’It’s so painful, my whole body is in pain as if I’ve been severely injured.’ The pain was so unbearable that Cecelia’s teeth chattered and she inhaled some cold air.

She rubbed her aching neck and opened her eyes.

“Sigh, why do I feel so tired even in my sleep?”

Cecelia mumbled as she got up from bed, not realizing something was amiss until she started looking for her clothes but could not find them anywhere. That was when she realized...

‘The room is unfamiliar, the bed is unfamiliar, everything is unfamiliar... wait...

‘I seem to know the man lying next to me?!!’

Blink, blink, blink...

Cecelia blinked her eyes for the Nth time but the half-naked William was still right next to her and was slowly opening his eyes.

That was not the main point now. The main point was, where were her clothes?

Cecelia seemed to have digested the current situation as she quickly pulled the blanket 

Cecelia was running very fast, and she ended up bumping into another girl who’s speed rivaled hers.

“I’m sorry. It was unintentional. Are you alright?” Cecelia politely apologized.

The other girl was not as good-tempered as Cecelia. Not only did she not apologize, but she also ignored Cecelia’s apology.

She shot a death glare at Cecelia and chided, “You didn’t bring your eyes along when you came out this morning? Can’t you even walk properly? What a brainless lunatic!”

“...”

‘What’s going on now?

‘Have I bumped into a Karen?

‘Do I argue with her?’

After some thought, Cecelia decided against it.

She was not going to argue with a Karen as she was someone of a good upbringing.

With that thought, Cecelia was prepared to leave. However, the other party was not going to let things slide.

The girl grabbed Cecelia’s arm and shouted, “I’m not done saying my piece and you dare leave? I 

William appeared just in time to catch Cecelia as she fell.
 
The stranger’s expression shifted abruptly when he saw William, desperately trying to conceal the fear in his eyes but to no avail. 
 
“Brother…”
 
William glared coldly at this ‘brother’. “Cyrus Sandler. Do not challenge my limits!”
 
Cyrus was his stepbrother, the very man who saved Cecelia before.
 
They had a complicated relationship, Cyrus and William, and the latter would do anything if it meant Cecelia would be safe from being dragged into it.
 
Having already warned Cyrus the last time, William had not expected him to continue hitting on Cecelia.
 
Princess carrying Cecelia in his arms, William glanced back at Cyrus impassively. “Stay away from her, or it will be personal.”
 
Cyrus watched William’s retreating figure and clenched the hand further from him into a fist.
 
He was so close!
 
You might have won this round, William Sandler. Fret not, for I shall make you pay for this one day!
 
Cyrus swore it internally.
 
**
 
William brought Cecelia to the highest floor of Imperial Extravagance.
 
Imperial extravagance was a piece of private property William owned, known only by a few selective friends of his.
 
After making sure Cecelia was comfortable, he rang for Zachary Quaid. “I don’t care where you are. Get here now.”
 
It was hot. Her body tingled at the searing heat that had spread to every part of her body as if thousands of ants crawled all over her. A feeling that Cecelia was in no way familiar with.
 
She had never felt like this before, it felt horrible!
 
Cecelia tugged at her clothes in a futile attempt for relief, which alas only succeeded in making her feel worse in the process.
 
At that moment, she fixed her eyes on William who was on the phone.
 
“Pretty boy…”
 
As if she saw a long-lost relative, Cecelia climbed out of the bed and ran straight for William.
 
She held on to him and arched into his arms in a catlike way.
 
Guilt apparent in his eyes, William took in this portrayal of behavior that was so unlike the Cecelia he knew. No matter how fortunate it was that he found her in the nick of time, this was all his fault.
 
“Does it hurt?” William lightly nudged Cecelia off and asked.
 
Cecelia vigorously nodded. “It’s too hot, pretty boy. Feels like I’m on fire. Feels better when I hug you though! Are you ice-cream? Did you come to make me feel better?”
 
Cecelia’s hands roamed about as she spoke and clung to William like an octopus.
 
