The CEO's Painted Skin

The next day...

Catherine woke up late again. As usual, she was alone in bed. Maybe John was already back in the Jade Tower reporting to his office.

Damn! She forgot to tell him about her mother's birthday celebration, she sighed.

That will be next week. Although she already bought a gift for her mother she still needs to ask John's permission. She wants him by her side when she faces her family on that special occasion.

Then she heard a splashing of water inside the bathroom.

Huh? Who is inside?

Of course, it's John, who else?

He still here!

She smiled broadly.

When John exited the bathroom after finishing his bath, he saw a smiling Catherine looking up at him.

"Good morning, Cath!" he said.

"Good morning!" she responded cheerfully and smiled in return.

He walked to her side and planted a kiss on her forehead.

John went to the closets to find some clean clothes and Catherine went inside the bathroom to do her morning routine.

While John was donning the clothes on his body, he was already in deep thoughts.

Earlier, he was feeling a bit worried that what happened last night between them was just a dream. But when he wakes up this morning and saw her smiling at him, all his worries gone. She's in a good mood, a clear indication that nothing has changed between them last night and this morning.

He sat down on the edge of the bed waiting for her to go out of the bathroom so that they can eat their breakfast together in the dining room.

Catherine exited the bathroom and went to the closet to get clean clothes, then entered the bathroom again to finish her washing.

A moment later, she exited the bathroom wearing a maternity dress infused with sunflower design. He beckoned for her to sit down on his lap. She smiled at him and obeyed his command.

He buried his face into the valley of her chest, she smells like a thousand fresh sunshine.

She runs her fingers through his hair, loving the coarse texture of his hair.

"Hmmm...You smell good, Cath!" he commented.

"Just my soap," she smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I thought you already gone back to the Jade Tower?" she asked.

"Nah. I will return there later after lunch. I want to spend my whole morning with my wife and eat lunch with you," he replied. He looked adoringly into her eyes.

Catherine runs her hands down her stomach. "I'm feeling hungry already, can we eat breakfast now?"

"Okay. Let's go now to the dining room. Our breakfast has already been prepared for us," said John.

Catherine stood up and they went to the dining room.

While they were eating their breakfast which consists of bacon, waffle, egg omelette, fried fish, rice and hot coffee. John keeps glancing at Catherine's face, she noticed that her face was glowing, the dismal look was already gone. He felt satisfied and happy inside.

Catherine looked at John and her eyebrows knitted together.

"Why you keep staring at my face? Something wrong?" she asked him.

John smiled fondly at his lady love. "Nah. I just love watching how beautiful my wife is," he commented.

She stops eating and fixed her gaze at his face.

"Oh, why you are staring at my face, Cath?" It's now his time to ask. "Continue eating," he said.

She released a bright smile well directed at him. "I also love watching how handsome my husband is," she winked at him.

They erupted in lively laughter.

After done eating, they retired back to their room.

Now is the time for Catherine to tell John about her mother's birthday celebration.

John sat on the edge of the bed and beckoned Catherine to sit on his lap again. She obediently followed his command.

John runs his hands lovingly on her protruding stomach. "Hello baby, daddy's here! Can you greet daddy with a kick, please," he was talking animatedly to his son inside Catherine's womb. He pressed his face on her tummy. Suddenly, a soft kick coming from the inside of Catherine's tummy landed on his face...

John was chuckling..."Wow! My son hears my voice!" He pressed his face once more in her stomach and again he was rewarded with another kick from the inside.

He grinned from ear to ear. "Okay, that's enough baby. You will get tired of so much kicking."

Catherine bit her lip watching John's face radiating with happiness while talking to their son in her stomach.

John looked into her eyes.

Their eyes speak volumes.

He touches her face while running his fingers on her inviting lips. Their yes were doing the talking. Catherine leans down to meet his lips. His tongue automatically entered her mouth for a passionate kiss.

They kissed each other hungrily.

A few moments later...they were both catching their breath.

"Come on, I will accompany you in your morning walking exercise on the ground floor," said John.

She smiled at him. "I love that! But wait...I have something to tell you..."

"What is it my love?" he asked.

"My mother will celebrate her 60th birthday next week on Saturday. I haven't seen them for a while I missed them so much. I would like to visit them and surprised my mother on her birthday. Can you come with me? They will surely ask who's the father of my baby, how can I explain to them if you don't come with me? Then... I also want to buy my mother a special birthday cake, but I don't even have money on my own," she explained hurriedly.

John kissed both her hands. "No problem, Cath. I will go with you. It's about time I will see them again. Besides, we also need to inform them personally of our upcoming wedding. I want them all to attend our civil wedding. We will buy your mother a special cake," he said smiling at her.

"Thank you!" she gushes.

"Hey, no need to thank me. I'm your husband, it's my responsibility and duty to provide for you. Hmm, how about this, I will give you an ATM card, I will fund that card every month. You can spend the money on anything you want, everything that makes you happy, you can buy with it. In short, the money on the card is for your disposal," he said.

"Wow...really? You mean I don't have to work to earn money?" she asked.

"Yes. Being my wife you don't have to work. I will do all the work for you. You only need to take good care of our baby and make me happy. That's all you need to do. Easy as 123, right?" he grinned at her while he runs his fingers up and down her hair.

She nodded her head in agreement. "Okay, I can do that," she responded with a twinkle of happiness in her eyes.