Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

After that, the car fell silent. Nancy Hughes kept her head down, looking at her phone.

After they had driven for a while, the car suddenly stopped. She thought they had arrived at the art gallery.

But it turned out they had stopped at the entrance to a university, where plenty of students were milling about by the side of the road.

A girl in a white down jacket pushed through the crowd, running hard toward their car.

She opened the car door, flopped into a seat, and panted heavily. "I’m dead from all that running!"

"Hughes, this is my daughter, Hannah. She’s also one of my students!" Gwen Gunn said, introducing them.

Hannah Gunn turned, flashing a brilliant smile and giving a little wave. "Hi, I’m Hannah Gunn."

"Hi, I’m Nancy Hughes!" Faced with Hannah Gunn’s radiant smile, Nancy felt an indescribable pang of insecurity.

’The girl in front of me is the real deal—truly cheerful and outgoing. My own cheerfulness is just an act.’

As soon as Hannah Gunn got in the car, she started wheedling her father. "Dad, I won first place in my competition yesterday! Aren’t you going to reward me?"

She gave a wink and held out her hand to Gwen Gunn, her intention perfectly clear.

"In your dreams! Why don’t you tell me how much money you’ve already spent?"

"Dad!" Hannah Gunn pouted.

"Buckle up," Dylan Heston said, glancing sideways at her.

Hannah Gunn immediately complied with a meek "Oh," but a moment later, she was chattering away again. "Don, I’m going to the suburbs to sketch this weekend. Can you take me?"

With Hannah Gunn in the car, the atmosphere suddenly became much more lively.

Or perhaps it was just that Hannah Gunn didn’t know the meaning of the word quiet.

She pestered Dylan Heston about one thing after another and bantered playfully with Gwen Gunn.

This actually helped Nancy Hughes relax quite a bit. She lowered her head and quietly played a game on her phone.

The gallery was crowded with visitors. Nancy Hughes trailed behind, watching as Hannah Gunn excitedly dragged Dylan Heston from one exhibit to the next.

’I have to admit, she really is a lively girl.’

Hannah Gunn, noticing Nancy Hughes had fallen behind, turned around and called out, "Nancy, come on!"

Nancy Hughes gave an awkward chuckle, and her eyes met Dylan Heston’s, who was standing right beside Hannah Gunn.

Her smile instantly turned awkward. She quickly averted her gaze, looking off to the side.

’Every time her eyes met Dylan Heston’s, her heart would pound uncontrollably.’

’It was obvious that Hannah Gunn had a crush on Dylan Heston—not the platonic affection of a younger sister, but the romantic love of a woman.’

’She clung to Dylan Heston’s arm and hadn’t let go.’

’Gwen Gunn didn’t seem to have any objection, which must mean he approved of Dylan Heston as a potential son-in-law.’

’She had no interest in meddling in a relationship where the feelings were clearly mutual.’

She deliberately slowed her pace, putting some distance between herself and the other three.

The art gallery featured not only Western paintings but also a large collection of traditional ink wash paintings.

Nancy Hughes knew a bit about ink wash painting, and as she looked at the row on display, she recognized several works by master artists.

Swaying lotus leaves, a lifelike carp swimming beneath them.

Her favorite was Banyan Jenkins’s bamboo paintings.

She was surprised to see an original piece here and suddenly felt the trip was well worth it.

Nancy Hughes’s appreciation for traditional painting came from her father, Peter Hughes.

Peter Hughes was a teacher who specialized in ink wash painting. It was thanks to his guidance that Nancy knew how to paint in the traditional style herself.

Peter Hughes loved Banyan Jenkins’s ink wash paintings and would often try to replicate them.

Through this constant exposure, she gradually grew to love the bamboo that flowed from Banyan Jenkins’s brush.

Bamboo is known as one of the "Four Gentlemen," along with the plum blossom, orchid, and chrysanthemum. Its stalks are tall and slender, poised and graceful, remaining vibrantly green through all four seasons, standing proud against frost and rain.

Nancy Hughes was completely engrossed when a voice suddenly sounded from right above her. "You like this painting?"

She nodded instinctively. She could still remember her father explaining the finer details of this very painting.

"This painting is a fake," the man continued.

"Huh?" Nancy Hughes gasped, whipping her head around to look at the person beside her.

She hadn’t realized he was standing so close. As she turned, her nose brushed against the fabric of his shirt.

She looked up and saw Dylan Heston’s face, startling her so much that she stumbled backward a step.

Her knees suddenly went weak. If Dylan Heston hadn’t reacted so quickly, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her, she would have collapsed onto the floor in an embarrassing heap.

’Still, she would have preferred the embarrassment of falling to the floor over this.’

His embrace pulled them even closer, their bodies pressed flush against each other.

’He smelled nice, a scent that was somehow both comforting and unnervingly flustering.’

"Dad, have you seen Don?" Hannah Gunn’s voice suddenly broke through Nancy’s daze.

Nancy jolted. Sanity came rushing back. She frantically pushed him away, putting distance between them as her back went ramrod straight.

Hannah Gunn walked over, dragging Gwen Gunn with her. "Don! Why did you wander off here without a word?"

Nancy Hughes wore a pained smile, her scalp tingling with unease. ’Why do I feel like I was just caught doing something wrong?’

’There was a forbidden thrill to it...’

Dylan Heston, on the other hand, was far more composed. His expression was blank, as if nothing at all had just happened.

