Hidden Marriage: Sweetie, No Way To Run Away

Cora Xi stared at her boss with her eyes wide in shock.

'Why is he asking me to interview my husband?' she wondered anxiously.

No one in her company knew that Winson Chu, CEO of the Winson Media, was her husband...on paper, at least.

But even though their marriage was only nominal, it didn't mean that she liked watching him be dissolute.

She hesitated for a few seconds, wondering how to refuse the task. However, the editor-in-chief ignored her expression and said seriously, "You know that Winson is a prominent figure in our city's entertainment circle. It's very important to complete this task. It would be even better if you can get Winson to introduce his lover."

Then, he handed her a note and waved her off, dismissing her from his office. Cora Xi sighed and walked out of the office with a sullen expression on her face.

Thinking back now, she remembered that as soon as she had arrived at the company this morning, she had heard a group of people gossiping about Winson Chu.

Recently, the paparazzi had caught Winson Chu spending the night with a mystery woman. Photos of the two of them had popped up all over the internet, causing a great uproar.

All the media outlets had flocked to Winson Chu to get a comment from him, but he had unexpectedly chosen the Starry Newspaper for an exclusive interview.

"Cora! Earth to Cora!"

Cora Xi, who was lost in her thoughts, snapped back to reality upon hearing a man calling her. She looked up and saw her colleague, Bruce He.

"Finally. It's time to go, Cora.

Let's go," said Bruce He.

Cora Xi smiled lightly, trying to put her worries aside. Since she and Winson Chu were destined to cross paths again, she could only grit her teeth and move forward. She quickly grabbed her things and followed Bruce He to the main road, where they flagged down a cab and headed to their destination together.

"Have we reached, Cora?" Bruce He asked with a gasp when the car finally rolled to a stop.

Amused by his words, Cora Xi teased him, "It's just a villa. Why are you so surprised?"

Bruce He widened his eyes in awe. "It's not a villa. It's a palace!"

Cora Xi shook her head with a smile, feeling much more relaxed after the car ride.

"Let's go," she said, getting out of the car. With a polite and restrained smile on her face, she steadily walked towards the villa.

As they slowly walked past the gate, they noticed tall sculptures on both sides of the gate, which stood there as if they were guarding the villa.

Taking a deep breath, Cora Xi rang the doorbell.

Soon, a young man in a suit and leather shoes opened the door.

"Please come in. He is waiting for you two in the living room," he said politely, his eyes lingering on Cora Xi's face for a moment.

Cora Xi noticed his gaze, of course, but she pretended not to. This young man's name was John Cheng, and he was Winson Chu's right-hand man. Naturally, she knew him very well. She also knew that he had a bad impression of her.

Nevertheless, she smiled indifferently and walked into the room with her head held high.

The living room was done up with tasteful antique decor that would take away the breath of anyone who walked in. Winson Chu sprawled lazily on the sofa in the middle of the room. His eyes were slightly narrowed, and the corners of his lips were turned up into the smallest of smiles.

Even though they hadn't seen each other for a long time, the enchanting image of Winson hadn't faded away in Cora's mind.

She sighed in her heart, but on the outside, she put on a serious expression, trying to be as professional as possible. "Hello, Mr. Chu, I am..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Winson interrupted her. "Where is my wife?"

He stared at Cora's prudish and old-fashioned clothes with obvious disgust in his eyes. As for her face, he didn't recognize it at all.

His question took Cora by surprise, and she stayed silent, biting her lower lip in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"Sir, this is Miss Cora," John Cheng answered with a flustered expression on his face.

With a bitter smile, Cora took off her black-framed glasses and calmly asked, "Mr. Chu, why did you ask to see me?"

Bruce was so nervous and stunned that his hands started sweating, coating the camera that he was holding. He looked back and forth between Cora and Winson with evident surprise in his eyes.

Cora quietly looked at Winson for a reaction. They hadn't seen each other for almost five years.

The last time she had seen him was when she had moved out of this magnificent cage to work alone. If it hadn't been for this interview, she might never have taken the initiative to see him again.

After all, she was the bride that Winson had spent thirty million dollars on. Her father had personally pushed her into Winson's arms. In front of this man, she had neither dignity nor self-esteem. As far as she was concerned, it was better not to face him.

