It was the next morning when Cedric returned home.

He reeked of alcohol. Amelie was the one who took him home.

When she brought him to Eden, she made a point of tugging at his collar to reveal the suggestive marks on his clothes.

Then, she whispered to Eden, “We partied a little too hard and drank more than we should. Sorry for making you take care of him, thank you!”

Then, she let out a faint sigh and shrugged before strutting off in her high heels.

Her footsteps were haughty and bore a candid bounce. It was clear that she was gloating.

Eden sheathed the calculating look in her eyes and closed the door before dragging Cedric to the bed.

Though he was drunk, he was not completely out of it yet. However, when Eden flung him into the bed without a care in the world, he could feel his head spinning along with a violent ringing in his ears.

He frowned from the discomfort and began breathing heavily to relieve the drowsiness.

Before he could even catch his breath, Eden returned to the room.

He instinctively reached out, expecting to be handed a glass of honey lemon juice, only to find it was a pen instead.

“Don’t sleep yet, Cedric.”

Eden remarked while flipping to the signature section, “I want a divorce. Sign the agreement.”

Cedric frowned impatiently and seemed annoyed by the interruption. He clicked his tongue irritably and signed his name while barely keeping his eyes open.

“Another donation to an orphanage?

“If you want something, just get the card from me. What’s this about an agreement? Do you think I don’t have the money?”

It was clear he did not catch what she said.

Eden did not bother explaining. Instead, she stood silently and watched as he signed the document.

After it was done, Cedric folded the document and handed it back to her before collapsing onto the bed again. He rubbed his temples to ease the headache.

In the past, Eden would have proactively offered to massage his temples to help him with the headache without him having to ask. Now, though, she only inspected the document before walking off with it.

Moments before she left, Cedric strained his eyes open again. He felt a pang of unease growing inside him, but he was too exhausted to process what was happening. With that, he quickly fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was already evening.

As soon as Cedric stepped out of the room, Mateo ecstatically ran up to him and wrapped himself around his leg.

“Dad, you haven’t granted my birthday wish yet!”

Mateo had been waiting outside the room since the moment Cedric came home. Not wanting to disturb his father’s rest, he respectfully waited until Cedric woke up.

When Cedric gave him an approving look, his smile widened. Then, he shot a look at Eden, who was just stepping out of the kitchen.

“I want to change my surname.

“I want to take Daddy’s surname! Or maybe I can take Amelie’s…”

“Enough of this nonsense!

“Do you think real life is some kind of cartoon? You can’t just change your surname on a whim! You’re seven years old, use your head!”

Cedric cast a look at Eden while reprimanding Mateo. It was only when he noticed her blank expression that he dropped the aggression in his voice.

Cedric had such a scare that sweat poured from his forehead. Suddenly, he felt the headache and drowsiness disappear.

“Ask for something else…”

“Okay, I want to go out and eat with Daddy, but without Mommy! Is that okay?”

A hint of hesitation flashed in Cedric's eyes. He quizzingly looked at Eden and was greeted by an otherwise indifferent and nonchalant look in her eyes.

She gestured, “It’s fine, Cedric. Give him what he wants.

“He's seven, old enough to know what he wants.”

A trace of doubt flickered in Cedric's eyes.

He had a feeling Eden had changed.

When did she become so lenient?

When Cedric and Mateo went out for dinner that night, Eden headed out as well.

She met Priscilla at a restaurant right under her apartment, where she handed over the divorce papers. She asked Priscilla to process them as quickly as possible.

Priscilla flipped through the divorce papers and sighed after verifying the signatures of both parties.

She did not have much to say after that. After hastily finishing her food, she prepared to head off to work.

After finally taking care of what had been weighing on her mind this entire time, Eden breathed a sigh of relief. She did not see a point in lingering around and proceeded to grab her bag to leave as well.

Just as they were about to leave together, Priscilla mentioned she needed to use the restroom. She slung her bag over Eden's shoulder and asked her to wait outside.

After Eden stepped out of the private box, she rounded the corner where a waiter brushed past her. The waiter opened the door to an adjacent private box, where the sound of conversation spilled from inside.

“Daddy, let's go out and have dinner together again! I want to eat with Daddy and Amelie!”

