---- Chapter 12 Later that night, the bed dipped on one side. An arm wrapped around Madeline from behind and pulled her into an embrace, pressing her against a cool body. Warm breath fanned over her face, and the slightly ticklish sensation made her frown. With the slightest illumination from the moonlight, she turned to meet a blazing gaze. "What are you doing back here?" she asked indifferently, trying to keep her breath steady. In truth, she wanted to ask why Lacey had set Timothy free. Timothy exhaled softly and grasped Madeline's hand, pressing her index finger to his lips. His other hand slipped underneath her clothes with practiced ease, and the vague smell of alcohol enveloped her. His hand felt almost scalding as it gripped her waist-he was obviously trying to please her, and it was also a signal that he wanted to make love. Madeline's body instantly warmed up in reaction, ---- but her heart grew numb. She shoved Timothy away and snapped, "Let go of me!" Then, she quickly got out of bed. "I thought you weren't coming back." He tugged his tie loose and asked flippantly, " Where else would I go?" He sounded so casual that she didn't have the chance to shoot the questions in her heart at him. In fact, he probably didn't think she had the right to question him. Pain ate away at her, but she endured it as she asked, "Where did you take her? Did you have to go with her? Did you see the trending topics?" Timothy faltered. In his eyes, Madeline had always been good at bottling everything up. She rarely snapped at people like this. He looked at her and said, "Lacey doesn't have many friends in the country. Besides, you already know she's my ex, right? Why bother playing dumb now?" Madeline suddenly found the situation unbelievable. Then, it hit her-they were both ---- hiding things. She'd asked around and knew that Lacey had grown up in an orphanage. She was fiercely independent and had gotten the chance to study abroad through sheer hard work. After graduation, she'd had the chance to stay abroad, so she'd ended things with Timothy. It made sense that she'd drifted apart from her old friends after being away for a few years. It was hard to say whether the situation was the same with ex-boyfriends, though. Madeline lowered her eyes, suddenly feeling like there was no point in questioning Timothy. She said flatly, Think whatever you want." He seemed to realize he'd said the wrong thing. He frowned and explained, "There's honestly nothing between me and her. Today was just..." She didn't feel any better listening to his somewhat patient explanation. She clenched her fists so tightly that her fingers turned white. After a heartbeat, her gaze softened with resignation.