The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

Then, he smirked and licked his teeth before arching his brow at her.

He appeared to be flirting with her, yet there was an undertone of taunting in his actions.

A fearless look was present on his face as he made it plain that he was provoking her.

At that instant, he looked so much more annoying than Charles.

However, despite his arrogance, his hand was trembling so hard that he nearly lost his grip on his cigarette.

That was his first time provoking his wife by smoking. He was nervous and scared, but his pride prevented him from

chickening out.

Gwendolyn watched him from afar, expressionless.

After a few more glances at him, she sneered and turned to head to the bathroom without even saying anything.

Cedrick was promptly rendered speechless.

She barely reacted to him, and she showed no signs of anger.

The weight of disappointment bore down on him, and he slumped his shoulders in defeat.

He was crestfallen, like a vibrant peacock who was disheartened after being ignored.

After sulking for two minutes, he saw the bathroom door open again.

The second the door creaked open, he straightened up and continued smoking, acting nonchalant.

He deliberately shifted his body sideways so that Gwendolyn could catch a clearer view of him exhaling the smoke.

His jawline seemed exceptionally sharp under the moonlight, and the billowing clouds of smoke only accentuated

his beauty.

In fact, he even tilted his head back so that she could see his Adam’s apple better.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the smoke, and that motion of his exuded an alluring yet provoking

charm.

However, this time, Gwendolyn did not even spare him a glance.

Cedrick saw her enter the house from the corner of his eyes.

Following a thump, the door closed behind her.

Cedrick blinked. What a waste of effort. She didn’t even bother to pay attention to me.

His eyes reddened, and his fingers turned as cold as frost. The once vibrant hues of his face faded, leaving behind a

pallor of misery.

He couldn’t accept the fact that his wife completely ignored him even after she saw him smoking.

She did not even bother to spare him a glance.

If she still remembers me, she’d never tolerate me smoking.

Benedict suffered from a congenital heart condition and had a delicate respiratory system. Inhaling smoke would

exacerbate his health condition, so smoking inside the house was strictly prohibited. It was the last thing Gwendolyn

would allow.

Yet, recently, he had resumed his habit of smoking. He lit one cigarette after another, puffing away in Gwendolyn’s

presence.

Yet, the only response from Gwendolyn was a sneer. It was as if she was mocking his flirting attempts.

Has she really lost her memories? Then what was with those subtle gestures earlier tonight? There’s no way I’d

miss those.

Lost in troubling thoughts, Cedrick absentmindedly smoked his way through the entire cigarette.

A beat later, he lifted his foot to extinguish the cigarette under his foot and took out another cigarette from the

pack.

He continued smoking.

The unmistakable click of the lighter echoed through the stillness of the night.

Cedrick refused to give up.

An impulsive voice in him urged him to finish the entire pack, a reckless gamble to test if Gwendolyn still cared

about him.

However, when he was almost done with his second cigarette, he backed out of the idea.

Even if Gwendolyn didn’t remember him now, he knew he’d be in trouble if she found out about him smoking the

entire pack of cigarettes once she regained her memories. She would likely find a way to punish him severely.

He would probably be ruined by her punishment.

No, no. I can’t do this. I’ll be risking my life.

Hence, he sheepishly pocketed the cigarette pack and extinguished his cigarette before sneaking back into the

house. Quietly closing the door behind him, he returned to the mattress in the living room.

Nico’s sleeping posture was a horrible sight to behold. He had taken up every inch of the mattress, leaving no space

for Cedrick to lie down.

His loud snoring filled the entire space.

With a scowl on his face, Cedrick gave Nico a light kick in the calf.

Alas, the latter was sleeping like a log.

Cedrick’s expression was stormy as his blood boiled.

I can’t believe he’s so sound asleep! Has he forgotten about how much of a light sleeper he has to be while on a

Federal Bureau of Investigation mission? Ugh. I really want to punch him, but I might wake the others.

Left without a choice, Cedrick crouched down and pinched hard on a spot in the other man’s inner arm.

“Ow!”

Nico, who was prancing about in his dreamland, was rudely awakened by a sting on his arm.

Blinking groggily, he rubbed his painful arm and cast a pitiful and innocent look at Cedrick’s dark expression.

“What’s wrong, Cedrick?” What did I do wrong?

Cedrick parted his lips to say something, but he ended up sighing instead of reprimanding the other man. “Move

over. You’re occupying my spot.”

“Oh! I’m sorry!”

