Mafia Lord's Mute Sweetheart

Chapter 134: Chapter 134 What are you trying to say?

He... was trying to kiss her.

The thought hit Daisy like a bolt of lightning.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. Her heart pounded violently against her chest, each beat echoing in her ears like a drum. Her mind struggled to process what had just happened.

She instinctively leaned away, pressing herself against the car door as far as she could. Her fingers curled into the leather seat, her knuckles white. She could feel the cool glass of the window against her shoulder and she wished she could melt through it and disappear.

Meanwhile, Cedric’s mind was in complete mess.

Every image from the restaurant replayed over and over. Daisy smiling at Alessio. Standing behind him. Looking comfortable around him. The way she had looked at Alessio with those trusting eyes, the way she had stood so naturally beside him, as if she had done it a hundred times before.

It made something dark twist inside his chest. Something he didn’t want to name.

His voice became rough, sharp like broken glass.

"...What? You won’t let your own husband get close to you, but you’ll happily spend the evening with that man?"

His blue eyes burned with frustration, the familiar coldness replaced by something hotter, more volatile.

"Tell me. What exactly did you two do together?"

Daisy immediately shook her head. Her caramel hair swayed with the motion. She hurriedly raised both hands, her fingers moving frantically.

Nothing. He only helped me. He’s just my friend.

Cedric couldn’t understand a single gesture. He stared at her moving hands, at the desperate expression on her face and his frustration only grew.

"What are you trying to say?"

He caught hold of her shoulders, his grip firmer than he intended. His fingers dug into the fabric of her rose-red dress, his knuckles pressing against her collarbone.

"Answer me!"

Daisy flinched. Her whole body recoiled as if he had struck her. Tears immediately gathered in her eyes, blurring her vision.

She desperately repeated the same signs, her hands trembling.

Friend. Just a friend. Please believe me.

"Stop..."

Cedric closed his eyes for a brief second. His breathing had become uneven, his chest rising and falling with each ragged breath. He knew she was trying to explain. He simply couldn’t understand her.

And somehow, that made him even more agitated. The silence between them felt like a wall he couldn’t break through and it was driving him mad.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw tears rolling silently down her cheeks. They caught the dim light of the passing streetlamps, glistening like tiny diamonds on her pale skin.

For a fleeting moment, guilt flickered across his face.

But the image of Alessio standing beside her, shielding her, looking at her like she was something precious... It returned to his mind and drowned everything else.

Before he realized what he was doing, he pulled her closer. His arm wrapped around her waist, drawing her toward him.

Daisy gasped silently in surprise. The sudden movement threw her slightly off balance, and she instinctively tried to create some space between them. Her palms pressed against his chest, pushing weakly.

Cedric...

She couldn’t say his name. Only a soft, broken sound escaped her throat, a tiny whimper that was barely audible.

He looked into her frightened eyes. His own emotions were completely tangled. Anger, jealousy, confusion, possessiveness. He couldn’t separate one from another anymore. They had all blended together into a storm that he couldn’t control.

"I need you to understand something."

His voice was quieter now but no less intense.

"My heart... belongs to Jessica."

The words came out flat, rehearsed. As if he was saying them to remind himself as much as her.

"But my identity... is connected to you. You’re my wife. No matter what happens, people will always see you as Mrs. Cedric Evermont."

His jaw tightened.

"So when I see another man standing that close to you, looking at you like that, touching you like that..." His voice dropped lower, almost a growl. "I lose my temper."

Daisy stared at him.

Those words hurt because they were true. Every single one of them.

She slowly lowered her eyes, her lashes casting shadows on her wet cheeks. Her hands dropped from his chest, falling limply to her lap.

She gave a small nod.

She understood.

She only hoped he would let go.

Cedric noticed the tiny nod. Only then did he realize how tightly he had been holding her. His fingers had left marks on her shoulders, faint red impressions that would fade by morning.

His hands immediately loosened. He released her as if she had burned him. He leaned back, creating space between them again, his body retreating to his side of the seat.

Neither of them spoke after that.

Outside, the city lights continued to pass by in a blur of neon and shadow. Inside, two people sat only inches apart, yet they had never felt farther from each other.

❀┈┈┈┈❀

Cedric remained seated in the back of the car long after Daisy had moved as far away from him as the seat allowed. Her body was pressed against the door, her face turned toward the window.

His breathing had gradually steadied, but his thoughts hadn’t.

He replayed the last few minutes over and over. The moment he had almost kissed her. The warmth of her hair against his lips. The delicate floral scent that still lingered in his senses.

He frowned.

What was wrong with me?

He loved Jessica. He had always loved Jessica. That fact had never changed.

Then why had he been drawn toward Daisy?

His fingers slowly tapped against his knee as he searched for an explanation that would satisfy him. He needed a reason. Something logical. Something that made sense.

Cedric had never considered himself an emotional man. He understood desires and physical attraction. Those things were simple. People had needs. That was all.

His gaze drifted toward Daisy, who sat quietly by the window, her eyes lowered as though she wanted nothing more than for the journey to end.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

She’s still young... Maybe... she’s lonely. Maybe that’s why she became close to another man.

His eyes narrowed slightly as another realization settled in.