Bondage and Marriage - 26

While Hayden was away, Ian relentlessly tormented Noah.

Whenever Noah appeared in Ian’s sight, whether employees were around or not, Ian teased and mocked him.

The employees, for their part, maintained their expressionless faces, no matter how far Ian went in teasing Noah, sometimes even stripping him halfway and making inappropriate comments.

As a result, the only one who was utterly thrilled these days was Noah, who was being bullied daily without much else to worry about.

Every time Ian was at the mansion, Noah would follow him around like a naive omega, just trying to fulfill his marital duties.

He’d bring Ian tea or snacks while he worked in the study, gently suggest they take a walk in the garden, and made sure they ate dinner together every evening.

Of course, it always ended the same way: Noah would either become a pen holder in the study, crawl on the ground holding a hose leaking water in the garden, or get pinned down on the dining table during meals.

For Noah, these outcomes were deeply satisfying.

As Noah spent each day feeling fulfilled, Hayden’s vacation stretched on unusually long.

On the third week of the housekeeper’s absence, after another satisfying night, Noah woke up late and happily descended to have brunch.

It was then that one of the staff told him about Ian’s upcoming overseas trip.

“A family-included social gathering?”

“Yes, Mr. Noah.

The mansion will depart at 1 PM, and they are scheduled to board the private jet at the airport.”

Noah had noticed the servants packing things busily the night before.

He nodded and fell into thought.

Now that he considered it, Noah had been living a remarkably calm and leisurely life for someone married.

Usually, after marriage, one would join their partner in various social gatherings, but after marrying Ian, Noah had quit all the clubs and social activities he was a part of.

However, Ian never introduced Noah to any of his social circles.

In high society, social gatherings were one of the most important aspects, so the idea that someone of Ian’s status wasn’t a member of any social club was absurd.

This was just Ian’s way of ignoring Noah.

While most people would be upset by this behavior, Noah didn’t mind.

His current relaxed lifestyle was too satisfying to bother jeopardizing.

Nevertheless, since Ian wanted Noah to accompany him, it must have been an important event.

It probably had something to do with showing the alliance between the Frost and Miller families.

Noah preferred to go with Ian rather than stay bored at the mansion.

It had been a while since he’d had an outing.

“A social gathering means I should dress formally…”

Noah thought, recalling the atmosphere of past events he had attended with his family.

Since it was a two-day trip, he didn’t need many clothes.

If necessary, he could buy something later.

Once he selected his outfit, the waiting servant quickly packed the luggage.

Usually, it’d be polite to inform someone of such plans a day in advance, but then again, Ian had never been one for courtesy toward Noah.

As Noah prepared for the trip and sat in the limousine, he reflected on how Ian had never set up any personal funds or activity allowance for him.

Well, if Ian didn’t want to support his social activities, Noah figured he had a good excuse not to engage in them.

Although he had some inheritance from Tanner, Noah rationalized that there was no need to bother with social events if he wasn’t being provided the means for them.

Besides, this marriage wasn’t going to last forever anyway.

Upon arriving at the airport, Noah went through a quick departure check before heading directly to the private jet gate.

After being warmly welcomed by the flight crew, Noah boarded the plane, noticing that aside from the crew and the pilot, no one else was aboard.

The staff had mentioned that Ian was supposed to arrive by 3 PM, but when Noah asked a smiling flight attendant, she corrected him.

“Oh, no.

This private jet is scheduled to depart at 5 PM.”

Of course, Ian wouldn’t be the type to arrive early and wait.

In fact, Ian was the kind of person who would deliberately make Noah arrive two hours ahead of time.

Noah decided to relax in the plush seat and wait.

The flight attendant, extremely attentive, kept bringing Noah a variety of sweet desserts to enjoy during the wait.

It wasn’t until Noah had tried every dessert on the menu and finished watching a whole movie that Ian finally appeared, bringing Daniel along as they boarded the private jet.

Ian glanced briefly at Noah but didn’t even bother to apologize.

Knowing Ian’s rude and inconsiderate nature, Noah wasn’t really upset.

It wasn’t like he had been waiting while standing; he had simply been lounging around, just as he would’ve at home.

As soon as Ian boarded, the plane, which had been on standby, took off immediately.

Feeling a bit bored and perhaps hopeful for some interaction on the flight, Noah tentatively struck up a conversation.

“Work must have kept you busy?”

Ian, who had entered with a pile of documents that Daniel had struggled to carry, didn’t even glance at Noah, let alone respond.

Instead, it was Daniel, looking apologetic, who awkwardly laughed and answered on Ian’s behalf.

“Yes, it’s the end of the year, so things are really busy.

We aimed to arrive by 5 PM, but things didn’t go as planned…

Did you wait long?”

“No, not really.

I didn’t wait that long.

I arrived not too long ago.”

In truth, Noah had waited for two and a half hours, but seeing how tired Daniel looked with dark circles under his eyes, Noah felt a bit guilty about having been at leisure and told a white lie.

At this, Ian snorted.

“Didn’t wait long?

I told you to be here by 3 PM…

So, does that mean you were late?”

“No, I wasn’t late…”

Noah reflexively tried to explain, but Ian, possibly stressed from having so much to do today, simply gave a much more mischievous smile than usual.

“Let’s see once we get there.”

Hehe… I’d be happy to see once we get there… But seeing Daniel panicking and thinking it was his fault that Noah was getting the brunt of Ian’s mischief, Noah felt guilty and decided to stay quiet.

