Chapter 5: The Morning After
1315 Words
The next morning, sunlight poured over Moonwater Residence.
After the storm, the whole villa district looked newly washed. Light passed through the thick greenery outside the window, bright and clear, with the freshness that only came after summer rain.
Miranda opened her eyes.
She lifted herself less than an inch before collapsing back onto the pillow.
An arm was wrapped around her waist.
Strong.
Heavy.
Possessive, even in sleep.
Cedric’s arm held her in place, making it impossible for her to move freely. Not that she had much desire to move at the moment. Her whole body felt sore, as if someone had taken her apart and put her back together again with careless hands.
Especially her waist.
And her legs.
Miranda lay still for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling with an expressionless face.
Strange.
Cedric had never been a man ruled by desire. Before he left for Australia, their married life had been regular, restrained, and boring enough to match his personality. Once or twice a month, never excessive, never messy, never out of control.
Last night, however, had been different.
It was as if he had saved up two years of patience and spent all of it on her in one night.
Again and again.
Until almost dawn.
Was he considered good in bed?
Miranda was not entirely sure. She had no one else to compare him with.
The thought made her pause.
Then she silently cursed herself.
What was she thinking so early in the morning?
She reached blindly toward the bedside table, found the remote, and pressed the button to open the curtains.
The curtains had only parted halfway when Cedric, still half-asleep, frowned and reached over. He took the remote from her hand and closed them again.
Then, as if nothing had happened, his arm settled back around her waist.
“Move your hand—”
Before Miranda could finish, Cedric had already withdrawn his arm.
He pulled the blanket higher over himself, his voice low and rough from sleep.
“Stop making noise. Sleep.”
His brows were still drawn together.
The expression on his face clearly said that he was genuinely annoyed by her disturbance.
Miranda stared at him.
How heartless.
After everything last night, he had the nerve to dislike her for being noisy in the morning.
Typical Cedric Kane.
Fortunately, she was not in a hurry to get up either. She gave him a light kick under the blanket, turned onto her side, and reached for her phone.
The gala from last night was still being discussed online.
Most of the attention was on celebrities. As the absolute center of the photos, Sophia Stone naturally appeared again and again. Fashion bloggers had already named her the best dressed of the night, and the comments were full of praise.
Miranda scrolled for a while.
Every photo that included Sophia had either cropped Cedric out, blurred him in the background, or used an angle that hid him completely. Even Zero Degree’s official video handled him carefully.
That was not surprising.
Cedric had always kept himself away from public attention.
But after last night, everyone who mattered in Ashbourne’s upper circle would know one thing.
Cedric Kane was back.
The Kane family controlled Kane Holdings, but the internal situation had always been complicated. Different branches of the family had fought over power for years. In Cedric’s father’s generation, his side had gained the upper hand, holding the most important construction projects and the core revenue of Aurelia Hotels.
But old power never disappeared quietly.
The moment his father’s health began to decline, certain people started moving again.
Cedric, as the only son, carried a responsibility most people could not imagine. Fortunately, his ability matched that responsibility.
He looked refined, calm, even gentle when he wanted to.
But everyone who had dealt with him knew his methods were sharp and ruthless.
Among the younger generation, very few dared to stand against him directly.
And Cedric had always been harsh on others.
Even harsher on himself.
Back then, in order to join forces with the Vale family and suppress the opposing Kane branch, he had married Miranda without blinking.
Miranda Vale.
The spoiled princess famous across Ashbourne and Valebridge.
When news of their engagement first spread, most people found it unbelievable. Many even thought it was only a temporary arrangement and that the wedding would never actually happen.
But the engagement banquet was held on schedule.
The wedding came after that.
For a while, gossip about Cedric Kane and Miranda Vale had filled every private dinner and social gathering in the city.
Then, half a year after their wedding, Cedric suddenly requested a transfer to Aurelia’s overseas division and left for Australia to develop the market there.
That had caused another wave of discussion.
Two years passed.
Aurelia’s hot spring resort brand, Cloudmere, had become one of the most successful luxury hotel concepts in the country. Even people who could not afford to stay there knew the name.
And now Cedric had returned without warning.
Miranda’s phone was flooded with unread messages. One glance at the previews told her everything.
Everyone was asking about Cedric.
Everyone wanted to know why he had come back.
Everyone wanted to know what would happen next.
Only Claire had no interest in pretending.
Her voice message arrived early in the morning.
Miranda tapped it open.
“You’re still not up?”
Before Miranda could bring the phone to her ear, the second voice message played automatically.
“Mr. Kane must be unbelievably good in bed.”
The room was dead silent.
The teasing voice came clearly through the speaker.
Miranda’s finger froze.
She hurried to stop it, but she was too late. By the time she pressed the screen, the message had already finished.
Worse, her touch triggered it again.
“Mr. Kane must be unbelievably good in bed.”
The same sentence played for a second time.
In the quiet bedroom, mixed with the faint electric buzz of the speaker, it sounded less like a joke and more like a deliberate confirmation.
Miranda held her breath.
Behind her, the steady breathing seemed to pause.
Her whole body stiffened.
Slowly, carefully, she slid the phone under the pillow. Her back went straight, her toes curling in embarrassment beneath the blanket.
Cedric was awake.
He lay on the left side of the bed, eyes half-open, watching the tense line of Miranda’s back.
A silent trace of amusement crossed his face.
A moment later, he lifted the blanket and got out of bed.
Miranda heard his footsteps.
They moved from his side of the bed toward hers.
Her eyes shut immediately.
Her lashes trembled uncontrollably.
The footsteps came closer.
Miranda held her breath for no reason. In that short moment, her mind had already prepared several sharp replies in case he dared mention the voice message.
Five seconds passed.
Ten.
Thirty.
The footsteps moved past her.
Then farther away.
Soon, the bathroom door opened, and the sound of running water came from inside.
Miranda opened her eyes.
Cedric had ignored her.
Completely.
He had known she was pretending to sleep, heard that ridiculous voice message, and still could not be bothered to expose her.
For some reason, that irritated her more than if he had mocked her.
She sat up abruptly, throwing the blanket aside with unnecessary force.
Her eyes swept across Cedric’s bedside table and landed on a stack of documents.
The cover caught her attention.
Aurelia Group Designer Hotel Development Proposal.
Miranda had only meant to grab something to vent her frustration on.
But the moment she saw the title, her eyes changed.
She leaned over, stretched out her arm, and finally pulled the documents into her hands.
Then she opened the first page.
The shower continued in the bathroom.
Outside, sunlight pressed softly against the closed curtains.
Miranda forgot to be angry.
- Writer
