/Zane's POV/
It's been a couple of days since that happened between me and Maddy, but it still feels like a dream—or probably what came to life was pure imagination.
Her warmth was real, I'm sure of it. The touch of her skin against mine, her melodious moan that pushed me closer to the edge each time, the tenderness of her skin against my palm, the heat I felt inside her, the pure ecstasy that came from that intimacy—every damn thing was real. There has to be some sort of mistake. It couldn't have been all in my head.
I was back in my clothes when I woke up, although I was still on the bed. Madison claimed I moved into bed myself, and with the traces of the night before gone, I almost thought I'd hallucinated the whole thing. The sheets were changed, the rumpled bed straightened—with signs of deliberate intervention, like someone had tried really hard to erase the traces.
And since Madison suddenly requested to move rooms, saying she was a lady and needed her privacy and all, it was even harder to bring up. She had her meals in her room and avoided me like the plague.
But it wasn't just the memory Madison was trying hard to deny while apologising for my inadequacies by not giving her the proper protection I'd promised her—I noticed the glint of affection I'd often caught glimpses of in her eyes was gone.
Maddy had grown aloof and distant—definitely still sassy—but the curiosity I sensed in her gaze every time we talked, like she couldn't wait to learn all about me, had disappeared. Or maybe it was just well hidden.
I should be happy with her decision—the cold shoulder and the indifferent look in her eyes I hadn't seen since the night Allison was stabbed, as well as the revived determination she demonstrated afterwards. I should be satisfied, but I'm so fucking pissed. Did she seriously think she could have sex with me, pretend nothing happened, and call it quits?
I feel so fucking used! Every second of her acting like she couldn't care less what I do enrages me to no end. We fucking slept together! Though I still don't understand how it happened, it happened.
Just because she decided to act like it didn't doesn't erase it.
There were many things still unclear to me, though. She'd mentioned it before too—back when she was drunk. She asked if I was asleep again, but it didn't take me long to figure out what Madison might have been implying from her confusing ramblings she thought wouldn't reach me.
Together with Noah and Aya's help, Maddy was able to move to my private beach house, which, unlike my mansion, was equipped with a fully functional internal surveillance system, with CCTV attached to every part of the house.
Maddy continued giving me the cold shoulder, keeping the conversation short and minimal. I decided to lay low a little bit after the attack but, at the same time, do a deep dive into the embezzlement issue affecting my company and find Allison's second phone.
It only took a day to figure out the problem. I prayed it wasn't what I was thinking as I rushed over to the study where the personal computer was linked to the security cameras of the house.
Not only did I rise from my bed like some walking corpse, since I had no recollection of waking up at that time—the first place I walked to was…
"Maddy's room."
My jaw dropped after seeing myself walk over to her, hugging and trying to kiss her. I had no memory of that, but I dreamt of Allison, though. I dreamt of her extending her hand.
Have I been projecting that crap onto Maddy? I staggered into the chair, crippled by guilt. What the fuck? I've had flashes of those memories before, but it never occurred to me that the object of my rather burdensome affection was Maddy. Why didn't she say anything?
Sweat bubbled to the surface of my head. At least I found the source of my headache. I shot to my feet when I suddenly passed out on the floor. I looked away in embarrassment as she dragged me to the sitting room, helped me to the sofa, then returned to her room.
Madison reappeared sometime later, fully clothed, walked out of the house, and came back after an hour and thirty minutes. She snuck out again. I groaned, running my hands through my hair.
Madison is a wild card. She can end up being a dud, but she also has the tendency to become my ace. The security surrounding the beach house is military-level personnel, yet she left and returned so effortlessly.
I dialled Harry's cell while I continued watching Madison walk out of the house, but any other sign of her vanished immediately afterwards—like she hadn't just emerged from the hallway. Does this even make any sense?
"Sir," Harry voiced the moment he picked up my call.
"Did you see anyone leaving the house last night, Harry?" I asked, but for the first few minutes, Harry remained silent.
"We were mainly focused on stopping things from going in; we didn't see anyone leave."
I almost scoffed at his response. If that were the case, how was Madison able to sneak back in completely undetected?
"Is there a problem, sir? Do you want us to focus on keeping someone in?" he guessed, and I let out an exasperated sigh.
"No, it's okay. Keep up the good work." I ended my call with Harry almost immediately.
I've had quite the shock for today. Not only did I find out Madison snuck out again last night, I also realised I've been sleepwalking to her all this time. Was that how her affection started?
"So, I seduced her?" I mentally groaned at myself. But even if I started it, to have her fill and suddenly draw the line—that was a terrible hit to my pride.
Maddy was having breakfast by the time I arrived at the dining table.
"Good morning," I greeted.
"Morning," she replied flatly, eyes on her bacon, eggs, and toasted bread with tea to the side. I walked past her to get my meal started, but while setting down my plates, Madison remained quiet.
Holding my spoon while hesitating to start my meal, I asked, "Maddy, are you mad at me?"
"Of course not. Why would you think that?" She sounded surprised by my conclusion, but you can't exactly blame me for arriving at that conclusion on my own.
"Because you've been avoiding me. Is this about the kidnapping?" Of course, I was aware it wasn't about the kidnapping, but I wanted to try and bait her into telling me herself.
I guess I'm too much of a coward to ask her about it directly.
"It wasn't your fault, Zane. I don't blame you for it." She sounded sincere about that.
"Then why? You've been cold to me since you came back. I wanted to give you time to adjust to everything again—that incident must have been traumatic—yet you won't go into detail about what happened either."
"But I told you everything." She lowered her fork.
"Yeah, you told me—you headbutted Elias and escaped, then stole one of his men's phones to call me, although reaching me was difficult since you didn't exactly remember my number, but you tried a lot of combinations to get it right."
"I know what I told you, Zane. You don't have to repeat it for me."
There she goes again—a tone cold and deeply aggravating.
"You don't have anything else to tell me?" I demanded, and she awkwardly averted my gaze.
"No… nothing. I'll eat in my room," she declared as she rose to her feet, and I scoffed.
"When were you going to mention that I was sleepwalking to your room?" Madison froze. "Bet you didn't expect me to find out, huh?" I demanded, and she gritted her teeth.
"How long?" I asked as her gaze grew anxious.
"Since how long have I been throwing myself at you like that?"
She flinched, then turned her face away—pained and irritated.
"Since the beginning."
Shit. Why didn't she tell me anything?
"Did… did I ever force myself on you?" I asked, and she snapped her head back.
"No. No—what? No. You have no idea what you were doing. It's not your fault. I let it happen. I should have said something. I'm so sorry—it's just, things grew out of control so quickly I didn't know how to start explaining what you did." I sensed a hint of panic in her voice.
Well, at least I didn't hurt her. I heaved a sigh of relief.
"Look, you should just forget about it. You weren't conscious when it happened, so you don't have to blame yourself. As long as I keep my doors locked, nothing's gonna happen." She assured, voice bitter but face blank.
"Forget about it, huh?" I snickered. It's so easy for her to say. Ever since that night, she was all I could fucking think about. The images of that night torment me at every turn—and it's worse 'cause I didn't even feel an ounce of guilt for what happened.
Instead, I craved her. I'm angry at her—it's fucking infuriating that I know nothing of this woman, and yet… her unexplainable skills, the missing years in her background file, the gunshot wounds on her body—I know nothing.
My brain kept warning me to steer clear, that she might be dangerous, but all I wanted at that instant was to hold her again.
"You mean forget it like what happened at the hotel two days ago?" I demanded, and Madison's food fell from her hands. The shock on her face… I wonder why I find it enticing.
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