Axel just came back from jogging. Every morning before going to work, he always takes the time to exercise or just run around the beach.
As soon as he returned home, Axel ran into Blair, who was dressed neatly and was about to leave the house.
Axel was still pissed off. He also ignored Blair even though he was curious about where the girl was going. Axel went straight to the kitchen and took a glass of water.
"Axel, I'm going first!" Blair said.
Axel almost choked on his drinking water in shock. He waved at Blair without even glancing at her.
"Go!"
Blair stayed in the house and turned to the kitchen to find Axel.
"What else now?" Axel asked a little curtly. "Did you forget something?"
Blair suddenly smiled at Axel as she spread her arms and formed them into a big heart.
"Axel, I love you so much! I love you as wide as the sky and deep as the ocean!" Blair shouted.
She said that while chuckling to tease Axel.
Axel glared at Blair, who was deliberately teasing him.
"My husband, I love you!" teased Blair while leaving Axel, who looked annoyed.
Axel slammed his water bottle on the table and clenched his fists tightly.
"Good grief! She teased me? That little girl! You really are, huh?"
***
Axel is having lunch with his best friend.
"You met Clarissa at the bar?"
Axel's mind was still a mess. He was still nervous about Andrew White continuing to stalk Blair. When his best friend asked, Axel just nodded.
"Yes, Clarissa is drunk. One of the betas contacted me because she made a scene at the bar. So I went there to check on her and put her back in the pack."
"Axel, you better be more careful. Especially now that we're working on a big project. Many parties are watching you. Moreover, the news of the cancellation of your engagement with Clarissa and your sudden marriage to Blair caught many people's attention. Do not let your business relationship with Clarissa be misinterpreted by others. It could damage your image and the projects we are currently working on."
"What do you mean?"
"Are you pretending to be blind? The gossip circulating out there is getting heated. They say your marriage to Blair is just a camouflage. Because you got her pregnant. And now you are rumored to secretly have an affair with Clarissa."
Axel was surprised. He really didn't know about that cheap news and gossip.
"Before too many people get hurt, you better take care of yourself."
Axel just listened.
"At the last stock meeting, some sponsors and shareholders started to doubt your performance as the successor to the Barney business clan. They doubt this project will do well if you continue to be involved in scandals."
"Oh, why do you care about other people's judgments?"
"Not me, but our business really depends on your reputation! Because of that, I scheduled an exclusive interview with one of the infotainment media. They will come to your house for photoshoots and interviews. All this is to clear up misunderstandings and restore your image as the company's leader."
"What?" Axel was shocked. "Why is this so sudden?"
"There is nothing we can do other than this way. The coverage in the media has gone wild. The best way is to fight it in the same way. So please tell Blair so she's prepared and has a clear understanding. Tomorrow afternoon reporters will come to your house to interview you in person. They want to cover your home life. And this is the only way to quell outside gossip and convince sponsors to continue their projects with our company."
***
"Blair, I need your help!"
Axel put it matter-of-factly and to the point as he picked Blair up from the clinic to re-check her baby's health.
"What kind of help? You want to rehearse your proposal lines?"
"Enough, Blair Tanzel! Stop the joke! It's not funny at all." Axel was really angry this time.
"Sorry," Blair said softly with guilt. "I'm not going to joke about that anymore."
"Forget it!" Axel exclaimed while waving his hand. "We just focus on what will happen next. Tomorrow some journalists will be coming to the house to do interviews."
"Interview?" Blair opened her eyes wide. "Why so suddenly? Are you an artist?"
"I don't know!” grumbled Axel while focusing on driving. "I don't like things like this either. Why should my private affairs become public consumption? But, this is the only thing I can do to keep Barney's business and the company's future."
"Is this something serious? What should I prepare for the interview tomorrow?"
"Nothing special. You just act like you always have–become the wife of Axel Barney. You just have to answer their questions. Later at home, you only need to study and practice answering a few sample questions. I've arranged it for you."
Blair looked gloomy.
"Don't worry," Axel said. "I will be beside you and ready to back up if you have trouble answering their questions."
But that wasn't what made Blair uneasy. Before Axel arrives to pick her up at the clinic, Blair hears rumors and gossip from the nurses and visitors to the hospital.
"I'm so sorry for that young lady. When she was heavily pregnant, her husband had an affair with her ex-fiancé out there."
Blair pretended not to hear, though, in fact, she was very concerned about what people were talking about.
It's not just fellow patients who talk about the Blair and Axel Barney household. Even the hospital staff and nurses were also secretly talking about it.
"Does she know that her husband is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend again?"
"This could be bad if Blair finds out. Maybe it will affect her psychology and pregnancy."
"Could it be that Axel Barney had an affair with his ex-girlfriend to make his business run smoothly? If it's for business, why should he marry another girl?"
"Don't you see anything strange? Their marriage age has only been running for a few months, but the pregnancy is already more than their married age. I think Blair deliberately trapped Axel Barney with her pregnancy, so she could marry a rich man."
"The rich? What can they really do? Married for business reasons but secretly having an affair with another party.”
Blair couldn't stand all that. She purposely appeared in front of the gossiping nurses. Immediately the nurses became flustered and dispersed respectively.
"Blair?" said Axel. "Why are you daydreaming?"
"Oh no! There isn't anything."
"There must be something going on. tell me."
"Axel, actually… wouldn't it be better if you didn't force me into this fake marriage contract?"
"What do you mean, Blair?"
"This marriage looks absurd. It really is like a Cinderella wedding. The marriage of a poor girl to a rich businessman. People started gossiping out there. I'm afraid they will damage your good name and will hurt you. Is this interview to dispel all that bad gossip?"
Axel immediately stopped the car and pulled over to the side of the road. He off the car engine and roughly pulled Blair's hand toward him.
Blair was frightened by the angry expression on Axel's face. Blair didn't know what part of her words Axel had offended.
"If you don't like doing this interview, we won't be doing it. I don't really care about the rumors that are circulating out there. Right now, the only feelings I have to guard against are yours!"
Blair literally gasped at the confession. Sounds so elusive and almost impossible to be true.