As yet, Joanne and Brian had not even consummated their marriage. In fact, they had already agreed to a divorce, which would happen in two years' time.

How on earth were they supposed to have kids?

Also, this topic was... it was practically a test for how thick-faced she was!

Joanne's face turned as red as a poppy and she suddenly grew fidgety. She did not have the courage to look at Iris and Brian.

Brian admired Joanne's facial expressions with interest. "Wasn't she the one who'd demanded me to take my clothes off the night before we got married? Why is she blushing now?" he thought.

But he could not deny that she looked more like a shy teenager when she was blushing. There was a flicker in her eyes, one that made her look like a deer caught in the headlights. It made him feel that... that he would be facing a total injustice if he did not at least try to tease her.

He pulled Joanne into his arms affectionately. "We've discussed this before, haven't we?"

Joanne was taken aback. She could not recall ever having that discussion with him about kids. However, the look on Brian's face was convincing and left no room for doubt. Shyly, she curled up in Brian's embrace. "Did, did we?"

"You've forgotten about it so soon?" A tiny smile formed on Brian's lips, his eyes filled to the brim with affection. "That time, you even told me you love kids."

Joanne said no such thing. Now she could be sure that Brian was talking nonsense. Then again, calling him out on his nonsense in front of Iris was impossible. Joanne had no choice but to play along, so she chuckled.

If Brian continued by saying something along the lines of them being ready to have kids, well, she had already thought of an escape plan for that - close both eyes and pretend to be dead.

"But you're still young and we're in no hurry," Brian said all of a sudden. "Mom, Joanne and I have decided to wait for another two years before we start discussing about children."

Joanne blinked a few times. She had thought that Brian was trying to ruin her with his lies. So this was... him letting her off the hook?

She sighed in relief and smiled wanly at Brian. Tonight, she would have her payback!

Iris had noticed the intimacy and chemistry between the newlyweds, so she thought that things between them were in harmony and that their feelings were perfectly in sync with each other. Iris smiled happily. "Joanne, relax. I wasn't trying to rush you two. If you already have plans, then by all means, do as you had planned! Me? I just want you both to be happy."

Joanne felt an overwhelming sense of relief and nodded vigorously.

Something came up in the afternoon and Brian had to leave. Joanne stayed to keep Iris company.

Since the mother-daughter duo had nothing better to do, and since they both did not have much interest in shopping, they turned on the TV and indulged in soap opera.

Usually, Joanne would politely say no to soap operas. But today, as she sat beside Iris, discussing plots and characters, she was surprised to find that soap operas were not as boring as she had thought.

At dusk, Brian returned to see Joanne and his mother sitting together in close proximity. He had not seen his mother smiling that happily for a very long time.

Joanne had rested her form against his mother's body in a lovely and adorable manner. It was like she was a totally different person from that Little Monster with a habit of showing off her claws and fangs.

After he had changed his shoes, Brian heard the pair discussing about the attractiveness of the male actors on screen. Both of them were adamant and unyielding in their opinions, but eventually, Joanne found herself being on the losing side of the debate.

In her desperation, Joanne suddenly had a thought. In a decisive tone, she said, "Who cares which of them is more handsome. None of them are as handsome as our Brian, anyway!"

Joanne's words resonated deeply with Iris, who nodded her agreement. All of a sudden, Iris noticed the figure standing at the door. She smiled. "Brian, you're home. We were just talking about you."

Brian was back!!!

Joanne turned her head abruptly as if she had been struck by a thunderbolt. Indeed, Brian was standing not too far away, staring at her. He seemed to be smiling, yet at the same, that expression did not seem like a smile at all...

Why was it that her entire self-image would be destroyed every time she was in the presence of Brian? That time at the bar, her lies and nonsense had been overheard by him. This time he had overheard her at home too. Could she not have a break for once?

Joanne felt a need to cry, though the tears would not come. She made her escape instead. "I'll go pour some water."

Brian knew how thin-skinned she was. Out of the kindness of his heart, he decided not to make her life difficult. Slowly, he made his way into the living room and sat down. Then, he refilled Iris's teacup.

Iris took a sip of her tea before she leaned back comfortably against the couch. "Our Joanne is actually quite cute. Usually she acts bold and mature, but that's just a guise."

Brian smiled. He knew better than anyone else that Joanne was only a 'Paper Monster'.

"I've already had someone prepare your room for you. It's rare that you aren't busy, so you should rest early tonight." Iris stood up. "I'll go check the dinner preparations in the kitchen."

Tonight?

Brian's lips slowly curled into a smile. He would really like see Joanne's reactions tonight.

Dinner was a lot milder than lunch. Joanne ate just enough to ward off her hunger before setting her fork down. It just so happened that Freya's call came in, so she excused herself to the garden to take the call.

"Damn it, those people are blood-thirsty!" said Freya nervously. "It hasn't even been two days, and yet they've already found out your surname and that you're a medical examiner at the police station! At this rate, all your personal information will be exposed by tomorrow! Rosalyn's retarded fans would come knocking on your door soon! Oh, also, this fiasco is already up on X!"

"It's on X?" Joanne frowned. "I need to call my brother."

Joanne hung up the phone. But before she could finish dialing Chris's number, Brian's voice sounded behind her. "There's no need to go to your brother."

Joanne looked at Brian with suspicion. "Wait, you know what this is about? Oh, don't tell me you've been checking out that gossip forum too..."