At that, Nico hastily scurried off to the edge of the mattress, leaving most of the space for Cedrick.

After taking off his coat, Cedrick then draped it across the blanket and slowly lay down.

Nico slept on his side, curling into himself to fend off the cold. He stared at Cedrick’s face while still massaging his

aching arm and no longer dared to fall back asleep.

Now fully awake, Nico understood why Cedrick had pinched him. They were in the middle of a mission, and the

dangers surrounding them were unknown. Yet, he had been sleeping like a log, oblivious to the potential risks.

“I’m sorry, Cedrick,” Nico whispered an apology.

Cedrick hummed in response before replying, “Don’t you dare hug me again. I’ll make you bear the consequences

if you do that again.”

“Got it…”

Nico scooted further back to distance himself from Cedrick. Eventually, half of his body was hanging off the edge of

the mattress.

Curling into a ball, he remained at the edge of the mattress and shut his eyes, sleeping lightly.

As time passed, his limbs grew colder by the second, and shivers coursed through his body. In his groggy and chilled

state, he instinctively moved closer to Cedrick, seeking warmth, and hugged his arm.

Cedrick was irritated, but he frowned and suppressed his annoyance.

His lack of response only emboldened Nico. The latter inched even closer and rested his head against Cedrick.

“Do you have a death wish?” Cedrick squeezed out.

His tone was tinged with an obvious murderous intent.

Frightened out of his wits, Nico held his breath. After a moment of hesitation, he bit the bullet and stretched out his

arm, hugging the other man’s waist.

“Cedrick, please just let me hug you for a while. It’s too cold. I won’t do this again.”

Cedrick didn’t respond.

“You can punish me however you want when we’re back at the Jenson residence.”

“You can whip me, cane me, or anything else. Just don’t kill me.”

Cedrick remained perfectly still, his body stiff with disgust.

Gulping nervously, Nico put his leg on Cedrick’s body when he didn’t object. He resembled an octopus, clinging to

the man.

Cedrick had brought Nico back from the borders when Nico was just ten years old. It had been almost two decades

since that time, yet this was the first occasion Nico found himself hugging Cedrick to sleep.

Before meeting Summer, Cedrick was the only family he ever had.

He would die a happy man if he had the privilege to sleep through the night while hugging Cedrick.

Feeling much warmer, Nico fell into a peaceful slumber, like a loyal dog sleeping comfortably next to its owner.

He began snoring again.

Cedrick slowly let out a sigh before peeking at the man hugging him. Turning his head to the side in disdain, he

huffed. “What terrible habit you have.”

Too lazy to move, he remained lying flat and closed his eyes to sleep.

The night passed uneventfully, and the two men slept soundly until the sun rose again.

When the rooster in the yard cried out the second time, it was six in the morning.

Megan silently got out of bed.

She then proceeded with her usual routine of feeding the chickens, harvesting vegetables, washing them, and

preparing breakfast.

Cedrick only managed to sleep for four hours before the noises from the kitchen woke him.

Something was weighing on his chest, and he found it hard to breathe.

What’s on me? It’s so heavy.

Slowly opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Nico still clinging to him. It seemed like the latter had been

holding onto him the entire night.

This jerk is really pushing his luck.

Wrath surged in his veins, and his already-terrible mood worsened. Nico was going to be the target of his anger; he

needed an outlet for his frustration.

After shoving Nico’s leg away and turning him over by tugging his arm, he delivered a harsh kick to Nico’s bottom.

“Ouch!”

Nico rolled over on the mattress and woke with a start.

All traces of sleepiness had left him as he held onto his aching bottom and cast a bitter look at Cedrick.

“Cedrick?” He wondered what did he do wrong this time.

Cedrick sat up gracefully and ordered, “Do a two-kilometer run right now.”

“What?”

Expressionlessly, Cedrick began counting down. “Three.”

Before he could reach two, Nico scrambled to his feet, put on his shoes, and rushed out of the house without even

getting his coat.

Cedrick snorted and shook his head at Nico’s swiftly disappearing figure. After rubbing his numb arm, he changed

into a different set of clothes and started folding the mattress.

He finished doing so within minutes and placed the neatly-folded mattress on the wooden couch.

Ten minutes later, Gwendolyn woke up as well.

Her long, luscious hair cascaded down on one side as she delicately combed through it.

As she slowly walked out of the room, she saw a certain someone sitting on the stool outside and smoking again.

That’s the third cigarette I’ve seen him smoking. He has a serious smoking addiction, I swear.