Chapter 176 We’re Already Married

• Casper Frost downed the fruit-and-veggie juice with the meds mixed in. And he finished every drop. Whitney Thompson felt like fate was finally on her side. With this heavy dose, even if Casper wasn’t into women, he wouldn’t be able to control himself. Whitney braced herself and locked the study door. No one could stop her tonight. Not even Rhea Wood. She was going to have Casper, no matter what. She shrugged off her coat. Underneath, she wore a lace slip dress. She walked toward him, shy and breathless, and whispered, “Casper.” Casper lifted his eyes like the Great Demon King, dark and wicked. … Summit Hospital. Tang Yaozu was in surgery. Hilary Watson waited at the operating room door. Rhea Wood and Shawn Lawson sat on the chairs a short distance away. Shawn kept sneaking glances at Rhea, wanting to talk but having no clue what to say. Rhea ignored his awkward fidgeting and tapped away on her phone, typing fast. When she wasn’t reading, she wrote chapters in her phone’s notes. Her serial novel needed to be updated online, so whenever she had time, she drafted in the notes app first. Using a phone wasn’t ideal, and she was too shy to keep borrowing Korrie’s laptop. She planned to wait two more months and buy a secondhand computer with the money she made signing for packages. Time flew while she wrote. Shawn sat beside her like the chair had nails, twitchy and unsettled. He was still hung up on how he bullied Rhea earlier. He actually wanted to apologize. But since she wasn’t responding, he couldn’t bring himself to speak. “Rhea, can you stop playing on your phone?” Shawn finally blurted. Rhea turned, puzzled. “What’s wrong?” Her bright eyes hit him, and his words died in his throat. Rhea suddenly noticed the time and jolted. “It’s almost eleven already. Has the surgery been going on for two hours? Is something wrong?” Shawn glanced at the sign showing the operation in progress and tried to reassure her. “Relax. Casper said it’ll be fine, so it’ll be fine. Two years ago, there was a patient whose family was preparing a funeral, and Casper said it wasn’t over—he brought the guy back.” Rhea nodded, looked at the operating room door, then at her phone. This late, was Casper still working? Why hadn’t he called her? Ever since Rhea came home for break, whenever Casper wasn’t working, they were practically glued together. Wherever she went, he went. At first Rhea wasn’t used to it, but after just a few days, if Casper didn’t reach out, she felt off. Seeing Rhea pause on her phone, Shawn pounced on the chance. A straight apology felt weird, so he wrestled with it and finally squeezed out, “Rhea, do you really like Casper?” Rhea didn’t lie. She nodded. “Of course I do.” Shawn sighed, troubled. “There are so many men in the world—why do you all like Casper? Whitney’s crazy about him too. Like life-or-death crazy.” Rhea knew Shawn treated Whitney well. Back then, Shawn bullied her without asking why, all for Whitney’s sake. Rhea’s face cooled now. “What do you mean? You want me to hand Casper over to Whitney?” Shawn jolted, panicking. “No, no, that’s not what I mean…” If they’d just met, he’d have told Rhea to scram without a second thought. Don’t steal the man Whitney likes. But now… deep down, he felt Whitney had already lost. Rhea eased a little. “Then what are you saying?” “I’m just thinking other guys are good too. Like Casper, Zhao, and hey, I’m pretty decent myself…” “So you do want me to give up Casper?” Shawn shot to his feet, waving his hands. That wasn’t it at all. Okay, he had no idea what he was saying anymore. He’d wanted to find a topic, then slide into an apology. Somehow it all came out wrong. He finally gave up and said, “Rhea, I’m sorry for bullying you on purpose before.” Rhea arched a brow. She hadn’t expected him to apologize. When she didn’t react, Shawn squirmed. “You’re actually a good person. Just bold enough to go after Casper. If one day you realize you can’t get him, don’t be too upset. Come find me. I’ll introduce you to some great guys in Wingston.” Rhea’s brows lifted higher. What was up with Shawn? Was he trying to set her up? She didn’t remember them being that close. They had fought twice, sure. She’d even shoved his head under water and made him choke. Under Rhea’s steady gaze, Shawn grew more uncomfortable and blurted the worst possible defense. “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m not offering myself. I’m talking about my other buddies, I—” His pride crumpled. He was terrified Rhea would think he liked her. Rhea blinked those big eyes and said, all cute, “Shawn, did you get dumb hanging out with Blackie?” “Rhea!” “Kidding. I forgive you. And you don’t need to introduce anyone. Casper and I are actually already married.” “???” “For real. We got married a while ago.” “Rhea! Are you out of your mind? What are you babbling about? Casper getting married? Even if I remarried, Casper would still never marry!” Rhea rolled her eyes. “Casper isn’t a kid anymore. What’s wrong with him getting married?” Casper didn’t want to keep it secret anymore. When Rhea’s new semester started, if she hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve openly driven her to school. Rhea wasn’t trying to hide it now. Their relationship was solid, basically husband and wife already. She just felt it’d be a hassle if too many people at school knew. As for Casper’s buddies, she wasn’t planning to keep it from them. Shawn stared like he’d just heard the world was about to explode. He looked at Rhea’s calm face. Then looked again. Still calm. That’s when it hit him—she wasn’t joking. Rhea added, “On my first day in Wingston, I got our marriage certificate with Casper, witnessed by Mr. Frost.” “H-how is that possible?” “Why not? Dr. Fray knows we’re married. Whitney knows too. And since you’re close to Whitney, talk to her. Kindness isn’t leverage. If you keep using it like a weapon, even deep debts get burned out. Casper’s married. She’s still glaring at him like she’s about to tear someone apart. It’s not a good look.”