Condensation completely frosted over the glass, turning the vibrant city lights into a blurred, glowing haze.
The temperature in the room had officially hit 89 degrees.
The printer whirred aggressively in the background.
Cyril carried a massive stack of documents and dropped them onto the coffee table.
Tugging violently at her collar in a desperate attempt to fan herself, Vivienne looked at the mountain of paper and dramatically face-planted onto the table. "Oh my god, there's more?!"
Cyril pulled a fresh ream of paper from the cabinet to reload the machine. He glanced at the laptop screen. "There's still 300 gigabytes left to print."
Vivienne pushed herself up, feeling slightly delirious. "This is insane. It would take me a year to read all this."
"Didn't you demand the uncut, uncensored, highly detailed version?" Cyril asked calmly as the printer resumed its relentless grinding. "Don't worry, you can definitely finish it in a year. It only took me three days."
Vivienne slapped her own cheeks to force herself awake.
Her instincts screamed that these files contained hidden plotlines she desperately needed to uncover. She couldn't let a little physical discomfort stop her.
Frustrated, she yanked at her collar again.
Cyril turned to look at her. "Hot?"
Vivienne gritted her teeth. "No. I'm thirsty."
Cyril thought for a second, then walked into the kitchen.
Taking advantage of his absence, Vivienne frantically unzipped the front of her onesie and fanned herself like a madwoman. The aggressive motion sent a loose piece of paper fluttering to the hardwood floor. Without thinking, she reached down to grab it—and her eyes instantly locked onto the text.
File 49 detailed every aristocratic family, wealthy tycoon, and high-ranking government official tied to Balthazar. The web of favors, corruption, and blackmail was horrifying. If Cyril hadn't miraculously intercepted this data, this level of classified intelligence would have been completely inaccessible to them.
As Vivienne read, entirely absorbed, Cyril's idle observation slowly began to shift.
Suddenly, he didn't care about the files anymore. His gaze traced the movement of her fingertips. Her skin had a soft, luminous quality. She was just innocently turning pages, yet for some inexplicable reason, his mind summoned an entirely different image.
Those same pink-tipped fingers, gripping tightly onto white bedsheets, dragging deep creases into the fabric.
Without warning, something twisted sharply in his chest.
Cyril suddenly felt hot. He let out a barely audible exhale and looked away, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. He regulated his breathing before looking back at her.
Parched from reading, Vivienne noticed the strawberry juice. Too lazy to actually pick up the glass, she simply leaned forward on her hands and took a sip from the rim. Because her onesie was unzipped, the angle exposed the pale curve of her neck. The fabric slipped down, putting her bare shoulder and delicate collarbone on full display.

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