Kaze did not expect Lily to continue her arrogant tone after having made known that he was the owner of the hotel. As the owner of Lily Garden Hotel, he had the right to decline a customer’s check-in. Yet Lily made it sound like it was a favor done by her celebrities for choosing his hotel—it made no sense. Manager Keegan approached Kaze and whispered, “Boss, as top celebrities, they are quite influential. If they released a statement that puts us in a difficult position, it might affect the hotel’s business.” “Really? How influential are they?” Kaze scoffed. Influential? How exactly? Lily was infuriated that Kaze refused to believe her. Then, the commercial vehicle’s door opened up. The celebrities exited the car and the security guards escorted them through the sea of barricaded fans to enter the hotel. Lily was aware that Andrew and Liv had come in, so she called them over to the restaurant. “Lily, what’s going on?” Andrew and Liv came over. Kaze sized up the
Draco was shocked. He could tell his boss was furious. He immediately said, “Boss, Koga just updated me that he’s nearby, observing the hotel’s surroundings for better planning. It’s to ensure your safety.” “I don’t need him to ensure my safety. I just need him to lockdown the hotel. He has one minute!” Kaze angrily hung up the phone. If there were anyone who could actually threaten his safety, then not even the Garo Spec Ops Team would suffice. Pft! Lily cackled. “Look at you, still pretending! Do you really think you are some military commander? One call and you summon the army?” Andrew and Liv laughed as well. They heard about Kaze claiming to lock down the hotel with his troops, which was amusing. While they were still laughing in stitches, endless cries of surprise came from outside the hotel. The fans gathering at the entrance looked up to the sky and saw a dozen attack helicopters appear. The noise of the spinning blades filled the entire airspace as they hov
The elite soldiers were no fans of the celebrities. Their only objective was to seize the hotel, put it on total lockdown, and ensure a VIP’s safety. “Sir, report, sir! We have total control of Lily Garden. The VIP’s safety is secured!” The chief tapped on the earpiece in his ear and updated Lone Wolf on the situation. He had eyes on Kaze and was cognizant that Kaze was the VIP the team was protecting. “Very well. I’ll be there right away!” An excited voice came through the earpiece. “VIP? What VIP? There’s a VIP in the hotel?!” Lily, Andrew, and Liv were mortified. Soon, a man in a military uniform appeared at the entrance and came to the restaurant in a hurry. When Lily and company saw the man, they turned pale. A brigadier general! An actual brigadier general! Someone they could not afford to mess with! Their faces looked as pale as paper. Who was the VIP in the hotel? That was right, they had no idea who the VIP was. They wanted to apologize and ask for
Lily and the celebrities wished they were dead when they heard Kaze. They tried to make him apologize and even claimed that they could make his hotel go bankrupt. They had hit the biggest snag in the world. “S-Sir, you are obviously someone powerful. We dared not ask you to apologize to us. We should be the ones who apologized to you. Forgive us for being blind…” Lily begged meekly. “Powerful?” Kaze’s expression turned grim. He sneered, “If I am not powerful, you wouldn’t apologize to me but the other way around. You even threatened to bankrupt my hotel by posting stuff online.” Andrew and Liv almost passed out when they heard Kaze because Kaze clearly remembered what they said to threaten him earlier. Chills ran down their spines. They messed with someone they could not afford and there was no turning back. Lily shuddered in fear. “Sir, we’re sorry. We shouldn’t ask you to leave, or threaten you…” She peeked at the soldier beside her. The black muzzle was pointed at
The Garo Spec Ops Team retreated in a flash and the hotel resumed normalcy.The fans outside the hotel were confused. They saw the elite soldiers put the hotel on lockdown and bring their idols away. “What happened? Are Andrew and Liv going to be okay?” “They are so kind and hard-working, why are they arrested?! They will never do anything wrong! The soldiers must be here to protect them!” They made their speculations.Back in the hotel, Manager Keegan and the hotel employees took a while to regain their composure. They did not expect their new boss to be such a powerful figure in the military. One phone call and the Garo Spec Ops Team arrived. How awesome was that!? They were proud of their new boss. Manager Keegan said respectfully, “Boss, should we allow those celebrities to check in later?” The foolish celebrities offended his boss, so to clarify his boss’ thoughts, he had to inquire properly. Kaze waved and said, “If they want to stay here, let them, but tr
Kaze was indeed surprised. He had only ordered a few dishes and they cost almost a million. Besides, caviar was not his favorite and he found home-cooked food tasted better. Since Miru wanted to have lunch here and he was buying, he simply ordered a few dishes to fill his stomach. Now looking at the food he ordered and the bill, it was not worth it at all. “What’s wrong? Afraid? You ordered quite lavishly just now.” Miru was delighted to see the shock on Kaze’s face. She thought she could hit two birds with one stone—settle the bill while getting rid of Kaze—with around twenty thousand, but the idiot ordered too much and she ended up forking out an extra eighty thousand. However, for the sake of her best friend’s future, the million would be well spent. “Kaze, now you know how much ordering at a high-end restaurant costs? This is the highest quality of life. Do you think you can provide Darcy with this kind of life?” Miru seized the chance to sneer at Kaze. Kaze s
