The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

With a smug smile, Rose arched her eyebrows and patted her rounded belly,

“We’ll just have to see how our son turns out. I just hope he doesn’t inherit your

emotional intelligence and end up driving his future wife away.”

“If that ever happens, it won’t just be about getting back at him for your sake,

we’ll be lucky if we can even keep our son around.”

As she spoke, Rose suddenly shivered.

“I have no idea if Damon will spoil his daughter. What am I thinking… Of course,

he will. I can’t even begin to imagine how far he’ll go. If our son ever crosses his

little princess, I dread to think what kind of crazed things he might do.”

Enter title…

Morrison frowned, torn between which matter to address first. Should he

comment on her dig about his emotional intelligence, or Damon’s potential for

madness?

But before he could get a word in, Rose had already taken a deep breath and

continued. “Anyway, it’s their own business. If our boy really does end up hurting

Little Moon’s feelings and gets a taste of his own medicine, he’ll have it coming,

right?”d2

She turned her gaze to Morrison with a swift shift in tone.

Morrison’s scalp tingled, “Why do I feel like there’s a hidden message in what

you’re saying?”

Rose chuckled, “Oh no, you’re just overthinking it. So, do you agree with me?”

That smile seemed eerily mischievous.

Morrison chuckled nervously, “Whatever you say is right, dear.”

Rose looked pleased, “Mm-hmm.”

—

Carrying twins was proving to be quite the challenge for Chloe. At eight months,

Damon had flown in the best doctors from overseas and had Jane on a 24-hour

watch by Chloe’s side.

In truth, Chloe was faring better than many other women expecting twins, but

when had Damon ever paid attention to the pregnancies of others?

He attended all of Chloe’s appointments, which were private, and he had only

seen a few other expectant mothers, all with single pregnancies. Next to Chloe’s

belly, they seemed to have it easy, making Damon even more cautious.

By the eighth month, walking had indeed become a struggle. Chloe graciously

accepted all the help she was given. There was no point in putting on a brave

face now.

Everyone around her was on edge, fearing any possible mishap, and to ease

their minds—and her own—she let them fuss over her.

Thankfully, she had daily visits from friends and family, so loneliness never had

a chance to set in.

Even Stanley would pop in now and then, sometimes disappearing for lengths of

time, and at other times appearing almost every day.

Damon had tried every trick in the book to keep Stanley at bay, and while

occasionally successful, Stanley had started to openly engage in a battle of wits

with him.

At home, Damon spent his spare moments strategizing how to handle Stanley.

At first, Chloe was concerned, but as it became apparent that their antics were

harmless, she relaxed and let them have their open confrontations.

Both Damon and Stanley could tell Chloe was worried, so they kept their rivalry

in check so as not to truly alarm her.

Lately, though, it seemed Damon had found an effective way to manage things.

—

Yulia arrived with Anya to visit Chloe, and as soon as they entered, Anya

scampered over to hug Chloe’s legs.

“Chloe, how are my little cousins doing?”

With motherhood on the horizon, Chloe saw Anya with newfound affection,

almost seeing her as a daughter. “They’re doing just fine, thank you for asking,

Anya,” she replied, her voice tender.

Anya’s big, round eyes fixed on Chloe’s belly, and after a moment of wonder,

she placed her chubby, delicate hand gently on it, patting softly. Then she

exclaimed with surprise, “They are my little cousins, so it’s only right for Anya to

care about them. I promise I’ll always protect them.”

Chloe smiled, “That’s very sweet of you, Anya. They might be quite

mischievous, though. Will you be okay with that?”

Anya shook her head confidently, “It’s okay. They’re little, so a bit of mischief is

forgivable. I will try my best to keep them from being too naughty.”

Her childlike voice was soft and endearing, trying so hard to sound “grown-up”.

The sight was utterly adorable. The thought of her children being pampered by

such a cute little aunt made Chloe’s heart swell with warmth.

