Chapter 1
Maya's POV:
Noah Baker was always on my case about having garbage taste whenever I bought anything.
So, after we tied the knot, he laid down a rule: I couldn't buy jack squat unless he signed off on it first.
When my mom's knees flared up from the raw winter cold, I tried to buy a 200-dollar heated knee brace. He shut that down right away, no hesitation.
"Country folks don't know how to use fancy stuff like this," he said.
When my dad dropped his phone and cracked the screen, I wanted to get him a new smartphone. He rejected that request too.
"Staring at a screen all day is bad for his eyes," he scoffed. "You're wasting your time playing the good kid."
On my birthday, I pulled up my shopping app, and blinked, my whole saved cart was gone, cleared out of nowhere.
The latest foldable smartphone, a luxury pure silk duvet, and two senior packages for a five-star hot spring resort.
Warmth rushed through me. Finally, I thought, he's actually acknowledging me for once.
I tapped on the order details, practically giddy with anticipation. But the recipient listed was his female assistant's parents.
Right at that same moment, that same assistant posted a flex of the order on her social media feed.
A boss who cares this much about his staff's families? Total keeper. I'd devote my whole life to him.
Noah left a comment right under it.
Noah: [Your family worked so hard to put you through school. The old folks deserve nothing but the best.]
I stood rooted to the spot in the entryway, staring at the row of bright red "Paid" tags glowing on my phone screen.
So it was never that I was bad at picking gifts. He just thought my parents didn't deserve nice things.
I tapped a like on the post without a second thought, then wiped all his contact info from my phone just as easily.
If he's gonna go out of his way to clear someone else's shopping cart, then I'm clearing him right the hell out of my life.
*****
Noah pushed the front door open and yanked his tie loose from around his neck.
"Maya, what are you throwing a fit about now?"
I set my phone down and lifted my head to look at him. "What fit?"
"Why'd you delete my contact? I got the notification," he said, striding over.
He grabbed my phone right out of my hand without asking, ready to add his contact back, but when he saw the screen was open to Ava Clark's social media post, he froze for a split second.
He tossed his jacket over the arm of the couch after that, his voice softening just a little. "What, are you jealous over those few things I got for Ava?"
"Few? That's twenty expensive items! A foldable flagship phone, a mulberry silk comforter, and those over 20,000-dollar senior hot spring package tickets."
I held his gaze. "Noah, what was the reason you shot down that 200-dollar heated knee brace I added to the cart last week?"
"There you go again, getting stuck on trivial details, huh?"
He huffed a sigh, sat down right next to me, and reached out to wrap an arm around my shoulder. I shifted away slightly, dodging his touch before he could make contact.
His hand hung awkwardly in the air for a beat before he pulled it back. A faint note of exasperation seeped into his voice.
"Maya, how many times do I have to spell this out for you? When you buy stuff for old people, you have to think about their actual usage scenarios, right?
"That electric knee brace you wanted to get for your parents? What if they don't know how to work it, and it leaks electricity and burns them?"
"What about Ava's parents?" I cut him off softly.
"How is that the same thing?" Noah let out a dry laugh, his expression open and completely unapologetic. "Ava's parents are way younger than yours. Of course, they know how to use that kind of stuff.
"Besides, she's my direct assistant. Spending money on her parents isn't a waste. It's workplace relationship management. She'll work twice as hard for me down the line, trust me."
"So you used our shared family account to do this 'workplace relationship management'?" I asked.
Noah rubbed the space between his brows, his voice dropping to a low, placating murmur. "Don't be so childish about this, Maya Baker. You're a long-time employee in the operations department yourself. Don't you get how these basic social niceties work?
"I'll pull the money from the project expense budget and put it back into the account later, okay?"
I was just about to fire back when my phone buzzed in my hand. It was a video call from my mom.
I tapped the answer button. On the screen, my mom was sitting by the dim kitchen stove, peeling peanuts one by one.
"Honey, have you eaten yet?" she asked, her voice shaking a little.
The feed jitters a little, revealing the thick strip of cotton cloth tightly wrapped around her knee.
"Mom, your leg..."
"You remember Richard, our neighbor? He gave me some cheap remedies. They've got a nice warm, tingly kick to them. Feels real cozy when I put them on, just a little redness on the skin. No big deal!"
Mom waved her hand with a smile, and Dad's voice drifted over from beside her.
"Sweetie, is Noah there? You two don't keep worrying about us back home, your mom and I are doing just fine!"
The camera panned over to Dad.
He was squinting, peering over his reading glasses at the beat-up old phone in his hand, its screen was so badly cracked it looked like a spiderweb, and he had to lean all the way in, holding the device right up to his face, just to make out the physical buttons.
"Dad, your phone . . ."
"Works perfectly fine. Don't listen to your mom running her mouth off about buying me a new one. What a waste of money that would be!"
Mom chimed in right beside him. "Exactly, you two have so many expenses living in the big city, don't go wasting money sending things home for no reason."
Noah leaned into the frame, putting on his usual perfect, practiced smile. "Mom, Dad, Maya's so thoughtful. You two take care of yourselves too."
As soon as we hung up the call, he raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "See? What did I tell you? They don't need any of that stuff at all. You're just making a big deal out of nothing."
He glanced down at his watch, his tone casual. "I've got a morning meeting tomorrow. Iron that gray suit for me, will you?"
I stared at his back as he turned to head for the study, and asked in a quiet, steady voice. "Noah, what if I buy them anyway?"
He froze mid-step, turned around to look at me, and a faint flicker of condescension crossed his eyes.
"Just do as I say, don't be stubborn."