Her only goal for the time being was to make enough money to pay off her debts. Only in that way could she really gain freedom.

Seeing that Winson stayed silent, Cora smiled, "Mr. Chu, you've taken great efforts to see me. There must be a reason."

Winson frowned slightly as if he was very dissatisfied with her. Ignoring her question, he said, "Your clothes are really unappealing to look at."

"Why did you want to see me, Mr. Chu?" Cora repeated firmly, though the smile on her face had gotten even more forced after hearing his words.

John Cheng winked at Winson so many times that he almost felt one side of his face cramp up. It was only then that Winson managed to restrain himself. He leaned back and said in a bored voice, "You have to move back today. My parents will arrive tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Cora's smile disappeared in an instant.

Although she wanted to refuse, she couldn't say no.

She had no right to refuse the creditor's request. What was more, Winson's parents had always been nice to her and treated her like their own daughter.

Besides, as long as she could get through one more month, the five-year period they had agreed upon would come to an end. After that, she would be free! That was the agreement they had made when they had gotten married.

As Cora recalled that, she felt a bit relieved. She put on her glasses and said expressionlessly, "Can we start the interview now, Mr. Chu?"

Winson snorted. "Of course."

Cora took out the note that her editor-in-chief had given her, and felt astonished when she read it.

'What the hell is it? Are these actual questions for the interview?

How many lovers does he have? The size of their bust, waist, and hips?' she thought unhappily.

Then, she stuffed the note back into her pocket and asked freely, "There was a rumor that you spent a night with a mystery lady. Is that true, Mr. Chu?"

"Ahem!" John coughed violently and winked a few more times at his boss. However, Winson ignored him and glanced lazily at Cora. "What do you think? Since my wife doesn't stay with me, I have to find someone else."

Ignoring the jab at her, Cora continued, "Then who was that mystery lady?"

"Oh, she's 36E," Winson said, casting a meaningful glance at Cora's chest.

Cora stiffened and pursed her lips in anger. 'What does he mean? Does he look down on my A cup?

Calm down! Don't be mad!' she told herself, fearing that she wouldn't be able to help tearing Winson apart on the spot.

On the other hand, Winson, who usually looked cold and mature in public, had a triumphant sneer on his face.

Cora sighed in her heart. She knew that trying to deal with this man would piss her off to no end.

She really didn't want to see him anymore, so she asked him a few more questions and hastily ended the interview.

As a matter of fact, Cora and Winson had only spent a few days together after getting married. As soon as Winson's parents had left to travel the world, Cora had also left the villa.

When she was only eighteen, her father, Felix Xi, had sent her directly to the Chu family in exchange for thirty million dollars. Fortunately, Winson's parents had treated her like their own daughter, which had diluted the panic in her heart.

After that, although she lived in the Chu family's house, she never saw Winson, the man who had "bought" her.

Two years passed that way. It was only when she turned twenty years old that Winson suddenly appeared and completed the marriage formalities with her.

That night, in order to celebrate their wedding, he had insisted on drinking, and the two of them had ended up sleeping together.

Unexpectedly, Winson had gotten Cora pregnant that night.

Thinking of her child, Cora's face softened involuntarily.

When Bruce came over to help her pack up her things, he kept stealing glances at her.

Cora turned her gaze to him and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Scratching his head, Bruce smiled mischievously and said in a low voice, "I finally know your true identity now."

Cora rolled her eyes and shook her head. Just as she stood up to leave, the sound of high-heeled shoes approached the room.

She looked up to see a tall and slender woman walk in with a seductive smile on her face. Her ample bosom, which was spilling out of her tight-fitting top, made Bruce's jaw drop open in surprise.

Cora coughed slightly and twisted Bruce's arm hard. It was only then that he looked away, wincing in pain.

The woman puffed out her chest even more as she walked past the two of them before sliding onto Winson's lap and giving him a deep kiss.

Winson smiled and turned to Cora. "36E," he said by way of introduction.

Then, he turned back to the woman on his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. Encouraged by his movements, the woman leaned in to kiss him once again.

