Chapter 52 Sleeping Here Tonight
“The enclosed space, the enticing fragrance, a young man and woman in thin sleepwear, and the provocative question from the beautiful CEO, Caroline… It should have created an awkward atmosphere.
Yet somehow, with one asking in complete seriousness and the other thinking without any ulterior motives, what should have been a moment charged with tension fell completely flat.
Alistair froze, his mind drawing a blank. “What?”
Caroline stood calmly with her arms crossed, her high–quality nightwear outlining her curves as she moved. “Please answer my question, Mr. Harlow.”
Alistair finally caught on, growing uncomfortable. He averted his gaze. “Uh, I’m not a meal. You obviously can’t eat me.”
Wrong. You are exactly the dish I want, one that suits my taste perfectly. I’d actually love to devour you whole.
But what she really wanted was the answer Alistair had just given
her.
She smiled with a hint of mischief. “Then what are you afraid of?”
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Alistair was confused again.
“If I can’t eat you, why are you in such a hurry to leave?”
“To go to bed, obviously.”
Alistair grumbled internally. He couldn’t possibly sleep here, could
he?
If he even dared to think about it, he wouldn’t need to wait until tomorrow to get kicked out. He’d be packing his bags tonight.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard Caroline declare with finality, “You’re sleeping here tonight.”
Alistair was speechless. “That’s not appropriate,” he blurted out
without thinking.
Caroline had started to walk away, but stopped in her tracks. “Why not?”
“Because we…”
Aren’t we just pretending to be married for show? We don’t need to actually share a bed!!
Caroline fixed Alistair with the piercing gaze of someone in
authority, scanning him from head to toe before breaking into a
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light laugh. “Alistair, are you afraid you won’t be able to control yourself if we’re alone in a room together?”
Her bluntness caught Alistair completely off guard. He’d prepared
a polite excuse but now found himself stammering, “I–I’m not, I just—”
“You want to say you’re a perfect gentleman?” Caroline finished for him.
Alistair nodded.
Despite how self–serving it sounded, I’m really a gentleman, for
crying out loud!
Caroline nodded back. “Fine, I believe you. Go get some sleep.”
Alistair felt like he’d just received a pardon, but as he turned to leave, Caroline added, “I never stay up past midnight. Usually in bed around 10:30. What about you? Staying up too late isn’t good for your health, but if you can’t break the habit right away, that’s okay. I can wear an eye mask. Just try not to make noise.”
Alistair was at a loss for words.
Wait a minute. Caroline and I weren’t on the same page at ” Was she suggesting I should sleep here tonight? This… this is completely inappropriate!
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When Caroline saw him frozen in place, she asked with confusion,
“What’s wrong now?”
Meeting her crystal–clear, innocent gaze, Alistair wondered for a split second if he was overreacting.
Couldn’t a man and woman share a bed and literally just sleep? Is my mind in the gutter for thinking this was inappropriate? No, that’s not it.
Alistair was startled by his own doubt. How could he question his principles? A man and woman who weren’t a couple or married sleeping in the same bed was definitely not normal.
Even if the bed was big and wide enough, at the end of the day, it was still one bed.
Even children wouldn’t sleep, with their parents when they grew old, let alone the fact that he and Caroline were just pretending to be married.
Caroline looked at him with an amused expression, a teasing glint in her eyes. “What’s wrong? You claim to be a gentleman, but you’re afraid you can’t control yourself?”
She was basically calling him a hypocrite.
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Alistair’s mind went blank and he blurted out, “That’s not it! I don’t really care. I’m just worried about your reputation.”
Caroline couldn’t help but laugh. “Alistair, I’ve already announced to everyone that we’re married. Do you really think I’m concerned about my reputation at this point?”
Alistair was speechless.
She had a point, didn’t she?
Even if they eventually went their separate ways, Caroline wouldn’t go around clarifying that nothing had happened between them.
Living under the same roof day and night, maintaining the image of a loving couple whenever they went out or were in front of Eloise… Even if Caroline tried to set the record straight, no one would believe her.
Alistair was still hesitating.
Caroline delivered her ultimatum. “Alistair, please show some professional commitment. Do you really want to see Eloise crying again because she’s worried about not having a dad?”
Those words immediately filled Alistair with guilt.
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To be honest, when he saw Eloise crying earlier that day, his heart had nearly shattered.
His only purpose in this family was to give Eloise a taste of what a normal home felt like.
If they let her believe her parents weren’t getting along, leaving her constantly anxious about a potential divorce, that would defeat the whole purpose.
He reasoned that if Caroline was willing to make sacrifices for Eloise, he had nothing to fear.
The buzzing sound of a hair dryer filled the room as Caroline sat at her vanity.
Alistair finally convinced himself to accept tonight’s sleeping arrangements, though he still felt incredibly awkward.
“So… I’ll go to bed?” he asked hesitantly.
Without turning around, Caroline replied, “Mm–hmm. Go ahead.
From now on, just sleep here whenever you want. No need to check with me first.”
Alistair nearly tripped over his own feet.
From now on? If I understood correctly, was she saying I’d be
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sleeping here permanently?
Caroline switched off the hair dryer but still didn’t look at him. “Tomorrow, I’ll clear out your old bedroom and turn it into a library for Eloise’s books. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”
Alistair was at a loss for words.
Well, this was her territory. She was in charge. Whatever she said went. Who was he to object?
Even if he did have objections, he couldn’t exactly voice them.
“No problem,” he mumbled.
“Good.” Caroline smiled faintly. The innocent little rabbit had fallen into her trap so quickly.
Caroline heard Alistair’s footsteps slowly approaching the bed. Her cheeks grew warm.
Despite being Eloise’s mom for several years, she was still just an ordinary girl with zero romantic experience. She hadn’t even held hands with a guy before. Suddenly having to share a bed with a man left her no better off than Alistair. Her palms were sweaty.
But to maintain her image as the unfazed CEO in front of Alistair, she kept her back to him, not daring to turn around. She was
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terrified he’d notice her flushed face.
Alistair reluctantly approached the bed. With a king–sized mattress, he figured it wouldn’t be a problem if he slept on one side and Caroline on the other.
He remembered sharing a five–foot bed with his grandfather in their old rental apartment. They’d fit comfortably with room to
spare.
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