Amelie squealed, “Oh, I love spending time with you, too, Mateo! Come sleep over at my place again next time, I’ll make you and Daddy some cake!”

"Oh, aren’t you all a family?”

The waiter remarked, “You all look so alike, I thought you were a family!”

The waiter's comments amused Mateo and Amelie, and they giggled.

Cedric had just finished replying to a text message. He frowned and got ready to interrupt them when he glanced up and made eye contact with Eden through the door crack.

“Eden?” His first thought was to chase after her to explain what was happening. Just as he was about to say something, a look of horror came upon him and made him shut the door before covering Amelie’s face.

Guilt flashed in his eyes. Before he could even get a word out, the shrill voice of a child interrupted him.

“You’re following us!?

“Didn't you promise to let us have dinner by ourselves? Why are you following us like a creep! Don't you have anything to do with your time?!”

Mateo was glowering with hate. Then, he squeezed through the door gap and shoved Eden with all his might.

Eden was caught off guard by the sudden attack and stumbled several steps backward. Thankfully, she braced against a wall just in time to prevent a fall.

“Mateo! How could you talk to your mother like that?

“Who said you could push your mother? Where are your manners?”

Cedric frowned sharply and stepped forward to help Eden while telling Mateo off.

Mateo had always regarded Cedric with respect, but underneath that respect was fear. This was the first time Cedric had scolded him, and he turned deathly pale while his anger deflated in an instant. He zipped his lips and stayed silent after that.

“Oh, he’s just a kid.”

Amelie remarked with a dainty voice while emerging from the private box to hug Mateo. She chuckled as she defended him, “Mateo is a boy. There’s no need to hold something like that against him. He’s too young to know what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Amelie and Eden did look alike.

Now that they were standing next to each other, the resemblance was accentuated.

What was more notable was that she was wearing Cedric’s coat.

Cedric did not expect Amelie to boldly reveal herself. He felt his heart drop and turned to Eden to try to stammer an explanation.

“Eden, this is Amelie. She’s a new model signed to our company. We were just having dinner to talk about a project.

“I lent her my coat because she said she was cold.”

Eden suppressed her emotions and shoved away Cedric’s hand that was placed on her waist.

She replied in a benevolent tone as if she believed Cedric wholeheartedly, “It's alright, I know.

“I’ll let you all finish your dinner. I have something to do, so I'll get going.”

Right at that moment, Priscilla returned and called out, “Eden, the agreement you signed…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she locked eyes with Cedric.

She immediately fell silent and turned visibly stiff.

“What agreement?” Cedric caught the tail end of what she was saying.

Eden casually rolled up the document while stating nonchalantly, “Nothing. Just some paperwork to finance another orphanage.

“Anyway, enjoy your food, everyone. We’ll make a move.”

She remained indifferent throughout the entire interaction.

Even after being insulted and attacked by Mateo.

Even after confronting Amelie, who looked just like her and was wearing Cedric’s coat, she did not seem upset in the slightest.

Not even a hint of emotion.

Cedric breathed a sigh of relief, but could not shake off the restless feeling even after some time passed.

Eden was too stoic about it.

He had a nagging feeling that something was slipping from his grasp. Something he could not place.

It was an uncomfortable feeling.

Cedric lost his appetite after Eden left.

He ignored Amelie's attempts to flatter him and even tossed the coat into the trash can when she handed it back to him. Then, he got up and shot her a disdainful look as if she were scum.

“What did I tell you? Have you completely forgotten?

“Amelie, don't try to play any games with me, and don’t get any funny ideas. You are nothing.”

With that, he ignored her pleas and apologies while dragging the now pale-faced Mateo out of the restaurant.

Without a word, he started the engine and drove straight home.

Eden was already home by the time they arrived.

The image of Eden leaving them in the restaurant continued to haunt Cedric for what seemed like ages. He could not help but ruminate over it, which only agitated him further.

Now that he had seen her safely at home in one piece, his agitated mood was finally settling down.

He tried to make amends for the guilt pulsing inside him. After digging in his pockets, he found a small gift box to his surprise.

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he opened it and handed its contents to Eden. It was a necklace.

“Eden, I bought you a New Year's gift.”

