C2 The stolen kiss

Early the next morning.

Vivienne, who had fallen asleep leaning against the headboard, woke with a start. She blinked at the soft morning light filtering through the curtains before realizing dawn had already broken.

Rowan hadn’t returned all night.

She couldn’t decide whether to feel relieved or uneasy.

It felt as though a blade hung over her head, suspended by a single thread. It hadn’t fallen yet, but the waiting was far more terrifying than the pain itself.

After freshening up, Vivienne went downstairs.

A bodyguard stepped forward and respectfully led her to the dining room.

The dining room was connected to the kitchen. The moment she walked in, she saw a tall figure emerging from the kitchen with breakfast in his hands.

The moment she recognized the man as “Adrian,” she instinctively turned to leave.

But before she could take another step, his deep, lazy voice sounded behind her.

“Good morning, Cousin-in-law.”

His voice was deep and magnetic, yet carried an effortless laziness.

The bodyguard’s shoulders stiffened.

Is Young Master role-playing with Young Madam again?

The moment Vivienne saw Adrian, a trace of disgust flashed across her face. She couldn’t understand why he spent every day wandering around his cousin’s house.

“Good morning,” she replied flatly, pushing up her black-rimmed glasses.

Then she turned to the bodyguard behind her “Isn’t your young master here?

The bodyguard carefully glanced at Rowan, whose expression remained unreadable. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to lie.

“Young Master hasn’t been feeling well lately. He’s in the hospital.”

On the surface, Vivienne appeared quiet and ordinary. But after years of being suppressed by Celeste, who never allowed her to outshine her stepbrothers and stepsister, she had learned to hide her intelligence behind an unremarkable facade.

A lie this clumsy could never fool her.

Still, she simply nodded in understanding.

“Oh.” After a brief pause, she looked at the bodyguard expectantly. “Then... may I visit him?”

“Young Master hasn’t been in good condition these past few days,” the bodyguard continued, forcing himself to keep lying.

It seemed that Rowan disliked her very much that he didn’t even want to see her.

Rowan set the breakfast on the dining table and said calmly, “Breakfast is ready. Eat.”

Vivienne glanced at the table, then looked around the spacious villa.

Only then did she realize there wasn’t a single servant in sight.

Did he... make breakfast himself?

“What?" Rowan noticed her hesitation and slowly stepped closer. “Are you afraid I’ll poison you?”

He leaned in until only a short distance separated them.

His dark eyes were unfathomable, carrying an oppressive chill that sent a shiver down her spine.

Vivienne instinctively took a step back “Thank you for the breakfast, but I’m not hungry.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and hurried out of the dining room.

In the lobby, she ran into one of the bodyguards who had escorted her to the villa the day before.

“Could you please take me down the mountain?" she asked politely. “I’d like to go back home and pick up a few things.”

She hadn’t brought any belongings with her yesterday.

She needed to return for some clothes and other necessities.

When she arrived, she had noticed that the Devereux villa was built halfway up the mountain. It was too far to walk, and the winding mountain road made it impossible to leave without a car.

The bodyguard didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he glanced behind her.

Vivienne turned around and saw Adrian walking out of the villa.

His hands were tucked casually into the pockets of his suit trousers as he strolled toward her.

“My cousin’s wife wants to go home and pick up a few things?” he said with a lazy smile. “I’ll take you. Why trouble someone else?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he casually draped an arm over her shoulder.

Vivienne shrugged his hand off in disgust “No need.”

She couldn’t understand him.

Yesterday, he had called her ugly and looked down on her.

Why was he suddenly pestering her today?

The bodyguard quickly stepped in “Young Madam, please let Young Master... I mean, Mr Adrian take you.”

In the end, Adrian drove Vivienne back to the Virement residence.

As he started the car, he leaned close to her ear and said with a teasing smile,

“My cousin may be crippled, but he’s still a man. It would be a shame if you missed out on your wedding night.”

Fearing he might do something inappropriate again, Vivienne instinctively shifted closer to the car door, putting as much distance between them as possible.

