Chapter 22

Beckett was taken aback as he saw Vivianne, but he didn't show it. He calmly set down his phone before sizing Vivianne up with a glance.

“It's too early. You should sleep more,” said Beckett, raising a brow as he played with his lower lip using his fingers. “Or… should I help you sleep?” he added, teasing her.

But Vivianne didn't respond. She just remained silent with a furrowed brow, gazing at the man, something that puzzled and slightly scared Beckett.

'Did she hear me talking? I thought she was sleeping,' Beckett thought before giving Vivianne another look.

Vivianne was wearing his white polo with only underwear underneath. Her hair was slightly messy, and her eyes were still sleepy. Instead of thinking about whether Vivianne had caught him, something else started to play in his mind.

He wanted to rip her shirt, suck her nipples, finger her pussy, and fuck her until she can’t think of anyone else but him. Suddenly, his cock surged, and Vivianne's gaze lingered on it.

“Don't stare at it like that. It might bite you,” Beckett said in a playful yet serious tone. He placed one leg onto the other to try to control his already hard manhood.

“Pervert.” Vivianne rolled her eyes, but a smile slowly appeared on her lips. “I could barely walk last night because of how much you rode me.”

“And I would love to do more—”

Vivianne didn't let Beckett finish as she quickly shook her head while waving her hands. “Hey hey! Let me rest first.”

Beckett only chuckled in response, finding his woman adorable. “Sleep now, woman. This day is such a heavy day for you.”

“You too. But why haven't you slept yet?” Vivianne asked with a furrowed brow before rubbing her temples. “I woke up as I noticed you’re not here beside me.”

It was the truth. Vivianne had a good sleep, but her dream wasn't pleasant. She dreamt that Alfred was trying to kill her because of what she did. She got scared and woke up suddenly, but her fear intensified when she realized she was alone in an unfamiliar place.

Beckett raised a brow, the same as the side of his lips. He sighed in relief because Vivianne didn't catch him talking to Nathan about investigating their family, but that wasn't the only thing he felt.

He also felt his cheeks redden.

"Did you miss me?" he asked, trying to hide his excitement because he knew Vivianne would tease him if she saw it.

"You wish." Vivianne rolled her eyes, a gesture that Beckett found both cute and seductive. "Come here. Let's sleep." She patted the bed, inviting Beckett to lie beside her. "We’re just going to sleep, okay? My body still aches so much."

Beckett chuckled before shaking his head. "Of course, unless you’re already insinuating the opposite of your words."

"Hey! I'm telling the truth—"

Vivianne's words were cut off as Beckett suddenly approached her and kissed her. Vivianne immediately closed her eyes and gripped the bedsheet tightly. As Beckett kissed her passionately, her body began to heat up.

She knew that at this moment, she might be the one to ask Beckett to claim her. But before their bodies could heat up any further and before Beckett could lose control, he pulled away.

Beckett kissed her forehead and whispered, "Let’s sleep now."

"Hmmm."

Vivianne nodded before lying down, followed by Beckett. She used his arm as a pillow before drifting back to sleep. Minutes later, Vivianne peacefully fell asleep again with Beckett beside her.

And for the first time, Beckett also slept soundly... without experiencing those horrible dreams at all.

AS SOON AS Vivianne woke up, the sun was already rising. She suddenly remembered her work and sat up abruptly, but she quickly lay back down and let out a scream as she felt the pain from last night's escapade.

"Shit!" Vivianne cursed while curling up, her knees up against her stomach. "Damn, it didn't hurt this much last night!"

Vivianne was almost in tears because she didn't know how she was going to walk this morning. Beckett had several photoshoots scheduled, and she needed to accompany him. But in her current state, she might end up making Beckett her assistant instead.

'Enjoy now, suffer later, that's your motto now that you're being flirtatious you witch,' she told herself, opening the door at the same time.

"Good morning," Beckett greeted in a serious tone. "I made breakfast," he added as he placed the tray he was holding on the side table.

Vivianne only gave a smile in response, unsure if it was really a smile or a grimace. Every movement of her body felt like it was tearing apart her womanhood, and she was tempted to scold Beckett for repeatedly claiming her last night.

'You wanted it too, idiot,' Vivianne scolded herself, causing her to grimace. 'Wait, why am I fighting with myself?'

"Are you okay?" Beckett asked, snapping Vivianne back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, yeah..." Vivianne replied. "My body just hurts. I feel like I got run over by a huge hotdog," she added, causing Beckett to laugh.

Beckett caressed her hair and kissed her forehead. "You should stay here for the day. I'll just call another stylist to replace you."

