The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride
Chapter 2017

Chapter 2017

Cicely arched an eyebrow, reaching out to playfully snag Seth's tie and draw it from its loops,twirling it around her fingers. "Seth, you're only three years older than me. How come you're so old-school about some things?"

Seth's gaze dropped to her delicate fingers as they danced the tie in front of him.

"Still, your willpower seems to be lacking. You didn't plan on getting hot and heavy with me before Iturned eighteen, yet here we are."

Her voice was soft and teasing, her words lingering in the air like a siren's call, an eighteen-year-oldtemptress enchanting him.

He reached out, capturing her hand, and spoke in a husky, velvety voice, "Am I to blame for havinga weak spot for you?" His voice was naturally melodious, and in the solitude of their study, thelowered tone added an intimate charge to the atmosphere.

"Even if it is my fault, it can't be all my fault. Why is it that my will crumbles only with you? That'ssomething you should ponder."d2

Cicely huffed and pulled her hand back. She had seen blame shifted before, but never quite like this—where the one doing the shifting actually managed to make the accused feel better about it.

She pushed up on her toes, "Alright, I'll ponder it now." As she spoke, she turned back to thecomputer and bent forward, once again settling into Seth's lap.

Her idea of "pondering" involved taking hold of the mouse again, her eyes scanning the designlayout with focus. "Let's start with two nurseries. One room in pink, with a princess bed and whitelace canopy, and leave this corner for toys."

"The other one in blue, hmm... What do boys like? Should we go with a theme? Transformers?Sports cars, or something else? What did you like when you were a kid?"

Seth replied, "Tanks, airplanes, excavators."

Cicely paused and looked back at him, "Excavators? Are you sure?"

Seth's lips curled, "The joy of boys, you wouldn't understand."

Cicely blinked, "Indeed, I don't." She decided to take his word for it.

Turning back to the computer, Cicely scrolled to their master bedroom, "For our room, let's go withpastel blues, I want hanging lamps at the head of the bed, and a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windowswith blackout curtains and a layer of white sheers."

"As for the living room, I like a grey palette. And the balcony...

"Are you planning to build an amusement park here? We'll need a long slide, bumper cars, and acarousel. Should we add a couple of basketball hoops? We could play basketball with them, orbadminton.

"Ah, and I want a music room. The study needs to be large, so I can be with you while you work.You work, and I'll sketch you."

Cicely talked endlessly that afternoon, brimming with enthusiasm. She seemed to have so manyplans for the future, and in every detail, she included him.

As she spoke, it was as if she could see these visions right before her eyes, as if she'd already livedthem.

Eeach plan sounded as mundane as daily meals, but her expression was far from the plainsimplicity of everyday sustenance. It was rare for her to be so visibly content and engaged.

"Who says you don't know anything? You could totally be an interior designer."

Finally, Seth wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her from his lap, and placed her on the deskbefore standing to fill a cup with warm water from the dispenser.

Cicely, propping herself up on the desk and swinging a leg, took the cup with interest still sparklingin her eyes. "The things I want, naturally seem the best to me. I can't please everyone else."

Seth also had a cup of water, and after a sip, he nodded in complete agreement to her words."Indeed, it's unrealistic to expect you to cater to others' tastes."

Cicely took a few sips, cup in hand, her gaze still sweeping the computer screen.

Seth pursed his lips and walked over, decisively shutting the computer down. "Let's call it a day,Mrs. Diaz. You've been at it all afternoon."

Cicely looked slightly disappointed, tinged with a trace of melancholy, "I can't shake the feeling I'vemissed something."

"It's just a blueprint for now. All your plans can be revisited once the house is built. Let's go."

If they didn't leave now, he suspected she might spend the night in the study.

With a resigned sigh, Cicely hopped down from the desk and left the room in good spirits. Sethcould tell that her mind was still abuzz with design ideas.

*

No one ever thinks they're in the wrong. In their minds, everything they do is justifiable. Cicely wasno exception. She figured she was too easily appeased. Seth could do almost anything, and itseemed she would just roll with it. At least for now, that certainly seemed to be the case. Theexplosive rage that once threatened to consume her had dissipated without a trace.

During dinner, Cicely asked Seth what he planned to do about the current situation. His initialresponse had been Ray, and that wasn't entirely incorrect.

Removing and then buying the trend on social media had cost a fortune, and Danielle hadn'twielded that kind of financial power—yet.

Besides, Danielle wouldn't be foolish enough to act under her own name. If traced back to her, notonly would she face another confrontation with Cicely, but she'd also risk losing favor with Seth.

The news from Issac couldn't have been clearer.

Ray was still laid up in the hospital. Most people knew what had happened but not the details.

Ray had attempted to force himself on Danielle, so any normal woman wouldn't be caught deadnear that hospital, unless she was there to pull the plug on his life support.

But what Danielle did was show up at the hospital, fully armed, and enter Ray's room. She didn'tend Ray's life; instead, he was alive and kicking, even having managed to trip up Seth.

Calling Danielle foolish would be an understatement. She played her hand well. Using Ray as apawn, she managed to turn herself into the center of public sympathy, absolving her of suspicion,and casting the woman who had slapped her on set, threatening to kick her off the project, as theprime suspect in everyone's mind.

And then, everyone pitied Danielle, squeezed by what they called "the mighty clout of capital." Seth,being the reasonable man he was, would naturally suspect Cicely. If Patty were to discover that

Cicely had affected her son's career and bullied the girl she liked the most, she would naturally stepin to fix things for her son and Danielle.

Was Danielle naive? Far from it—she was shrewd as they come.

"Ray's family has lost its clout," Seth said, his face a mask of indifference. Their reputation hadtaken a nosedive, their company was in chaos, a real dog's breakfast, and they were broke, with nota decent script in sight. Hardly a threat.

Cicely let out a chuckle. "Looking at Ray's latest move, he's going for broke, not willing to let you offeasy. Even if he’s down, he has certainly landed a blow."

"Mm. I shouldn't have given him the opportunity to strike."

Seth didn't seem inclined to elaborate, leaving Cicely to speculate that he had some kind of plan inmind.