Despite knowing that Cecelia was not fully in control of her actions right now, it did not stop William’s mouth from drying up. Every touch of her hands set fire where it caressed, so he took hold of them before he lost himself.
 
“Let me get you a glass of water.” He said, his voice raspy.
 
“No…” Cecelia pouted, acting like a little child. “Don’t want water. Want hugs.”
 
“…Be good now. I promise it’ll stop hurting if you drink the water.” He coaxed patiently.
 
There was no guarantee he would be able to hold himself back should she continue with her ministrations.
 
William was not Zhan Huo, but rather now simply was not the time.
 
Yet Cecelia was persistent. “Don’t wanna. Don’t be stingy, Pretty boy. I’ll only hug for a bit.”
 
The scent of William’s pheromones became a tantalizing temptation, one the drugged Cecelia was completely at the mercy of.
 
William could not remove her from him since Cecelia hung on like superglue.
 
William’s expression darkened, but right as he was about to push Cecelia away with brute force…
 
Cecelia tugged and ripped open his black shirt. The door opened.
 
Zachary took a step into the room and saw the scene before him, his jaw-dropping to the floor in shock.
 
Holy sh*t!
 
Who would have thought, that despite her unassuming looks, William Sandler’s little plum could be so fervid behind doors!
 
So this was Cecelia’s quirk! Mycroft Jones was right. How could anyone William Sandler fancy be boringly normal?
 
Yet was this not a little…
 
Ah well, the taste of William Sandler was not one to be understood by such commoners like him anyway!
 
With this scene before him, Zachary’s mind had gone and filled in what he believed to have happened.
 
A roar from the front brought him back to reality.
 
“What do you think you’re doing just standing there? Get your *ss here.”
 
“Huh? Oh, oh. Yeah, yeah I’m coming.”
 
By the time Zachary had been reined back from his thoughts and rushed to the duo, William had already sorted the disarray both him and Cecelia were in.
 
Though Zachary might seem aloof and careless at times, he was an outstanding doctor and could tell something was wrong simply by looking at Cecelia.
 
“Holy sh*t. What a cruel man one must be, to drug my sister-in-law with the Pill of Aphrodisia?”
 
Despite not knowing what this Pill of Aphrodisia entailed, Zachary’s reaction to it was enough for William to have a vague idea. This was not just any ordinary pill.
 
Indifferently, he looked at Zachary. “Is there a cure?”
 
Zachary did not know how to respond. “There is, but it won’t cure.”
 
“Speak English!”
 
“… The Pill of Aphrodisia is a newly released black market drug. Anyone unlucky enough to be hit with a fix would bleed to death from their seven orifices after the first two hours. There’s no cure for it as of now, so the only option is to…”
 
Though Zachary’s sentence was left unfinished, William had already gotten the gist of it. Yet…
 
In his arms, Cecelia’s looked more nauseated by the minute, her skin paled with sickliness and discomfort. William contemplated as he watched her with a complicated look in his eyes.
 
Unbeknownst to the thoughts in William’s head, Zachary teased, “Don’t tell me nothing’d gone between both of you yet, William. And here I thought that this tree of yours finally popped its cherries.”
 
The fact that William was still a virgin despite his age was a running joke between the few of his close friends, one of which he had been teased relentlessly about for ages.
 
Before Cecelia Shayne, the lot of them had speculated among themselves the topic of William’s sexual orientation. For a man of his repertoire, even if he did not fancy them, there should still be quite a few ladies arranged by family at his beck and call, no?
 
No. Nada. Not even one. Thus fueling their idea that William was not as straight as he seemed.
 
Then Cecelia appeared, out of the blue.
 
The last time the gang hung out, William tossed his marriage certificate in the air and waved it at their faces. They were all blown away!
 
William Sandler had gone and become a married man without telling them?!
 
The news hit them like a nuclear bomb.
 
Right when the few of them thought that, ah finally, William had succumbed to his conscience and found a woman who loved him for him, did they realize the image of the woman by his side was one that they recognized at all.
 