“You’re really the owner of Lily Garden Hotel?” Miru said as she widened her eyes in disbelief. How could an idiot be the owner of a famed hotel? She dared not believe it, but if she stayed in denial, then she could not find any other reason to explain the current situation. One million was not that much to her but as far as she knew, Kaze could never afford such a huge bill.Yet the hotel did not charge them for the meal. Kaze said, “Miru, are you still going to instigate Darcy to divorce me?” Miru was instantly embarrassed. She called Kaze useless because he had nothing and kept looking down on him, trying to make Darcy divorce him. Now, knowing that Kaze owned a big hotel, she instantly felt ashamed for what she had done in the past. As she walked down the stairs dully, several customers who dined in the restaurant earlier came out with smiles and praises. “Lily Garden Hotel is truly a wonderful place. We were asked to leave by the celebrities’ security guards and
“Two celebrities checked into the hotel, and tried to clear out the other guests but accidentally offended some high-ranking military officer. A special operation team was sent to lock down the hotel. “The celebrities were taken back and they were requested to publish an apology online. The news is trending everywhere now! I wonder who is the person they offended…” Agnes rarely paid attention to gossip. When there was news of a celebrity divorce, it would make the headlines for days as if it were some rare humankind discovery. She saw this news because she recently had a housewarming party at the same hotel. Hector and Darcy were intrigued and they started a little discussion. They wondered who the high-ranking officer was. Unfortunately, even though the news was all over the internet, details about the high-ranking officer remained vague. Kaze heard his family talking about him outside and he chuckled. Then, he received a call from Manager Keegan. “Boss, the two cele
“I have pointed you in a direction. If you still can’t trust your team, you can go to the Viper’s Den.“There’s one thing, though. Don’t rely too heavily on the Viper’s Den, or your company will be left without secrets.” Kaze’s suggestion gave Snow assurance. She considered tapping into the Viper’s Den’s resources. However, Kaze warned her against excessive dependence. “Why did you say that, Chairman Lee? Will the Viper’s Den stab me in the back?” Surely, the Viper’s Den took orders from Kaze. The Viper’s Den would always be an ally so long as Kaze was the branch leader. “I just don’t want you to put too much faith in others. You find loyalty by developing your own team. Those who revere me will never trust you completely.” Kaze analyzed the situation. Snow ate her supper and looked at Kaze in confusion. “You can only count on the people you win over. You can’t trust anyone else, and that includes me.” Kaze would never hurt Snow. However, he hoped that she would fin
“As you said, all is in the past. What’s the point of dwelling on it?” Leah perked up. Such was life, but it took her too long to understand the harsh reality. She guessed things were just not meant to be. “I’ll think about what to get Kaze. Rest well. We’ll visit him in a few days.” Taking the matter seriously, Katie wanted to get gifts ready ahead of time to thank Kaze. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do too. I want to be in touch with the outside world. I don’t care what they have to say. This is not my fault. I won’t blame myself.” Leah wanted her phone back to contact her former friends. Ultimately, she needed to move forward instead of backward. She had to face and fight back the rumors with courage. It was the crucial step to kick trauma in the face. The abduction was kept hush-hush for the most part, but Katie’s frantic search for her daughter at the cocktail party did not go unnoticed. Hearing about the incident, the influential people were keen to find out
“When did Kaze start setting it all up? I get the feeling that everybody played into his hands right from the start, and he had controlled every step of the way.” Leah realized that Kaze was an amazing man. Nothing could go past his eyes. “I don’t know.” Katie feared someone like Kaze. She would not be caught dead near him. Even when grasping the situation, Katie dared not look into Kaze for fear she would be targeted. Katie was careful not to show her face around Kaze. For all she knew, Kaze might get back at her. “But he came to Butterworth alone. We met at the train station, and he helped me out of a bad situation.” Leah felt warm and cozy inside just remembering the events. They did not know each other then. Kaze was kind to help a stranger out. From then on, Kaze could do no wrong in Leah’s eyes. Leah befriended him and found him nice. Her interest in him grew. They also got along well. Her memories of Kaze were sweet. Anyone could hurt her in the world, but
