The reception area was charged with sensual energy. It would not be a great time for a young man to walk in on these ladies. Yet, Kaze kept his composure. He followed Buffy’s line of vision to a striking woman at the center of the group. The woman was Buffy’s stepmother, Faith Gwake.With Buffy walking in, her arm linked with Kaze’s, the cheers and laughter in the room stopped. The other four women sized Kaze up before looking at Faith, who was upset, with intrigue. Buffy was thrilled with Faith’s reaction. “Hello, Stepmother. Hello, everyone.” She pulled Kaze along and said hello with a wave. Faith pulled her grim eyes away from Kaze and turned to Buffy with a smirk. “Oh, I guess pigs fly. I didn’t think I’d ever hear you call me Mom. “I thought you wouldn’t step foot at my place even on the day I die,” Faith said sarcastically. Buffy was not on good terms with her stepmother. Heck, they were like enemies. She answered with a smile, “Don’t be ridiculous, Faith.
Kaze got a general idea of why Buffy brought him to meet Faith. Faith likely had been setting Buffy up with Casius. In addition, Faith’s snobbish remarks rubbed Kaze the wrong way. He wanted to slap the arrogance out of her. Before Kaze could speak, Buffy took Kaze’s arm once more and leaned closer in an act to be more intimate. Facing Faith’s burning eyes, Buffy said icily, “You are mistaken, Faith. “Kaze isn’t my new driver or a bodyguard. He doesn’t work for me.“He’s my boyfriend. “I brought him here to tell you that we’re officially dating. “Stop setting me up with Casius, talking my dad into it, and tipping Casius off to chance an encounter with me. “It’s never going to work between Casius and me,” Buffy said firmly, sending her message loud and clear. With Buffy expressing her stance strongly, the other women looked at Kaze in surprise. What did Kaze do to deserve Buffy? She turned away from an eligible bachelor like Casius and picked Kaze instead. “Hmph
Picking up manic vibes from Buffy’s tone, Kaze frowned. The Gwakes were more than met the eye. Buffy’s mother seemed to be in the picture, but she seemed to be in some sort of trouble and bound by Faith. Faith had a say in Buffy’s marriage.Kaze’s doubts were quickly answered soon enough. “Smack!”Faith rose to her feet and slapped Buffy in the face. A stinging red handprint marred Buffy’s soft skin. Buffy was caught in surprise. Even Kaze did not see it coming. He did not expect Faith to be trained in the art of self-defense, and she was pretty skilled. Kaze took another glance at Faith. She wore a dress with a thigh-high slit, lounging on the couch without a care. Hence, Kaze failed to pick up on a few key details. Now that he took another look at Faith, he found things he had missed before. When Kaze’s gaze fell on the steaming hot drink in front of Faith, he pulled a smirk. Faith took a step and ripped Buffy a new one. “You have the nerve, slut!“Who do y
“Your big talk doesn’t scare me, boy.” Faith folded her arms, her gaze menacing. “Just ask around about me and the Gwakes. You’ll regret what you just said. “Get lost. I’m not going to say this again.” The other four ladies swirled their wine glasses and looked at Kaze amusedly. “You should leave before Faith blows up, boy.” “Know your place. Faith can squash you like a bug.” “We don’t even concern ourselves in the Gwakes’ affair. Who are you to get involved?” The mockery and taunts were directed at Kaze. “Really? Are the Gwakes really that awesome?” Kaze smiled nonchalantly and looked at Faith. “I slapped Jude at Drake Gym last night.“How are you, the wife, planning on getting even on behalf of your husband?”Faith and the other four ladies froze. He slapped Jude. His words stirred a wave of emotions in them. Who was Jude? He was the deputy chief of the Viper’s Den South River State Branch, an influential figure in Riverbank. Yet, Kaze claimed to have sm
“Your pride and joy are nothing but a joke to me, Faith. “Jude didn’t dare say a word when I slapped him in public and took his daughter away. “What makes you think you are any better, bitches?” Faith and the other ladies’ expressions turned ashen, their bodies shaking. They were well-known in the Riverbank high society. Their men were powerful in Riverbank. The public would always walk on eggshells around these ladies for fear of upsetting them. They could sweet-talk their husband into getting revenge for them. Yet now, some poverty-stricken guy just called them bitches. These women stared at Kaze murderously. Kaze dismissed them. He looked at Faith offhandedly and said, “I don’t mind letting you in on a little something. “That’s right. Buffy is just using me. We aren’t dating. “But that doesn’t mean you get to push her into marrying a loser like Casius. “Why am I doing this? It’s simple, really. I just don’t like Casius. I’m happy to insult him. “I’ll k
“Ahhhh! You’re asking for it, asshole!“If it weren’t for Buffy, you couldn’t even step foot in here. “Who do you think you are?” Faith exclaimed furiously. The Golden Retriever in her arms whimpered in fear and scurried off somewhere. Faith, her presence menacing, stared at Kaze murderously. Moments later, her grim gaze fell on Buffy. “You have two choices.“He can break his leg, and you will get engaged to Casius when he gets back. “Otherwise, my bodyguards will break his limbs and lock you up until Casius returns.“Security!” The estate’s security team swamped the room. A dozen burly men stared Kaze and Buffy down. They only took orders from Faith. These security officers would not hesitate to hurt Buffy at Faith’s command. “I’ll pass on all of them.” Buffy met Faith’s gaze with determination and said icily, “I came with Kaze. I will leave with him. “I didn’t come here to discuss the matter. I’m not relenting either. “I just want to tell you that I found
Faith exploded in fury. “You little punk! What gives you the right to talk to me like that?! Who do you think you are?”“Smack.”No one expected it. Kaze stepped forward and slapped Faith across the face.The slap left her, and other ladies completely stunned. Even the bodyguards, who used to see Faith flaunt her power, stood frozen in shock.Did he just slap Faith?Whoever he was, did he know what he was doing?Buffy's mouth was wide open. She knew Kaze had guts; after all, he slapped her father in public yesterday without a second thought. However, Buffy still did not expect Kaze to act so recklessly.Kaze casually shook off his hand and said, "Just because I know you're about to end up in a coma like Buffy’s mother.“You must’ve messed up your body while training years ago, right? “You've been suffering ever since, and your body has weakened. You feel numb and cold all the time, and your period pain is unbearable. Not to mention about getting pregnant.“You can't go a
Hearing Buffy’s words, Faith froze. She had just realized that Buffy could not possibly know this secret about her.Not even her husband, Jude, knew the truth about her.It was her deepest secret, and Kaze revealed it with a single glance.She glared at Kaze with suspicion, but mostly with murderous intent. “Who are you? Did someone send you to get close to me? “What’s your real goal?”Faith did not believe that Kaze could simply figure out her deepest secret.After all, even the specialists she had seen were not able to detect this by a look.Kaze found her paranoia amusing. “Don’t flatter yourself,” he said calmly. “If it wasn’t for Buffy, I wouldn’t have come near you at all, let alone tried to get close to you. Don’t overestimate your influence.”Faith ground her teeth in frustration and demanded. “No one told you anything, so how did you figure it out?”“If I said it’s just my skill and capabilities, you wouldn’t believe me, would you?” Kaze’s tone turned cold. “Yo