The Faceless Billionaire Celebrity Wife-Chapter 288: Just One is Enough.

"I can keep myself awake," Shikera countered.

"That was then. You can barely keep yourself awake even in the daytime now..." Noah drawled. He moved towards the edge of the large bed and patted his side, "You can take a nap here if you want. I’m comfortable on the sofa too, in case you want the bed to yourself."

"She wouldn’t need it," a voice replied, as the door opened. Ethan walked in wearing a mask which he removed immediately the door closed behind him.

"You’re back," Noah noted. He didn’t bother saying anything else to convince Shikera to sleep as he placed the earplugs over his ears. He could conveniently leave the two to themselves.

Meanwhile, Shikera also forgot about Noah for the meantime and stood up to meet Ethan, who was also approaching her.

"Your eyes are dull," he pointed out, raising her chin up to examine her face properly.

"That’s your greeting line?" Shikera asked with raised eyebrows.

"I’m sorry. You just...you look so different but I can’t point out in what way?"

Shikera rolled her eyes.

"That’s obviously because my hair is braided today. The nurse helped me with it. What about you? You look so tired," she said.

"Yeah," Ethan agreed instantly. "I’m so tired. Three hours wouldn’t be enough."

Worry etched on her forehead, Shikera looked down at her watch to check the time.

"There’s still about 6 hours left until dad’s surgery. Is that time enough?" she asked.

"I can make do with four," Ethan replied, walking around to stand behind her. He held her by her shoulder and guided her to the door as he talked, "I asked Cole to book the presidential suite at the hotel just opposite. Don’t worry about being uncomfortable."

Shikera stopped walking and turned as she burst into laughter.

"For once Ethan, just let your mind be pure. You look tired so you should just sleep. Go to the suite yourself and come back when you’re awake," she stated, pushing him away from her.

"But I need my sleeping pill too. We signed a contract remember? You have to kiss me before I’ll sleep." Ethan had a serious look on his face as he stared down at her, as if he was talking to a business partner while Shikera returned his gaze with the same expression, refusing to back down.

"Then I’ll kiss you here and you go to sleep without me. It’s so simple," she deadpanned.

Silence ensued for the next minute as the two maintained the intense gaze, before Ethan gave up. He walked to the long sofa in the room and took his seat.

"I’ll just sleep here instead. If I do that, you can stay with me, right? Since you don’t want to leave because of your father," he asked.

Shikera nodded, "But it’s better if you just go to the hotel. You won’t be comfortable on that place."

"And I won’t even sleep if I go to the hotel; which is better? At least I can still sleep here," Ethan stated. He patted the area next to him and signaled her to come sit beside him.

"Doesn’t look like I have a choice," Shikera murmured as she walked over to join him.

★★★

Music Rec: Love is gone by Slander

The hallway leading to the operating theatre was so silent that if a needle dropped, it wouldn’t have gone unheard. Noah paced the front of the large doors with his hands folded across his chest, an inpatient gaze in his eyes.

Occasionally, he would run his hands through his hair and release an exhausted sigh afterwards. Even though his legs were aching him from standing for more than two hours, he had no wish to sit. Not like there was space for him to sit since Shikera had taken it all.

Her head placed on Ethan’s thighs, she was currently laid out on the only couch placed in the hallway at the request of the latter. After stubbornly insisting on not sleeping all through the afternoon, it didn’t take her more than ten minutes of waiting outside the quiet operation theatre before she dozed off. While using her husband’s legs as pillow.

"You think she should stay here? She would be more comfortable in bed," Noah spoke up, gesturing at Shikera. His words were directed at Ethan who shook his head in reply to the question.

"I bet she doesn’t even know she’s asleep," he said, a small smile on his lips. "Any attempt to take her away from here might wake her, and we definitely do not want that."

Noah nodded in agreement, his mood lightening up as an idea popped in his mind.

"Don’t you think she looks tired? Or kind of different?" he asked.

Ethan didn’t reply immediately but his gaze went straight to Shikera’s face. Slowly and gently, he loosened the braids which she had claimed made her look different.

His eyes took in her face at once and he realized she didn’t look different because of the braid. There was just this...He couldn’t tell what it was, but her cheeks surely looked plumper.

"She looks different. I think it’s because she eats more these days," he replied.

Noah shrugged. He had promised his sister not to pass the boundary she set.

"If you say so then," he muttered, returning his gaze to the led lights in front of the operating theatre doors.

On the other hand, Ethan subconsciously trailed his eyes down to Shikera’s belly, a calculative gaze in his eyes.

"She wants babies. No...just one is enough. Any more than that will be just troublesome," he muttered beneath his breath.

In a bid to keep himself busy, he went back to the braids he loosened earlier and started to redo it with utmost dedication and concentration. Shikera slept all through the conversation and braiding of her hair, completely oblivious to what was going on around her.

Exactly three hours later, she opened her eyes at the same time the theatre doors slid open.