Cedric gently stepped back after placing a necklace on me. However, the distance between us remained close. He softly touched the ruby around my neck with the tip of his finger and spoke gently, “How could I possibly be angry with you.” I silently watched his lips emitting a low tone. Beautiful lips hesitated for a moment, and a shallow breath escaped. “Now, if you say so, you know I have no choice but to do anything for you.” “…What on earth are you talking about?” Cedric’s brow slightly furrowed. “Do you want to act as if nothing happened, or do you really think nothing happened?” Cedric, asking like that, had a subtly pained expression. Briefly stroking his eyebrows while looking elsewhere.
Again, there was not a hint of wavering in his eyes directed towards me.

“Unfortunately, I can’t agree with either of the two.”

Cedric, who spoke thus, slowly lowered his head towards my ear.

And in the proximity where our breaths seemed to touch, he whispered softly once again.

“That night, we clearly embraced each other, and that fact won’t change.”

For a moment, it felt like my thought processes came to a halt.

If I’m understanding correctly now, could it be that on that night we…

“No way… Did we spend the night together?”

“…”

“With you… and me?”

As I hesitantly asked, Cedric blinked his eyes slowly.

After a brief silence, new words, carrying a hint of determination, flowed from his lips.

“That’s right.”

Cedric and I exchanged puzzled glances for a moment.

“No way, Rebecca, you… you don’t remember anything from that day?”

…Good heavens.

Only now did everything start to make sense.

Why Cedric had been so quietly angry, treating me like a criminal, on the day after that night…

‘It wasn’t an ordinary accident.’

The Cedric who usually approached me rationally wouldn’t have made a proposition for spending the night first.

Even if he has been showing signs of wavering toward me recently.

On the contrary, I occasionally found myself excited not by reason but by emotion, and I had secretly felt fluttered while watching the handsome Cedric all this time…

‘I must have made a mistake under the influence of alcohol, damn it.’

I felt like I wanted to disappear into a mouse hole right away.

I detested casual love, and just a few days ago, I had splendidly rejected Cedric’s confession.

Now, seducing him and spending a night together…

How would Cedric think of me as a woman?

‘Wow, I’ve completely shaken off the image of the all-business Ivy, and how much more does he know now?’

A disappointed laughter escaped involuntarily.

Moreover, if, as he said, I don’t remember anything from that night, my image would hit rock bottom.

Still, it’s not a role to tell an outright lie.

I glanced at Cedric, who was watching me with expectant eyes.

Well, whatever.

I eventually closed my eyes tightly and took my lips away.

“That’s right, Cedric. Actually, I don’t remember anything from that night at all.”

Even after the awkward confession, there was still a considerable silence from Cedric.

‘Is he very angry?’

I peeked and checked Cedric’s expression.

But for some reason, Cedric’s complexion seemed brighter than just a while ago.

As if the clouds that had been around him for the past few days had suddenly cleared.

“Then, was everything I said about it being a mistake… because you didn’t remember anything from that night?”

As Cedric asked like that, hope sparkled in his eyes.

Ah, right. I did say such a thing.

By now, Cedric probably wouldn’t have anything to say even if he saw me as a crazy woman.

‘…Well, it’s not exactly a lie.’

With a wry smile, I looked at Cedric.

However, for some reason, Cedric’s eyes were much brighter than a while ago.
I cleared my throat and once again opened my mouth.

“I don’t remember, but it felt like I caused you some significant trouble under the influence of alcohol. Whether it was excessive drinking or saying something… Of course, what I did was a monumental incident that surpassed everything. However, I couldn’t bring myself to utter such feelings. It was a mistake on that night, almost nailing down the fact that it was a mistake, and it was once again destroying Cedric’s pride.

Fortunately, it seemed that the judgment was not incorrect. Cedric’s lips curled, indicating a sense of relief. ‘It’s not that I denied what happened that day, but rather, I don’t remember. It’s rather fortunate,’ he said. ‘…’ ‘Really… I’m relieved.’ Cedric murmured softly, as if consoling himself. Just as he remained silent for a while, he gently took hold of my hand. ‘If you don’t remember, then tell me again.’
“…….”

“That day, before we embraced each other, I said this to you.”

With each sweep of his long fingers, a pleasant warmth lingered on my palm.

“Cedric….”

Unconsciously, I found myself murmuring his name, the feeling reaching to my heart. However, Cedric just gazed at my hand, quietly preparing to speak.

“Since that night, you may become the only person who can either save me or ruin me, but I will never regret that moment.”