Inside the quiet car, she gripped her seatbelt tightly and kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, refusing to spare Adrian even a single glance.

Seeing her like this, a hint of amusement flickered across Rowan’s dark eyes.

His newlywed wife might be ugly...

But she was unexpectedly interesting.

At first, he had only intended to tease her for a while.

Unexpectedly, her reactions amused him so much that he found himself wanting to continue the game.

The black Bentley came to a stop in front of the Virement residence.

Vivienne was about to unfasten her seatbelt when Adrian suddenly leaned over.

His long, slender fingers pressed the hidden release button, and with a soft click, the seatbelt sprang free.

His impossibly handsome face was only inches away.

Even though Vivienne had always been calm and composed, she couldn’t stop her heart from skipping a beat. A faint trace of panic flickered in her clear eyes.

This man’s face alone was enough to make any woman lose her composure.

But the moment she remembered what he had done the night before, her expression quickly returned to normal.

He was nothing more than a shameless playboy...

A man with terrible taste who didn’t even hesitate to covet his own cousin’s wife.

Vivienne raised her head and adjusted her black-rimmed glasses. The expression on her face was a bit dull, and her dumb eyes appeared a little stupid “I’m getting out of the car.”

Rowan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The teasing smile on his face vanished, replaced by a dangerous aura that made the air inside the car feel suffocating.

Vivienne was keenly aware of his changes just as she was about to open the car door and get out; a strong hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

His broad frame and long arms caged her in. From the outside, it almost looked as though he was holding her in his arms.

Through her glasses, Rowan looked straight into her clear eyes and said, “I was kind enough to bring my cousin’s wife home. Don’t you think you should thank me?”

Vivienne lowered her head, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face, and whispered softly, “Thank you.”

The people in her Virement family found her dull and uninteresting, and she hoped Adrian would feel the same.

Rowan’s gaze lingered on her slightly pursed pink lips, and his expression darkened.

“That thank-you wasn’t very sincere,” he said in a low voice. “I suppose I’ll have to accept your gratitude myself.”

Her face was plain and ordinary, yet those soft pink lips stirred an inexplicable urge within him to taste them.

Besides...

She was his lawful wife.

Why should he hold himself back?

With that thought, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

Vivienne felt something soft cover her lips.

Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the handsome face only inches away.

She instinctively raised her hands to push him away, only to realize that both her wrists had already been firmly clasped in his grasp.

Rowan was very satisfied with her reaction.

He released one hand and removed her glasses, revealing those clear, bright eyes.

Without the glasses, she was much more pleasing to the eye.

Vivienne’s cheeks flushed with heat.

This man was far too presumptuous.

He actually dared to kiss her right in front of her own house.

When the kiss finally ended, he slowly pulled away and looked into her eyes.

“No more glasses,” he said in a low voice. “Otherwise, every time I see you wearing them, I’ll kiss you again.”

Her lips were warm and sweet.

He wanted another taste when he had the chance.

The last few words were deliberately spoken in a lower voice, his tone carrying an unmistakable hint of provocation.

His dark gaze roamed over her without restraint.

It was like a predator surveying its territory, filled with dominance and possession.

Just as Vivienne was about to slap him for being shameless, a woman’s voice suddenly broke the silence inside the car.

“Vivienne?”

Hearing the voice, Vivienne turned toward the half-open car window.

Celeste’s eyes widened in shock, her expression a mixture of astonishment and anger.

“Why are you here?”

Vivienne instinctively clenched her hands, and a flicker of panic flashed across her eyes.

On the very first day of her marriage, her mother had caught her sitting in another man’s car right outside the house...

Concerned about causing a scene, Celeste quickly glanced around. After making sure no one was watching, her expression darkened.

“Get out of the car.”

Vivienne opened the car door and stepped out.

The moment she did, Celeste grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the villa.

Unexpectedly, Rowan, who was still sitting inside the car, leaned out of the half-open window. Casually rubbing his lips with his fingertips, he called after her with a wicked smile,

“Cousin’s wife... I’ll be waiting for you.”