I Married the President

"Ah, I’m sorry, Young Master Quincy, I’m so sorry!" Cecily Taylor apologized again and again, her head bowed low. She clutched tightly at Aiden Howkins’s clothes, refusing to look up.

Aiden Howkins froze in place, embarrassed. He kindly reminded her, "Miss Taylor, I’m not Young Master Quincy."

Cecily Taylor’s body went stiff. She was so mortified she wished the ground would swallow her whole. She scrambled to stand up straight and continued to apologize, "I’m sorry, Adjutant Hawkins, I didn’t mean to!"

With that, she turned and bolted.

Aiden Howkins watched her flee in disarray, then brushed off the front of his shirt. Frowning, he muttered, "Is her head made of iron or something? She nearly broke my ribs."

Adrian Quincy glanced at him but said nothing, calmly walking toward the stage.

Aiden Howkins: ...

-

After a great deal of painstaking persuasion from the production team, Cecily Taylor was finally convinced to return to the set, allowing the show to resume filming.

To the rear left of the stage, Adrian Quincy stood in a dark corner, exuding an imperious aura. His gaze was fixed on his darling wife at the judges’ table, and the chill in his eyes melted away.

At the judges’ table, Cecily Taylor held the microphone and offered a lukewarm apology. "I’m sorry, everyone. I was a bit emotional just now because I had a hard time accepting the score my mentee received. I was in the wrong, and I apologize to you all."

"It’s okay!"

"It’s all right..."

Below the stage, the audience generously chose to forgive her.

Claire Sinclair, however, felt the apology was utterly insincere. ’She didn’t apologize for what she really did wrong,’ she thought. ’She’s just trying to placate the crowd.’

’Whatever. It’s no skin off my back, anyway.’

The performance segment of the show finally concluded. Next, the mentors and contestants were to return to the base camp to film the mission for the following segment.

Adrian Quincy emerged from the corner and walked over to Claire Sinclair. He reached out naturally, wrapping an arm around her slender waist.

The audience members in the front rows who hadn’t left yet had a perfect view. The moment they spotted Adrian Quincy, they lost all composure, and some began to scream uncontrollably.

"AHHHH..."

"Adrian Quincy! I see Adrian Quincy!"

"It really is Adrian Quincy! I never thought he’d visit the set!"

"And just like that, a surprise serving of PDA..."

The rest of the audience, not knowing what the people up front were shouting about, remained frozen in place. They stared ahead curiously, but none of them knew what was going on.

Claire Sinclair paid no heed to the applause behind her. She looked up into the man’s gentle eyes, her tone tinged with complaint. "Mr. Quincy, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you."

"Couldn’t you see me from backstage?"

"It’s not the same."

"How is it not the same? The moment you showed up, the fans went wild. Don’t cause such a scene in the future. It’ll create problems for the production team."

"Okay."

...

Listening to the couple’s simple yet sweet conversation, Cecily Taylor felt a raging fire of jealousy burn within her.

’All her life, she had never failed to obtain anything she set her sights on—and that included people.’

’Adrian Quincy, I will make you mine. Just you wait and see.’

Everyone moved to Recording Studio 1 at the base camp. Once the staff gave the signal, the contestants took their seats first, followed by the mentors.

Adrian Quincy entered alongside Claire Sinclair. The staff had already brought in an extra chair for him.

Once everyone was seated, Mimi Fisher spoke into the microphone. "Before we announce the details for the next evaluation, we’re going to hold a little forum."

Hearing this, the contestants all broke into expectant smiles. Since arriving at the base camp, this was their first opportunity to have a face-to-face heart-to-heart with the mentors.