote to open it, and then his wife's car entered before him.

Thorn smiled at his wife as they both got out of their cars. Cassia smiled back, but Thorn could see how worn out she looked.

"Are you okay?" Thorn took the handbag, then the cloth briefcase that Cassia was carrying, and then he lifted it up.

Cassia nodded tiredly.

To Cassia's answer, Thorn immediately opened the door of the house and let his wife inside first.

"Rest for a while, then soak in the bathtub after dinner. Warm water will help you relax." Thorn suggested to his wife that she immediately sit on the sofa in the living room. "What do you want for dinner?"

Cassia shook her head, then was forced to stand up to go up to the room. "I'm still full. I ate a lot for lunch. I just want to rest."