Free Web NovelChapter 118: A different man
Cold feet paraded the cold ground making its way to the one place it knew so well. The Mighty cheetah’s abode. A hand stretched forward and pushed, opening the door leading inside.
The person searched inside, peering the head in first as the eyes scanned the space before him. No one was here. This made him keep walking forward till he reached a door he knew so well.
His own door. The one that led to his bed chambers. Ming Tao pushed the door open slowly with the tips of his fingers and it creaked open. A scent immediately filled his nose. Flower fragrances and meat. His pupils dilated like his senses flooded back to him but only for a split second before returning back to the bland look that filled his gaze.
He noticed the flower petals on the floor and the woman who laid on his bed. Ming Tao walked to her, his feet hitting the floor gently so not to make a sound that would cause her to awaken.
He stood by her side and his head lowered to face her. His bland look was immediately replaced with softness, but a cold kind. Mira’s body stirred.
She felt the presence of someone behind her and perceived the person. She turned her upper body back slightly with a soft yawn. Her eyes parted open slightly to see who it was. "Ming Tao?" She breath, her voice heavy with sleep.
Ming Tao drew a hand to her and cupped her face. "Shh-shh-shh." He hushed calmly, voice deeper than usual. "Go to sleep, little one."
Mira’s brows creased at his statement. He smelt like burning wood and oil. He also referred to her as something he never had before but her brain was too tired to make any use of these thoughts. Mira laid her body back in bed. Ming Tao’s fingers stroked her hair.
"Sleep well, little one." He murmured, patting her till her eyes went shut.
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It was morning. Mira’s eyes opened first before the rest of her body. Last night was a disaster. Ming Tao did not come early as he promised and when he did in fact show up, she was way too sleepy to do or say anything. Mira sat up and gazed around the room. The flower petals decoration was still on the ground and bed but scattered. And the bowl of meat was still on the bed in the exact spot she left it. She did not kick it away or turn aggressively while she slept and it looked like Ming Tao did not sleep with her either.
A hand stretched to the side of the bed to feel the fur. It was cold. Not a single sign of warmth from a body having laid there was obvious and unlike the side of the bed she laid on, his side had a decent number of flower petals. It instantly became clear to Mira. Ming Tao did not sleep with her at all.
Not only did he arrive late, but he did not share the bed with her.
This made Mira’s brows crease. She did not understand what happened, she could have sworn that things were good between them when she last saw him. Unless he pretended. Mira swallowed. She hoped that was not the case. She could not think of anything she did to make him upset with her to the point where he stood her up and left his side of the bed cold all night and she hoped she truly did nothing bad to him unknowingly. She really did not want anything to influence his reaction to finding her pregnant.
The door slid open snd a figure walked in. It was Ming Tao. Mira stared at the man move around before her and pick things needed to have a bath up from where they were stored without taking a single glance at her or saying a word. Mira cleared her throat.
Ming Tao did not even budge at that. That made her heart sink.
"Are you not going to give me an explanation?" Mira stated, looking at him. Ming Tao said nothing, rather, he grabbed a new set of fur coat and folded it. "Ming Tao!" Mira called.
Ming Tao let out a tired sigh. "An explanation for what?" He asked. His tone was firm, way different from how he related with her before. Mira’s eyes blinked. She did not know how to process the blandness in his tone like he did not do something wrong.
"Where were you last night, Ming Tao? You promised to meet me at midnight yet you never came." Mira stated, her voice soft. She chose to be calm in this situation and understand him.
"I do not owe you any explanation of my whereabouts. You’re my wife, not me mother." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
This struck Mira like a lightning bolt. She felt a screw in her head go loose. "Excuse me?!" She exclaimed, her voice raised.
"I do not wish to repeat myself. You heard me the first time." Ming Tao uttered. Curt and unapologetic.
Mira stood up from the bed. She wanted to walk up to him and slap him. "What is wrong with you? If you have something against me, then talk to me like an adult rather than be mean to me! I did not do anything to make you talk this way and even if I did, you do not just get to say that. That’s mean."
Ming Tao chuckled like what she said flew over his head. "Yeah, like you do not know the last thing about being mean, little one."
This made Mira frown. "Do not call me that." She fumed. She wanted to keep a leveled head but he was making it impossible to do so. "Where is this coming from, Ming Tao?"
Ming Tao’s eyes studied her form from head to toe. He looked at her like he was staring at something filthy. "Would you rather I refer to you as demon of the forest? Does that suit you better?"
Mira’s breath hitched. Her hand folded into a fist and she charged at him then struck him across his face. Ming Tao’s head swung to the side in reaction to her slap, his face began to change hue and instead of the rageful reaction someone who just got hit exhibited, he had a grin on his face. "And you wonder why I did not sleep with you. Who would want to sleep with a thing like you? It’s a ticket to hell." Ming Tao said coolly.
Mira felt her heart break. Her eyes watered and she blinked the tears that begged to run down her face. She was puzzled by him. Just yesterday he made promises and defended her in front of his clan and today he was being an entirely different person. And the worst part of it all was that he did not seem to care about how his words affected her one bit.
"Did you not come to me on midnight on purpose?" Mira asked. Her voice broke even though she tried to hide her feelings. Ming Tao’s brows furrowed and his face had a different expression than disgust. He looked confused like he was trying to recollect the significance of what she said before returning the disgusted expression back on his face. "Did you purposely say you would meet me just to not show up?!" Mira continued, she could not help but yell.
"Would it be bad if I did? If I remember correctly, you had broken quite too many words in the past."
Mira scoffed. There he was again, talking about her past, a past she thought he forgave. Now she began to question if it was all false. If he just pretended to be on her side and to be in love with her only to get her to be attached to him before taking his revenge. It would explain his constant withdrawals whenever she wanted to have sex with him but nothing other than that made any sense. Could Ming Tao really fake his love? Could he really fake the time they had at the dying lake and all that kindness? Something felt wrong but Mira could not tell what.
He was calling her strange names like little one and demon but he forbade his clan members from referring to her as a demon. And he was also being insensitive. "Since when did you start judging me now by the things I did in the past? You said you would never hurt me Ming Tao, I do not know if this is a joke or not but please stop. You’re hurting my feelings." Mira worded. A tear ran down her cheek. She immediately wiped it off and sniffed.
The cold, full of disgust expression on his face did not falter as he stared at her. This made Mira feel self conscious and she let her hand cross over her body till they rubbed against each harm.
"If it makes you feel any better, the bed of the other woman living here was warmer than ours could ever be." Ming Tao uttered. This made Mira’s eyes widen. He just said he spent the night at Shu Hua’s. He did not smell like her so Mira could not tell if he was lying and only said that to make her act up but that was so disgusting to hear.
Her fists clenched. This man did not deserve to know he was going to be a father. And now, it did not seem like he would care even if he knew.
Ming Tao laughed at her silence. "Now if you would excuse me, I have other places to be and important people to mingle with." With that, he left.
Mira stared at the absence he left behind and the tears ran down her face like a stream. She only had one question. What. On. Earth. Was. Going. On?
