Chapter 23! Lady Katrina Wharton!

Lady Katrina Wharton sat with her legs crossed as she examined her newly polished bright red nails over a glass of freshly squeezed strawberry juice which happens to be her favourite.

All the servants in the Pope mansion tried their best to avoid the sitting room because nobody wished to earn the ire of Lady Katrina. 

As the sole heiress of the Wharton household, Count Nicholas Wharton and his dear wife Countess Margaret Wharton gave her enough pampering for a Princess. However, the death of the Countess during the birth of their second child was what changed everything.

His wife and newborn son were both gone, leaving Count Nicholas with his ten-year-old daughter, Katrina. From then on, they only had each other as Count Nicholas resolved never to remarry. This resulted in Katrina getting virtually everything she asked for.

She had never been denied a thing by her father or anyone else for that matter. The only person Katrina desired but could never have was Jeremy Pope despite being nearby. The son of her mother's best friend who doted on her just like her mom did before her death.

This time around, Katrina wanted to finalise talks with Jeremy about their relationship as he was not taking any initiative in that aspect. It's not like he has anyone else in his life anyway. He never brings up the topic and she doesn't know when he will breach that topic if she doesn't take the initiative now.

She will never agree that Jeremy only treats her like a younger sister and nothing else until she heard from the horse's mouth.

Meanwhile, Jeremy and Kimberley sat in his car engulfed in total silence after successfully signing their marriage certificate uneventfully. They will each sneak a peek at the other now and then as no one knew how to breach the silence. Not that it was uncomfortable though. One sure thing is that they are both overjoyed at the turn of events.

Jeremy suddenly started the engine and drove straight to the Roma Hotel downtown where he had already booked a hotel room for them both.

He only called for the room to be made ready awaiting their arrival early on in the morning as it was one of the many establishments under Pope Industries. 

Jeremy got down and opened the car door for Kimberley like the gentleman he was while bending his body a little with his hands on his chest saying satirically "this way my lady" Kimberley didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Who would have thought that the high and mighty Jeremy Pope had this side to him!

When the hotel manager met such a scene before him at the underground car park, he got rooted to his spot, wondering whether he should proceed to receive his boss or just pretend he is temporarily blind at the moment. Maybe that would help.

He is regretting his decision of coming to the car park. He should have waited at the suite entrance like he always does but he couldn't help wondering why the boss decided to visit impromptu. The manager kept muttering to himself "no heads up means something is up right?"

Jeremy walked side by side a shy and blushing Kimberley while holding her hands and revelling in the effect his presence had on her.

He would then resolve to never wipe the beautiful smile off her face. 

He walked past the manager who recovered his wits and trailed behind them like a sidekick. "Who could imagine what the scaredy-cat is thinking right now" However when the couple approached the door, the manager deftly unlocked it with the spare key he was holding and made himself scarce to allow the boss enough room with his guest. The room was currently filled with Kimberley's favourite delicacies which made her a little more relaxed. 

On their way to the hotel, Kimberley kept wondering why her husband will choose to take her to a hotel immediately after registering their marriage when they already planned the day ahead of time. She couldn't help imagining many erotic scenes which made her both expectant and hesitant at the same time, hence her silence along the ride.

Before the manager could step out the door, Jeremy said "Thompson, meet my wife" Manager Thompson nearly dropped the key in his hands due to the sudden utterance and turned to stare at the two with undisguised shock and uncertainty all over his face. 

When Jeremy cleared his throat to regain his attention, he stammered "Oh....my! Welcome madam...and...Congratulations" With that, Thompson walked toward Kimberley, handed her the spare key in his hands and stormed off as if his life depended on it.

Jeremy smiled in satisfaction and made a mental note to reward the smart manager for being so proactive. 

He then said "Thompson is an honest and trustworthy man of unquestionable integrity. Well, sometimes he acts like a scaredy-cat though but you are free to call on him if you need anything in the future"

Kimberley smiled and mouthed an "okay" to show her understanding as she heard Jeremy's description of the manager.  

Taking her seat at the table, Kimberley realised that virtually everything before her was her favourite and she couldn't help looking at the figure across her with a questioning gaze. He then held her hands and prompted her "let's eat" 

Halfway through the meal, " how did you do it?" Jeremy was lost for a moment but realizing she was speaking about how he got to know of her favourites, he responded "I pay particular attention to my people of interest and you happen to be my favourite person from the day I set my eyes on you"

Kimberley didn't know how to respond to such an open confession and chose to down a glass of water before saying "do you mind telling me about Jeremy Pope?"

The ringing of Jeremy's phone interrupted the harmonious atmosphere for which he apologized and mouthed "my mom" before picking up the call. Kimberley could faintly hear Melania Pope on the other end "Jerry! You need to come home. Katrina is here throwing a tantrum just to see you and you know you are the only one who can placate her. Don't keep her waiting for too long okay. You know how she is..."

Kimberley remained quiet as she silently ate her meal in distraction while wondering "who is Katrina?"

Before things could get out of hand, Jeremy said to his mom "I'm not available at the moment mom. You take care of her like you always do. Please do this for your son okay." He then bade farewell and hung up without waiting for his mother's rebuttal.

"Katrina, I mean Lady Katrina Wharton is a childhood friend whose mother happens to be very good friends with my mom but she died more than a decade ago. As the godmother, my mom treats her like the daughter she never had. My home was her second home...We basically grew up like siblings." Jeremy watched out for Kimberley's expression and continued 

"Katrina may be willful and such a spoilt brat but she has a really good heart, you can trust me on that. Also, she's my sister and that is that." 

Katrina could burn a gas station without caring for the consequences if she heard Jeremy speak of her in such a flat tone.

Meanwhile, Kimberley blushed harder as she realized she had just been caught being jealous of her husband's sister.