My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 74: A Cocoon of One’s Own Making

His gaze fell upon the homeware section.

"Cece," he said, feigning casualness. "It’s about time we added a few things for the lady of the house to Jade Orchid Manor."

Because of Silas Norwood’s sudden whim, what should have been the end of their outing was extended by nearly three hours.

By the time the two of them walked out of the shopping district, Theo Chambers was holding a thick stack of delivery invoices for everything from common matching items like slippers and mugs to more intimate ones like bathrobes and pajamas...

Silas Norwood had even calmly led a blushing Celia Sterling to pick out several sets of matching underwear. The lingerie store manager knew how to play her cards; witnessing how the chairman doted on his lady, she thoughtfully threw in a "buy one, get ten free" deal, adding a pile of sheer, sensual, and daringly styled lingerie.

"Th-this isn’t necessary..." Celia Sterling started to wave her hand in refusal, but the next moment, Silas Norwood gently took it in his.

His tone was perfectly calm. "Deliver them to my residence."

Celia Sterling watched as the staff packed the lingerie, piece by piece, into elegant bags, wanting to protest but holding her tongue.

But before Celia Sterling could object, Silas Norwood had already nonchalantly changed the subject. "They have matching ornaments over there. Cece, do you want to pick a pair to hang in our car?"

Behind them, Theo Chambers, still clutching the thick stack of invoices: "..."

’I’ve been with Silas Norwood for nearly a decade, and I never realized my Boss had such an intense desire to shop.’

’If this street had furniture stores,’ Theo Chambers thought, ’the Boss would have probably taken Miss Sterling to pick out a marital bed and everything else.’

「At two in the morning.」

Celia Sterling finally returned to Sterling Villa.

Silas Norwood watched her enter the villa and meet the butler in the brightly lit front courtyard before he calmly instructed the driver, "Back to Jade Orchid Manor."

The car drove through the night for some time before Theo Chambers, in the passenger seat, cleared his throat. "Boss, besides everything you bought today, should I have Assistant Thorne prepare some contraceptives?"

Silas Norwood didn’t say a word.

’Silence is consent.’

Theo Chambers understood perfectly.

Only after her shower did Celia Sterling realize that Kian Sterling had tried to video call her.

It was already very late, and Kian Sterling was busy on his business trip. Not wanting to disturb him, she just sent a "good night" message and prepared for bed.

However, less than two seconds after she sent the message, a video call from Kian Sterling popped up.

"Just get home?" Kian Sterling was lounging on his bed, wearing a loose-fitting robe. The bedside lamp was dim, hiding his stern features in the shadows, which made the beauty mark under his eye seem exceptionally alluring and distinct.

"Yeah, I had seafood with Silas, and then we went shopping and bought some shoes."

Celia Sterling took the initiative to tell him about their visit to Elder Gable’s place. When Kian Sterling heard they had brought their own ingredients, his expression softened slightly. Then, hearing her lavish praise for the chef’s cooking, a smile touched his lips. "For him to make my seafood-hating Cece eat until she was stuffed to the gills... When I get back to Metropia, I should thank him in person."

"I’ll take you there when the time comes, brother," Celia Sterling exclaimed. "It was seriously delicious! Silas is incredible for finding such a hidden gem in such a remote place."

"Hmph." Kian Sterling thought of the phrase ’a sense of boundaries’ from her text message and offered no comment.

Celia Sterling remembered something else and quickly told him about her plans. "The Lowell Perfumer Family is holding a Fragrance Gala in Port Sovereign in a few days. It’s a rare opportunity, so I plan to go see it for myself. And since you’re also in Port Sovereign, brother, I’ve never gone sightseeing with you there."

"The Lowell Family?" Kian Sterling frowned slightly.

"Yes, the legendary perfumer family. You know this, brother. Aside from my own meager talent, I learned most of my theory from the perfumery notes that Sylvia Lowell gave you back then. Senior Lowell came from the Lowell Family, and I believe this is an opportunity for me to learn something more systematic and complete."

Kian Sterling was silent for a rather long time.

So long, in fact, that Celia Sterling thought he was about to refuse. But then he slowly hummed in agreement. "Alright. I’ll show you around Port Sovereign."

After ending the call with Kian Sterling, Celia Sterling sent another "good night" message to Silas Norwood.

「Jade Orchid Manor.」

Silas Norwood had just gotten home. The shops from the commercial district were highly efficient; by the time he stepped into the villa, Assistant Thorne had already arrived and was directing people to organize the items delivered from that evening’s shopping trip.

Beautifully wrapped boxes were opened one by one, and matching couple’s items, tags still attached, were carried into the bedroom. Silas Norwood nodded to Assistant Thorne. "It’s late. Thank you for your hard work."

"No need to be so polite, Boss. The salary you pay is very high," Assistant Thorne joked, seeing Silas Norwood was in a good mood. He quickly became serious again. "The items were all delivered personally by the store managers and have been sorted. Also, I received a message from Chief Assistant Chambers and have procured a few additional things for you." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

As he spoke, he opened a black briefcase and took out the small boxes inside, arranging them neatly in the nightstand. He filled both the top and bottom drawers with various types until they were packed full.

Only after finishing all this did Assistant Thorne take his leave.

Silas Norwood stared quietly at the open drawer for a long moment before closing it and heading to the dressing room for his pajamas. Inside the vast dressing room, a newly organized wall rack neatly held the matching bathrobes and pajamas bought that day. On the lower shelf were a dozen sets of lingerie that Assistant Thorne hadn’t dared to unseal. In addition to the ones displayed in the store, the manager had privately included several even more provocative open-work and costume-style sets.

Every set here had been carefully selected by him and his girlfriend. The presence of the lingerie was also inextricably linked to his tacit approval.

Silas Norwood stood motionless for a long time.

Feeling his own stirring emotions, he suddenly felt a sense of helplessness, as if he’d been hoist by his own petard.

"Bring a glass of water upstairs," he ordered the butler. "With extra ice."

「At the break of dawn.」

At Sterling Villa, Celia Sterling was woken up by a special notification sound she had set. Groggy, she picked up her phone. In her chat window, the master perfumer Rivermoon, whom she hadn’t heard from in a long time, had finally replied.

Her last message was one she’d sent from the cruise ship:

Cece: [Did your wife go fishing too, Master? I made soup with the fish I caught. The fish in that part of the ocean are delicious.]

After so many days, the master had finally replied with a simple "Mm."

And nothing more.

Celia Sterling was debating whether it would be too forward to strike up a conversation so early in the morning when a photo dropped by a group member suddenly caused an explosion of messages in the Perfumer Exchange chat. The photo showed a familiar invitation from the Lowell Family, accompanied by the group member’s crazed, bragging tone:

[Hey everyone, who else got an invite to the Lowell Fragrance Gala? Let’s go together!]

Below it was a flood of envious and cursing replies:

[HOLY SHIT, you’re making me green with envy! I’m not high-level enough, I can’t even reach the Lowell Family’s threshold!]

[I heard only the Chief Perfumers from the major fragrance brands got invited. Which house are you from, man? You’ve been flying under the radar, but you’re actually a Chief Perfumer somewhere?]

[Why are you raining on our parade so early in the morning! There are hundreds of people in this group, are there even ten who got an invitation? Who else? Stand up and let me get all my jealousy out in one go!]

...

Rivermoon: [My wife will be there too.]