On their way to the studio, Clifford and Ingrid were holding each other"s hands to warm Ingrid"s hands which were colder than usual."Are you okay, my love?" Clifford"s asks his wife but Ingrid didn"t look at him as she nodded in response.
"I"ll just have to go through this. Agghh! I really hate events like this." She complained.
"You better be used to it because you married a famous man..." Clifford chuckled at his joke.
"Excuse me? You aren"t famous, Mr. Briggs." Ingrid reacted by rolling her eyes. "...so full of himself."
"Full because of you.." Clifford again chuckled at his cheesiness.
"Eww... will you stop making corny jokes it irks me inside..." Ingrid shakes off her body.
"Is that so?" without warning Clifford attacked Ingrid"s neck and sucked it and formed a small hickey like a mosquito bite.
"CLIFFORD! WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO!" Ingrid"s eyes bulge in shock! Immediately she checked her neck in the mirror.
She slapped the man"s arm and tried to scratch her neck thinking that the hickey will be wiped away by her constant rubbing. But Clifford wasn"t sorry but amus.e.m.e.nt filled his eyes instead.
"Just to make a mark, in case someone may take advantage of you when we arrived."
Ingrid sulked in embarra.s.sment, too anxious that people may notice it.
"You are simply impossible..." Ingrid"s voice was full of annoyance nonetheless Clifford just laughed at her.
"You don"t have to explain to them, besides, I"m your husband. I can do more than that." Instead of giving in to her irritation, Ingrid just laughed with her husband.
"Hey! Stop flirting, will you?" she said giggling.
"I am not yet flirting with you..." Ingrid acted as if she"s surprise and they both laugh again.
"Excuse me, young master, young madam, but we have just arrived..." the driver go red in the face and felt that he interrupted the intimate moments of the couple.
The couple suddenly discontinue what they"re doing. Clifford cleared his throat, straightened his clothes before he walked out from the car. He stood up outside the car to a.s.sist Ingrid. He tightened his grip when he felt that his wife"s hand becomes cold again.
Ingrid withdrew her hand from his husband"s grip and they just walk side by side, but Clifford"s right hand was placed at Ingrid"s lower back.
As they pa.s.s, the people started gazing at them, talking softly among themselves.
They were welcomed by the network"s CEO and were ushered to his office as they wait for the program to start. Clifford and the man already know each other before.
Whereas, Ingrid was just quiet during the two men"s conversation because she"s rehearsing what she"s about to answer later. Out of the blue, Clifford took hold of her hands again which did not miss the man"s gaze and then he smiled.
♥…♥…♥
"My... what a stunning couple we have tonight, ooopppss, I mean guests.." then the male host laughs. "…welcome to the show, Mr. Briggs, Miss Howard…"
"Thank you for having us here…" Clifford responded.
"No, I should thank you for giving me this once in a lifetime chance. My, your pictures give you no justice at all… you"re so handsome, Mr. Briggs and the lady here is just so magically beautiful… tsk, pity, I"m already taken."
Clifford glared discreetly at the man but he seems not to care which amuses Ingrid and she just smiled faintly.
"Okay, just before we welcome you, we showed some pictures of you circulating around social media when you were in Maldives, Miss Ingrid"s disagreement with a certain Maya Holmes, a news reporter. I am gonna be straight to the point, is the rumor true?" Aron Cutter"s eyes showed a knowing look, rousing his guests to answer truthfully.
"Which one?" Clifford used his menacing smile to challenge the host instead but he didn"t scare away.
"Oooh, I love this!" the challenge Clifford Briggs is giving him excites him. "..should we start with this one?"
The big screen behind them showed a picture of a man"s back walking side by side with a woman with a caption: THE ELUSIVE BACHELOR IS SECRETLY MARRIED AND HAVE A CHILD?! WHO"S THIS WOMAN?
"oohhh…" The audience altogether huffed in surprise.
"Who"s the woman beside you? Was it you, Miss Ingrid and the child is your son?" Ingrid nodded.
"Oh, so it"s confirmed! They"re the rumored couple. But before we conclude, could you please enlighten us, Mr. Cliff…" Aron smiled triumphantly.
"We"re on a business trip at that time, since Ingrid was the EVP and was task for the new products endorser, so we needed to go together. Unfortunately, she couldn"t leave the child alone so she brought him with her." But the host wanted something else. Something that catches his audience ears as well as those who are watching at home.
"But is it true that you"re secretly married? Just as the caption stated? If I"ll be the one to judge it, you seem like a happy family on a vacation, to be honest… so what"s really the truth?"
Before Clifford answered, he glanced at Ingrid and seeks out for her signal. She stared back at him and nodded.
"Hey! Are you two having some secret signs?" the host interrupted.
"Technically, we didn"t secretly marry at that time. As I"ve said, it"s a business trip."
"Technically? So, you mean, you got married after?" the host just blurted out and was even more surprise at the straightforwardness of his guest.
"Yes."