He had also felt a little sorry last time in the hallway when Daniel had been flustered.

Anyway, how much is Daniel getting paid to put up with working under Ian?

While Ian and Daniel were discussing business, Noah took a nap to prepare for the play tonight.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep, and by the time he woke up to the captain’s announcement that they had arrived, faint lights from the night view were twinkling outside the window.

Come to think of it, I got on without even knowing where I’m going.

Noah yawned lightly as he woke up and looked around.

The name of the destination appeared on the airplane’s internal screen.

Seeing “San Francisco International Airport,” Noah immediately realized where they were headed.

“Oh, we’re going to Cube Island…”

It’s been a while since I’ve been there, Noah muttered to himself.

Cube Island is an artificial island near San Francisco, mostly a luxurious and glamorous resort for the wealthy, and often the venue for social gatherings.

As Noah expected, after getting off the private jet and getting into the limousine, the car headed toward the road that connected to Cube Island, which was faintly sparkling over the sea.

Having not been out for a while and with Cube Island as the destination, Noah felt a little excited.

There was a lot to see and do on Cube Island, of course, assuming Ian would let him enjoy it properly…

According to Daniel, who explained in place of the unfriendly Ian, the hotel in the center of Cube Island was the venue for this social gathering.

As they entered the room reserved in the hotel, Noah looked at Ian with sparkling eyes, hoping for something from the “let’s see when we get there” comment earlier, but Ian was busy on the phone, leaving Noah a little deflated.

Well, the event was supposed to start at 7 p.m.

Checking the time, there was less than an hour left.

Judging by how close they arrived, Ian must have been really busy today.

Even while Noah changed into appropriate clothes for the event, Ian was still on a long phone call, only barely having enough time to change his clothes at the last minute.

Noah rolled his eyes as he watched Ian hurriedly dress, but then Ian approached, smoothing out his clothes, and surprisingly wrapped an arm around Noah’s waist with a smile.

Startled by Ian’s unusually polite demeanor, Noah flinched.

What…?

Normally, Ian would either push, shove, or trip him over, but ever since the wedding, Ian had never shown such affectionate gestures.

Noah felt a bit on guard, and sure enough, Ian straightened Noah’s slightly crooked collar and warned him with a perfect smile as if painted on.

“At this event, we are a loving couple.

Got it?”

“Yes…”

Of course.

Well, even without Ian’s warning, Noah had planned to act like a loving couple in front of others.

Noah didn’t want rumors of discord between them spreading just yet.

He had no intention of divorcing Ian yet (in other words, there was still a long way to go before he could enjoy himself), and he didn’t want his father, who would fly into a rage if he heard such rumors, storming into the Miller mansion.

When Noah did eventually get a divorce, he wanted it to be a quiet, amicable one.

For the first time since the wedding, Noah and Ian linked arms affectionately and headed to the rooftop sky lounge where the event was being held.

Unlike the climate at the Miller mansion, Cube Island maintained quite a pleasant weather even in winter, making outdoor events, usually unthinkable in the colder seasons, possible.

Noah looked around at the grandly decorated lounge, filled with extravagant meals and sparkling sculptures.

The atmosphere was quite to his liking.

“Oh, welcome.

Thank you for attending even though it’s quite a distance.”

“No matter how far, I had to come.”

Ian smiled warmly as he exchanged greetings with the host of the event.

The host, Howard McMillan, was someone Noah had seen a few times before at gatherings, someone he knew well.

After a few congratulatory words and pleasantries exchanged between Ian, Noah, and McMillan, they entered the lounge.

The lounge was already packed with people, half of whom were familiar to Noah and the other half strangers.

Noah also heard several unfamiliar languages here and there.

Since the event was being held in San Francisco, he thought, maybe it’s an international-level social gathering.

Throughout the event, Ian acted… very unfamiliar toward Noah.

In short, he acted like someone who married Noah out of love, being affectionate.

Ian even kindly and gently asked if Noah wanted some wine, but honestly, Noah, not yet used to this attitude, felt a slight chill up his arm.

Still, Noah, relying on the acting skills he had honed over the years, played along, pretending to be in the happiest honeymoon in the world.

Though Noah smiled brightly and followed Ian around, he wasn’t really having much fun.

Constantly greeting people and listening to conversations he didn’t understand with a smile was tiring.

His feet hurt, and he was hungry.

Seeing all that delicious food laid out yet not being able to eat was quite frustrating.

Those meals…

Since the hotel provided them, I can probably order them separately in the room, right?

While Ian was engrossed in a long conversation with someone who seemed to be from Russia based on his accent, Noah slowly sneaked away and approached the party table.

He swallowed as he looked at the beautifully displayed quiche (*a type of pie made with eggs, milk, meat, vegetables, and cheese) and reached out to pick one up.

“No, Noah?”

At the sound of someone calling his name, Noah turned to see a man staring at him in disbelief, mouth agape.

Who… who is he…?

He seems familiar…

Noah racked his brain, trying to remember, while offering the man a polite smile.

At Noah’s smile, the man’s mouth opened even wider.

Ah, now I remember.

The second son of the August Corporation…

We met at this year’s Thanksgiving party.

Noah finally recalled where he had seen the man.

But he still couldn’t remember his name.

At that Thanksgiving party, there were too many people to greet.

The man, who had been at a loss, suddenly yanked a handful of roses from the vase decorating the lounge…