Another nuclear bomb!
 
This naïve lady in the picture conquered the William Sandler?!
 
No way!
 
William’s tastes were not this peculiar right?
 
Did this woman happen to have something over William’s head?
 
All in all, the group did not truly believe, nor could they accept, the fact that Cecelia Shayne had become their sister-in-law.
 
As far as they were concerned, the aura Cecelia gave off did not fit in with what they had in mind for their sister-in-law.
 
Though it was not up to them to decide whether she was worthy or not. Regardless of how much they disagreed, they did not dare voice it in front of William.
 
If William had taken a liking to her, well then, who were they to say anything else?
 
The others had then assumed since William finally set his eyes on someone, he would have taken the next step into his relationship as well.
 
Following Zachary’s understanding, men were not unlike wolves; should they fix their eyes on something they fancy, they would bite hard and never let go. Only to find out now, that it was all pure and platonic between the two of them!
 
In this age and time where even strangers would meet up for one-night stands, this pure and platonic relationship between the legally married couple completely rewrote Zachary’s three values of life.
 
Seeing Zachary fussing over nothing, William felt annoyance writhe in his chest. “You can leave now.”
 
William called him over to cure her, not to listen to his bullsh*t.
 
Zachary silently pouted and got ready to return to where he came from but turned around right as he reached the door.
 
“William, I’ll have to remind you. Should you decide to cure her, you’ll have to use a condom. Considering how lethal this drug is, she might not be able to get pregnant for at least half to at most a year.”
 
Zachary left right after reminding, carefully locking the door behind him as he went.
 
Rather than due to bad manners, the door was slightly ajar earlier when Zachary arrived. Which was why he had entered the room without knocking.
 
Perhaps William was too worried about Cecelia to notice, he thought to himself.
 
It was indeed the first time Zachary had seen William this out of it. Considering how meticulous he was, he would never have allowed himself to make such mistakes before.
 
“Help me, pretty boy… It’s too hot, I’m gonna die…”
 
Cecelia’s patience seemed to have reached its limits. William’s gaze turned feral at the ways of the woman in his arms and he bridal carried her to the bed.
 
He placed her on the bed, in a gentle manner not unlike how one would with the most treasured prize possession they owned.
 
Both hands went to cup her face so she would look at him. “Cece, look at me.”
 
Cecelia finally understood what people meant to have one’s heart clawed at and engulfed with burning desire. Hearing William’s voice, she whimpers, “It hurts. It hurts so much. I think I’m gonna die…”
 
William frowned as he watched Cecelia slowly lose consciousness giving in to the desire. Storms brew in his eyes as he vowed to himself. He would ensure that Cyrus was returned the favor one day for everything he made Cecelia suffer through tonight.
 
It did not matter if Cyrus was his brother. He hurt Cecelia, and so he shall be prepared to pay the thousand-folded price.
 
William straightened out his thoughts and turned to Cecelia. “Forgive me!”
 
Then he moved to undress her…

’It’s so painful, my whole body is in pain as if I’ve been severely injured.’ The pain was so unbearable that Cecelia’s teeth chattered and she inhaled some cold air.

She rubbed her aching neck and opened her eyes.

“Sigh, why do I feel so tired even in my sleep?”

Cecelia mumbled as she got up from bed, not realizing something was amiss until she started looking for her clothes but could not find them anywhere. That was when she realized...

‘The room is unfamiliar, the bed is unfamiliar, everything is unfamiliar... wait...

‘I seem to know the man lying next to me?!!’

Blink, blink, blink...

Cecelia blinked her eyes for the Nth time but the half-naked William was still right next to her and was slowly opening his eyes.

That was not the main point now. The main point was, where were her clothes?

Cecelia seemed to have digested the current situation as she quickly pulled the blanket and got out of bed.

Once the blanket was pulled away by Cecelia, William’s perfect figure was fully

Chapter 22 Even Sleep Is Tiring