If it hadn't been for John's desperate coughing, they might have advanced to making love right there on the sofa.

"Do you need a cough drop?" Winson snapped, finally pulling away from the woman and shooting a vicious glare at John. Then, he turned to Cora and Bruce, as if only just noticing them. "Are you two going to be the third wheel?"

Before Cora could react, "36E" said in a sweet voice, "Winson, I want to act in a TV series. You promised me."

Winson obviously enjoyed being seduced by this beautiful woman. He immediately said, "John, contact Director Feng. Let's have dinner together tonight."

As Cora watched this, she felt goose bumps all over her body. She wasn't someone who would let herself be trampled over, so she playfully said, "See you tonight, honey."

Her feigned flirtatious voice seemed to have hit a nerve, because "36E" immediately turned around and stared at Cora with contempt. "Who the hell are you? How dare you call Winson 'honey'?

He's not a man with no taste!" After saying that, she scoffed.

Cora smiled brightly and said, "Taste? You mean he likes cow?"

Winson withdrew his arms and laughed. Pushing "36E" off his lap, he stood up and walked slowly towards Cora. He stretched out his right hand and said, "Welcome back, my wife."

"36E" was so flustered to hear this that she involuntarily asked, "What?"

Winson turned his head and gave her a cold look that made her shut up in an instant.

The malice in his eyes had jerked her back to the reality that Winson was not a little dog that she could play with, but a cruel wolf that she should be afraid of. She couldn't afford to offend him. Therefore, she gritted her teeth and glared at Cora.

She hadn't expected that such an ugly old woman could be Winson's wife.

Cora, who had gained a lot of experience as a reporter in the past few years, had a pair of sharp eyes and could easily see through what "36E" was thinking.

Although she regarded Winson as a stranger and didn't care about his affairs at all, the fact was that she would have to stay in this villa from now on. Thinking of him having sex with another woman here made her feel sick.

Therefore, as long as she was going to live in this house, it was necessary for her to set some clear boundaries.

"Honey, ask her to leave. I don't want anyone to disturb me while I'm here. Okay?" she said in a strict tone.

"Of course." Winson turned to John and ordered, "John, please send Miss Linda back."

John nodded and immediately escorted Linda out. As Linda walked away, she turned and shot one last glare at Cora, seething on the inside.

However, Cora ignored her completely. In the spacious living room, only Winson, Cora, and Bruce were left.

Now that she had finished the interview and packed up all her things, Cora left the villa without hesitation. Her colleague, Bruce, hurried along behind her.

She strode so quickly as if she had something urgent to attend to that she didn't notice Winson's unreadable gaze on her.

He had never imagined that the gentle little girl he had met five years ago would have become what she was now. He had thought that he would meet an enchanting beauty, but to his surprise, she had become an uptight woman who dressed like a professor.

Thinking of her black-framed glasses and the self-righteous look on her face, Winson couldn't help smiling. He knew that the next few weeks would be entertaining, to say the least.

After walking out of the villa, Bruce stared at Cora as if she was an alien. Cora resisted the urge to roll her eyes and said, "What? It's not a big deal."

Bruce's jaw dropped as he looked back at the enormous villa and then at Cora again. "I feel so proud after finding out that you are the hostess of this villa!"

Cora didn't know whether to cry or to laugh. "What do you have to to be proud of?"

"I'm the first one to know your true identity, duh!" Bruce replied with a triumphant smile on his face.

Cora shook her head helplessly and told him not to reveal her identity to anyone else. Once they arrived back at the company building, they parted ways.

As Cora walked into her office, she received a photo on WeChat from her daughter's nanny, Betty.

The photo showed a drawing of three people on a piece of paper. It was obvious who the three people were supposed to be from the prominent features⁠-Betty's apron, Cora's uniform with blue stripes, and Jelly's pigtails⁠-on each of the figures.

As Cora lovingly gazed at the picture, a signature on the lower right corner of the paper caught her eye. The words "My mommy and nanny" were written in a childish handwriting.

Looking at that, Cora smiled with tears in her eyes. Because of her busy schedule, she had gotten a nanny to take care of Jelly. However, she didn't know whether it was the right thing for her daughter's growth.

