Chapter 12: The Name He Heard
1097 Words
Yvonne leaned forward, clearly enjoying the memory she was about to share.
“I’ve honestly never met a little girl who loved wetting the bed more than you.”
Miranda’s hand trembled.
The fruit tea nearly spilled.
Around the pavilion, several people paused.
Miranda forced a smile.
“Aunt Yvonne, that was when I was very young.”
“Of course, of course. Very young.” Yvonne laughed. “But there was one time when no one else was home. You were watching cartoons in our living room, and you fell asleep halfway through. Then you wet the sofa.”
Miranda closed her eyes.
Tonight, she had survived the bathtub concert.
She had survived the underwear request.
She had survived pretending to be a perfect wife in front of the Kane family.
But apparently, heaven had decided she had not suffered enough.
Yvonne continued with great enthusiasm.
“Ethan was the cleanest child in the house. He almost died of disgust. But he still carried you to the bed, then took off the sofa cover and washed it himself. I still remember his face. So serious. So miserable. Hahaha…”
The name Ethan fell into the conversation.
For a moment, no one reacted.
Then the air changed.
One by one, people seemed to realize something.
Miranda’s smile disappeared.
The summer night breeze passed through the pavilion, but it suddenly felt cold.
Yvonne was still laughing.
Miranda immediately gave her a warning look.
Unfortunately, Yvonne did not notice.
Miranda seriously suspected that after doing physics research for too many years, her aunt-in-law had decided to switch fields and compete in the international championship of saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time.
Then Miranda caught sight of a figure stepping into the pavilion from the corner of her eye.
Cedric.
He had come downstairs without anyone noticing.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
Miranda’s heart gave a small jump.
Yvonne finally sensed the change in atmosphere and turned around.
The moment she saw Cedric, her laughter stopped.
Silence spread through the pavilion.
Cedric walked up the steps, his face unreadable.
Grandma Kane glanced at Miranda, then at Cedric.
She coughed lightly and changed the subject.
“It’s getting late. You two should go back early. Young people need rest.”
Miranda immediately nodded.
“Yes, Grandma. You should also rest early.”
Cedric said nothing.
He only looked at Miranda.
That look was not sharp.
Not cold.
Not angry.
But it made Miranda feel more uncomfortable than if he had directly questioned her.
They left Southbridge Lane at just past eight.
The night had already deepened.
In the back seat of the car, Miranda felt rare discomfort settle over her.
She turned her head toward the window, pretending to look at the passing streetlights. But through the faint reflection in the glass, she could not help secretly observing Cedric’s expression.
Cedric sat beside her, eyes lowered, his face unreadable.
He had not said a word since they left the courtyard.
The silence was different from the silence after the bathtub incident.
That silence had been embarrassing.
This one was heavier.
Miranda pressed her lips together.
After several minutes, she finally could not bear it.
“Ethan and I grew up in the same neighborhood,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Everyone knows that.”
Cedric did not look at her.
“I didn’t ask.”
His tone was mild.
That made it worse.
Miranda turned slightly toward him.
“You look like you want to ask.”
“No.”
“You do.”
Cedric finally lifted his eyes.
His gaze was calm, but there was something deep beneath it that Miranda could not read.
“I only heard my aunt say he carried you to bed.”
Miranda choked.
“That was when I was a child!”
“Mm.”
“And I was asleep!”
“Mm.”
“And I don’t even remember it!”
Cedric looked at her for two seconds.
Then he said, “But he remembers.”
Miranda stared at him.
Was this jealousy?
No.
Impossible.
Cedric Kane did not get jealous.
Cedric Kane was rational. Cold. Emotionally restrained. He treated people and things like chess pieces on a board.
He could not possibly care about some childhood story involving her and another man.
But the air around him did seem a little colder.
Miranda studied his face carefully, trying to find proof.
Cedric leaned back and closed his eyes.
“Stop staring at me.”
Miranda immediately turned back toward the window.
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
“I was looking at the scenery.”
“At my reflection?”
“…”
Miranda decided not to speak to him anymore.
The car continued through Ashbourne’s night streets.
Neon lights slid across the window like water. The city outside was bright, but the space between them remained quiet.
After a while, Cedric suddenly spoke.
“Did you like him?”
Miranda froze.
She turned her head slowly.
Cedric’s eyes were still closed.
His tone was casual, as if he were asking about tomorrow’s weather.
But Miranda knew better.
Some questions sounded calm only because the person asking them was too good at hiding danger.
She lifted her chin.
“What if I did?”
Cedric opened his eyes.
The dim light in the car cut across his face, sharpening his features.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he smiled faintly.
It was not warm.
“Then your taste as a child was questionable.”
Miranda almost laughed from anger.
“My taste now isn’t much better. I married you.”
Cedric looked at her.
This time, his smile deepened slightly.
“And yet you still haven’t divorced me.”
Miranda was speechless.
For a moment, she actually had no good comeback.
The car turned onto the main road leading back to Moonwater Residence.
Miranda looked away, but her heartbeat had become strangely uneven.
Cedric did not press further.
He looked out the window, expression calm again, as if the brief tension between them had never happened.
But Miranda knew something had changed.
Cedric had asked.
And she had seen it.
That tiny crack in his perfect control.
Maybe it was not jealousy.
Maybe it was just male pride.
But either way, the discovery made her mood brighten without permission.
Miranda leaned back in her seat and hid the faint curve of her lips.
Cedric Kane was not as unaffected as he pretended to be.
That alone made tonight worth the embarrassment.
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