’She was the only one flustered.’

"Oh? Are you guys looking at the ink wash paintings?" Hannah Gunn squeezed in, planting herself right between Nancy Hughes and Dylan Heston.

Hannah Gunn grabbed Dylan Heston’s arm. "Ink wash paintings are so boring! Come look at the oil paintings with me!"

Hannah Gunn’s voice softened as she pleaded with Dylan Heston, forcefully dragging him away.

Only Gwen Gunn and Nancy Hughes remained.

Nancy Hughes laughed awkwardly. "Mr. Heston was just giving me some pointers."

’Why does that sound like I’m protesting too much?’

"Oh? And what did he say?"

"He said this painting is a fake." Nancy Hughes had never seen the original herself, but she remembered her father talking about how to tell a real from a forgery.

No matter how she looked at it, the painting seemed authentic to her.

’Besides, it was part of an exhibition. How could it possibly be fake?’

"It certainly looks real," Gwen Gunn said with a short sigh. "But Donnie has a sharp eye. If he says it’s a fake, he’s not wrong."

... ’What kind of reasoning is that?’

Nancy Hughes was secretly astonished. ’Is Dylan Heston really that good?’

She studied the painting before her again, but she still couldn’t spot any tells.

’So, even art exhibitions like this can have forgeries.’

She glanced at the other ink wash paintings nearby and instantly lost interest. For all she knew, they might all be fakes too.

「By the time they left the exhibition, it was already dark.」

Nancy Hughes had assumed she was going out with Gwen Gunn for work, so she had left her bag back at the office.

She stood by the side of the road. "Um, I can get back on my own. You all can go ahead!"

Dylan Heston glanced at her. "Get in. I’ll give you a ride."

Hannah Gunn smiled at her. "Don’s a really nice guy. Don’t worry about troubling him. Get in, you can’t park here."

"I..." Nancy Hughes scratched her head and climbed awkwardly into the car. "Uh, I need to go back to the office."

Dylan Heston first dropped the Gunns, father and daughter, at their home, and then drove off with Nancy Hughes.

’Honestly, Nancy Hughes had never expected to find herself alone in a small space with Dylan Heston.’

A silence fell over the car, thick with awkwardness.

As the car pulled away, she could still see Hannah Gunn in the rearview mirror, standing at her door and watching them go with a look of longing.

From the driver’s seat, Dylan Heston suddenly spoke. "That painting was a fake."

"How did you know?" she asked, her voice stiff.

"I’ve seen Banyan Jenkins’s original work. It’s different. Even though the artist did a good job mimicking the style, it lacks the soul of Banyan Jenkins’s art."

Nancy Hughes just said, "Oh," and lowered her head.

’Spoken like a true rich person. He’s even seen an original Banyan Jenkins.’

’She, on the other hand, had only ever seen his paintings in books!’

People were trickling out of the office for the day. Nancy Hughes went back to her desk to gather her things.

She grabbed her bag and checked the time. The company shuttle would have left for the day.

The office was warm, but as soon as she reached the entrance, a blast of cold wind made her shiver violently.

Freezing, she pulled her scarf up higher, covering the lower half of her face.

When she got to the spot where he had dropped her off, she noticed a familiar-looking black sedan parked there.

She walked a little closer, and when she saw the man inside, her mouth fell slightly agape in surprise.

Dylan Heston rolled down the window and leaned out. "Get in."

...

’He’s still here?’

Nancy Hughes hesitated, unsure if she should get in, when the person in the car suddenly honked the horn.

The sound made her jump, and she started walking toward the car on pure instinct.

She pulled open the door and got in.

"Um, why are you still here?" Nancy Hughes asked, settling into the passenger seat and turning to look at Dylan Heston.

"To take you home."

"Oh! Thank you!" she said politely, though she was complaining to herself.

’He already drove me to the office, why does he have to drive me home too?’

’Besides, shouldn’t he be a super busy person? He seems to have a lot of free time.’

"Address."

Nancy Hughes mumbled an affirmation, then quickly came to her senses and rattled off her address, adding another "thank you."

As Dylan Heston drove, Nancy noticed how quiet it was without Hannah Gunn around.

Nancy Hughes turned to look out the window, but her thoughts kept revolving around the man beside her.

The heat was turned up high in the car. After a few minutes, she was starting to break a sweat.

The windows were fogged with condensation, and out of boredom, she started tracing patterns on the glass with her finger.

Her fingertip was freezing, and the glass was soon covered in a messy swirl of lines.

She turned her head and saw Dylan Heston watching her, his dark eyes focused and intense.

His gaze made her heart skip a beat, and she snatched her hand back.

’Did he see all of that? So embarrassing.’

They reached the entrance to her apartment complex, but he didn’t know the way inside.

Nancy Hughes was about to say he could just drop her at the gate, but the man beside her gave her no chance to object, driving straight into the complex.

"Uh, you’re going the wrong way. It’s over there," Nancy Hughes said, pointing in the other direction.

"How do I turn around here?"

"Keep going straight. You’ll hit a large traffic circle, then turn right."

It was an older complex with low-rise buildings and a large garden in the center. The grounds were actually quite nice.

After they made the turn, a fair, slender hand suddenly appeared in his line of sight. "Go straight, and then turn left at the third intersection."

Following Nancy Hughes’s directions, he parked the car in front of her apartment building.

Nancy Hughes unbuckled her seatbelt. "Thank you for bringing me home."