Silas Norwood had considered that his identity might be exposed one day.

But he never imagined it would happen so suddenly, catching him completely off guard.

And of all times, it was right when he was planning to phase out his Rivermoon persona and focus on their spousal romance.

It felt like a reformed playboy, now committed to a genuine relationship, suddenly having all his past flings exposed. It couldn’t have been more awkward.

"You handle things here." Silas Norwood’s expression was a mask of forced calm. From Miles Trenton’s perspective, however, he could see a flicker of panic in his boss’s usually cold and noble, light-gold eyes. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

A secret sense of glee filled him. ’Serves him right,’ Miles Trenton thought, but his words were utterly respectful. "Boss, your plane is about to take off."

"Cancel the flight." Silas Norwood gave him a cool glance, then his long legs strode swiftly toward Celia Sterling.

Celia Sterling turned to leave at once. The moment Silas Norwood’s hand touched her, she flung it away fiercely and ran straight out the side door.

In front of everyone, a flustered Silas Norwood called out, "Darling," and immediately followed her. His desperate demeanor was a far cry from the refined composure he’d held at the negotiating table.

With his long legs and a man’s overwhelming advantage in stamina, Silas Norwood easily caught up to Celia Sterling in the hallway outside the conference room, wrapping his arms tightly around her from behind.

"Baby, let me explain," Silas Norwood whispered soothingly in her ear.

Celia struggled in silence for a good while but couldn’t move an inch. She reined in her emotions, her voice turning cold. "Let go. I’ll buy the great Mr. Rivermoon a cup of coffee. We can talk things over slowly."

But Silas Norwood refused to release her. He intertwined his fingers tightly with hers, ensuring she couldn’t run, before leading her to the VIP coffee lounge next door.

Inside the private booth, the moment the door shut, Silas Norwood pulled Celia Sterling directly into his arms.

"This is a coffee shop, not a hotel."

Celia Sterling tried to pry his hands off her waist. Silas Norwood, who was usually gentle, now showed a more forceful side. He held her captive on his lap, freed one hand to stir her coffee, and placed it before her. He then lifted the cup to her lips. "Darling, have some coffee first. Calm down."

Celia Sterling ignored him.

Silas Norwood lowered his head to kiss her, but she turned away, and his gentle kiss landed on her earlobe.

"Didn’t we agree to talk this over slowly?" Silas Norwood sighed, nuzzling against her gently as his voice grew even softer. "I didn’t intentionally hide it from you."

"You hid it, and that’s that. What difference does it make if it was intentional or not?"

"The first time we went to The Regent’s Residence to see Miles Trenton, I planned to tell you the truth," Silas Norwood said, his voice clear yet tinged with helplessness. "I was about to say something, but then you mentioned you wanted to be ’pure’ online friends with Rivermoon, with no ulterior motives involved. I figured if that online persona made you comfortable, I could keep it up for a little while longer before telling you."

"’Pure’ online friends..." Celia Sterling took out her phone and opened her chat with Rivermoon. "Take a look at the last few months of our chat history yourself. Have you said a single proper thing?"

Silas Norwood: "..."

"Forget the last few months, let’s talk about before that," Celia Sterling said quietly. "I called you ’Daddy,’ and you seemed to enjoy it immensely."

Silas Norwood: "..."

Celia Sterling looked at him. "Well? Cat got your tongue?"

"Baby," Silas Norwood said sincerely. "I’m sorry. Punish me however you see fit."

Celia Sterling’s slender, pale fingers scrolled up through the cringeworthy chat logs. "Where did you learn all this cheesy, boundary-crossing stuff? You were never this kind of person."

’Silas Norwood didn’t dare push the blame onto his assistant right now. If he couldn’t even take responsibility for his own actions, his wife would only look down on him more.’

"I learned it online. I clearly haven’t mastered it," Silas Norwood said, quickly adding, "But I also found that kind of talk too forward. I’d already decided to stop using that account to flirt with you."

But it was hard to tell what Celia Sterling was thinking.

She didn’t respond to Silas Norwood, just scrolled absently up and down the chat history.

When she remained silent, Silas Norwood decided to wait and see, quietly offering her the straw to her coffee before taking a sip from it himself.

After a good while, Celia Sterling suddenly asked, "Have you flirted with other women like this, too?"

Silas Norwood’s tone was solemn. "Darling, don’t make baseless accusations. I have never had improper thoughts about any woman other than you. Only you can captivate me so completely, body and soul, that I can’t get enough."

"You’re lying."

"How am I lying?" Silas Norwood’s voice dropped, taking on a husky edge that felt like a feather stroking her heart. "You know better than anyone whether I had a sexual history before we were together."

The tips of Celia Sterling’s ears flushed red, but she had no intention of letting him off the hook. "Not having done anything doesn’t mean you haven’t thought about it."

"Who have I had designs on?" Silas Norwood asked calmly. "If you can name a single person, I’ll kneel on a durian."

’So he really has learned all sorts of nonsense.’

’The man she knew before was as pure as the wind and moon—elegant, proper, and distinguished. He would never have known about something like ’kneeling on a durian.’’

Celia Sterling tapped on Rivermoon’s profile picture and opened his feed. "Why don’t you take a look yourself before trying to make excuses?"

On his feed, there were only a handful of posts, all clearly visible.

The shadow-puppet photo of them catching crabs in Silverwood, posted after they got together with the caption [Wild, wet fun with my wife]—while a bit of a stretch—was at least a photo of her, so that wasn’t up for debate.

Celia Sterling pointed to the posts from more awkward times. "How do you explain these?"

Silas Norwood glanced down and fell silent.

’If he’d known his cover would be blown so suddenly, he would have deleted these bizarre posts first.’

Celia Sterling watched him with cool, almond-shaped eyes. "You even wrote about ’forced love.’ You’re telling me that’s not having improper thoughts?"

The few posts on his feed all clearly pointed to a one-sided crush:

A picture of an empty corner, with a few scattered rose petals. Caption: [I was only away on a business trip, and the rose I’d had my eye on for so long was dug up.] Posted: Three years ago

A candid photo of a stray cat’s back. Caption: [The banquet was lively, but the back she left for me was cold.] Posted: Two years ago

In the sunlight, the shadow of a tall, slender man covers a Red Jade Pearl plant. Caption: [She likes Red Jade Pearls and she likes younger men. As for me... am I past my prime?] Posted: One year ago

A photo of a pitch-black night sky, with the corner of a silent, cold floor-to-ceiling window visible. Caption: [I want to tear down the moon. Forced love.] Posted: Six months ago

’If she remembered correctly, there had been another post: the cover of a contract for the gift of a private jet. The caption had read: [The groom isn’t me, but I’m footing the bill for the honeymoon. How unlucky.], but it was deleted later.’

Celia Sterling’s voice was detached. "Before we got together, I had Declan Norwood, and you had your secret crush. Normally, we shouldn’t be discussing this now. But since you swore up and down that I’m the only one for you, I’m entitled to ask a few more questions, don’t you think?"