Mafia Lord's Mute Sweetheart

Chapter 44: Chapter 44 You are hurting me

After the dance, Daisy was in a good mood. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were bright. She felt light and a little bit happy. The music was still playing, soft and slow, and the golden lights from the chandeliers made everything look warm.

Alessio excused himself from her side.

"Wait here," he said. "I need to speak with someone privately. It will not take long."

Daisy nodded. She watched him walk away, his broad shoulders cutting through the crowd like a ship through water. People stepped aside for him without even looking, sensing something dangerous about him even if they did not know his name. He disappeared through a side door, and the crowd closed behind him like a curtain.

Daisy stood alone near the edge of the dance floor. She watched the couples sway, the waiters carry trays of champagne, and the chandeliers cast golden light across the room. She felt peaceful and happy.

Until someone grabbed her wrist HARD.

Daisy’s eyes widened. She was pulled backward, away from the light, the music, and the crowd. Her heels scraped against the floor. Her free hand reached out for something to hold onto but there was nothing, just empty air. Her heart slammed against her ribs.

She looked up.

Cedric.

His blue eyes were dark. His jaw was tight. His hair was messy, like he had been running his fingers through it all night. His bow tie was undone, hanging loose around his neck. His white shirt was wrinkled. His breath smelled like whiskey, sharp and sour. His grip on her wrist was bruising.

Cedric, you are hurting me.

She tried to say the words, but only a small helpless noise came out. Stuck in her throat like a fishbone. Nothing more.

Cedric did not let go. His fingers dug into her wrist hard enough to leave marks. He pulled her through the crowd, past the guests and the waiters. No one stopped him. No one even looked. They just stepped aside, eyes sliding away, pretending not to see.

Let go.

Nothing came out.

Cedric kept walking.

They reached an empty corridor. The music faded behind them. The laughter dimmed. The lights here were low, almost dark, just a few sconces on the walls casting long shadows across the floor.

Cedric pushed her against the wall.

Daisy’s back hit the hard surface. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs. Her head snapped back. Her eyes watered. She looked up at him, wide and scared.

"What are you doing with that man?" Cedric asked. His voice was rough and angry. His usual cold indifference was gone, replaced by anger and jealousy.

Daisy shook her head. Her hands moved frantically.

He is just a friend. He helped me. You left me outside.

But Cedric was not looking at her hands. He never looked at her hands.

"I saw you," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Dancing with him."

Daisy’s eyes widened. She pointed at his chest, then toward the room.

You were dancing with Jessica. You left me alone. What was I supposed to do?

He did not understand her. He never understood her.

Cedric’s jaw tightened. "I asked you a question. Damn it. Answer me."

She could not answer.

He was drunk. She could see it in the way his eyes would not focus, in the way his words slurred together, in the way his grip on her wrist tightened and loosened and tightened again, like he could not decide whether to hold on or let go. His face was flushed. A glassy sheen covered his blue eyes.

Daisy pointed at his hand on her wrist. She shook her head.

Let me go. You are hurting me.

Cedric’s eyes followed her hands. But he did not understand.

"No," he said. "You will go back to him. You will run straight to that man."

Daisy shook her head. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

He is just a friend. Just a friend. That is all.

"I do not understand your hand waving," Cedric said, his voice rising. "Speak to me. Say something. Use your voice for once in your life."

Daisy’s hands dropped to her sides.

She could not speak. He knew she could not speak. He had married her knowing she could not speak. He was being cruel on purpose, and it worked, because the tears came faster now. Hot and silent.

Cedric’s eyes moved to her face. He looked at her flushed cheeks, her trembling lips, her dark eyes wide and wet with tears.

Something in his expression changed. Softened, like a crack forming in a wall that had been standing for years.

"Daisy," he said, his voice quieter now.

She did not respond. She could not.

He reached out and touched her cheek.

His warm, rough fingers slowly traced the curve of her cheekbone. He appreciated the softness and smoothness of her skin, which brought him a sense of excitement.

Daisy froze.

"Why do you look at me like that?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Why do you always look at me like I am the only thing in the world?"

She did not answer. She could not. She did not know the answer.

She just remembered when Grandpa James fixed her marriage with Cedric. He had ignored her from the very first day. He had never wanted her. He had never looked at her and yet, somehow that had made her love him more.

She did not understand why. Why would she want to love someone who did not even care about her at all? What was wrong with her heart? Why did it cling to people who only pushed her away?

"Tell me to stop," he said. He looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

She did not answer. She was lost in thought, lost in the mess of her own heart.

His eyes focused on her face. On her delicate features. On the way her caramel hair framed her eyes. On the softness of her lips. He leaned closer. His body pressed against hers. His breath was hot on her skin.

He caught her wrist and raised it above her head, pinning it against the wall. His other hand cupped her face, his thumb brushing her cheek.

"Tell me," he whispered.

She turned her head away.

His lips brushed her hair instead. Soft and warm. He buried his face in her caramel waves.

And Daisy felt her mind go blank.

Shh...

Don’t... don’t...

She heard familiar voices in her head. But she did not remember who they belonged to. They were soft and distant, like echoes from a room she had left long ago.

Her head pounded. Her vision blurred.

She saw someone running toward her. A figure in the distance, getting closer. She felt so scared, so terrified. Her whole body trembled.

She screamed.

No sound came out, but she screamed anyway. Inside her chest, where no one could hear.

She pushed Cedric away. Both hands against his chest, shoving with all her strength.

He stumbled back.

Daisy pressed herself against the wall, her hands raised in front of her face, her whole body shaking. Her eyes were wide and wild. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Cedric looked at her in shock.

"Daisy!"

He reached for her.

She flinched.

His hand stopped in the air. He stared at her like he had never seen her before.

"Did you not want me?" he asked, his voice confused and slurred. "You love me. I know you love me. Why are you playing hard to get now?"

Daisy shook her head. She did not know what to do. She did not know what to say.

"You are my wife," Cedric said. "You belong to me."

She did not look at him. He went closer to her and suddenly he heard a familiar voice.

"What are you doing?"

Cedric froze.

"I just went to the washroom for two minutes and you disappeared with this mute?"

Jessica walked toward them. Her red heels clicked against the floor. Her red dress swayed with each step. Her red hair bounced around her shoulders. Her eyes were sharp and narrowed and angry.

Fear appeared on Cedric’s face.

His skin went pale. His eyes widened. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.

She did not hear anything he had said to Daisy, right? She had just arrived. She had just walked in. She had not been standing there listening. She could not have heard him begging Daisy to tell him to stop. She could not have heard him asking why she looked at him like he was the only thing in the world and whatever nonsense he told Daisy.

"Baby," Cedric said, forcing his voice to sound smooth. "Jesse."

He walked toward her, leaving Daisy pressed against the wall. He put his hand on Jessica’s lower back. He smiled. It was a weak, shaky smile.

"I was just looking for you," he said. "I got lost. Too much whiskey."

Jessica looked at him. Her green eyes swept over his flushed face, messy hair, and undone bow tie. Her lips pursed.

"Lost?" she said. "You got lost in a straight corridor?"

"Dark," Cedric said. "Bad lighting."

Jessica’s eyes moved past him. They landed on Daisy.