At this moment, she suddenly doubted the way she was raising her child. But anyway, as a single mother and a working woman, she had no other choice, so she quickly shook the thought out of her head and turned her attention to her work.

After work, as soon as she walked out of the company building, a Bentley parked on the roadside slowly approached her before slowing to a stop. Winson's assistant, John, got out of the driver's seat.

"Mrs. Chu, let me drive you home," John said politely.

Cora was startled by his sudden appearance. She looked around to make sure that none of her colleagues were around before getting into the car.

"John, I haven't packed my things yet," she said when she realized that John was driving straight towards the Chu family's villa.

Looking straight ahead and keeping his hands on the steering wheel, John replied, "Mr. Chu said that your clothes were not satisfactory, so you don't need to bring them."

Cora gritted her teeth, knowing that Winson wouldn't have worded it nearly as politely. He must have said something like, "Don't let her bring anything that will pollute my eyes."

The sky was getting dark by the time the Bentley drove into the garage of the villa. Cora quickly sent a message to Betty, informing her that she wouldn't be back for a while and telling her to take good care of Jelly. Then, she stepped out of the car and smiled slightly.

Part of her was glad to be back. After all, it was indeed a beautiful villa, and she had a lot of memories here. But a lot had changed in the five years since she had left.

She slowly walked to the window and looked at the blue and violet hyacinth plants in the backyard, as if in a trance. Once upon a time, this had been her favorite garden. 'But now, this sea of flowers belongs to another woman,' she thought sadly.

"Why are you still dressed like this?" Her moment of indulging in nostalgia was interrupted by Winson's voice.

Cora turned with a dignified expression on her face. "Hello, Mr. Chu."

Winson walked over to her with a frown. "Is that how you're going to address me in front of my parents?" Then, he abruptly leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Why don't you call me 'Darling,' my dear?"

Cora hurriedly took a half step back. "No way!

That's so corny." Then, seeing that Winson still seemed to be thinking of ideas, she quickly added, "No need to bother. I'll just call you 'Winson.'"

"That's fine by me, my dear Cora."

Cora rolled her eyes. She didn't want to argue with him, so she sidestepped him and walked to the living room.

It was only after having dinner that she realized that she had a serious problem to face.

"Where am I going to sleep? Have you arranged a separate bedroom for me, like before?" she asked.

"What are you talking about? You're going to sleep with me, of course," Winson said in a matter-of-fact tone. Then, seeing the unhappy look on her face, he said slowly, "Do you want Dad and Mom to see us separated?"

Cora lowered her head in chagrin, knowing that she couldn't argue. Winson knew well that no matter how much Cora disliked him, she wouldn't do anything that would cause his parents to worry about their marriage.

Nevertheless, the disdain in her eyes got on his nerves.

With a frown, he snapped, "What kind of look is that? There are countless women who want to sleep with me. You should think of it as an honor."

Cora rolled her eyes at him and teased, "Yes, you're right. You're such a famous playboy. The number of women who have slept with you could probably form a small village, right?"

Winson was taken aback by the sudden ridicule, and the smirk on his face soured. Suddenly, as if a thought had occurred to him, he slowly approached Cora step by step with a cunning smile on his face.

Then, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "What are you doing?" Cora protested immediately, squirming in his grip.

Winson lifted a few strands of her hair with his hand and sniffed it gently.

At such a close distance, Cora could almost hear Winson's heartbeat, and her sense of smell was suddenly overwhelmed by Winson's scent. Her face turned red and her heart began racing.

Finally, Winson dropped the strands of hair that he was holding and took a step back. His voice was dripping with disdain as he asked, "Why don't you use perfume?"

"You bastard!" Cora shouted, raising her foot and aiming at Winson's crotch.

But before she could make contact, Winson shifted slightly, dodging her attack.

Winson chuckled and pulled her back into his arms. "What a fiery woman. Come with me, my dear wife."

Then, he suddenly swooped her up and carried her to the third floor without breaking a sweat. In the two years that she had lived in this villa, the third floor was the one place that she hadn't been to, because it was Winson's private quarters.

Since this was the first time she was seeing it, she took in every detail. The walls and decor were all minimal with earthy tones. Winson's bedroom, in particular, looked extremely minimal and cold. There was nothing but a huge bed in the middle of the room, and a large French window that revealed the stars outside.

