Right after dropping his first reminder about not going out all on her own, Adrian goes on and lectures Cassidy about how security and safety should always come first.

“Don’t wander off without your bodyguards. Have them with you even outside of the mall’s comfort room. Don’t talk to strangers too, and don’t entertain anyone if they recognize you as a Millicent. Most of the time, those people are bad news,” he explained for the tenth time that minute. 

​​

“Okay, okay… I get it, boss. Geez…” she trailed off with an exhausted sigh.

“I feel like I’m some kindergarten who’s going to school for the very first time.”

“You know you should hear it. The reason why I’m conducting an investigation in the first place is because there are threats around you. In fact, you shouldn’t really be leaving the house right now.”

“Might as well lock me up, then.”

“I wouldn’t do that. Other than the fact that it would only be futile since you’re fond of sneaking around, I know you wouldn’t want to be locked up.”

Again, Cassidy is noticing the change. 

Adrian did not say that she loved making troubles and bothering people just like how he used to before. Perhaps, this one hundred eighty turn of his had really something to do with their argument before the storm came yesterday. She could still clearly remember how he got so vexed that he somewhat put the blame on her.

“Until now, I can’t move on from that. Maybe, not any sooner either,” she pondered quietly as she narrowed and cast down her gaze.

For now, though, Cassidy would just see this change of treatment as Adrian’s way of properly fulfilling his obligations for once. They can be empty acts for all she knows. He’s only probably trying to make up for every insensitive remark and all the negligence that he had done. 

As for why exactly he would suddenly go this far even after treating her badly for five long years, she thought that he might have just realized that his cold behavior was already turning inhuman.

“If you already understood everything, I’d be going ahead now,” Adrian chimed in again, interrupting her heavy pondering. 

That’s when Cassidy feels her eyes bulging wide open in surprise.

All of the sudden, her husband puts his hand on the small of her back and leans closer to her. With a pair of half-lidded eyes, he inches his face nearer to hers, throwing her off guard even more. Right then, she realizes that he’s going for a peck on her cheek.

The thought that he’s going to kiss her makes her hairs stand on end. Not only is that completely out of the blue, but it’s definitely crossing the line for her.

“Wait.”

As Cassidy firmly said that, she suddenly put her index finger on his lips, making Adrian pause and look at her in nonplus. She then frowns at him and scrunches her brows together for a bit, eyeing him displeasedly. 

“You’re going ahead of yourself. We’re not in that kind of relationship as far as I recall,” she muttered apathetically while arching an eyebrow.

“This is how you always bid me goodbye, Cassidy,” he replied enigmatically, mirroring her frown.

“I think ‘was’ is the correct term for that, and I bet that you ‘were’ just playing along.”

Adrian didn’t respond to that.

It’s true that he was just putting up with it every time her past self initiated such romantic gestures – even though he could’ve clearly rejected her and denied her the false hopes of gaining his love. He did say no to her sometimes, but nevertheless, none of those actions were genuinely affectionate. 

With all that said, he has no right to force this on her now that he caught feelings.

“I see…” Adrian sighed in dismay before stepping away.

“I’ll go ahead, then. I’ll see you later.”

“Sure. Goodbye,” Cassidy plainly bid, not getting rid of her nonchalant tone. 

Without uttering any more word, he turns around and heads to the door, eventually taking his leave.

As soon as he’s gone, she takes a look at his debit card on her hand. For some reason, she feels heavy. She’s torn between feeling genuinely thankful and taking the gesture with a grain of salt. It doesn’t seem like he’s using his money on her as a mean to earn her forgiveness, though – if ever that’s what he is aiming for, that is. 

Since he’s a billionaire who’s filthy rich enough to buy anything in the world, it is only expected that one of his ways to do something good for others is to use his money. Intentions are a bit tricky to figure out, but if his are indeed centered on her well-being and happiness, then he must have really changed and was finally treating her right. 

It could also be that he’s catching feelings at last. 

“Catching feelings, huh…” Cassidy thought out loud with a scowl marring her frame.

“How absurd… Thinking about everything that my past self sacrificed for him, falling for me now’s absurd.”

She has a strong feeling that what she currently knows about the sacrifices she did in the past were only the tip of the iceberg. With her memories gone, she knows very little. Yet judging by everyone’s bad opinions of her and her mother-in-law’s abusive nature, she can sense that there’s more into the story.

At any rate, she can’t find it in herself to trust anyone in this family too much. 

“Hopefully, I can get my memories back soon.”

—

Later that morning, Cassidy feels like she hadn’t done any burdensome mulling-overs earlier.

In fact, she’s now all sunshine and rainbows.

That’s because she is finally going shopping in a mall. All she did in this kind of establishment before was stare at the store windows, pretend to be looking around, steal the smells of those mouth-watering dishes served in some fancy restaurants and most of the time, just simply chill around the area while making use of its free air-conditioners. 

Therefore, this is her first time buying a bulk inside this money-eating place. 

“Where should I start? Maybe eat somewhere first? I wasn’t able to have breakfast since I got too excited,” Cassidy mused silently as she sauntered through a crowd of onlookers.

In reality, she’s just distracting herself with her train of thoughts right now.

She doesn’t want to face the kind of situation that she got into again. That’s not only because she doesn’t have much choice here, but it’s also for the reason that this can potentially ruin her first shopping experience.

 It just happened that four eye-catching gentlemen were keeping Cassidy company the whole time, consequently gathering attention. They’re not phenomenally attractive, but what made them eye-catching was how they appeared to the crowd. With their tall heights towering over her and their black and white uniforms on, they can easily turn people’s heads.

Two of them are walking at each of her side. They’re even wearing shades and those earpieces that serve as some wire surveillance. With all these, she appears like a famous celebrity who’s going to be confronted by fans in any minute.

“This is just like last night when bossman’s the one with me. I did ask them to change clothes, but they kindly reject the idea. Maybe it’s part of their etiquettes as bodyguards or something,” Cassidy mumbled to herself before sighing in defeat. 

She feels a little stiff and restrained, though she doesn’t really want to complain since this is important for her safety. Her husband wasn’t taking the subject of security lightly, which she somehow agreed to even though she didn’t say it out loud earlier.

“At any rate, these guys have to loosen up at the very least. I can’t really do anything about the attention we’re getting, but…” Cassidy whispered to no one in particular, looking ponderous all the while.

“Oh, I know!”

That’s when she suddenly came up with something. 

Her idea was put into action the moment they arrived at an ordinary food chain. She really didn’t find it exciting to eat in a fancy restaurant for now since she already felt stiff and tense enough. That’s why she just chose to eat breakfast here –

Along with her four bodyguards.

“Eat up guys! It feels awkward to eat on my own while you’re standing around, so sit down and have some for yourselves,” Cassidy offered to them with an ebullient grin. 

With a nonplussed expression on each of their faces, her bodyguards just go ahead and reluctantly join her in the table. They really don’t have any choice but to obey, especially since their original boss did remind them that his wife should be comfortable in their company. 

Nevertheless, they think that this is quite an odd thing to happen, considering that she is supposed to be part of the prominent yet detached Millicent family. Eating in the same table with one of them feels like a great honor – almost as if it’s royalty they’re going to eat together with. 

In reality, though, she doesn’t have any big or serious reason as to why she makes this offer. 

“Well then, dear gentlemen, I’ll have you act like my playmates for now. That way, it’ll feel like I’m just shopping with my friends,” was what Cassidy really thinking the whole time.