Secret Wife, Real Billionaire - Chapter 124: Chapter 124

Marvin occupied a VIP ward on the top floor of the hospital. Marcelo’s private guards stood guard outside, ensuring both privacy and safety.
At Sarah’s persuasion, Renee reluctantly left for some rest. Marvin was out of danger now, and Marcelo’s icy glares at Sarah were the only entertainment on offer.
Renee hadn't slept the previous night. After a shower at home, she longed for some much-needed rest.
To her surprise, as she settled into bed, a certain someone appeared, deftly undressing her with his fiery hands.
“Aren't you heading to work?!”Renee exclaimed, but her protest was too late.
Marcelo kissed her forehead, ears, and neck and as usual,she was easily aroused by him.
He couldn't help but wonder whether she valued him more than Sarah. Despite the lack of an answer, he persisted with that tedious question. In an attempt to alleviate his frustration and assert his significance to Renee, he sought intimacy with her.
The sun had ascended by the time they concluded their passionate morning interlude. Finally ensconced in the quilt,Renee succumbed to sleep.
Renee’s eyes were closed with a lingering haze.
Marcelo, in all his human vigor, left her marveling at his boundless energy.
After a shower, Marcelo, now in a bathrobe, stepped onto the balcony for a smoke. On his return, he noticed Renee’s phone screen lighting up with a call.
It was Howard's call.
Interrupting her slumber, Renee frowned in protest against the persistent intrusion.
Seeing this,Marcelo glanced at the buzzing phone and decided to answer it.
The ceaseless vibrations ceased as he picked up. Howard's voice, clear and resolute, emanated from the phone.
“Hello,Renee. It's Howard. We need some snapshots for the lecture poster. Can you send me a few?" the person on the other end suggested.
Marcelo responded nonchalantly, "She is sleeping."
A pause followed on Howard's end.
"Who's this?" Howard's tone turned wary as if entering a high-stakes negotiation.
Marcelo mused that this was how a scion of the Lee family should sound.
"Marcelo," he replied.
Howard had harbored a suspicion that it was Marcelo. Still, he couldn't hide his frustration when Marcelo validated his intuition, causing him to clench his fists.
It seemed fate had, once again, validated those rumors.
“Mr. King, could you pass the phone to Ellie? I have something to discuss with her."
“I just told you,she’s asleep,"Marcelo replied, observing Renee still sleeping.
“It's afternoon already. Is she still sleeping?"
Howard doubted Marcelo’s words, sensing a lie.
Marcelo activated the speakerphone, softly calling Renee’s name.
The gentle vibration of Renee’s phone jolted her almost into consciousness. A persistent caller spurred her immediate reaction.
“Ugh, Marcelo…no…let me get some sleep,I…I feel sore…and exhausted..."Renee grumbled , knitting her brows, cocooned in her quilt, determined to shut out all external disturbances.
Howard found himself at a loss for words, engulfed in an ensuing silence.
Marcelo couldn't help but find the situation amusing.
He quipped, "Did you catch that?"
"You, you..." Howard struggled for words.
“I can’t even disturb my woman right now because she’s tired.”He stressed the last word.”Now,will you fuck off?”
“Uh...Hold on! You, you...Forget it," Howard stammered in panic.
Ignoring his hesitation, Marcelo nonchalantly hung up.
Buried in the quilts, breathing became a challenge.
Marcelo tucked Renee in, intending to catch a few more winks, but a pile of pending work in the company beckoned.
Relocating his laptop to the bedroom, he propped himself against the headboard, ready to tackle the tasks at hand.
When Renee stirred from her slumber sometime later,she found herself in a daze, her thoughts in disarray.
The room, shrouded in darkness with only a faint bedside lamp casting a warm glow on the man and his laptop, seemed to deepen her confusion.
“Are you not going to the office?"Renee,fumbling in the dark for her phone, asked him, "Where's my phone?"
Marcelo handed her phone from the bedside table, remarking, "It's almost evening."
Shaking her head, Renee, still groggy, mumbled, "Something's not right."
Suddenly, a realization struck her. Eyeing Marcelo’s laptop warily, she dared not make a sound.
"I'm not in a video conference." He chuckled, amused at her apprehension.
Renee peeked over, confirming he was reading an email.
A wave of relief washed over her. "I thought I was in for another embarrassing moment!"
She couldn't take another one.
“Howard called you." After setting his laptop aside, Marcelo climbed off the bed.
"What? Why?" Renee, now composed, replied, "I'll call him back."
Marcelo regarded Renee with an inscrutable expression. She was in her just-awakened state, oblivious to the man's unusual demeanor.
“Howard, you called me?" Renee called Howard back, unaware of the phone conversation between Marcelo and Howard.
Howard expressed his need for her photographs.
“Can't the poster be designed using only words? I don't want you to use my photos," Renee said. Her striking beauty wasn't always a positive thing, particularly when it had to do with her professional performance. It would easily get people to pay attention to her face rather than her performance.
"Okay," Howard replied. He just used acquiring her photos as an excuse to have a word with Renee, but he had no idea that the previous call would be answered by Marcelo.
“Renee, I called you almost four hours ago. It was...Marcelo who answered." Howard cautiously broached the subject.
“Renee, you and Mr. King...Are you living together?"
"Yes, we live together."