The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

Whitney had never thought that Charles would address her by such a term of endearment.

She was stunned for a while. It was not until Charles pinched the back of her hand and exerted more force to bring

her to her senses that she snapped out of her fantasy.

“I’m not mad at you, but you’ve caused Lucas and Jasmine to misunderstand, so I should really punish you,”

Whitney whined.

Although she knew that it was an act, she could not miss the chance to indulge in his gentleness, even if it was just

for a short while.

She gently tugged the back of his hand with a bright and playful smile.

The atmosphere between the young couple was somewhat ambiguous.

Lucas clicked his tongue and shook his head before looking at Jasmine and saying, “Look at them. Their public

display of affection is blinding.”

Jasmine took advantage of the opportunity to talk about his marriage. “Lucas, when are you going to bring home a

wife? Even Charles is married now. You won’t still be single by the time Whitney has kids, will you?”

Lucas was rendered speechless.

He placed a drumstick onto Jasmine’s plate. “Just eat your food. Stay out of my business.”

At the same time, Whitney blushed slightly in embarrassment at the mention of kids.

Charles maintained a neutral expression for the rest of the meal. After retracting his hand, he focused on his meal

and said nothing further.

After the meal, he went to his study.

Meanwhile, Whitney was working at the coffee table in the bedroom to deal with the work left behind during her

time off last time.

After she worked for two hours, the door of the bedroom opened slowly.

Charles was pulling his tie with one hand in a leisurely manner with an unmistakable look of exhaustion in his eyes.

He glanced at Whitney, who was sitting on the couch. As he threw the tie he took off on the coat rack, he said flatly,

“Make the couch. I’m tired.”

Whitney stared at him in astonishment for a moment.

She had thought that he would neither spend the night in the bedroom that day nor take the initiative to talk to her.

“You can sleep on the bed, Mr. Newton. I’m not done with my work yet.”

Charles knitted his brows. He was a little displeased, but he did not say anything in the end. “Get it done quickly.”

After that, he took off his expensive suit and entered the bathroom. The sound of water running was soon heard.

He was taking a shower.

Without further ado, Whitney quickly finished the task at hand, saved it, and turned off the laptop. Then, she went

to the cabinet to get a quilt to make the couch.

Just as she was done making the couch, Charles finished showering.

“The couch is too small. It’s not suitable for someone your height, Mr. Newton. I prefer to sleep on the couch, so

don’t argue with me anymore and go sleep on the bed.”

Charles did not even look at her as he deliberately averted his eyes.

His tone was slightly impatient as he replied, “No one is arguing with you. This room is mine, so I can sleep

wherever I want. You’ll sleep on the bed.”

Whitney found him too domineering.

Nevertheless, she did not agree to it. “I’ve been sleeping on the couch during the days you were not in the room. I

didn’t touch the bed, so it’s clean. You can sleep on the bed with peace of mind, Mr. Newton.”

The innocent soft bed probably never expected that it would be disliked by people one day, whereas the small and

narrow couch had become everyone’s favorite at that moment.

Charles finally fixed his gaze on Whitney’s face. He tossed his towel to one side after wiping his hair and slowly

walked up to her.

As the man approached, Whitney could feel the intimidating vibe from him. She got cold feet and lowered her head

timidly.

Charles bent over slowly and pinched her chin. Narrowing his eyes, he seemed like he was trying to see through the

disguise of her humility.

“Are you mad at me for not returning to the room the past few days? Are you throwing a tantrum now?”

Whitney’s face turned slightly pale. “No, I’m not.”

“Why don’t you dare look at me, then? Do you really like to sleep on the couch?”

After calming herself down, Whitney looked up slightly and met his probing eyes. She was so fazed by his

attractiveness that she subconsciously swallowed hard.

His short hair is still half-wet, while his jaw is still dripping with water from his shower. He looks so sexy.

“Yeah, I’m used to sleeping on the couch.”

Her eyelashes kept fluttering. She had not seen Charles for a few days, so the fact that they got so close physically

that night made her so nervous that her breathing became shallow.

Moreover, he even called me “Darling” during dinner earlier.

Charles did not know what she was thinking, but he noticed that her ears, neck, and cheeks were turning red.

Does she really like me so much that she becomes giddy as soon as I get a little closer to her?

Finding her response adorable, Charles felt his mood improve a lot.

He thought that Whitney was interesting even though he did not like her and only treated her as a tool to deal with

marriage.

Smiling, Charles let go of her chin and wrapped his other arm around her waist.

Exerting force with his arm, he lifted her off the couch. Their bodies were practically pressing against each other.

“Mr. Newton?”

Whitney was flustered by his intimate action.

With a smirk on his face, he watched as she panicked. Grabbing her shoulders, he turned her around so that she

was facing the bed before giving her a nudge.

He patted her lightly on her backside as if he was threatening her. “Be good and sleep on the bed.”

Speechless, Whitney was stupefied as she stumbled forward. After that, she belatedly covered her buttocks.

What did he just do? Was he taking advantage of me?

Blushing hard, Whitney turned around to stare at him in shock.

However, he wore a neutral expression as if nothing had just happened and went to the walk-in closet to blow-dry

his hair.

Whitney was bereft of speech.

I’m probably overthinking it. It’s nothing.

She also headed to the walk-in closet to get her pajamas and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

The moment the bathroom door closed, Charles heaved a sigh slowly, unable to calm down for some time.

What did I just do? I must’ve gone crazy. I actually smacked Whitney on her…

He looked at his right hand in a daze, and his cold face turned red. He even lost control of his breathing which had

become rapid.

He seemed to still be able to feel the sensation earlier on his palm.

It’s perky, bouncy, and firm. It’s attractive and feels great on the hand.

As the sound of water running in the bathroom was heard, Charles inexplicably thought of her charming figure

standing under the running water.

F*ck! I’m out of my mind. This woman is poisonous. Every time she gets near, I seem to lose control and do things I

usually wouldn’t. I will never get close to her again in the future.

With a gloomy face, Charles clenched his fists.

In the past, he would immediately wash his hands if his hands touched something that bothered him. For the first

time, he did not wash his hands. After drying his hair, he went to the balcony of the bedroom to get some fresh air.

He did not want to see the woman in her nightgown after she was done showering.

He wanted to smoke to calm himself down.

Standing on the balcony, he lit a cigarette with a lighter and started to puff on it in the silence of the night.

Holding the cigarette in his left hand, he clenched his right hand that was hanging by his side from time to time, as

if he was reliving something.

As he took a drag on the cigarette, it burned more vigorously, just like his desire that was difficult to quench.