NOVGO.NET Chapter 21 Where are you going?
Chapter 21: Chapter 21 Where are you going?
Next Day
Early Morning
The sun had barely risen over the city, painting the sky in shades of pale pink and soft gold. The first rays of light filtered through the curtains, casting gentle shadows across the bedroom floor. Daisy woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside her window, a rare moment of peace before the day began.
She reached for her phone on the nightstand and blinked at the bright screen.
A message from Annie.
I am back! Meet me at the cafe as usual by 10:30 AM. I missed you so much!
Daisy’s eyes lit up like stars being turned on one by one.
Annie. Her best friend. The only person outside this mansion who treated her like a human being.
She met Annie one year after she married Cedric. Annie was funny and made her laugh always, a gift Daisy had thought she had lost forever after the accident. With Annie, there was no awkwardness about her silence, no pity in her eyes, no impatience waiting for Daisy to type out her words. Annie just talked and talked, filling the spaces Daisy couldn’t, and Daisy listened and smiled and typed back when she could. Daisy liked her. She liked her very much. Annie was the first real friend she had made since losing her voice, and perhaps the only one who had ever looked at her and seen a person, not a tragedy.
But Annie traveled alot for work. She was a freelance photographer, always flying to different cities, different countries, capturing beautiful things with her camera. She had been gone for three months. Three long, lonely months.
Now she is back.
Daisy typed her reply with shaking fingers, her heart pounding with joy. Okayy!!!
She added two exclamation marks. Then a third. Then a smiling face emoji. Then a heart.
She was so excited she could barely hold her phone.
She threw off her blanket and rushed to her closet.
**
Daisy stood in front of her small wardrobe, her dark eyes scanning her dresses. Most of them were simple and plain. Things she had bought on sale or received as hand-me-downs from Cedric’s cousins.
But there was one dress. She had bought it new when Grandpa James sent her for shopping.
It was a light yellow summer dress, the color of sunshine and lemon drops and happiness. The fabric was soft and flowing, with thin straps that would show her shoulders and a back that dipped low. A small bow sat at the back, right between her shoulder blades, cute and delicate and pretty.
Daisy pulled the dress from the hanger and held it against her body. She looked at herself in the small mirror on the wall.
She could not help but take another look.
The dress was beautiful. Soft yellow, like buttercups in spring. The fabric flowed like water, catching the pale morning light. The bow at the back added a touch of sweetness, a little detail that made her smile.
She smiled at her reflection.
Then she tied her hair in a loose bun, because the weather forecast said it would be very hot today. A few caramel strands escaped to frame her face, curling softly against her cheeks, brushing against her temples.
She wore her old worn white sandals. The leather was cracked in places, the soles thin, but they were comfortable.
She looked at herself one more time.
Her mother would have said she looked beautiful. Daisy hoped Annie would think the same.
She grabbed her small crossbody bag, checked for her phone, her wallet, her notebook, and her pen. Then she walked out of her room and headed toward the front door.
—The Hallway—
Daisy was halfway down the hallway when she heard a sound behind her.
A door opening.
She turned her head. Her eyes widened.
It was Cedric.
He was shirtless.
Her breath caught in her throat. Her feet stopped moving. Her whole body froze as if someone had turned her to stone.
The morning light streamed through the window at the end of the hallway, casting golden rays across his bare chest. His skin was pale from the cruise, the tan he had arrived with now faded, but his body was lean and sculpted, the kind of physique that came from expensive gyms and personal trainers, from hours of work she never saw him do.
His light six-pack was visible, the muscles defined but not overwhelming, just enough to make her notice. His arms were toned, his biceps curving smoothly. His shoulders were broad, the kind of shoulders that made jackets look good.
His hair was messy, sticking up in every direction, like he had just woken up and run his fingers through it. His blue eyes looked much brighter than before, no longer dull from seasickness. They were sharp and clear and focused on her.
His pants hung low on his hips, the waistband sitting just above his hip bones, revealing the v-line of his muscles.
Daisy’s face turned red. The heat spread from her cheeks down her neck, warm and embarrassing.
She lowered her head quickly, her eyes fixed on the floor. Her cheeks burned. Her heart pounded in her chest, so loud she was sure he could hear it.
She had seen him shirtless before. Of course she had. They lived in the same house but it had been months. Maybe a year. He usually stayed in his room or left before she woke up. He avoided her. She knew that.
Now he was standing in front of her, half-dressed and fully annoyed.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
His voice was rough from sleep. Deep and gravelly like stones grinding together.
Daisy did not look up. She could not look up. If she looked up, she would see his chest again. Consequently, she would forget how to breathe and she needed to breathe.
Cedric looked at her.
She was wearing a yellow dress. Sunshine yellow. Soft and flowing and nothing like the plain clothes she usually wore. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, exposing the slender curve of her neck, the delicate line of her jaw.
Her shoulders were bare, fair and rounded and delicate, the skin smooth and unblemished. Her legs were long and slender, ending in white sandals that showed her pinkish-white toenails.
She reached only his shoulder. She looked small. Soft And beautiful.
Cedric felt a rush of heat in his chest. Something unfamiliar. Something uncomfortable.
He did not understand it. He had never looked at her this way before. She was just Daisy. The mute girl. The burden his grandfather had forced on him. The quiet shadow that followed him around, asking for nothing, expecting nothing.
But standing here, in the morning light, wearing that yellow dress, she looked... breathtaking.
His eyes moved to her face.
She was looking at the floor, her cheeks flushed pink, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her skin. Her lips were pressed together, pink and plump and slightly parted, as if she had forgotten to close them.
He could not stop staring at them.
He cleared his throat, the sound loud in the quiet hallway.
"I asked where you are going," he said again, his voice sharp.