Eighteen Again: The CEO's Wife was a Delinquent

On that night of revelations, Cassidy ends up having a fever.

She woke up to find herself lying on a bed at the same hospital where she was admitted after that fateful plane crash. Though she feels extremely warm all over, she keeps breaking out in a cold sweat. The world seems to be spinning even when she remains on the bed. It had been so long since she had a fever that it almost felt like this was a whole new sensation.

"C-Cecile, h-help me..." Cassidy breathed out shakily, acting like the world was going to end.

"I-I’m dying."

"Quit your drama, Ma’am Cassidy. You’re overreacting..." Cecile deadpanned from beside her bed.

"This is what you get for overworking yourself."

Indeed, this is what she gets for rushing things, making up lies only to exhaust herself, working from morning until evening in secret, and feeling sick worried all the time.

It also does not help that she is nothing but emotionally unstable for the past weeks. With how dead set she is on keeping everything to herself, she persistently continues to carry all the burdens on her own. Even now, she can’t keep herself from thinking about the work that she has left untouched.

’I still need to meet up with Sir Levi. We have to discuss that modeling work I decided to take the other day. I think I’ll be able to get enough money from that job to invest in a business. That is if I combine it with my current earnings...’ Cassidy thought in silence, her deeply ponderous expression not going unnoticed by the maid.

’I didn’t get to land on a lot of high-paying jobs, especially since I wasn’t able to finish my studies and I didn’t have any particular skill. The easiest ones I could get my hands on were being a model and some other things that had to do with business promotions-’

"Speaking of overreacting, I could also say the same to President Millicent..." Cecile brought up all of the sudden, stealing back her attention and making her snap out of her thoughts.

"Instead of bringing you to your room, he called an ambulance right away. Though I understand that he was greatly shaken when you fainted out of nowhere, isn’t this a little too much? He even acquired such a luxurious private room without a hitch... It’s just a fever."

"Tell me about it. I myself was flabbergasted when I woke up dressed in this hospital gown. He’s exaggerating."

"He did kinda assume that you hit your head or something."

While Cassidy does agree with Cecile, she knows for herself that this is more than a fever - apparently, she had recovered her lost memories at long last.

It was probably because of how shocked she felt at what Adrian confessed to her last night. This thing also happened when she learned about the arson that burned down the orphanage. She is still trying to sort out every recent revelation, but because doing so is definitely not helping her feel better, she badly wants to set it aside until she gets well again. Everything is just too much for her to handle at this point.

That’s why Cassidy decided to keep everything to herself once again by lying that this was only a mere fever.

"As if taking you to the hospital was not enough, the President never left your side as well. Sir Edward had to step in and take him away to rest. You’d be both a lost cause if he ended up falling ill too," Cecile pointed out, recalling how anxious Adrian had been the whole time.

"Huh? He also watched over me?" Cassidy blurted out in surprise.

"Sure he did. He even missed work today to take care of you, though there really was no need to."

"Well, uhhhh... Where is he now?"

"Still outside. He refused to go home no matter how much his brother insisted."

Again.

Adrian is taking it too far again.

Even then, she can’t blame him for worrying that much. That ’Mister Shady’ she knew had always been the worrywart, to begin with. Now that she was aware that he regained his memories, she realized that there was actually more weight to his actions these days. He was not only doing them to make it up to her - but also because he did truly love her.

"Ughhhhh...!" Cassidy suddenly groaned in pain, feeling like her head was about to split in half right then.

"Ma’am Cassidy! What’s wrong...?!" Cecile exclaimed in panic while scurrying to get closer.

"Hang on, Ma’am! I’ll call the doctor-"

"N-No! It’s fine...! I-I’m alright."

Thinking too much is going to drain the life out of her at this rate. She should really rest.

"Just a passing headache. I still feel a little dizzy, though. Maybe I should sleep a while longer-"

"No, not maybe! You should really rest now!" Cecile cut Cassidy off before helping her lie back on the bed, much to her surprise.

"Wow, you kinda changed, Cecilia. What got you acting like my nanny now-"

"Hush, you!" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

While still astounded by how caring the maid has turned out to be, she settles back down and tries to put herself to sleep again. She can’t help but reflect on how she’s slowly beginning to change for the better, though. That somehow puts her mind at ease - seeing her try at the very least, that is.

"Thanks, Cecilia," Cassidy murmured as she closed her eyes, astonishing Cecile for a moment before earning a soft gaze from her.

"It’s nothing, Ma’am."

---

Ever since they arrived at the hospital, Adrian kept looking after Cassidy in the hospital.

Much to his relief, her fainting was not as serious as he expected, though the fact that she got a fever still alarmed and worried him. The doctors said that she would get better as long as she had enough rest, which made him question why she was this exhausted in the first place. When he had taken a closer look earlier that day, he noticed that she was indeed paler than usual.

With that, he decided to take a look at the footage of the surveillance cameras in their residence.

Much to his nonplus, Adrian learned that Cassidy had been sneaking out by disguising herself as a maid while everyone back in the mansion thought that she was only inside her room. Of course, nobody would have noticed it, especially since she had always been that good at sneaking around.

Adrian had suspected that Seven and her other bodyguards were also helping Cassidy without knowing what she was really doing, but he still had to investigate more later on.

Now, a few hours had passed since she fainted - it was already past noon before he knew it.

"Good afternoon, Cassidy. I see that you have really gone back to sleep, huh..." Adrian greeted his sleeping wife as he made his way to the side of her bed.

"Should’ve told Cecile to call me when you woke up."

To her comfort and therapeutical benefits, he had her occupy a spacious and lavish private room that looks a lot more like a house than a hospital. It has a table set, some television, and other home furniture, which can be useful once she wakes up.

There are also a few bodyguards outside of the room. He decided to tighten the security to make sure that she is safe whenever he is away.

As of this moment, Cassidy is still breathing away in her seemingly deep slumber.

"I decided to take a longer leave from work after learning that you might not be able to recover in two or more days..." Adrian continued as he sat on the chair beside her bed.

"Edward said that it was kinda too much to take you here, but I was really worried, you know."

With a solemn expression, he leans against the bed and gently holds her hand. He then raises it close to his face before planting a soft kiss on its back, his eyes fluttering closed as he takes comfort in her soothing warmth.

His lips linger on her skin for the next seconds to come. All the while, he keeps wishing for her recovery in silence.

Gilmore informed Adrian that it was odd for Cassidy to faint without noticing the signs of getting a fever first. It is either because she has been keeping it a secret from them or there is something else going on aside from this fever of hers, considering that she has amnesia and everything. He was thinking of the latter more since he himself had not noticed that she was anywhere near sickly back then.

"Just get well soon, Cassidy. You don’t have to worry about anything here..." Adrian trailed off reassuringly before gently encasing her cheeks.

"Rest as long as you like. No need to rush things. I’ll always be by your side from now on."

As he continues to stare down at her with a half-lidded, tender gaze, he keeps brushing his thumbs on her skin with so much affection. He then inches closer and kisses her forehead before doing the same on the tip of her nose.

For the rest of his stay there, all Adrian keeps on doing is beholding his wife’s beauty through these sweet and loving gestures - hoping for her to get well soon all the while.