Chapter 2223

“Why did you bring me here?” Cecilia asked.

Nathaniel didn’t answer. He simply took her hand and kept walking.

He led her inside, and the first thing she saw was an arcade.

“What is this?”

“I’m taking you gaming,” Nathaniel replied.

Cecilia rolled her eyes. “Mason was right—you really are jealous.”

Nathaniel kept his posture stiff, his expression proud.

“I’m not jealous. I know you and Calvin are just friends.” He paused. “Didn’t you say you hardly ever play games? We’re free today, so I’ll play with you.”

As he spoke, he guided her to a coin-pusher machine.

Before she could even sit down, an attendant hauled over a massive bag of tokens and placed it beside her.

“Mrs. Rainsworth, please enjoy,” the attendant said.

Cecilia stared at the mountain of tokens, completely speechless.

Wasn’t the whole point of a coin-pusher to win tokens, not start out with a stockpile?

She looked at the bulging sack Nathaniel had dropped beside the machine. With the payout practically guaranteed, where was the excitement in that?

“By the way, why is everyone suddenly calling me ‘Mrs. Rainsworth’?” she asked, tilting her head toward Nathaniel.

Nathaniel answered without the slightest hint of apology. “You like arcades, so I had the staff turn this entire floor into one overnight. Anytime you feel like playing, we can come here together—just the two of us.”

Cecilia opened her mouth, then closed it again. No words came out.

And he still insisted he wasn’t jealous. Clearly, the scheming had started the night before.

She still had no idea who had taken those photos and sent them to Nathaniel.

“All right. I stayed up too late yesterday, so I really don’t feel like gaming today. Let’s head home,” she suggested.

Nathaniel shook his head. “No way. You spent ages playing with Calvin. I set work aside to pick you up and join you. You owe me some game time.”

He emphasized every word. “Actually, you should spend even longer playing with me.”

Cecilia sighed. The man was unbelievable.

“Fine.”

Keeping the peace at home mattered more than her patience, so she stayed and played with Nathaniel.

But Nicholas had frightened her the night before, and the lack of sleep was catching up with her. Mid-game, her eyelids began to droop as she struggled to stay awake.

Nathaniel noticed.

“Exactly how long did you two play?” he asked.

“We stopped around eleven,” she replied.

“Then when did you get up?” he pressed.

“Somewhere between seven and eight.”

“And you’re already this tired?”

He set the joystick aside and pulled her straight into his arms.

Resting against his chest felt like sinking into a soft mattress. All she wanted was sleep.

“I’m exhausted,” she murmured, her eyes refusing to stay open.

Nathaniel sighed and scooped her up. “Next time, remember to game with me first. I’ll let you off the hook today.”

Cradled in his arms, she drifted off almost instantly.

Nathaniel glanced down at the sleeping woman and couldn’t stop the smile tugging at his lips.

He carried her to the car and signaled the driver to take them home.

During the entire ride, he made sure nothing disturbed her rest.

Once they reached the bedroom, he gently slipped off her coat.

His fingers brushed the new scarf around her neck as he moved to loosen it.

The light touch jolted her awake. Her eyes flew open.

“What are you doing?”

Nathaniel froze, confused by her sudden alarm.

“You fell asleep. I was just taking off your coat and scarf. What’s wrong?”

She shot upright, her fingertips quickly checking her neck. Thankfully, the scarf was still in place.

“Leave it,” she said quickly. “I’m not sleepy anymore.”