“What does that mean?” Cage asked, sounding scared.

“Katherine is beautiful, well-spoken, and charming. Over that, she is beyond funny. What do you think? People will want to bring her into the entertainment industry. I sense some gigs coming her way.”

Katherine groaned, dreading the possibility.

“I feel the same way,” Cage told her, squeezing her hand. “Though, I will support you if you want to join the industry.”

Katherine was handling the whole situation a lot better than Cage had hoped but he also knew that she preferred to lead a quiet life. She was already exposed to the public because of her channel and that was all she could handle.

It was one of the things he loved about her. While other girls wanted to be with him for his popularity and fame, Katherine hated it. She wanted the banal life with the man she loved. Just another reason Katherine was the perfect woman for him.

“If it gets overwhelming, just let me know. I’ll get us out of there. You’re my priority,” he told her. She smiled at him softly and patted his shoulder.

“It’ll be fine.” He loved her confidence. “We’ll run away and have some alone time soon, I promise,” he mumbled.

“Absolutely.” With that, the car came to a stop and Cage begrudgingly took in a breath before opening the door.

When they stepped out, even Cage was shocked. The bodyguards flanked them and a moment of silence erupted before the reporters exploded into shouts and the cameras flashed. Stephen had intentionally leaked their whereabouts for the night so it was not uncommon, but this grand reception was something else.

For a moment, Cage wished they had more than three bodyguards surrounding them. People surged around them but the bodyguards acted as effective blockers, they were huge. The silent one, Cory, pushed back the bodies that tried to reach Katherine, who held onto Cage’s hand tightly.

Sam, who was next to Katherine as well, remained static as per Cage’s order. His eyes sharply looked at the crowd as he tried to see anyone suspicious.

The mass of people was crazy. No wonder it scared Katherine so much. It scared him, too, and he was used to it. Katherine kept her head high and a smile on her face as they made it to the entrance of the restaurant.

Questions flew about if they had gotten married, if Katherine was pregnant, and other scandalous things were shouted at them. They came so quickly that they jumbled together; Cage wouldn’t have been able to answer them even if he wanted.

“Are you okay?” Cage asked once they were inside the restaurant. He studied her closely. He could see she looked fine, not a hair out of place and her eyes were clear and confident.

“Much better.” She turned to thank the bodyguards.

These men were so silent that Cage had to wonder if they acted just as coldly with their wives at home. Maybe it was just a thing on the clock. While the others still spoke to Stephen, Corey kept his mouth shut at all times. All in all, they had a wonderful team protecting them.

Stephen and Cage had to pick something outdoors with plenty of things to do for their night out so that the media could get as many pictures as they wanted.

“I’m so happy you get to see a little of the city beyond your filming locations,” Katherine chuckled.

Cage pulled her along as she mulled over her words. People in the restaurant gawked at us, aiming their cameras in their direction but Cage and Katherine only had eyes for each other. The bodyguards cooperated, giving the public a chance to get wonderful pictures without compromising their safety.

Before a little dinner, Katherine pulled him out and walked him out of the back door of the restaurant into the roads of the city. The buildings were old and people were still turning to look. Katherine tugged onto him and made a stop in front of the window of a clothing shop. She giggled as she pointed at a particular hat.

“I want to get you one of these.” The thing looked hideous, to be fair.

Cage grinned. “Don’t even think about it. I’m not going to wear it.”

Katherine pouted, throwing him off. “I put in all this effort to dress up for you,” she reminded him quietly.

As if Cage could forget. “But there’s nothing sexy about this hat!” he protested.

“I think it is,” Katherine retorted, giggling. “Come in,” she tugged him into the stare and plucked the hat from the display. It even had feathers adorning it. Cage didn’t protest when she put the hat on his head and madly laughed at the scene. Some customers snapped photographs before he could take the thing off but Katherine’s laughter made it all okay. They were having fun, he need not be embarrassed about anything they did tonight.

Katherine pulled him towards the cash register and before he could pull out his wallet, she had already handed over some money to the cashier. “It’s a present,” she informed him when Cage frowned.

Katherine didn’t want him to wear the hat after the purchase, so he heaved a sigh of relief as he scurried out of the store with the shopping bag in hand. Cage stopped in front of a lingerie store and looked at her with pleading eyes.

“You’re on your own if my parents see pictures of us in the store.” She didn’t even finish her sentence before Cage had pulled her towards the next shop.

“I value my life, thank you very much.” He responded by kissing her cheeks.

The city was abuzz with the festival, the night markets littered with people looking at shops and buying street food. Cage and Katherine walked hand in hand, soon blending into the crowd.

“Are you hungry?” Cage asked when he noticed Katherine staring at a food stall. The only thing remaining was the growl of her stomach.