His Real Wedded Bride

Chapter 1225 Nick’s Dream

Still deeply asleep, Nick savored what he had just achieved in his dream. In all his life, he had never

been so proud of himself. The excitement and satisfaction in his heart were too much to contain. Taking

his phone out of his pocket, he was eager to share his joy. Right when he was about to dial up Sheryl

and Isla, a figure of a woman came into his view.

The sight startled him and he struggled to see her clearly. The woman walked toward him with a gentle

smile on her face—the smile was so sweet that it made him too dizzy to even recognize her. For some

reason, he felt like he had to turn his eyes away. When he was about to try and shake himself out of

her spell, the woman quickly took a step forward to stop him. Standing before him with her hands on

her hips, she surprised Nick with the aggressive action. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Dumbfounded by the gesture, Nick stayed frozen where he was, gulping out of nervousness. Slowly,

she began to move closer to him again, the charming smile never leaving her face.

Eventually, the two were so close that Nick could clearly observe every little detail of her face. Her light

skin radiated beauty, youth, and vigor, so much that her prolonged presence made Nick feel more and

more ashamed. Before he could pull his eyes away, the woman's lips met his. Her lips felt so soft and

warm as if they would soon melt and flow into his mouth like chocolate. The surreal kiss drove away all

his anxieties.

Suddenly, the woman drew her head back and smiled at him. After Nick came back to his senses, he

lifted his eyes and met her gaze, finally face to face with the woman who had just claimed his lips.

Their proximity made him turn bashful. Nick could feel his blood rushing up to his head, making him

unable to move with his heart going a mile a minute.

"Do you love me?" asked the woman. Her voice was as gentle and velvety as the way she kissed.

Without the sweet smile leaving her face, she retreated a couple of steps. Nick had to pause for a

moment after hearing what she said.

"Yes…" he replied, at last. "I love you." His voice seemed rather vague and his cheeks emitted a soft

red glow.

"Well, that's good to hear."

In an instant, her sweet smile disappeared. In place of gentle eyes was an angry glare as she asked,

"But do you deserve me? Do you really think a man like you deserves a woman like me?"

The sudden switch in her aura made Nick uneasy. What he had been anxious about all along finally

surfaced in his subconscious, even if he had been trying so hard to avoid it. At the thought, his heart

sunk.

Used to being afraid of getting hurt by the one he loved, he had learned to be very careful to not fall in

love with another woman. In fact, he had built quite a sturdy barrier for himself to keep a good distance

from women. In his dreams, he still had to face it.

At the very least, he was different from whom he used to be. The current Nick was a wealthy,

successful businessman who took on numerous wide-scale projects—his dream had come true. With

such a great deal of wealth, he had the means to pursue anyone he fell in love with. Now that he loved

the woman in front of him, he wanted nothing more than to marry her.

"Cassie, marry me! I will make you happy, I promise!" he cried out abruptly. As he exclaimed, he had

his arms stretched out, just waiting to wrap them around someone. But his eyes remained shut.

"What… What did you just say?"

A familiar voice suddenly pulled Nick out of his dream.

'What? Where am I?

White walls…a strong smell of disinfectant…I'm…

I'm in a hospital?'

His train of thought faded as he was left dumbstruck by his surroundings. Shortly after he woke up, he

was overcome with embarrassment.

The image in his dream was still clear in his mind. What was worse, the woman in his dream was right

there, standing by his bed, looking at him with a bashful face.

'Did she… hear everything? Did I say everything out loud? Oh, no…'

At that moment, all he wanted to do was find himself a hole in the ground and jump right in.

'These days, Cassie has been staying by my side, looking after me. I must've gotten so used to it and

started thinking that she's been taking care of me out of love. That's the only reason why she appeared

in my dream and kissed me.'

In reality, he was wrong. Even though he was extremely wealthy and powerful in his dream, Cassie still

looked down upon him, mocking him, and telling him that he didn't deserve her.

The actual situation he faced was far worse.

His company was nearly bankrupt and he fell ill at a crucial time where only his new project could

possibly turn things around for him—everything was put on hold.

Without work and money, he was practically a useless man. How could he have the right to love a

woman?

