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.”

Over the next few days, Cedric seemed to be more available than ever. He spent every waking hour by Eden's side as if he were trying to find out if she had caught on to anything yet.

Meanwhile, Eden’s behavior was otherwise ordinary. There was nothing implying any kind of disturbance.

Cedric knew Eden’s personality. She was not the type to suffer idly. Naturally, she would not be so calm if she had heard something.

With that in mind, his worries slowly subsided.

Soon, the New Year rolled around.

Since Eden was an orphan, the question of whose parents’ house to visit for New Year's was not necessary.

On New Year's Eve, Cedric took her and Mateo back to his parents' home for a family dinner to usher in the new year.

Cedric suddenly stiffened the moment he entered the house. Eden was puzzled by his reaction and peeked inside only to see Amelie.

She was sitting in the living room next to Cedric’s mother.

“Amelie!”

Mateo was overjoyed to see her. He immediately shrugged off Eden's hand to run to Amelie.

“Please stay! Spend the New Year's with Daddy and me. We want you here!”

Cedric’s mother greeted them kindly, “Oh, you all came just in time! This here is Ms. Hepburn. She’s a posture coach. Since it's so late, I told her to stay for dinner.

“The more people, the merrier, after all! I’m sure you young people will have something to talk about.”

Mrs. Rivers did not notice the way Cedric's face turned pale and continued to shower Amelie with compliments. Eden stayed silent the entire time, but could not deny that she found Mrs. Rivers’ reaction very amusing.

Mrs. Rivers had always looked down on her because of her lowly background and occupation.

Upon learning about Cedric’s new girlfriend, she eagerly invited the lady to their house to spend New Year’s without even bothering to find a suitable justification for it.

During dinner, Mateo pushed Eden away and positioned himself between Cedric and Amelie. They began to chatter away.

Mrs. Rivers was very attentive and made sure Amelie had enough to eat. She restlessly encouraged her to spend the New Year's with them while also urging her to share toasts with Cedric.

Finally, she successfully convinced her to stay the night by claiming that she treated Amelie as her own daughter.

The entire time, she hardly spared a glance at Eden.

With that, Amelie spent the night at the house.

While Eden and Cedric were watching Mateo play with firecrackers on the first floor, she put on a lacy nightgown and passed by them five times.

She claimed she was getting water from the kitchen each time. Furthermore, she would make a point of slowing down and greeting them daintily.

Eden did not react, but Cedric's breathing grew heavier as time went on. His eyes were glued to his phone the entire time while he typed furiously on the keyboard.

Eden glanced at the screen with a wry look that was well concealed in the dark of the night.

Around midnight, Cedric's phone rang several times.

He could not resist the temptation and proceeded to read the messages.

After fixing an intense look on the screen for what seemed like ages, he took a few deep breaths and suppressed the lustful look in his eyes. Then, he set aside his phone and shut his eyes to sleep.

Half an hour later, he turned over for the fifth time and opened his eyes.

He took a look at Eden and observed the steady pace of her breathing. Then, he sighed and slowly got up to tiptoe out of the room.

As soon as he stepped outside, Eden heard someone whispering. She opened her eyes; she was, after all, wide awake the entire time.

“What are you doing here?”

“I missed you. I was waiting for you to come out.”

“Are you crazy? Aren't you afraid of getting caught?”

“Isn’t this what your mother wanted?”

“Quiet, don’t wake Eden. Where’s your room?”

After some more rustling and murmuring, the sound of a pair of footsteps slowly faded into the distance.

He was in such a hurry to go that he barely even shut the bedroom door.

There was a deathly still look in Eden’s eyes. She resigned and stepped out of the bed to close the door.

Before Eden managed to close the door, she heard the muffled moan of a woman.

“Keep it down!” Cedric hissed while covering her mouth.

“What's there to be scared of? Everyone's asleep, it’s more exciting like this.

“Besides, don't you like it when I scream?”

This seemed to be good enough to convince Cedric, who no longer protested.

Eden stole a glance down the hallway and realized that Cedric, in his haste, hadn’t even properly closed the door in Amelie's room.

She effortlessly spotted Cedric.

Cedric’s face was flushed red. It was a complete departure from his usual cold demeanor.

Then, she looked at Amelie, who was pinned under him. There was a mix of tenderness and passion in her eyes.

The look in Cedric’s eyes was exactly the same as the one he used to reserve for Eden.

It had been ages since Cedric looked at her so longingly and intently.

It was at this point that Eden had to accept that Cedric still had the capacity for love in him, only it was no longer for her.

She was convinced her heart had completely expired, but now it started to beat and twitch again.

A terrible, throbbing pain shot through her chest. She had forgotten how suffocating this pain could be; it was choking the breath out of her.

All along, she thought she was immune. However, witnessing his infidelity in person was another degree of pain.

Finally, she blinked away the tears and looked away before closing the door and burrowing under the covers.

Despite her best attempts, she could still hear faint sounds slipping through the cracks underneath the door. She was not sure whether to attribute it to her sensitive hearing or if it was simply because the couple was getting too loud.

Each sound they made pierced into her ears.

The next morning, she went downstairs with an extremely ashen face.

Cedric approached her and asked cautiously, “Did you sleep well last night? Was the fireworks too loud?”

She was in no mood to go through the song and dance with him. All she did was shake her head and comment disinterestedly, “No, I went to bed early and had a nightmare.”

Cedric was relieved by how nonchalant she sounded.

Suddenly, the guilt and unease of his unscrupulous actions from the previous night caught up to him. He did not want to stick around any longer and immediately announced he was taking Eden and Mateo home.

Eden did not object since staying any longer would likely make her lose more sleep. Her scalp was tingling, and all she wanted was to get some rest.

Before they left, Amelie suddenly put a hand over her mouth and then alertly clutched her stomach.

All the color drained out of her face while she cried out, “Agh! My stomach hurts, it hurts so bad…

“It's coming in waves… Oh my god! I… I’m bleeding…”

Cedric frowned. A thought suddenly came to him and stirred up a mix of emotion in his eyes. Then, he shoved a set of keys into Eden's hand before rushing forward to carry Amelie in his arms.

“Eden, why don’t you drive home first? Be careful.

“I’ll take Amelie to the hospital and be right back.”

With that, he carried Amelie straight to the garage. Meanwhile, Mateo trailed behind them without needing to be told to follow.

Eden gripped the car keys tightly with a cynical glint in her eyes. She deemed that if she drove home in this state, she was more likely to get into an accident than not.

With that, she set the keys aside and hailed a taxi home to catch up on sleep.

Then, she was rudely awakened by Mateo screaming at her. Her body felt sore all over as well.