The Billionaire's Brat Wants Me-Chapter 235: Saturday, Finally

I woke up to something warm pressing against my stomach.

At first, in that hazy half-dream space, I thought it was Duchess using me as a mattress again. But Duchess doesn’t have knees digging into my ribs... or hair falling down the sides of my face... or a voice saying my name like she already knows I’m pretending to be asleep.

"Kai," Val whispered.

I kept still. Maybe if I didn’t move, she’d let me—

A sharp pinch on my nose.

I shot up with a muffled, "Ow—Val!"

She burst into laughter, still sitting on my hips like she’d claimed territory. "You didn’t wake up, so I had to use advanced tactics."

"That was not a tactic. That was an attack."

"Mm. Precision attack." She wiggled her eyebrows. "And effective. My target is awake."

She looked far too pleased with herself. Her hair was loose and messy, her eyes bright like she’d been awake for hours, and she was wearing one of my shirts — which was honestly one the many unfair advantages in this marriage.

I rubbed my nose. "Was the biting necessary?"

"You closed your eyes again!" she said, poking my chest. "I saw it. You were trying to slip away. You think I’d let that happen?"

"I was blinking."

> "You blink suspiciously slow in the morning."

"Because I’m sleepy."

> "Because you’re dramatic."

I sighed, defeated, and let my head fall back on the pillow. "Five more minutes."

> "Nope."

She leaned down suddenly, pressing her forehead to mine. "We’re going out today."

I blinked. "Out?"

"Yes." She nodded with so much determination that I almost asked if this was a hostage situation. "Outside. The world. Sunshine. Trees. Human activity."

"It’s Saturday."

> "Exactly! And we are going out. Do you know when last we did anything fun?"

"Last week, maybe" I said.

She rolled her eyes and slapped my chest lightly. "See? This is what I’m talking about. We’ve both been swallowed by work. Lucien. Benjamin Otavio. The Meridian project. My dad might combust from stress at any moment. And you—" she poked me again, "—you’re starting to look like someone’s overworked husband."

"I am someone’s overworked husband."

"Yes, but you should at least look cute while doing it. Overworking leads to wrinkles, Kai. Wrinkles lead to old age. Old age leads to me having to push you around in a wheelchair."

"That escalated fast."

She grinned proudly. "I escalate efficiently."

I stared at her for a moment — at her smile, the way she sat there like waking me up by force was a perfectly normal activity, the spark in her eyes that told me she was in a ridiculously good mood.

"You’re impossible," I said. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

> "And yet you married me."

"Bad decision in hindsight."

She gasped. "Rude."

"I’m allowed to be rude. You bit me."

She bit her lip, fighting a smile. "If you think that was biting, your standards are weak."

"...Val."

> "Yes, husband?"

"Are you planning to let me up at any point?"

She tilted her head, pretending to consider it. "Hmm... No."

I groaned. "Fine. What do you want to do today?"

"I don’t know yet," she said. "But we’re doing something. Something not related to work, or crimes, or suspicious billionaires, or corporate disasters."

"All my hobbies," I said.

"Exactly why I’m saving you." She lifted a finger in the air like a commander giving an order. "We are reclaiming Saturday."

"Okay," I said, smiling despite myself. "Where do you want to go?"

She tapped her chin. "Ice-cream place? Arcade? Museum? Beach? Zoo? Road trip? Coffee shop? Mall? Bowling?"

"That’s... a lot."

> "I contain multitudes."

"I noticed."

She put both hands on my cheeks and squeezed. "Pick something."

"Hmm..." I thought for a moment, then said, "What about visiting Trent and Marina? It’s been a while since we saw them."

"True," she said slowly, "but I want today to be just us." She leaned in and pecked my nose — very gently this time, probably out of guilt. "I miss having you all to myself."

My chest warmed a little at that. "Alright. Just us."

"Good." She sat up straighter, triumphant. "Now list options."

"Park?"

> "Too many joggers."

"Cafe?"

> "Too many noisy teenagers."

"Bookstore?"

> "You’ll vanish to the math aisle and forget my existence."

"I do not—"

"You do," she said, patting my shoulder. "Next."

"Downtown?"

> "Too crowded."

"Movie?"

> "No. I want to talk to you."

I blinked. "You want to talk?"

> "Yes. Don’t sound so shocked. I’m delightful to talk to."

She really was.

"Mini-golf?" I suggested.

She considered it. "Maybe."

"Aquarium?"

"Ooh." She perked up. "Actually... yeah. That sounds perfect." She grinned. "We haven’t been there since college."

I felt the smile tug at my lips. "Aquarium it is."

"Good choice." She finally climbed off me, pulling the blanket away. "Now get up."

I reached for the blanket, but she yanked it out of reach.

"Val."

> "No."

"It’s cold."

"It’s not. You’re dramatic." She pointed to the bathroom. "Shower. Now."

"You’re ordering me around a lot today."

> "I like when you listen."

"That’s debatable."

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you want me to bite you again?"

I raised both hands. "I’m going."

> "Good."

I swung my legs off the bed, stretching. "Aline’s going to think I overslept."

> "You did oversleep. It’s almost nine."

"That’s early."

"For college students, maybe."

I shot her a glare over my shoulder. She only grinned wider... then stepped forward, grabbed my wrist, and tugged.

"Shower together," she said casually.

"Val—"

> "It’ll save time."

"That doesn’t save time."

"It does," she insisted. "And you know it."

Every time you say ’save time,’ we—"

Her hand landed over my mouth before I could finish.

"No," she said firmly, eyes narrowing with mock warning. "Whatever you were about to say? No."

I pulled her hand down. "You don’t even know what I was going to say."

"Sure," she said, already pushing me another step. "Now come on. Teamwork."

I couldn’t help the quiet laugh that escaped me as I let her drag me along.

We did shower. And no, it did not save time.

(I won’t explain. You’re welcome.)

By the time we finished, the room already felt lighter. She got dressed in a simple white top and denim shorts, humming under her breath, occasionally stealing glances at me like she was making sure I didn’t escape back to bed. I threw on something casual, combed my hair, and met her by the door.

She looked excited — genuinely excited — like today was some big adventure.

"Ready?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. You?"

She hooked her arm through mine. "With you? Always."

We walked downstairs together. Aline was wiping the dining table when we entered, and Duchess lifted her head from the couch, stretching like she’d been working overtime instead of napping.

"Good morning, sir," Aline said. "Ma’am."

"Morning," I said.

"We’re going out," Val added proudly.

Aline smiled like she’d expected that. "Enjoy your day."

"We will," Val answered, already tugging me toward the door like she was scared I’d change my mind halfway.

And honestly?

As we stepped outside, hand in hand, sun warming the porch...

For the first time in a long while, Saturday felt like Saturday again.

And I didn’t mind at all.

---

To be continued...