As if Brian had that much free time on his hands. "Gavin has dealt with that forum thread already. So you don't have to worry about your personal details being exposed."

Joanne trusted Brian's competence, so she smiled in gratitude. "Thank you."

"We're legally married. Whether it's out of emotion or obligation, I will protect you." Brian approached her, all the while staring deeply into Joanne's eyes. "Also, if you run into trouble again in the future, I'm the first person you should think of, not your brother."

There was something in his eyes right then. A profound depth and a penetrating sharpness. It was as if those eyes had some kind of mind-blowing magical power. Joanne felt as if she would sink into darkness if she stared into his eyes for just a few seconds longer.

Joanne swallowed. "I understand. But I don't think there would be any more problems in the future. I'll try not to trouble you." There was a pause, after which she said, "Please don't say anything about this to mother. I don't want her to worry."

They were on the same page about keeping Iris in the dark. When they re-entered the house, their faces gave no indication of what just happened. Naturally, Iris did not suspect anything.

At nine o'clock, Iris, who was used to sleeping early, retired to her room. Joanne decided to call it an early night too. "Which room will I be sleeping in?"

Brian led Joanne to the second floor and opened the door to the master bedroom. "Here."

The room was spacious and was lit with warm, yellow lights. It felt very vintage. Well, it was not Joanne's usual taste, though she would not say no to an opportunity to experience something like this. Iris had even meticulously laid out her sleepwear and toiletries.

With a nice bath in a bathtub, she could enjoy a good night's sleep!

All of a sudden, Joanne felt that something was amiss. Why was Brian still in the room, and also...

"Well... Brian..." She hugged the pajamas to her body, her voice had come out a little shaky. "Why are you taking off your clothes?"

"To take a bath," Brian took this sentence as a matter of course.

"Boom!" A sound went off in Joanne's head. It was as if something had exploded inside her brain. Her eyes grew impossibly large. "You're sleeping in this room?!"

"If we sleep in separate rooms here-" Brian lips curled up, "then we'd be exposed, Mrs. Lambert."

Joanne stood in stupor, tears almost streaked down her face in an instant.

"I already gave you a hint just now." From Brian's demeanor, he clearly thought he was blameless in this.

"I didn't understand the hint!" Joanne stared at him in bitter resentment. "Why didn't you just say it!"

"My bad." Brian ruffled the Little Monster's hair. "I overestimated your intelligence. It won't happen again."

After he had said those words, he grabbed his bathrobe and walked into the bathroom calmly. Joanne sat on the bed, hugging her pajamas, shedding quiet tears.

Brian came out of the bathroom ten minutes later. Instinctively, Joanne glanced towards him. But what she saw nearly gave her a nosebleed.

The bathrobe hugged Brian's body loosely, leaving his sexy collarbone and muscular chest completely bare. It was a sight capable of bringing to mind one's wildest fantasies.

His short hair was damp and peppered with water droplets. Although a little tousled from his attempt at drying it, his hair did not seem disheveled or unkempt like what would usually happen to a normal man's hair. Instead, that tousled look had added a wild and carefree quality to his handsome appearance, enough to make anyone's heart race.

At that moment, Joanne could not deny that this man was born devilishly attractive.

She had to sleep in the same room with this man for an entire night.

All of a sudden, Joanne felt she needed more air. Her pulse and her breathing had gone off rhythm. She averted her gaze, utterly refusing to give Brian another glance. She slipped into the bathroom with her pajamas in hand.

In the bathroom, the steam from Brian's bath lingered in the wide space. When she thought of the fact that it had been him standing right here just a few moments ago, completely naked, she... Argh! What the heck was she thinking!!

Joanne virtually had to go through the entire bath with a red-face and a racing pulse.

Joanne's bath had dragged on for nearly an hour. When she was done, she grabbed her nightgown, preparing to put them on. She nearly fainted - the sleepwear Iris had prepared for her was too... sexy. It was thin, short, and had a deep V neckline!

But she realized that wearing the nightgown was still better than walking around without a single stitch on, so she donned it in tears. She opened the door to a gap-width and saw Brian sitting calmly on the couch, reading.

She, on the other hand, found it impossible to stay calm. "Brian, can you grab my jacket for me?"

Brian glanced at the woman whose figure remained hidden behind the door. An unnatural glint flashed across his eyes, almost like he had figured something out. Still, he acted as if nothing had happened and handed Joanne her jacket.

Joanne's jacket was a long windbreaker. After putting on the jacket, she felt so much more secure. She stepped out of the bathroom, pulled open the wardrobe and began searching.

While she searched, her long and lean legs were on blatant display. In the light, her lustrous skin gleamed like suet jade. All of a sudden, Brian's throat went dry. He tore his gaze away. "What are you looking for?"

"Some blankets and pillows," Joanne said. "One of us has to sleep on the floor tonight." Otherwise, nobody would be sleeping a wink!

"You can stop looking. There's only one blanket."

Joanne's scalp tingled. She turned around. "What do you mean?"

A tiny smile formed on Brian's lips. "Us, sleeping together in the same bed. That's what I mean," he said calmly.

Joanne's legs turned to jelly. "I don't think that's a good idea?"

"That's the only option." Brian lay down on the bed. "Of course, you can also choose to stay awake for the whole night."

At the sight of Brian closing his eyes, Joanne suddenly felt like she was trapped all alone in a hopeless and helpless situation.

Staying up for the whole night was out of the question. But sharing a bed with Brian... nothing would happen, right?