Joanne stuck out her tongue obediently. The tip of her tongue had been scalded red. There were even signs of blistering, which had her panting in pain.

Frowning, Brian went to retrieve the first-aid kit. When he returned, Joanne heard two hisses. Fumes carrying a minty fragrance assaulted the tip of her tongue. They spray suppressed the burning sensation on her tongue, providing her great relief.

"Thanks."

Due to the burn on her tongue, Joanne's accent came out a little funny. Her voice became softer and more delicate. When it reached his ears, it felt as if a soft, tiny hand had reached in and stroked his heart.

Perhaps due to pain, her crystalline eyes looked as if they were fogged over by a layer of water vapor. It was as if the pain was so unbearable that she could barely speak. It made her look extremely pitiable.

"Joanne, how is it possible for your stupidity to reach such an extent?" Brian said in a tone of resignation.

"You only notice it now?" Joanne hummed playfully. When she spoke next, she sounded a little pleased. "We're already married, so it's too late to regret anything now."

Brian placed the mint spray into her palm. "Spray it on the wound when you feel pain."

"Oh." Joanne stared at the porridge regretfully. "I can't eat anymore. Please don't let it go to waste..."

Brian's lips curled into a smile. "Mrs. Lambert had prepared it especially for me. Of course I wouldn't waste any of it."

The ambience of the night had rendered his long and narrow eyes unreadable. It was as if nothing could get past his sharp and penetrating eyes.

Almost instantly, Joanne's confidence faltered. "Oh, get over yourself! You said as if I would make it especially for you!"

She was already fleeing upstairs as she spoke.

She said she was hungry. But that was just an excuse, that much was true. She just did not want Brian hungry.

But how did he figure it out?

Brian watched as Joanne fled the scene with her tail between her legs. A tiny smile formed on his lips. He retrieved his laptop and began reading some documents while he slowly enjoyed the porridge. By the time he reached the final page, he had finished everything in the clay pot. The sharp pain in his stomach had vanished too.

Before, he had been subjected to an IV for hours on end, yet none of it brought his stomach any relief.

"Looks like being married to a silly girl isn't such a bad thing after all," he mused.

Brian would have to walk past Joanne's bedroom every time he headed to his own room. As he neared her door, his steps involuntarily slowed. Soon, he was standing before her door, his hand holding the handle. He twisted and found that the door was indeed unlocked.

She was curled up in the massive bed like a small animal. Her arms were wrapped around a throw pillow, which was long, slender. One side of her face nuzzled against the pillow whereas the other side was bathed in darkness. She was quiet and she looked completely at ease. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her sleeping habits, on the other hand, were far from deserving praise. It did not take long for her to kick the covers into a messy pile. Her long, slender legs were stretched haphazardly on top of the covers. Under the warm, yellow lighting, the smooth skin of her legs seemed even more attractive.

Brian walked over and readjusted the covers in a well-practiced manner.

The Little Monster was so much more obedient when asleep. She curled under the covers willingly, gently pursing her pink lips...

Brian did not know what he would end up doing if he stayed for any longer. He bent down and kissed Joanne on the lips. Then he left her room hurriedly as if he had never been there.

This was just like every other time during this past half a month, where he had sneaked into her room in the middle of the night to stare at her before leaving in a hurry.

The night felt way too short, as least to Joanne.

When the alarm went off, she got up swiftly like she always did. The only difference was that she had set her alarm clock to ring at 6am instead of the usual 7.30am.

She had only 5 hours of sleep in total. To Joanne, that much sleep was surely insufficient. Still, she rushed through her morning routine and headed downstairs.

Simon and the servants were already bustling about. When he saw Joanne coming downstairs this early, Simon asked in confusion, "Young Madam, is something wrong?"

"Has the kitchen begun breakfast preparations?"

"The cook just went inside," Simon said. "Are you hungry, Young Madam? If you are, then I'll ask the kitchen to speed up the preparations."

"Oh, no. That's not it," Joanne said, rolling up her sleeves. She paused in thought. "I scalded my tongue yesterday. So I'd like to make my own breakfast today since I won't be able to eat much."

Simon nodded and summoned the cook. The kitchen was left to Joanne's use.

Joanne made porridge again. She lit up the stove and let the rice in the clay pot stew until it turned bright-colored and pulpy. The pumpkins were minced and added into the clay pot, which was left to stew for a brief while before the heat was shut off. Sugar was added for taste. By the time she was done, the entire kitchen was filled with the aroma of porridge.

Brian came downstairs at 7.30am. It was rare for him to see Joanne up and about earlier than him, so he headed straight for her. "How's the tongue?"

"It's fine."

"Let me see it."

It was the first time Simon and the servants had seen such an intimate interaction between Brian and Joanne. The look on each of their faces was a mixture of confusion and curiosity. At that moment, Joanne felt only embarrasment. "It's really fine. Um... there's some porridge. I've added pumpkins this time. It's better for your stomach if you have that."

She was about to walk away and start serving out the porridge when Brian held her still. "Are you going to listen, or do you want me take a more forceful approach?"

Joanne stared at him blankly. "Wha... what forceful approach?" she asked timidly.

Brian smiled and bent down. His face was now right beside Joanne's ear. When he turned his head again, his sensuous and flirtatious breath caressed her ear. "Ever been kissed before?"

Joanne reacted almost instantly, though the words that came out of her mouth were utter gibberish. "Yo... you... you... I, I'm really fine! Look!"