He slowly approached her and affectionately leaned in until he was inches away from her ears. He smiled charmingly while he presented the necklace to her.

The piece of jewelry dangled in the air in suspense, as if it, too, was waiting for Eden to be impressed.

After waiting a long time without receiving the expected reaction, Cedric pulled away in confusion, “Don't you like it?”

“You just gave me this necklace last month. It was for our anniversary.

Cedric's heart skipped a beat, and something tremored in his eyes. It was only then that he bothered to look at Eden’s collarbone and noticed she was already wearing a necklace that looked just like the one he had in hand.

They were completely identical.

At last, he remembered. It was Amelie who told him the necklace looked good on Eden and that she wanted one for herself, too. He did not think much of the request and got one for her.

His assistant had just passed him the necklace that afternoon, but he had completely forgotten about that because of the commotion in the restaurant. His mind was haunted by Eden.

Cedric panicked for an instant but managed to quickly regain his composure since he had been doing this for three years. Without a word, he snatched the necklace back and tossed it into the trash.

“The clerk at the jewelry place must have made a mistake. Never mind that, you deserve something better anyway. I’ll get you something better at an auction next time.

“Let's go shopping in the next few days. It's almost New Year's, I’ll get you whatever you want.”

Eden forced a smile and agreed perfunctorily.

Meanwhile, Cedric was too distracted to notice the eerie stillness in the corner of her eyes.

Four days later, he took Eden to a nearby shopping mall.

The entire time, he enthusiastically presented everything he could get his hands on to her, which included jewelry, clothes, shoes, and bags. However, Eden was hardly interested that she would only regard them stoically.

Regardless, Cedric bought everything she walked past or so much as just briefly glanced at.

The onlookers were filled with envy. They gasped and showered Cedric with praises.

“He's loaded! I wish I had a man this rich and handsome!”

“They say a man only splurges on what he loves. Mr. Rivers must love his wife!”

Eden could not help but note these remarks with intensified sarcasm.

When they entered the next store, Cedric planted himself on the couch and cast a glance to the side, only to notice a familiar figure that made him freeze.

It was Amelie.

Her eyes were seething with red, and she was fixing an intent look at him. Those were eyes that refused to yield. She was not afraid of being caught.

He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. Then, he said something to Eden to excuse himself to the restroom downstairs.

He left in such a hurry that he barely noticed Eden tailing him shortly after he left.

It did not take long for Amelie to catch up to him, either.

The moment they met, Amelie ignored the dirty floor and got on her knees to wrap her arms around his legs to plead.

“I’m sorry, Cedric, I know I made a mistake.

“Please, I beg you, give me another chance! I was so stupid! From now on, I promise to keep my distance and never show myself in front of Eden again. I’ll be here whenever you need me, alright?

“I promise I’ll keep quiet, please don’t leave me.”

Though it had only been a few days, she had lost a significant amount of weight, and there were dark circles underneath her eyes. Her voice trembled as she cried, and she was visibly shaking out of fear.

Cedric looked at her pitiful expression for a long time before he let out a deep, exasperated sigh.

Her defeated voice, coupled with her appearance, reminded him of Eden more than he’d like to admit. He had a soft spot for her.

“Seeing as you’ve been with me for three years, I’ll look past this incident.

“This won’t happen again.”

As soon as he said so, Amelie threw herself into his arms. She kissed his cheeks while still sobbing.

“I know, I'll be good from now on. I promise!”

Cedric had always been fond of how forthcoming and obedient Amelie was. He smiled, hugged her waist, and waited for her to calm down before opening the door to leave.

Just as he stepped out of the bathroom, a shadow loomed over him. The moment he looked up, his pupils dilated in an instant, and the color drained from his face.

“Eden, what are you doing here? How long have you been here?”

He intentionally raised his voice in hopes that Amelie would hear him and stay inside the restroom. He hardly realized how shaky his voice was out of sheer nerves.

Thankfully, Amelie got the hint and stayed hidden.

It felt as if the air was sucked out of the place.

Eden stared at him for what seemed like forever. With hands clenched so hard that they were bleeding, she smiled.

“The bathroom upstairs is under maintenance, so I had to come down here.

“Let me wash my hands, then we can go.”