"Maybe you should take a shower, especially to wash off the mess on your face," Winson said bluntly. He really didn't like the make-up that she had on her face.

Once again ignoring his insult, Cora said, "I don't have any clothes to change into." She didn't know why, but she wasn't willing to give in Winson at all.

However, Winson just smiled and said, "Don't worry. I have prepared some clothes for you. You really should learn how to dress from me."

Cora rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom to take a shower. When she was done, she opened the closet and froze after seeing the sight that greeted her.

The closet was filled with colorful clothes, as if she had accidentally entered a children's store.

'Is this his superior taste?'

she thought with a sour taste in her mouth. With a loud bang, she slammed the closet door.

However, when she saw the bath towel around her, she realized that she had no choice but to wear one of the clothes in the closet, so she opened the door again and tried to find something simple among the bright array of clothes.

It was no easy task, but after enduring the blinding colors,

she finally found a relatively ordinary nightdress. Although it was meant for sleeping, it was inlaid with gorgeous gold threads. There were also several huge gems sewed into the collar that dazzled in the light.

She awkwardly walked into the bedroom with her gaze lowered. As soon as Winson saw her, he smiled proudly, "Aren't you impressed by my taste?"

Cora couldn't help pouting in response as she reluctantly dragged her feet to the bed. 'She looks beautiful in these luxurious clothes,' Winson thought to himself.

Cora lay down on one side of the bed and pulled the quilt over herself. As the night grew deeper, she gradually became less alert and finally drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, she found that it was already dawn, and Winson was not in the room.

This time, she wandered around the villa and, fortunately, found a closet full of business suits. Feeling overjoyed, she quickly put one of them on.

When she went downstairs, she saw Winson sitting on the sofa, reading a document. As soon as he glanced at her, he frowned unhappily. "You have the same bad taste as John."

Hearing that, Cora lowered her head. It turned out that this suit belonged to John.

'Well, that's lucky for me,' she thought. "I'm going to work. When will your parents get here?"

Putting down the documents in his hand, Winson raised his eyebrows and said, "They'll arrive at eleven o'clock in the morning. There's a car outside for you. Take it to work. Remember to come back at noon." As he spoke, he pointed at the car key on the tea table.

Cora picked up the key and left.

However, when she saw the car parked outside, she felt like crying.

Five bold blue words were sprayed on the fiery red car: "Dear Cora, I love you!" Having no choice but to take the car, she got in and drove it to work with gritted teeth.

As soon as she arrived at the company building, the editor-in-chief called her to his office. "Write a draft of the interview yesterday and submit it to me as soon as possible. This is an exclusive news."

Then, he suddenly lowered his voice and smirked. "By the way, did you see Mr. Chu's lover? Well, I mean..." He raised his hands and let them hover over his chest. "How big are they?"

Stunned, Cora answered truthfully, "She is like a cow."

The editor-in-chief chuckled happily and waved her away, dismissing her with satisfaction.

Cora returned to her desk and looked at the photo of a one-year-old Jelly on her computer screen. Feeling energized all of a sudden, she couldn't help smiling and feeling like all her troubles had flown away.

After finishing her work for the morning, Cora left the office silently and hurriedly approached the car. Just when she was about to get in, feeling glad that none of her colleagues had noticed her, she suddenly heard a woman's voice behind her. "Cora, who gave you this car? Is it a rich old man? How corny."

The voice belonged to none other than Hermine Hu, another senior female reporter of the Starry Newspaper. Although Hermine Hu was good at her work, she always came second to Cora, so naturally, she had grown to resent her,

and took any opportunity she got to provoke Cora.

Cora sighed in her heart. It seemed that it had been impossible for her to sneak away. With a faint smile on her face, she said, "You're right. It is corny. It's bad taste."

While Hermine Hu was in a daze, Cora quickly got into the car and left the parking lot.

It was almost twelve o'clock when she arrived back at the Chu family's villa. Before she entered the living room, she heard the gentle voice of Winson's mother and froze,

feeling a little timid. Then, she took a deep breath and walked in slowly.