Chapter69 Grandfather's Relic
The night was pitch black.
When Clifton returned to the manor carrying a chilling aura, it was already late at night.
He avoided the servants and went straight upstairs.
The moment he pushed open the master bedroom door, his forward steps paused almost imperceptibly.
He had thought Miranda would surely be asleep this late, but the bedside lamp was still on, casting a warm yellow glow over the figure on the bed.
Miranda was leaning against the headboard, holding a thick original design book. Her long, curled lashes cast a small, tranquil silhouette beneath her eyes.
The man strode in, deliberately lowering his voice.
"It's so late. Why aren't you asleep?"
Hearing his voice, Miranda immediately looked up from her book, a faint smile appearing on her face. "I was waiting for you."
She paused, seeming somewhat nervous, and closed the book in her hands, setting it aside.
"There's something I wanted to discuss with you."
"Oh?" This successfully piqued Clifton's interest. He walked to the bedside, looking down at her. "What is it?"
Miranda instinctively gripped the sheets beneath her. She looked up at him carefully. "After tomorrow night's charity gala ends, can you have dinner with my mom and brother?"
After speaking, she nervously held her breath. In her clear eyes was an obvious hint of pleading.
Seeing her like this, a mischievous teasing impulse suddenly rose in Clifton's heart.
He raised an eyebrow, his tone lazy. "What if I don't agree?"
The light in Miranda's eyes visibly dimmed.
She bit her lower lip, as if she had anticipated this response, and quickly retreated. "Then if you're not free tomorrow, another day, when you have time, would that be okay?"
She just wanted to let her mom and brother see that she was doing well, to put their minds at ease.
Clifton watched her humble appearance, the curve of his lips deepening.
He suddenly leaned down, his hands braced on the mattress on either side of her body, trapping her entire person between himself and the headboard.
The distance between them was instantly closed. The fresh yet highly aggressive scent on his body overwhelmingly enveloped her.
"Miranda, have you forgotten?" He leaned close to her ear, his voice low and dangerous. "You're just my contract wife, a tool I use to deal with Grandpa. I have no obligation to meet your family."
The sour feeling, like vines, instantly wrapped around Miranda's heart.
She knew what he said was true.
But thinking about how her mother and brother, though not saying anything about her flash marriage, were secretly so worried, she couldn't just ignore it.
She couldn't stand by and watch the two people who loved her most lose sleep over her.
Miranda bit her lower lip hard, almost drawing blood.
She looked up, meeting Clifton's unfathomably dark eyes, her voice carrying a tremor.
"Just once, okay? As long as you agree, I'll give you whatever you want."
"Really?" A dark gleam flashed in Clifton's eyes. The smile at the corner of his mouth took on a wicked edge. "What if I said I want to sleep with you?"
Boom.
Miranda's mind instantly went blank. She stared dazedly at the handsome face so close, for a moment forgetting how to react.
Inside her mind, it was like two little people were fighting madly.
One screamed: Miranda, are you crazy? If you agree, how are you different from a woman trading her body?
But the other argued back: He's your legal husband anyway, and he's so handsome. Sleeping with him once wouldn't be a loss. Besides, as long as he shows his face, Mom and brother can relax.
Clifton just watched her leisurely.
Watching the conflicted, struggling, ashamed yet slightly desperate complex expression on her face, that teasing impulse in his heart inexplicably faded.
He even cursed himself internally.
Knowing this woman was different from those women who used to desperately try to attach themselves to the Prescotts, he had still entertained such nasty thoughts.
He extended his slender fingers and flicked Miranda's smooth forehead, neither too lightly nor too heavily.
The soft "thunk" interrupted the battle in the woman's mind.
Miranda thought he was getting impatient. Her heart hardened, she closed her eyes, and almost blurted out.
"I..."
Having just said one word, she felt the man's slightly calloused index finger gently press against her lips.
The warm touch made all her following words catch in her throat.
She heard the man's extremely soft laugh from above her head.
"I was just teasing you."
Miranda's eyes flew open. She looked at him in disbelief.
Clifton straightened up, withdrew his hand, and his voice returned to its usual coolness. "Remember to book a restaurant tomorrow and invite your mother and brother. But they can't know about my legs."
The huge surprise crashed down. Her eyes immediately lit up, filled with what looked like stars.
"Okay, I understand." She nodded heavily, afraid he would change his mind.
Clifton watched her undisguised joy, and his mood inexplicably improved as well.
He lifted the blanket beside him and covered Miranda with it, wrapping her up tightly.
"Alright, stop overthinking. Go to sleep."
"Mm." Miranda obediently responded verbally, but inside her heart felt like it was filled with honey.
After Clifton entered the bathroom and the sound of running water came from inside, Miranda immediately sat up in bed and took out her phone.
She had to quickly pick the best restaurant and notify her brother and mother.
Before opening her contacts, she instinctively scrolled through Facebook first.
The latest post on Facebook was one Ariana had just posted a few minutes ago.
The image was a selfie. She wore sexy silk pajamas, with Harrison's high-end apartment's floor-to-ceiling window in the background. The caption read: "A new beginning."
Miranda's gaze only lingered on that face for a second before she prepared to scroll away in disgust.
But just then, from the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of something in the corner of the image, a blurred background.
It was a half-open, deep blue velvet box.
The moment she made out what was inside the box, Miranda's pupils contracted violently.
Lying quietly inside the box was a platinum badge embedded with small diamonds.
That was the first wedding anniversary gift she had given Harrison!
But this badge wasn't just a simple gift.
It was also one of the two most important keys to the bank vault containing her grandfather's important legacy.