historical

Cassidy feels like crawling into a hole at this very moment.

"Ughhh... This is so embarrassing..."

It just happened that she found herself in another situation that displays her vulnerability yet again - but this time, it's in front of a large audience.

After half an hour of commuting by bus, they finally arrived at the nearest mall. Much to her nonplus, Adrian proceeded to pick her up and carry her once more.

With that, he continues on his way and enters the building, catching people's attention almost instantly. Every single one they pass by would turn their head to them in surprise. As this scene goes on and their gazes keep trailing after them, they end up making a spectacle of themselves.

For the whole time, Cassidy just covers her face with both of her hands in an attempt to evade this barely bearable amount of attention. She would've asked to be put down if she knew she would be able to walk without wobbling and consequently embarrassing herself even more in front of these people.

"Well, I can tell that him carrying me like I'm some kind of a cripple isn't the only reason why they're looking," she thought silently as she peeked through her fingers.

She can point out that it's also because of their unusual guises. Though they're mostly dry now, they still look like a mess. With her husband's unkempt hair looking like a bird's nest and her own dirty clothes, people will definitely see them as a couple of strays who just happened to get inside a mall.

And then, once again, there's Adrian - a very handsome man whose imposingly ethereal presence easily seeps through no matter how haggard he looks. Since his clothes aren't completely dry, the remaining wetness tones his muscular and ripped build, making his strapping figure stand out and attract attention.

Cassidy is able to prove her presumption on this one when she finds a few people holding up their cellphones and taking pictures. Most of them are females, which doesn't really surprise her.

"Looks like someone has a fanbase all of the sudden," she quipped with a teasing smirk.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he stared down at her in puzzlement.

"Are you oblivious, bossman? Look around you. People are taking pictures without your permission-"

Then, she paused.

Cassidy suddenly found herself getting all tongue-tied the moment they reached a particular clothing store. A huge advertisement poster is splattered across the wall of the storefront window, featuring none other than Adrian and the Millicent's perfume brand. He appears stunningly attractive and debonair with that luscious look on his face.

"Okay, there's no way you're oblivious at this rate," she deadpanned, throwing aside her impression that he could make a fanbase just by walking in front of an audience.

In actuality, he's already this famous in the first get-go, which also means that having a fanbase has long been a fact about him.

"Let's get ourselves changed first. This shop is one of our company-owned boutiques, so don't hesitate to choose anything you want," Adrian told her before entering the store.

"W-Wait, I... I thought you're gonna be spending money and whatnot? Why didn't you say you have a boutique here?" Cassidy inquired with a flabbergasted look.

"We'll be needing the money on other things we'll buy later. For now, let's change clothes."

At first, the employees inside the boutique try to take in their presence as soon as they step inside. There also some customers who turn to look at them. That's until the female manager eventually recognizes Adrian and starts to inform her staff in a haste.

Right then, in what seems like a blink of an eye, a crowd is gathered and people begin attending to the couple.

"Good evening. We're so glad to have you drop by here, President," the manager greeted with a smile, trying so hard to ignore their baffling appearances.

Now that they're recognized, Adrian finally puts Cassidy down and gently pushes her forward for a bit. She looks back at him in confusion while he simply returns a smile.

"Go and get yourself assisted. Choose whatever you like, but don't move around too much yet," he said before gesturing the manager to take her away.

Cassidy can't help but remain astonished by this chain of happenings for a little while longer, thinking that now they're back to civilization, Adrian has finally retrieved his all-encompassing power to impose commands like this.