Even though Katie was the CEO of the Northborn Group, many eyed her position. There were too many vying to replace her. Without dedicating herself to her work, Katie risked falling from grace. Katie had been too eager to find success to give her daughter the best life. Leah could not understand the pain Katie had to go through. “I understand it now. I explained the nature of my relationship with Kaze to you, but you just wouldn’t get it.” Leah stubbornly expressed herself in hopes her mother would understand. “I just couldn’t get it through my head that you have grown up. You make an easy target since you just graduated and have not stepped into the real world.” Katie would not always be there for Leah. Hence, Katie did her best to get rid of potential danger. Her overprotectiveness triggered Leah’s defiance. It was Katie’s fault for not realizing it sooner. “I’m not angry with you. I didn’t understand a mother’s good intentions, but I understand now. I will listen to
Leah’s face beamed, but her mother’s words threw her into a daze. In the end, she tried to squeeze a smile to assure her mother. However, Leah could not muster a smile. Those days lingered with her like a recurring bad dream. Whenever she recalled the incident, she felt trapped in that nightmare again. Leah wanted to let those memories fade away, but she just could not do it. She would get startled awake late at night and trace the scars across her skin. During moments like this, she resented Perry. Leah was rather cheerful during the day as if the past was behind her. However, it was simply a way for her to escape the pain. By the way Leah was behaving, Katie instantly regretted the question. She should not have probed. Even if they avoided the elephant in the room, they could pretend like nothing ever happened. Nevertheless, the act of asking brought up unsettling times for Leah. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked.” Katie gently held Leah, hoping to cast
When the ambulance door closed shut, Leah wailed once more. The reality of her rescue finally sank in, and she grasped that it was not just a dream. It was a pity that she did not have much time with Kaze. She longed to spend more time with him. “Don’t cry, young lady. You’ll get better soon enough. Don’t worry about the scars on your face. I can administer medicine to help you,” the doctor said while wiping her tears. “Thank you. I’m finally out of the hell hole.” Leah’s worst nightmare would be to be trapped in there forever. Kaze watched as the ambulance disappeared into the night. He then turned to face the villa. “Apprehend everybody in there. Perry should be punished for his crimes.” Kaze had not intended to go after the Duncans, but the family had crossed the line this time. Leah was an adorable and vulnerable woman. She was abused beyond recognition. It never occurred to Kaze that the Duncans could be so cruel. “Perry has passed out in there. Where should
With the secret out in the open, the housekeeper dropped his attitude. He pointed at the basement not too far away. “My employer is in there.” The housekeeper grimaced and kept his head down. Kaze laughed. Unaware of his impending doom, Perry was still living it up. It was absurd. Perry was playing with fire by hurting Leah. “About time you wise up.” Arthur smiled and patted the housekeeper’s face. He opened the door to the basement. Kaze walked to the bar counter and picked up the best bottle of champagne there. He fiddled with the bottle before carrying it to the basement. The other Viper’s Den members followed him. Kaze took a stride down the steps, to the basement. The noisy music was blasting before they reached the entry. Kaze was filled with a mix of emotions. Nevertheless, he said nothing. He opened the door and walked in. The light in the basement was bright, making everything perfectly clear. However, the people inside were not bothered by the
“You know him. It’s Perry Duncan, Leah’s ex-boyfriend.” Snow did not see the point of hiding the truth, so she laid everything out. “Leah must be feeling foul because she was unaware that she was being stalked. By the time she realized what was going on, she was taken into a vehicle. “We spotted the vehicle they departed in from the surveillance footage. They headed to the mountain up north.” Snow had a general idea of the location. “I got Arthur on the job. He’s putting up a team from the Viper’s Den.” Snow was uncertain of Kaze’s stance toward Leah, but now that she was made aware of the situation, the least she could do was help. Katie belonged to the Viper’s Den, so Snow was lending a hand to a friend in business. “Thank you. Please save my daughter.” Katie was nervous. The Viper’s Den was the people she could count on. “Arthur is good, but he’s slow. I’ll do it,” Kaze said. The whole thing was unrelated to him. Kaze was well within his right to stand on the si
Even so, Elsie was out to get Leah. Elsie could pick up on Perry’s delight when she took a swing at Leah. Poor Elsie was just trying to survive by catering to others. People like her learned to pick up social cues and read body language to please customers for money in return. Their income would double if their customers were happy. Leah was the obstacle. If the women could not get rid of her, they would lose their profit. They had no hard feelings for Leah, but they stood on opposing ends. “You should be fawning over Mr. Duncan, not begging me,” Elsie said while grabbing Leah’s hair to pull her up. Leah snatched Elsie’s wrist to try and break free. “Let me go. I never did anything to you.” Leah was no doormat. She did not want to cross these people or get involved with them. She still hoped that by waiting here, her prince would arrive to save her. However, all she got was a cruel beating, and she had enough. “This isn’t my fault. Blame Mr. Duncan for your cir