Bound to Him

Chapter 2: A Marriage Colder Than Rain

The moment Miranda opened her mouth, the car fell into dead silence again.

The atmosphere in the back seat became even more delicate.

The driver did not dare breathe too loudly. After dropping Claire off at Star Harbor International, he turned the Bentley around and headed toward Moonwater Residence in the north of the city.

The rain had washed the night sky clean. It was now a deep, pure black.

The Bentley sped across the elevated road. From beginning to end, Miranda and Cedric did not say another word.

Moonwater Residence, Villa 13, was their marital home.

After their wedding, they had lived there together. At least, in name.

When the front door opened, the house looked spotless. The furniture was neat, the ceiling lights were bright, and there was not even a trace of dust on the wooden partition by the entrance.

Cedric glanced around.

“You haven’t been staying here lately?”

It sounded like a question, but his tone made it clear he already knew the answer.

“That’s right,” Miranda said lazily, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. “I’ve been out keeping a pretty young lover.”

Cedric looked at her in silence.

Miranda smiled with deliberate provocation. She tilted her head slightly and met his gaze without flinching.

Some people really loved pretending.

As if she could eat a single blade of grass in this city without countless eyes reporting it to him. Yet here he was, asking whether she had been living at home.

Two years apart, and he still did not find such empty politeness unnecessary or laughable.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

In the end, Cedric was the first to look away.

He had never liked wasting time on meaningless arguments, especially not with this wife of his, whose brain, in his opinion, had been short-circuited by diamonds.

The house felt cold, perhaps because no one had lived in it for too long, even though the temperature system was running.

Cedric unbuttoned his suit jacket and walked upstairs.

Miranda watched him from a distance, kicked off her heels, and let out a soft, mocking laugh.

Their relationship as husband and wife was not good, but they had never slept in separate rooms after marriage.

The master bedroom on the second floor was spacious. Inside it, another door led to an even larger walk-in closet.

When Miranda entered the bedroom, Cedric had just pushed open that closet door.

The closet walls were lined with cabinets. In the center stood display counters for watches and jewelry. Spotlights came on, and the glass cases glittered with cold, expensive brilliance.

Cedric stood at the doorway with one hand in his pocket.

For a long moment, he did not move.

Miranda did not walk over. She stood in front of the full-length mirror and began undoing the straps of her gown.

“Miranda.”

“Mm?” She glanced at him through the mirror.

“Clean this up.”

Cedric turned slightly, revealing most of the doorway. His tie had been pulled loose, wrinkling his collar a little. The crease made him frown.

Only then did Miranda notice that the closet floor was covered with shopping bags and gift boxes.

There was barely any place to step.

She was a little surprised. She picked up the nearest bag and looked inside before finally remembering.

“They must be gifts from brands. I didn’t realize there were this many.”

After Cedric went to Australia, she spent most of her time traveling abroad. Even when she returned to Ashbourne, she usually stayed at her downtown apartment.

The brands still had Moonwater Residence as her mailing address. She had been too lazy to change it, so everything kept being sent here.

The housekeeper had once called to ask what to do with the packages. At the time, Miranda had been busy and casually said to put them in the closet.

She had not expected them to fill the entire room.

“This is a lot,” Miranda said, sounding completely unapologetic. “Sorry. I’ll clean it up.”

She said sorry, but not a single strand of her hair showed the slightest intention of actually feeling sorry.

She certainly did not look like she intended to clean anything up.

In fact, she leisurely opened a box, pulled out a thick shawl, and studied it with interest.

“This shawl is too heavy,” she said thoughtfully. “If I ever go to Antarctica, I could take it with me and put it on a penguin.”

“…”

Years of self-control had made Cedric forget how to roll his eyes.

His face remained expressionless, but his voice cooled from patient politeness into plain indifference.

“Move your things. I need my pajamas.”

Miranda looked up at him for a few seconds.

Then she smiled.

“You’re already impatient before we’ve even exchanged three sentences. Mr. Kane, your tolerance is truly impressive.”

Her hand dropped, and the shawl slid down to cover her bare ankle.

In the next second, she stretched out her foot and slowly traced the inside of his calf with her toes.

It was almost seductive.

But more than that, it was a challenge.

Cedric looked at her deeply.

Then he suddenly changed the direction of the conversation.

“If you can’t even wait until after I shower, you can just say so.”

The smile vanished from Miranda’s lips.

She turned around, kicked several gift bags aside, yanked a set of men’s pajamas from the wardrobe, crumpled them into a ball, and threw them into Cedric’s arms as if tossing away unrecyclable trash.

Cedric caught the clothes.

But he did not immediately go to shower.

After a moment of thought, he asked, “Miranda, are you upset with me about something? We can talk.”

In the blink of an eye, he had returned to his calm, gentle manner.

If he had been wearing glasses tonight, he would have looked even more like a young professor patiently offering salvation to a difficult student.

Miranda sneered.

“I had no idea Mr. Kane respected my opinions so much.”