CHAPTER 104: CHAPTER 104: EXERCISING MY RIGHT

Originally, she should have been thinking about why he kissed her, but instead, her mind was filled with thoughts of "his lips are so soft and cool, they feel really nice."

Somehow, it then turned into "his body temperature doesn’t seem normal, his old ailment is really troublesome."

Ann Vaughn suddenly remembered a joke she had seen online before.

"The person I like just looked at me, and I’ve already thought of the names for our future children."

Her current feelings were pretty much the same as that.

"Since you say we are husband and wife, I’m just exercising my rightful privileges. I have no feelings for you, don’t flatter yourself."

Cyrus Hawthorne’s sexy Adam’s apple moved a few times, and his large hand involuntarily let go of Ann Vaughn’s collar, instead covering his thin lips lightly.

Luckily, the light was dim, so Ann Vaughn didn’t notice how out of sorts his expression was at that moment.

The always dominant and indifferent man’s ears were tinged with a barely noticeable flush.

Ann Vaughn was momentarily stunned, and when she understood the meaning behind his words, the smile on her red lips dimmed slightly, and the wound on her lips seemed to hurt even more.

It felt like there was a splinter stuck in her heart, lingering there, impossible to ignore.

The car quickly drove into the manor.

By this time, the fire had already been extinguished, and all the guards were gathered at the entrance of the villa, bowing deeply as Cyrus Hawthorne got out of the car.

"We neglected our duties, please punish us, President Hawthorne!"

Ann Vaughn was startled by the scene, and quickly thought of the fire incident, explaining to Cyrus Hawthorne, "It was my fault, I set off a smoke bomb in the room, it has nothing to do with them."

"And how did the smoke bomb come about?" Cyrus Hawthorne’s narrow eyes glanced coolly at Ann Vaughn, but the curve of his lips showed no trace of anger.

"I... I made it myself," Ann Vaughn said truthfully under his gaze, which seemed to see through everything, "It really was just a smoke bomb, I don’t know why it caught fire."

"Hmm, this doesn’t concern you anymore, go back to your room and stay there, don’t come down."

With his dismissive tone being so obvious, Ann Vaughn couldn’t thick-skinnedly stay any longer; she gave him a sullen glance before she went upstairs with a thud.

Once Ann Vaughn’s figure had disappeared, the slight smile in Cyrus Hawthorne’s eyes vanished instantly, and the pressure in his gaze swept over the guards and Auntie Golding in front of him, "Whoever started the fire, step forward."

"If I take action, face the consequences."

A shadow at the back of the queue shivered subtly, and as they raised their head, they saw those hawk-like cold eyes staring at them intently.

It was as if seeing the Grim Reaper raise his scythe, and that person’s eyes widened, unable to utter another sound the next second.

-

Ann Vaughn’s room had already been destroyed by the fire, and when she stood outside and glanced at it, she noticed the smell of gasoline wafting from the wall and some scattered white powder in inconspicuous corners.

It really wasn’t the smoke bomb’s fault.

Ann Vaughn walked over, pinched a bit of the powder, gave it a light sniff, her expression changed, and quickly dusted off the powder from her hand.

Looking at the room which was unrecognizable from its original state, her heart gradually sank.

If she hadn’t decided to escape but stayed in this room to sleep that night, considering her increased sleepiness due to pregnancy, it was highly likely she wouldn’t have awakened in the middle of the night.

With these drugs in place, once the fire started and she fell into a coma, the consequences would have been imaginable.

Thinking carefully, Ann Vaughn couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

"I’ll have this place renovated again, and in the meantime, you can stay in my room," Cyrus Hawthorne said in a deep voice, arriving beside her unnoticed.

A faint smell of blood seemed to pass by her nostrils, but when Ann Vaughn frowned and tried to smell it again, it seemed to vanish.

"Instead of changing rooms, you might as well give me my freedom," Ann Vaughn said, pressing down the fear in her heart, "After all, if I continue to stay here, the question of whether I can keep my little life still hangs over me."

"This is the first time, and it will also be the last," Cyrus Hawthorne’s narrow eyes swept over her slightly pale face, his voice cool, "Come upstairs with me."

He said, turning first and heading towards the elevator.

Ann Vaughn mentally added that since he cared so much about whether she had a healthy heart to donate to Cynthia Vaughn, wouldn’t it be safer to move her to another place in such circumstances?

After all, the arsonist was able to infiltrate this heavily guarded private manor.

Isn’t he worried about something really happening?

Cyrus Hawthorne’s room was on the fifth floor, also the master bedroom, with the study and gym next to it.

Compared to the third floor where Ann Vaughn lived, which was just a temporarily remodeled room with even the furniture like the bed and sofa brought in temporarily.

"I can sleep in the guest room, you don’t need to give up your room for me," Ann Vaughn said hesitantly as she looked at the room, which could be described as having a minimalist style.

"There’s no bed in the guest room, but if you can stand sleeping on the floor," Cyrus Hawthorne glanced at her calmly, pulling open the curtains with a casual hand, "Besides, who said I was giving this room to you."

Ann Vaughn looked at him in confusion.

She felt that tonight’s Cyrus Hawthorne... had a sort of unexplained gentleness.

Although his words showed no particular consideration, the usual distant and cold aura was absent, as if a corner of an icy mountain had melted.

"Being by my side is the safest place."

After saying this, Cyrus Hawthorne untied his tie, placed it to the side, took clothes out of the wardrobe, and then walked into the bathroom.

Ann Vaughn was slightly stunned for a moment, and when she observed the room more carefully, she noticed signs of someone having lived there.

Compared to their so-called new home at the Hawthorne Family, he left far more traces in this place.

But she had always thought this was just a place he used to imprison her.

Ann Vaughn’s heart pounded several times, could he possibly mean they were going to share the same room?

Since their marriage, the times they had slept in the same room could be counted on one hand.

Most of the time, he preferred sleeping in the study, only occasionally returning to the room when Grandpa Hawthorne visited, and even then, they slept with their backs to each other like strangers.

Ann Vaughn shook her head, trying to remove all emotions from her mind, and a glance at the frosted glass door of the bathroom made her face quietly blush.

Her mind was getting more and more inappropriate!

It wasn’t long before Cyrus Hawthorne came out of the bathroom, wearing only a pure black silk robe, with his slightly damp jet-black hair dripping water.

From the beautifully contoured lines of his face to the two sexy clavicles resembling snow-capped mountains shrouded in fog, and further down, a chest colored with a light tan, ending in well-defined abs...

A perfect image of a handsome man stepping out of the bath.

The pure thoughts Ann Vaughn had finally suppressed automatically changed color.

"I, I’ll go take a bath too," she stammered, not knowing where to place her eyes, everything seemed inappropriate, and her pretty face flushed with embarrassment.

Hastily dropping this sentence, Ann Vaughn darted into the bathroom.

As he used a white towel to dry his wet hair, Cyrus Hawthorne cast a meaningful sideways glance at the direction of the bathroom, then walked to the fridge, took out a bottle of cold water, opened it, and drank a few sips.