Tangled Hearts: Chased by Another Tycoon after Divorce-Chapter 161: Do You Like Me?

Victoria Monroe’s mind was buzzing, full of Rhys Hawthorne’s words.

Baby.

Night.

Pleasure.

She knew every word, but together they formed an extremely ambiguous phrase that set the imagination alight.

Just as she was lost in thought, a fish below the sea suddenly gave a strong tug, causing Victoria to stagger forward in a daze, almost falling against the railing.

The large hand resting on her waist pulled her back, and Rhys Hawthorne’s deep voice came by her ear, "Hold tight, even an adult man would struggle with fish this big."

The two sides were locked in a struggle, the fishing rod was taut like a drawn bow, and the fishing line was being dragged downward by the big fish.

Victoria had never caught such a big fish before, and soon her focus was entirely captivated by it.

She no longer cared about any bet, her mind was fully occupied with the angler’s obsession, landing the fish!

With Rhys helping on the side, she engaged in a fierce battle with the fish, nearly resorting to all the extraordinary techniques she’d seen on short videos before.

After a grueling ten minutes, her hand holding the fishing rod was tingling, and she was out of strength.

But her stubborn pride wouldn’t let her give up; she was determined to bring the big fish up.

The moment she sensed the fish slackening, she exerted a sudden force, and along with Rhys, pulled the fish out of the water.

She used both her hands, with Rhys lending his, to finally lift it up.

Victoria looked at the fish, which was half again as large as the last, her eyes full of surprise as she exclaimed, "Rhys, it’s huge!"

The big fish struggled wildly in the air, its silver scales dazzling in the sunlight.

Just as it was about to be hauled ashore, Victoria felt Rhys suddenly let go, losing much of the strength, and the big fish began to struggle anew.

Caught off guard, the fishing rod slipped from Victoria’s hand and fell into the sea with the fish.

"Ah! My fish."

Victoria cried out, watching helplessly as the fish plunged into the sea, creating splashes everywhere.

She turned to look at Rhys, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, only his sharply defined face was visible.

"Why did you let go? Don’t tell me it was an accident," Victoria’s gaze clearly carried an accusatory tone.

The greatest insult to an angler is probably having a big fish right in front of me, yet failing to cherish it, only to regret it once it falls into the water.

If time could rewind, I would give my all to pull that big fish in.

Rhys met her slightly indignant gaze, lightly brushed her nose with his hand, "Because I want you to win."

Those words hit Victoria like a bomb, smashing into her heart.

Victoria was stunned; even she had forgotten about the bet, yet Rhys had given up the near-certain victory because she had said she wanted a small fish.

Victoria didn’t know what kind of man he was, but she found respect in Rhys.

Before she could react, Rhys bent down and handed her another fishing rod, "There’s still time to play a bit more, but if the fish is too big, don’t pull too hard. It’s just a pastime to kill time; don’t get hurt."

Victoria replied absentmindedly, "Okay."

Rhys returned to his spot, casually casting his line with an air of composure, once again embodying the unattainable, abstinent Buddha-like figure he often seemed.

Yet Victoria couldn’t forget how his chest against her back had been so searing hot.

The entire afternoon, their catch was plentiful. Though they didn’t encounter another fish of that size, Victoria caught over a dozen pounds worth, enough to make her happy for a long while.

As the sun set on the horizon, she sat on the deck steps, her dress skirt spread across the wooden floor, her hair left loose and soft.

She was barefoot, letting the sea breeze blow in, seemingly scattering all her worries away.

The clouds rolled and unrolled at the edge of the sky, the sea calm and vast.

At this moment, she finally understood why Rhys had chosen not to send her back home in a private jet, but instead took her slowly on the sea, stopping here and there.

The destination didn’t matter; Rhys’s goal was to let the beautiful scenery along the way heal her.

This place, far removed from worldly clamor and disputes, allowed her not to think about anything.

In his words, she simply needed to be happy being herself.

Victoria’s whole life, she had never truly had a day of freedom. In her early years, she was busy making money, and later, preparing for pregnancy.

Even though she had long accumulated wealth that others couldn’t dream of, she had never truly relaxed or indulged herself.

Stress was her constant shadow.

It turned out that truly letting go was this liberating.

Though she was a mother now, beside Rhys, she felt like a child, able to live purely without having to consider anyone’s gaze or maintain some celebrity image.

From afar, Rhys saw this scene.

Victoria leaned back, her hands supporting her on the ground, basked in the sunset glow.

The amber hue of the sun enveloped her, bathing her in a layer of golden light.

Her pronounced features were glamorous even without makeup, stunningly beautiful.

Especially with her slight smile, her face relaxed, she looked like an angel.

Such beauty made Rhys’s heart skip a beat every time he saw her.

Julian Fordham’s desire to hide her beauty is understandable.

But Rhys wanted to protect this beauty well.

Hearing his footsteps, Victoria opened her eyes.

Her dark eyes turned a shade of amber in the sunlight, like a cat, her smile growing bigger, and she sweetly greeted, "Young Master."

Rhys glanced at her bare feet, the wound on her sole had scabbed over.

"Why are you running around barefoot again?"

Victoria felt a little guilty, "Sorry, it’s a habit."

The man bent down towards her, the unique cold cedar sandalwood scent of him entered her nose, and his big hand landed beside her, drawing her into his embrace, into his domain.