She poked out her tongue.

Brian examined her tongue for a moment and frowned. "You still can't eat anything?"

"Oh, I can use a different way to eat."

Joanne turned around and ran. He had no clue what she was looking for.

Simon and the servants stifled their smiles. What they just witnessed had made them feel motivated and energetic to carry out their chores. The way they all saw it, Joanne and Brian had come a long way since they first got married. Now, at least there was affection between the two of them. As for the interaction between the two of them just now and how intimate it was... well, no further words were needed.

Brian had sat down and was already halfway through a newspaper article on finance when Joanne returned. She carried a lidded disposable soup bowl and a straw. She served him a bowl of porridge. "Can you help me test it? See if it's still hot?"

It was a rare for him to be so compliant, but he took a sip nonetheless. "Just right."

Feeling cheerful, Joanne filled the soup bowl with porridge and poked the straw on the lid. "I'm in a hurry to work. See you later."

Brian did not stop her. When Joanne's car left the villa, Simon walked up to Brian and stood beside the younger man. "Young Madam made the porridge herself this morning."

"I know."

One bite was all it took for Brian to know that this was Joanne's work. It tasted completely different from what the cook had made in the past.

Simon smiled. "Young Master, pardon me for asking, but has the matter been... dealt with? If you take any longer and Young Madam start asking questions, what should I tell her?"

Brian folded the newspaper. "She won't ask."

He knew Joanne well. So far, the only thing concerning him that would catch her interest was the gossip between him and Rosalyn.

Simon thought for a moment. "It's true that Young Madam never asked about it recently..."

"As expected," Brian thought, smiling. "The matter is already dealt with. Make sure to check the things around the house regularly. Don't let her notice anything."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of everything in the house," Simon assured, his face completely serious.

Brian knew better than anyone else how Simon was like during the man's younger days, which was why he had total confidence in Simon's competence. Before he left for work, he gave Simon another task.

In another corner of the city, Joanne pulled up at the police station. She had finished her porridge on the way to the station but was still feeling rather sluggish. She parked her car and grabbed a cup of coffee at the coffee shop near the intersection before heading to the office.

"Tsk, tsk. Joanne, it's so rare to see you sporting panda eyes," said a female coworker named Hannah Adams. Hannah winked at Joanne suggestively and lowered her voice. "You should tell your President Lambert that it'll be bad for health if you guys overdo it."

Joanne blushed. For a moment, she was rendered completely speechless, which was rather surprising.

In the office, Joanne was usually known for being cool, composed and quick to react. But today, she could not even come up with a single response to Hannah's wisecrack. Hannah burst into laughter as if five million worth of cash had fallen from the sky straight into her pockets.

Coffee in hand, Joanne headed off wordlessly towards the piles of data which awaited her.

At noon, Hannah dropped by to ask Joanne and Shawn to join her for lunch at the cafeteria.

Joanne was just about to start fretting over her tongue injury when there was a sudden commotion in the outer section of the office. "Wow," Hannah said, stunned, "is this the legendary... British Butler?"

"What's going on?" asked Joanne.

Joanne looked outside. She, too, was stunned by what she saw.

Simon had arrived at the office wearing a three-piece suit that was tailored to perfection. In his hand, he carried a modest walking stick. A black trilby sat on top of his head. Even though his face had aged, his eyes looked nothing like the murky, hazy look that was typical of the elderly. Instead, his eyes were extremely bright and sharp. His every movement resembled those of the old English gentlemen portrayed on TV shows.

Trailing behind Simon was a servant from the house, who wore a light blue uniform.

"Young Madam." Simon entered the Forensics' office. He smiled and removed the trilby from his head. Simon gave a look to the servant, who immediately took the hint and placed the thing he had brought with him onto Joanne's desk.

Joanne's face was filled with confusion.

"Young Master's orders," Simon said. "Didn't you mention something about hurting your tongue? Well, Young Master had specifically asked the house's kitchen staff to prepare your lunch. He then asked me to deliver it to you."

Joanne's mind went blank. All of a sudden, she felt as if someone had just brushed her heart with a layer of honey. She smiled. "Thank you."

"This is part of my duty." Simon smiled as he took his leave, taking the servant with him.

Joanne looked over the food that had been delivered to her. All of them had been prepared in such a way that they could be consumed using a straw. The beef bone broth gave off a heavenly aroma. The meat had been shredded into narrow strips before they were simmered to mush. When tasted, the soup would instantly dissolve. It was obvious that the kitchen staff had put in a great amount of effort into this.

"Oh my gosh! How nice!" Hannah sighed. "Alright, seems like Joanne's already got her lunch covered. Privileged Mr. Shawn, looks like it's just you and me at the cafeteria."

Before stepping out of the office, Shawn turned around. "You said Brian's just putting on an act to trick your father into believing how in love you are with each other?"

Shawn shook his head enigmatically. "Joanne, it doesn't seem like that's the case at all. Not even an expert playboy like me could achieve this level of thoughtfulness and attentiveness."

"What are you trying to say?" Joanne asked.

"You know what I'm trying to say." Shawn smiled. "I suggest you find out exactly what he feels about you. Or... have you had a change of heart?"

Joanne looked noticeably distracted.

In that instant, Shawn had a revelation. Joanne had already begun to develop feelings for Brian. Despite being in love with another person for years, Joanne's feelings for Brian was inevitable.