Mafia Lord's Mute Sweetheart

Chapter 127: Chapter 127 Distracted

Cedric sat alone in his spacious office, absentmindedly reviewing a stack of documents spread across his desk. The afternoon light streamed through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the polished wood. His pen moved mechanically across the pages, signing files he had barely read.

His pen paused halfway through signing a file.

For some reason, his gaze drifted toward the silver photo frame resting quietly at the corner of his desk.

It was their wedding photograph.

He had placed it there long ago for only one reason. If Grandpa James ever visited his office, he would see the picture and believe everything between him and Daisy was perfectly normal. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Cedric reached out and picked up the frame without thinking. His blue eyes settled on the photograph.

Daisy...

She looked breathtaking.

Her white wedding gown hugged her slender figure perfectly, the delicate lace shimmering softly beneath the lights. A thin veil framed her beautiful face and the small bouquet she held rested neatly against her waist. The smile on her lips was gentle, shy and pure.

Her eyes curved ever so slightly, filled with quiet happiness.

She had looked like a bride who genuinely believed she was beginning a beautiful new Chapter of her life.

Beside her, he stood in a perfectly tailored black suit. He looked tall, handsome, and expressionless. There wasn’t the slightest trace of happiness on his face.

Looking at the photograph now, the contrast felt strangely obvious.

His thumb unconsciously brushed across Daisy’s smiling face in the picture. His brows knitted together.

"...Were you always this beautiful?" he murmured quietly.

Back then, he hadn’t looked at her properly. His attention had been elsewhere. On Jessica. On his anger. On the marriage he never wanted. He had never once stopped to notice the woman standing beside him.

Now, looking closely at the photograph, he realized she had been beautiful from the very beginning.

His gaze focused on her smiling face for a long moment.

"Babyyy!"

The familiar, cheerful voice echoed through the office before the door had even fully opened.

Cedric looked up instinctively.

Jessica walked in with her usual confidence, dressed elegantly as always. A bright smile lit up her face the moment she saw him. Her red hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her dress hugged her figure perfectly.

"There you are," she said playfully.

Without waiting for an invitation, she walked straight to his desk. Then, just as naturally as she had done countless times before, she slipped onto his lap, looping her arms around his neck.

"I missed you."

She leaned in and captured his lips in a deep, familiar kiss.

Normally, Cedric would have responded without hesitation. But today, something felt different. His mind refused to stay in the moment.

As Jessica kissed him, another face unexpectedly appeared in his thoughts.

Dark, expressive eyes. A quiet smile. A girl who never spoke, yet somehow conveyed every emotion through her eyes alone.

His brows unconsciously drew together.

Jessica slowly pulled back, noticing his unusual lack of response. She tilted her head.

"What’s wrong?"

Cedric blinked, forcing himself back to reality. "...Nothing."

Jessica narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You’re distracted."

She cupped his face, studying him closely. "You didn’t even kiss me back properly."

Cedric remained silent. His thoughts felt strangely scattered.

Jessica leaned forward again, planting another kiss on his lips, trying to regain his attention. This time, Cedric kissed her back.

Yet even then, his concentration kept slipping away. For the briefest moment, instead of Jessica’s perfume, he inexplicably remembered the faint, fresh scent that always seemed to linger around Daisy after she returned from work.

His jaw tightened.

What the hell...

He abruptly broke the kiss.

Jessica blinked in surprise. "Cedric?"

He rubbed a hand over his face, frustration flickering across his expression. "I’ve got work."

Jessica pouted. "You’ve never pushed me away because of work before."

He didn’t answer immediately. Even he couldn’t explain what was happening. Why his thoughts kept wandering toward someone they had no business wandering toward. It irritated him. He disliked it.

And yet, no matter how much he tried to focus on the woman sitting in front of him, his mind kept betraying him.

"What happened to you?" she asked with an exaggerated pout. "You’ve barely looked at me since I walked in."

Cedric remained silent. His gaze stayed on the documents in front of him.

Jessica frowned. She reached over, plucked the pen from his fingers, and tossed it onto the desk.

"There. Now you can’t pretend to be busy."

She smiled triumphantly. "Spend some time with me."

Cedric finally looked up. "I’m working."

"So work later."

She leaned closer, resting an elbow on his shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I’ve been waiting all day to see you."

When he still didn’t react the way she expected, irritation flickered across her face before disappearing behind another charming smile.

"You’ve changed."

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "I have?"

"Mhm. You used to drop everything for me. But today..." she studied him carefully, "...it’s like your mind is somewhere else."

"It isn’t."

Jessica laughed softly. "Don’t lie to me."

She tapped his chest with one finger. "I know you. You always get this expression when something—or someone—is bothering you."

Cedric’s jaw tightened. "You’re imagining things."

"Am I?" Her smile became calculating. She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Or... has someone caught your attention?"

Cedric’s blue eyes turned cold. "Watch what you’re implying."

Jessica shrugged with feigned innocence. "I’m just asking."

Her gaze wandered around the office before landing on the framed wedding photograph sitting on the desk. She stared at it for a second, then gave a quiet, mocking laugh.

"You actually kept this?"

Cedric didn’t answer.

Jessica picked up the frame and looked at Daisy’s smiling face. "What a convincing little wife."

Her lips curled into a smirk. "If someone walked in here, they’d think you two were the perfect couple."

She placed the frame back on the desk with forced care. Then she looked directly into Cedric’s eyes.

"You don’t actually care about her... do you?"

The office fell silent.

Cedric didn’t answer immediately. His hesitation lasted only a second. But to someone as observant and manipulative as Jessica, a single second was enough.

The smile on her face didn’t disappear. It simply became much thinner and colder.