How could he even wish for true love? From his perspective, the harsh truth of reality could easily

change one's mind and heart. True love could be twisted into something fake.

Without fortune and power, he was unable to protect anything, especially himself. At that point, he felt

so weak and feeble that he lacked the confidence to endure another failure in love—he had nothing but

doubt. In his own eyes, he was nothing but trash.

While Nick's mind was spiraling down into a complete mess, Cassie was sitting by his bed, her eyes

shy and bashful.

"Nick…what did you just say? Could you repeat that?"

Her voice remained gentle and soft.

Her kind demeanor did nothing to tame Nick's nerves. He paused for a long while before calming

himself down and finally raising his head to look her properly in the eye. Putting on an indifferent

facade, he said, "I had a dream about a huge serpent chasing me until you saved me. Thanks, Cassie."

"That's it? That's all?"

Hearing what the dream was about, Cassie couldn't help but express disappointment. Clearly, she

could tell that Nick wasn't giving her the truth. Something in the back of her head tugged at her, giving

her a good sense of what Nick was really thinking. This got her determined to check if Nick meant what

he said right before he woke up and would reveal his true feelings about her.

After all, Cassie wasn't one of those who gave up easily. Her gaze lingered for a moment on his face, in

search of an answer using a woman's instincts. To her disappointment, what she was eagerly looking

for in Nick's expression had somehow disappeared without a trace. All she could do was try to keep the

sadness growing in her heart to herself.

The man must have hidden himself away again—deep down; there was a shell he had built up since a

long time ago to protect himself. Every time he felt exposed and vulnerable, he would slide back into

that shell without letting anyone know. As long as he stayed in it, he thought that no one would be able

to reach and hurt him—his weaknesses were never to be exposed.

But Cassie knew. The woman who loved him so deeply had come to know him well.

In the time they spent together, she observed every smile and every frown he made. After all that, how

could she not tell what was on his mind? Still, she couldn't force him. As a woman, she didn't want to

force him to say that he loved her.

'No matter how much I care for him, my feelings won't get across to him. Even if I take every chance I

get to be by his side, he'll probably just take it for granted. In his eyes, I'm no more than a nurse who

takes care of him out of her duty.'

Suddenly, Cassie felt the need to stop asking further. She knew that the more hope she put into him,

the more disappointed she would be in the end.

"You must be hungry. What would you like for lunch? If you don't like the hospital meals, I can grab you

some food from outside." Cassie was quick to change the topic.

The shift in the air made Nick quietly sigh in relief. Without really thinking about it, he said, "It's not

necessary.

Honestly, I don't think the hospital meals are bad at all."

At his pretense, Cassie couldn't help but laugh.

'Who was it that almost vomited as soon as he took his first mouthful of hospital food?'

Cassie's smile made him feel ashamed—he knew she was mocking him.

For some reason, he felt obliged to explain and he raised his eyes to meet hers. Before he got to say

anything, though, her sweet smile had him captivated. For a moment, his eyes stayed glued to her face

before he lowered his gaze to her whole body—it was like he had forgotten how to speak.

Since Cassie was on leave that day, she wasn't in her nurse's uniform like Nick was used to seeing her

in. Instead, she wore a blue skirt that reminded him of water. The shade made her fair skin look even

brighter. Her neckline exposed most of the snow-white skin on her torso, putting on display her two

sharp and charming collarbones.

In her everyday life, Cassie was often wearing a skirt, but it wasn't until that day when Nick paid any

attention. Seeing her in something other than her uniform's skirt, Nick found her very attractive and a

part of him felt like he couldn't have enough of her.

Nick's dumbstruck face made Cassie feel a little nervous. To try and snap him out of the little trance,

she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Are you feeling okay? Nick? Are you thinking about what to eat? Please tell me."

"Ah…what was that?" Finally, Nick came back to reality, feeling the shame of having his earlier

thoughts overcome him. Quickly, he responded, "Anything is good. I'm not picky when it comes to

food."

"I know you're not picky about food. It's only the cook you're particular about." In spite of the situation,

Cassie couldn't help but grin again, so amused by his reactions. After a moment, she added, "How

about this? I'll get you some steamed food with a bowl soup. That should help settle your stomach

since it'll be easy to digest."