Chapter 152: Chapter 152: If You Keep Messing Around, You Won’t Sleep Tonight
When her hair was almost dry, Ann Vaughn turned off the hairdryer and was about to get up when Cyrus Hawthorne suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist.
Before she could straighten up, she was pulled down, and he, with a swift movement of his long legs, accurately drew her into his embrace, holding her tightly.
Ann Vaughn immediately started to struggle, "Cyrus, what are you trying to do? Let go."
"Don’t fuss, just sleep with me," Cyrus said in a low, husky voice, without opening his eyes, tightening the grip of his strong arms around her waist.
How could Ann Vaughn believe anything he said in bed?
Given past experiences, how could she dare believe?
Ann Vaughn shrank back completely, trying to slip out of his grasp and make a clean getaway.
Unfortunately, even with his eyes closed, Cyrus pulled her back, his long legs pinning her restless, slender legs firmly.
Perhaps Ann was being too restless, as Cyrus opened his narrow eyes with a hint of impatience, looking at her slightly defensively.
"If you keep it up, don’t think about sleeping tonight."
Ann Vaughn’s entire body stiffened, and she didn’t dare even breathe heavily.
Her current situation was like a fish on a chopping block, awaiting slaughter; it was better to stay still and avoid an early demise.
Even though she thought this way, Ann still didn’t dare to relax and fall asleep, fearing Cyrus might suddenly act like a beast, keeping her nerves tightly strung.
Cyrus was holding her from behind, his hands seemingly casually placed on her belly, yet with an unshakable strength.
His fingertips occasionally gently stroked her abdomen, as if reassuring something.
Was he... reassuring the child?
Ann Vaughn lowered her gaze, chuckling self-deprecatingly, thinking she was really getting ahead of herself.
The night gradually deepened.
The little woman, who initially planned to stay awake all night, had long forgotten her guard against the ’wolf’, sleeping soundly, turning around and hugging the man behind her like a bear.
Her cheeks rubbed against him, sleeping sweetly.
The next day.
Sunlight streamed through the curtains into the room, waking Ann Vaughn from the heat.
She opened her drowsy eyes, kicked off the blanket with her slender legs, sat up, and stretched lazily.
The events of last night slowly returned to her mind, and Ann quickly looked down at her clothes, finding them intact, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Turning her head, she saw that Cyrus was already not in the room.
Ann reached out to touch the sheets beside her, already cool, indicating he had left a long time ago.
An indescribable sense of loss rolled several times in Ann’s heart, her delicate brows furrowing gently.
Sitting for quite a while, she finally got out of bed, washed up, and left the room.
As she walked into the kitchen, she saw that the egg fried rice left on the dining table last night had been eaten up at some point.
Ann pursed her lips, for some reason, imagining Cyrus sitting at the table finishing that cold fried rice made her want to laugh.
But the sense of loss in her heart faded significantly.
Ding dong, ding dong.
Ann was just about to go downstairs to buy breakfast when she opened the door to find Mark Joyce standing outside with a bag of breakfast.
"Miss Vaughn, good morning. President Hawthorne asked me to bring you breakfast, and I’m here to discuss the previous project endorsement with you." Mark said with a deadpan face, politely asking, "May I come in to discuss the details?"
"...Please come in." Ann hesitated for a moment, stepping aside to invite him in.
In the living room, Mark placed the breakfast on the table and said, "Please enjoy your breakfast first."
"No need, I’ll eat later." Ann shook her head, as she had no habit of eating while others were talking.
Only then did Mark say, "The previous decision to replace you as the project endorser was a mistake by our management, so we hope for your forgiveness and for you to accept the endorsement again."
As he spoke, he placed a newly drafted contract on the table.
"Oh." Ann rubbed her temples indifferently, recalling Cynthia Vaughn’s boastful words, "Sorry, I’m not interested in the endorsement."
"If you have any dissatisfaction or conditions, please feel free to express them. Besides, we promise that this contract cannot be altered or breached once effective; there will be no repeat of the previous issue."
"Special Assistant Joyce, I’ve made up my mind, and it won’t change." Ann did not nod, nor did she even glance at the contract.
Saying she wasn’t interested in this public welfare endorsement was untrue.
It was precisely because she was too interested at the beginning, eager to do this well, only to be ruthlessly thrown into the abyss.
Without even a reason.
She was only human, she too felt wronged and perceived injustice.
It’s not up to Cyrus to whimsically take it back when he doesn’t want to give it to her, and force it back on her when he does.
He indeed was a ruler-like figure in The Imperial Capital, with immense power and influence, acting as he pleased without considering others’ feelings.
And she had the choice to accept or not.
If this endorsement was handed over to her because he appreciated her abilities, she would have accepted it again, regardless of the grievances she suffered before.
But this contract meant to compensate, there’s no need for her to accept it.
Mark, known for his persuasive skills, finally met his match today—no matter what he said, Ann’s attitude remained firm and unwavering, absolutely unyielding.
Having no other way, he had to leave.
Ann sat on the sofa, raising her hand to rub her face, feeling an unspeakable sourness.
He took from her to gift Cynthia Vaughn, only to return it to her, she would have none of it.
After breakfast, Ann packed up and left, taking a car to the small clinic.
Thanks to Hawthorne Group’s impeccable public relations work recently, the scandal surrounding her was nearly cleared.
Those ambiguous videos and photos couldn’t prove she was the protagonist of the sex scandal.
The harsher the online criticism was before, the louder the apologies became now.
Especially from customers who used the Yuyan Cream, whose praise and endorsement for the product reached an almost crazy level.
Under the Hawthorne Corp’s PR post, there were over half a million apologies, but somehow, the discussion skewed towards the Yuyan Cream itself.
"It’s well-known that many beauty products in the country are just hype. Initially, I thought Yuyan Cream was the same, but ladies! Trust me! It’s a godsend for women!"
"What’s funny is that I laughed at Vaughn Clinic’s Yuyan Cream at first, daring to play limited edition when it wasn’t even clear if anyone would buy it. Now... it’s amazing!"
At first, people thought Ann was using this PR wave to promote the product and draw customers in.
But as apologies turned into a celebration of the product, more people began to half-believe, intending to buy a jar to try it themselves.
With many people waiting outside the small clinic before it opened, most were drawn by the Yuyan Cream.