Chapter 8 Your Husband

The last two days had taken a toll on Cassie. After a brief shower, she went back to her room. She turned up the heater and went to her desk to release the draft she had written in advance. Then she added, "This is for today. I'm sorry for being a little late. Hope everyone will enjoy reading it."

Her gaze then drifted to where the icon of a computer video game on her desktop was and almost instantly a sly smirk appeared on her face.

Looking into the screen with amusement, she took a screenshot and posted it on her micro-blog with a caption that read: 'Nothing can't be solved by playing a video game. If one game isn't enough, play two! "

Because all the lights were turned off in the room, the only illumination came from the computer screen right in front of her face. By the time she finished five rounds in the arena, Cassie felt completely rejuvenated, at least mentally.

The pure satisfaction and euphoria of winning five rounds in a row easily made her forget about Adam and Alice.

"Humph!" she muttered. "To my ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend: Go to hell! Men don't ever want to stop playing the field! There's no such thing as a good man in today's world! "

Just then, the screen darkened and a text appeared, stating that she had failed the game. Then the computer started to reload the map.

"Dammit! Bro, why didn't you use your skill and equipment ? I can't believe you just died before using them !" Cassie screamed through her microphone.

"I finished the twelfth stage of the last season and acquired 2500 points! Who do you think you are to tell me how to do this right?

" Clearly, her teammate had a short temper.

"So what if you got 2500 points last season? I don't care that you finished the twelfth stage arena! That was last season! Right now, you've just lost, fair and square !" Cassie retorted with conviction.

As soon as she finished those words, her phone started to ring. A little disgruntled, she turned off her microphone and answered the phone. "Who is this? Do you know what time it is?"

"This is your husband,"

said the person on the other end of the phone in a deep and calm tone. It was Dylan.

Despite him saying only a few words, the moment Cassie heard the tone of his voice, she panicked and almost dropped her phone on the floor.

"Should I be praising you for your relentless strength?" he said, phrasing it as a sarcastic taunt.

Even something as bad as an arm injury couldn't keep her from playing video games.

Cassie was a little taken aback. Then, she calmly asked, "I'm not so fragile. I'm not going to cry just because of a little wound on my arm. Also, how did you even get my phone number ? "

Then, quite impatiently, Dylan replied, "Did you really think I wouldn't be able to get your number? I can get anything I want, as long as I want to. It's late. You should go to bed."

How did he even know that she was still awake?

Cassie was still too bitter from the last defeat, so she smirked knowingly and said, "I was already in bed, but your call woke me up."

"Cassie, I would advise you not to lie to the CEO of a film and television company," said Dylan calmly.

Cassie responded with a disappointed sigh. "How did you know I was still awake?"

"Well, half an hour ago, you posted a picture on your micro-blog," Dylan answered flatly.

Cassie realized her folly immediately. "I'm going to bed now. Talk to you later!"

"Okay," answered Dylan before he hung up the phone.

After the call ended, Cassie looked at the phone number on her screen and said, "Hah! Do you really think that I'm just going to listen to your every command?"

Suddenly the voice of her teammate was heard from the computer. "Hey! What's taking you so long? Are you coming back or what? If you aren't, I'll just head to bed."

After taking a sip of water, Cassie turned on her microphone and answered, "Yeah, I'm still here."

"It's late, Cassie. Go to sleep."

All of a sudden, the voice from the computer started to sound a lot like Dylan. Cassie brushed it aside, thinking that she was just hearing things. She smiled, shaking her head and said, "Oh, Bro, you're pretty good in voice acting, huh?"

The man on the other end responded bluntly, "Not really."

What ? Cassie couldn't understand why their voices were sounding so alike.

Then, she suddenly felt a trace of fear and curiosity, as her heartbeat quickened at the prospect. She checked her screen and realized that there were three people in the channel. The third member had a guest badge on his name.

There was a certain kind of tenderness in Dylan's voice that she had never heard before.

Cassie panicked and without a conscious thought, she blurted, "Oh shit!" Her teammate was a little flustered by Cassie's behavior and said, "Well, it seems like your boyfriend is urging you to sleep. You better go to bed early tonight. Sleep tight!"

He quickly left the channel after saying that and now there were only two people left there. "Really? I already told you that I'm going to bed soon. Why did you have to go into my channel to try to catch me ? Also, how did you even find my voice channel ?"

"I already answered this question five minutes ago," said Dylan, before he left the voice channel without waiting for her response.

A short while later, the link to the game got terminated.

Cassie's phone screen lit up again. It was Dylan calling again. She grunted in anger and answered the call. She gritted her teeth together and said, "Hey! What did you do? Why is my computer suddenly acting up?"

"I asked someone to cut off the internet connection in your building," Dylan said coldly.

What? ? Damn! Did he really cut off the entire building's internet connection because she wanted to play video games ?

Cassie cursed at Dylan, but only in her mind, because she couldn't show him the slightest bit of anger.

"If you don't go to sleep right now, I'm not going to think twice about coming over to your house to keep my eyes on you. I promise, if that was the case, you wouldn't be able to get up tomorrow morning."

Cassie immediately changed the tone of her voice and urged him sincerely, "No! No! There is no need for that. I am going to bed right away! I promise!"

Dylan's tone finally softened as he said, "All right then. Good night."

Cassie casually responded, "Good night."

Meanwhile, at the LY Villa District of H City.

Dylan was standing by the window in fluffy pajamas. The thought of Cassie and her child-like naughtiness forced a smile on his face.

She had spent the last two days without rest and her arm was injured. If she didn't get enough sleep tonight, she wouldn't be able to handle all of tomorrow's trifles.

It was already eight o'clock in the morning when Cassie had finished preparing and was ready to head out. She packed her ID card and residence booklet inside an envelope just as Dylan had told her last night before she went downstairs.

Dylan handed her a brown paper bag which contained a sandwich and coffee that he had asked Simon to buy for her earlier this morning. "Eat your breakfast first."

As she hadn't eaten much the night before, Cassie was almost ready to wolf down that sandwich.

Cassie sat in the backseat of the car and ate the sandwich like a little schoolgirl, cheeks bulging in and out like a little hamster.

She finished her breakfast along the way as it took them about twenty minutes before they arrived at the funeral home in the suburbs.

As soon as she got off the car, a cold gush of air blew straight into her face. Almost immediately, her entire body shook like a dry leaf as she sunk her neck inside. If only she hadn't forgotten to wear a scarf today.

Dylan, however, noticed her predicament and removed his own scarf. As soon as Cassie figured out what he was about to do, she said, "No, I..."

However, before she could finish her words, Dylan cut her short. "If you catch a cold, you're going to cause me trouble." His tone was demanding and difficult to refuse.

A little embarrassed, Cassie allowed his strong hands to wrap the scarf around her neck.

His face was very stern and serious, but the warm sunshine softened his sharp features. After a while, he moved his hand away from her neck and took one of her cold hands.

With a gentle voice he had never used before, Dylan said, "Are you ready?"

Then, raising his eyebrows at her, he added, "You're allowed to cry this time, but not if it's going to be hysterical."

Cassie nodded compliantly.

The most frightening thing about funeral homes was not the cold corpses that lay there, but the heartbreaking cries of family and friends, and the reluctance that everyone had before a cremation.

Maggie's body had been kept in an ice coffin for the last three days, and now it was finally time to cremate it.

Although Cassie had thoroughly prepared herself to face this moment, by the time she had stood in front of Maggie's ice coffin, tears started rolling down her cheeks.