Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

Nancy pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady, powerful beat of his heart. Her eyes suddenly grew moist.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed, "Dylan, I’m so glad you’re here."

The moment she saw Dylan, all her pent-up frustration and sorrow came rushing to the surface. She desperately wanted to throw her arms around him and have a good cry, to let it all out.

’He’s here. He’s really here.’

Nancy couldn’t control her emotions. She hugged Dylan and cried for a while, soaking the front of his shirt.

She wiped at her tears. "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to."

He wasn’t bothered in the slightest; his only concern was for the woman in his arms. "Were you scared last night?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, her voice thick and nasal. The entire previous day had been an ordeal.

She had been terrified that Zoey wouldn’t make it, terrified that she would be left all alone.

"Your dark circles are so deep. Didn’t you sleep at all last night?" Dylan caressed her cheek. "Go on, get some rest."

Nancy had stayed up all night watching over Zoey, and so had Dylan.

He had waited at the airport for nearly half an hour, but Nancy never arrived and he couldn’t reach her by phone. He sensed something was wrong.

He immediately dispatched people to find her. They tracked her last known location to Homeward.

He remembered that Nancy’s mother had been hospitalized in Homeward before, so he rushed there immediately.

Finding people was, indeed, his strong suit.

Finding Nancy in a place like Homeward would have been difficult, but he knew he could start with her mother, Zoey.

Nancy wouldn’t have returned to Homeward without a word and then dropped off the map. Something must have happened to her mother.

Things unfolded just as he’d expected. By finding Zoey, he could find Nancy.

There was still a bit of a drive from the main city of Homeward to the town where Zoey’s hospital was located. He had just arrived when Nancy was leaving.

They had just missed each other. He suppressed his impatience and waited for over two hours.

His first thought upon seeing Nancy was her eyes. They were unharmed, but he could tell she was hurting.

Nancy was a proud person; she hated showing her vulnerability to others.

He looked down at Nancy in his arms, stroking her long hair. The weight in his chest finally lifted.

He didn’t understand it himself—why he cared so much about Nancy.

Sometimes, emotions were truly an irrational thing.

He hadn’t dared to even close his eyes before he saw her. Only now could he finally relax.

At eleven o’clock, Nancy was woken up by Dylan.

She was still groggy and disoriented. When she looked up and saw Dylan, she still couldn’t quite believe it. "Dylan."

"Are you hungry?"

With the weight off her shoulders, she finally felt a pang of hunger. She hadn’t eaten a proper meal since she’d returned.

Her eyes felt sore and gritty. She got out of bed and washed her face. In the other room, Dylan was putting on his suit jacket.

In Portmire, Dylan had taken Nancy out for the local specialties. Here in Homeward, Nancy planned to do the same for him.

Homeward had a lot of specialty street food, but she worried Dylan might find it unsanitary, so she took him to an authentic, well-established restaurant instead.

The restaurant had been in town for decades. The owner was a born-and-bred local, and the food was fantastic.

Tourists visiting the area always made a point to eat here at least once.

The two of them sat in the main dining area and ordered the restaurant’s signature dishes.

"This place is really good," Nancy said, propping her chin on her hand as she gazed out the window. "I remember my dad used to bring me here all the time when I was little!"

"Your father...?"

"My dad passed away when I was young. My mom remarried after that."

"From now on, you’ll have me."

The food arrived quickly. Nancy picked up her chopsticks. "Come on, eat up. It’s not as good when it gets cold!"

After they finished their meal, they got an order to go.

Back at the hospital, Riley Caldwell was keeping Zoey Zane company. The mother and son were chatting.

Zoey wasn’t able to eat solid food yet, so the takeout was for Riley.

"Brother-in-law, how did you and my sister meet?" Riley was already calling Dylan his brother-in-law. Nancy blushed. They weren’t even married yet.

Just as she was about to tell him not to be ridiculous, Zoey called out to her from the bed. "Nancy, could you get me a glass of water?"

"Okay, just a second." She turned to pour her mother a glass of water. Zoey whispered, "Nancy, this boyfriend of yours... he’s not just some ordinary guy, is he?"

Zoey may have lived in a small town her whole life, but she was old enough to know when she was looking at someone out of the ordinary.

Everything from the aura he projected to his mannerisms suggested he was no ordinary office worker.

Nancy nodded. Dylan’s background was indeed anything but ordinary.

"So what does he do for a living? And his family? Do you know?" At the end of the day, Nancy was still her daughter, and she had to be sure about the man who could become her son-in-law.