Nothing Has Ever Changed

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.