The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

What the heck was he babbling about!

“I’m stiff as a board, can’t dance a step.”

Azriel would have none of it. “Just do the Bunny Hop.”

Phoebe froze for a moment, then her entire face suddenly turned beet red. “I… I don’t know how.”

Azriel reached over, grabbed his phone, and after a few taps, the familiar yet foreign tune filled the hospital room. The moment the intro hit, Phoebe wished the earth would swallow her whole.

“You… you…” She glared at Azriel, her face so hot she could probably cook an egg on it.d2

Out of all the songs in the world, why on earth did it have to be this one? She had been the butt of the joke in her family for years because of that dance.

Back in the day, she had performed it at a school event, showing off to her grandparents the day before. Everyone had clapped and praised her, except for one good-looking boy who had dismissively said, “It’s alright.”

To a child, there’s only pretty or ugly. She couldn’t accept such a lukewarm review, so her confidence took a nosedive, and on the following day, she was pushed on stage unwillingly and ended up crying through the entire routine.

She remembered the intermittent laughter from the audience and couldn’t understand why they found joy in her misery.

Little did she know, the performance was recorded and her grandparents had shamelessly flaunted it every chance they got. People would bring it up even now, years later. She wouldn’t be surprised if the video was still floating around online.

Why was this embarrassing memory resurfacing here and now?

“You really can’t dance?”

Azriel was undeniably bored and just looking for a laugh at her expense. Seeing her blush with mortification, he persisted, phone in hand, “Let me find you a tutorial video. You’ll pick it up after one watch.”

“No!” Phoebe shot out her hand in a stop sign, “No, no, no, no! I… I can do it, I just can’t do it well, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dance.”

Azriel arched an eyebrow, nodded, and after swiping on his phone for a bit, he said, “Alright, let’s see it then.”

The music from the phone started again. Phoebe, with her eyes closed, took deep breaths until the crucial moment when, resigned to her fate, she opened her eyes and started her stiff, awkward dance moves.

The sight was cringeworthy, and it made Azriel look like he had a twisted sense of humor. Once wasn’t enough; he had her do it a second time, and Phoebe was grinding her teeth.

You build up a tolerance for embarrassment, she thought. If at first, the prospect of dancing your most embarrassing dance alone in a hospital room made you want to vanish into thin air, by the second round, it felt like no big deal.

the door to the room

blankly at the

assistant Jace was frozen at the entrance, hand still on the doorknob, equally

stood Phoebe, hands poised like bunny ears atop her head, knees bent as if ready to bounce. Dressed in simple jeans and a knit burnt orange sweater with a delicate white lace collar, she really

Azriel, who typically wore an air of aloof detachment but now sported a faint,

had received not long ago, Jace suspected that Azriel had

of water, her eyes glaring through the clear glass at the man on the bed who

entered, and his face

eyes met hers. “What are

bit her lip, set down the glass, and shook her head, “Nothing. Since you guys

over some documents,

that, Phoebe was out the door. But just as she was about to escape, Azriel’s voice,

with a forced smile, “Okay,” she said before slipping out and

embarrassment from earlier came

in the room, Jace briefed Azriel on the Alonso family’s latest antics

plotting to “sell” Phoebe off, especially during their recent close call,

Harper family a lot lately. Someone must’ve

without that tip-off, she would have likely fallen

and Jace felt a

exchanged polite greetings. Remembering the chill in the room and seeing Phoebe enjoying ice cream despite the cold, Jace couldn’t help but

off, “I’ve got too much fire inside.

adding, “Anyway, Ms. Alonso, it might be better to eat a bit less. Do you have plans for lunch, or are you going to use the hospital cafeteria? Do you want

looked up at

this, she suddenly felt her stomach

was keeping vigil by Azriel’s side, and had missed breakfast altogether. Thinking about it now, she

at the ice cream she held in her hand, she quickly took a bite. The cold rush gave her a shiver, and with a twirl of her deep brown eyes, she grinned at Jace and said, “I might need to take care of Mr. Azriel for a few more days, so I need to get a sense of his tastes. How

the hospital lobby before

a bit embarrassed, “Cooking isn’t really that hard, you know. The incident was just an accident. It’s not

to himself. “Poor instant noodles,

he guessed he might as well do as she asked. “Alright, I’ll have someone bring the food over to you in a

Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated