Oops I Banged the CEO novel Chapter 104

“What’s wrong? Got something to hide?” Marico opened the package before she could stop him.

Inside was a sleek, black men’s watch—businesslike, understated. The sales receipt was still tucked in beside it.

Marico glanced at the price and the purchase date. It had been bought just yesterday.

“A birthday gift for me?” He looked at the watch, then at Yvonne, who stood beside him looking awkward and uncertain.

“That was the plan…”

“Then why didn’t you give it to me?” Marico took the watch out of its box.

It was a decent style, though it cost less than thirty grand—nothing extravagant.

“It’s just… this is too cheap for you,” Yvonne muttered, rubbing her sore forehead with a sheepish honesty. “It doesn’t compare to the one you’re wearing now. That one cost over three hundred grand.”

Marico’s dark eyes narrowed as he glanced down at the watch on his own wrist.

“Did you run into Yves when you went shopping?”

“Huh?” Yvonne’s confusion was immediate and genuine.

Who on earth was Yves?

“That watch was a gift from a friend,” Marico explained coolly.

“Wait, wasn’t that from Ms. White?” Yvonne blurted out before she could stop herself, eyes wide. She had intended to keep quiet about all the gossip swirling around today, but her restraint slipped.

Yvonne’s heart skipped a beat. She dropped her voice, suddenly cautious. “I mean it. Really.”

“You’re surprisingly… gracious,” Marico said through clenched teeth, his jaw tight with restrained anger.

Yvonne felt the pressure mount, her voice growing even softer. “It’s just… we only got married to keep our families happy.”

A marriage without love is just an empty shell anyway. And with all the people who admired him, Yvonne figured the line stretched halfway to Paris. The fact that he’d settled for someone as ordinary as her—maybe he was just being contrary?

Marico’s brow twitched in frustration as he struggled to keep his temper in check.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, her tone suddenly sweet and clueless, as if she hadn’t just thrown gasoline on the fire. “You look kind of upset.”

Marico realized in that moment that people really could be driven crazy—because he was right there on the edge.