"Huh? No, that's not possible." Vivianne shook her head, not liking the idea. "What if someone else comes in? Like, ma'am Fiona?"

"Fiona can't enter this penthouse," Beckett explained, a mischievous grin slowly forming on his lips. "Why? Are you jealous?"

"A-And why would I be jealous? We're not even a couple!" Vivianne huffed, accompanied by a pang of pain in her heart.

She was right in what she said. They may have confessed their feelings last night, but nothing had changed in terms of their relationship label. Vivianne needed to draw the line if there was one. She had been through that with Tristan, and she wouldn't repeat that mistake.

“After what we did last night, you're telling me that we're not together?”

In an instant, Beckett laid Vivianne down on the bed, with himself hovering over her. His hand gently touched her cheek, caressing it, before his fingers played with her lower lip.

“We admitted our feelings. We hugged, fucked, and cuddled…” Beckett brought his lips close to Vivianne's ear and lightly nibbled on her earlobe. “You're mine, and you're bound to marry me. It's okay if you're jealous, but you don't need to be.”

Vivianne couldn't find her voice. Her vision seemed to blur, and even the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering wildly. Beckett's words clouded her mind, and she could think of nothing else but Beckett.

“Just like how I own you, you own everything about me, too,” Beckett declared with sincerity. “I'm yours. All yours, baby.”

Vivianne remained silent. She didn't know what to say, especially as she felt herself drowning in Beckett's gaze.

"U-Uh—"

“You should eat,” Beckett interjected as he shifted away from his position over Vivianne. He helped her sit up and encouraged her to eat. “Enjoy your stay here, and call me if something happens. You know my number.”

Vivianne, as if under a spell, simply nodded in response.

A little later, Beckett left to go to Syneverse Entertainment. He badly wanted to take the day off, but he needed to address something related to his career and his drug den. However, he needed to attend the meeting with Syneverse management first.

Beckett entered the meeting room and took a seat in the middle, where everyone was waiting for him. They discussed business matters and how they could leverage the recent incident to boost Beckett's reputation.

"We could create a documentary showing their close relationship since childhood," suggested Francine, one of the PR department heads. "Or even just an interview with Beckett while he's at the hospital, where the child is being treated. It's sure to create a buzz—"

“I thought this meeting was all about cleaning up the mess from that incident,” Beckett interrupted Francine. “So what are these ideas I'm hearing?”

Beckett turned to Fiona, who was sitting beside him. "What is this meeting all about?"

"This is how they want to address what happened," Fiona replied softly.

Having taken care of Beckett for so long, Fiona knew when his mood was shifting. Even she couldn't stop him when that happened.

“Hah. What a bunch of bullshit,” Beckett mumbled, aware that he was surrounded by executives paying him. “None of you need to do anything. That issue will be resolved later this afternoon.”

Beckett stood up and walked out of the meeting room directly. Fiona quickly followed him. She remained silent, understanding that when Beckett was irritated, he needed his space.

“Are people really like that, Fiona?” Beckett asked, his voice carrying annoyance and bewilderment. “Are they willing to exploit an innocent child just to make money?”

"You already know the answer to that. That's how the world works," Fiona sighed. "They don't care if others get hurt. As long as they benefit from it, they're willing to do anything."

Beckett shook his head, frustrated. He was also concerned about how the child was doing because the child was too innocent to be caught up in such a situation. He still wasn't sure if the child was the target of that killer or him, but he intended to investigate that with Nathan.

Moments later, Beckett started to attend all his photoshoots. Since Vivianne wasn't by his side, he felt extremely bored. He wanted his work to be over so he could return to the penthouse and spend the entire night with Vivianne.

As much as he desired to make love to her again, they would just cuddle. He didn’t want his lust over her to be the reason for Vivianne’s soreness that will last for days.

However, the mere thought of her made his arousal return as if he had been deprived of sex.

"Sir Beckett?" a young woman's voice called out, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Your phone is ringing," she added before pointing to the table.

Beckett nodded and picked up his cell phone from the table, checking who was calling.

But it wasn't a call. Instead, it was an alarm from inside the penthouse. Beckett didn't fully trust Syneverse's management, so he had set up an alarm that would notify him in case of fire, intruders, or any threat to him or the penthouse.

And that's when he realized something—The woman he loved was in danger. Beckett quickly rushed out of the studio, driving back to Syneverse to check on Vivianne.

"Vivianne?" Beckett called out, grimacing as smoke filled the area.

Beckett swiftly turned off the stove, realizing that boiling water had triggered the alarm on his phone. But he still couldn't see Vivianne, so he began searching for her.

After a few minutes, he found Vivianne inside his room, gazing at something that held immense value to Beckett throughout his life.