As he got closer, Victoria’s heart skipped a beat, and thinking of the gentle, lingering kiss from last night, her cheeks flushed, her long eyelashes trembling lightly.

Was he going to kiss her?

Rhys Hawthorne indeed had this thought, at this moment Victoria Monroe was too beautiful.

Unlike her fragile appearance from some time ago, she had finally regained a bit of spirit, displaying a vibrant vitality.

At such a close distance, he could clearly smell the faint scent of roses on her.

Clearly, she had already been married once, yet her alluring charm couldn’t hide her clean and pure aura.

Making Rhys unwittingly say, "So well-behaved."

Victoria Monroe’s long eyelashes fluttered, "What?"

Was he referring to the scenery?

Rhys didn’t explain, instead he leaned down and picked her up.

"Dinner is ready, and it’s getting cold outside as night falls."

"Okay."

"I don’t intend to blame you, although the temperature is high at sea, sometimes there might be water on the deck and you could slip. It’s fine if you like being barefoot, just do it in the room."

Victoria suddenly realized Rhys wasn’t just being good to her, he was totally indulging her.

"Rhys, why are you so good to me?"

Rhys swallowed back the confession that was about to be spoken; he couldn’t tell her this secret until he was sure Victoria wouldn’t be scared away.

The relationship between him and Victoria was like a thin spider’s thread, a slight breeze could easily break it.

He wasn’t extorting gratitude from her, but Victoria largely couldn’t refuse his requests out of appreciation for him.

Rhys not only had to cautiously maintain her goodwill towards him but also find ways to deepen it little by little.

By the time she realized something was wrong, she would have already fallen into the web, unable to escape.

Now was not the time to confess, Rhys spoke, "I promised Grandma to take good care of you."

Victoria hadn’t thought he took his promises so seriously.

She was placed onto a dining chair, and before her, the table was laden with a sumptuous array of food, including several extra desserts.

It’s hard to imagine such a meticulous man was actually a pampered young master.

He was so attentive that he deboned fish for her, cut steak, shelled shrimp, making Victoria feel quite embarrassed.

"Rhys, I can handle these things myself."

His well-defined hands were elegant even when shelling shrimp, his expression calm, "You endured too much hardship before; if you marry me, you’ll only have to eat sweets in the future."

Victoria said, "But aren’t we in a fake marriage?"

Rhys placed the shrimp meat on her plate, his deep eyes gazing at her, "Whether it’s a real or fake marriage, I have no other woman outside. Instead of putting on a facade for others, why not treat you well?"

"But..."

"You don’t have to regard me as a husband; in my heart, you’re already my wife. You don’t need to feel any pressure, I’m doing all this willingly."

The word ’wife’ left Victoria a bit shaken.

Rhys remained gentlemanly and composed, "Eat up, the bet I mentioned earlier was just to tease you, don’t take it to heart. All I want is for you to be happy."

The night unfolded, and away from the city, the night sea seemed like a monster, roaring to devour everything.

Victoria took a bath, and Rhys patted her head, "Go to bed early."

"Are you going to work again?"

"Yeah, I have to attend a few video meetings, don’t worry, I’ll be back soon."

Victoria then understood that he wasn’t not busy.

He spent all his time with her; while she rested, he handled work affairs.

He was even afraid she might have nightmares, never forgetting to come over and sleep with her.

Does such a good man really exist?

But he was truly right in front of her.

He had no reason to pretend; instead of spending effort on her, a pregnant woman, with just a wave of his hand, a group of wealthy socialites would flock to fawn over him.

Thinking carefully, Rhys was actually quite pitiable. Despite having supreme power and status, he had lost his male dignity and could never have children of his own.

Thinking of that cautious kiss last night, perhaps she was the only one who wouldn’t disdain him.

He merely wanted to experience matters between a man and a woman, it wasn’t as if he was asking for the moon.

Even ancient eunuchs wanted to find a palace maid to accompany them; desire is human nature.

Rhys, afraid she would be scared, specifically changed his office location to a small suite next door, so he could be closer to her.

He was genuinely the best to her, whether out of responsibility or interest, this kindness was real.

He didn’t need anything in return from her, but Victoria felt uneasy in her heart.

Once a woman starts to sympathize with a man, it’s the beginning of falling into an abyss.

Rhys worked for over two hours and finished before eleven; he quietly returned to the room.

Ever since knowing there was another woman in the bedroom, his life had undergone a dramatic change.

This home-like warmth made him very satisfied.

After bathing, he just got into bed, doing his best not to disturb Victoria.

He gently pressed against her waist from behind, without any inappropriate actions, just wanting to hold her.

Victoria wasn’t asleep, feeling his gentlemanly manner, her heart softened, and before Rhys could react, she turned over and actively snuggled up to him.

Rhys’s body stiffened, not understanding Victoria’s intentions, frozen in place.

In the dark, he felt her small hand encircle his neck.

Soon after, her soft voice sounded in his ear, "Young master, do you want it?"

Rhys’s whole body tensed, his Adam’s apple moving involuntarily, nervously asking, "Want what?"

Victoria, holding back her shyness, already mentally prepared, blushingly whispered in his ear, "To explore the mysteries of the human body, for example..."

Her soft lips brushed against his earlobe, "Do you like it when I kiss you?"