As Yulia hung up her coat and joined them, she couldn’t help but smile at the

exchange between Anya and Chloe, though her expression was a mix of

amusement and resignation.

“Anya, be careful not to bump into Chloe, okay?”

“I am being careful,” Anya replied, then turned back to Chloe’s belly. “Are they

sleeping or playing now? Are they being naughty?”

Chloe chuckled, shaking her head, “They’re being good. Probably sleeping.”

“I see.”

Anya seemed a tad disappointed, probably eager to play with them. She then

climbed onto the nearby sofa, swinging her legs as she kept her eyes on

Chloe’s belly. “I’ll just wait quietly for them to wake up and then we can play.”

Yulia let out a resigned laugh and said to Chloe, “Ever since she saw them

move that one time, she’s been obsessed with coming over.”

“She’s welcome anytime. I get bored at home, and Anya is such a good girl. I

really like having her around.”

“Still, she’s young. You never know when she might accidentally cause trouble.”

Chloe smiled softly, changing the subject, “Did Nathan bring you guys over?”

Yulia’s smile faded slightly, “No, he’s been tied up lately.”

The change in her demeanor was noticeable.

Anya, who had stopped swinging her legs, chimed in, “Yeah, Nathan’s busy.

He’s always going to see pretty ladies now.”

Chloe’s brows knitted together, noticing Yulia’s discomfort, and directed her

attention to Anya. “Do you know this pretty lady?”

Anya shook her head, “I don’t. But I know that each time, the pretty lady is

different.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow, “Different?”

The conversation had taken an unexpected turn, one that seemed to carry the

weight of grown-up troubles, even in the innocent setting of a child’s

observation.

“Mmm, yeah, I’ve seen them, just yesterday afternoon Nathan took me to meet

them. Uh…”

Anya clapped a hand over her mouth mid-sentence, her wide eyes darting

between Yulia and Chloe, regretting her slip of the tongue.

Yulia, sensing something amiss, asked sternly, “Yesterday afternoon? Where did

you guys go?”

Anya shook her head.

Yulia didn’t say another word, but her face was a clear shade of angry.

Hesitating, Anya finally lowered her hand, her voice tiny, “I don’t know the place,

just that it was full of these really pretty ladies. Nathan and I were sitting in this

room, and a bunch of them were standing in front of us, all quiet-like, wearing

hardly anything.”

Chloe’s mind reeled. What in the world was Nathan up to?

Yulia’s expression was sour, and Chloe cast a worried glance at Yulia. Though

she was now Nathan’s sister-in-law, she couldn’t find any excuse to defend him.

Anya might be young, but her description was clear enough to hint at where

they had been.

A married man still playing the field was unacceptable. And to take Anya along?

Was he out of his mind?

“Anya, what happened next?”

Chloe asked, certain that with Anya in tow, Nathan wouldn’t have done anything

reckless. Sure enough, Anya said, “After that, he got all those pretty ladies’

numbers, and then he took me out for ice cream. Nathan told me not to tell

Yulipop. He’d get mad.”

Chloe let out a sigh of relief.

Yulia’s face softened somewhat, then she instructed Anya firmly. “You are not

allowed to go places like that again, got it? Doesn’t matter who takes you.”

Anya nodded vigorously, “Won’t happen again.”

Yulia smiled and patted Anya’s head, “That’s my girl.”

Chloe looked at Yulia, “Is that all you’re upset about?”

“Hmm?”

Yulia looked puzzled for a moment, then realization dawned, “It was a bit much

for him to take her there, given her age.”

“So you’re just upset about Nathan taking Anya to that kind of place, not that he

went there himself to find women?”

Yulia paused, her smile fading a touch, “Where he goes is his business. I can’t

be too controlling.”

“You are his wife,” Chloe stated emphatically, reminding her of the fact.

Yulia locked eyes with Chloe for a moment, then let out a sigh, “Chloe, you

know as well as I do, my marriage to Nathan isn’t what it seems to everyone

else.”

Chloe went silent.