The room was filled with a quiet, intimate tension. Warm light from the bedside lamp spilled softly across the pale walls, tracing gentle shadows. A faint sweetness lingered in the air, mixed with the clean scent of freshly changed sheets. The bed lay slightly rumpled, as if still holding onto the warmth of last night, while the half-drawn curtains swayed lightly in the April breeze, making it all too easy to sink into the moment.
I really wasn't in the mood. Everything from yesterday—the humiliation—kept replaying in my mind. All I wanted now was to lose myself in a game, or go hit something, maybe boxing, just to release everything bottled up inside me. Tiffany's strength had always been this—she never let herself suffer needlessly. In her world, rest wasn't about going further. It was simply rest. And rest itself was already part of the outcome.
I drifted for a moment, my thoughts still caught between the lingering warmth and sting of last night—before suddenly snapping back to reality.
And then I saw him.
The boyish man in front of me, biting lightly into a strawberry as he leaned in, wordlessly asking for a kiss. April truly was a season of fullness and ripening desire—lush, vivid, impossible to ignore. My heart stirred despite myself.
Allen noticed the faint blush rising on Tiffany's cheeks and knew the timing was perfect. He slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her gently closer. He guided the strawberry toward her lips, and just as it brushed against them, he swiftly bit it whole, deliberately slowing down as he chewed, a teasing glint in his eyes, a trace of sweetness glistening at the corner of his lips.
Tiffany frowned slightly.
"You're playing with me?"
Allen put on an aggrieved look.
"What? You were the one talking so freely about another man right in front of me. I know you didn't do anything, and you still had the charm to get that outrageous tip—but how am I worse than him? Money? Looks?"
His voice tightened.
"I just don't get it. Why is he still in your head? You're going to say it's because the money slipped away, right? Then tell me this—why do you remember so many details? About him, of all people?"
I let out a soft, helpless laugh. The man in front of me was clearly overflowing with jealousy, holding it in for so long, not daring to say anything—only now, seeing me soften, he rushed it all out at once.
"You really are like a resentful housewife… a cute one."
I burst out laughing. He was ridiculous—and endearing.
They say a spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold. So why keep dwelling on something unpleasant?
I leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, my fingers brushing softly down along his cheek, my voice unconsciously softening.
"Alright~ I get it. I won't do that next time, okay, baby?"
Allen's face lit up instantly.
"Really? I knew it—you're the best, sis."
He cupped my face and pressed a deep kiss onto my lips. Their breaths mingled, warm and faintly sweet, the air between them growing heavier, softer…
His fingers slowly drifted to the buttons of her clothes, undoing them one by one…