Since the branch leader would show up, Cyan did not want the branch leader to know that she was associated with Kaze. It would only be damaging to her reputation. While the group sought Kaze out, the latter sat alone in a living room corner, snacking and scrolling on his phone. Kaze was too hungry to care about what anyone else thought of him. His cheeks were full. The rich and powerful furrowed their brows in disdain, keeping their distance from Kaze. For some reason, Cyan saw red. “Kaze!” She angrily yelled and got up in his face, “Why are you eating like you’ve been starving for days? “Why are you stealing food here? “Do you know where you are? You’re an embarrassment!” Cyan’s voice attracted a lot of attention. The crowd gathered and gossiped among themselves about Kaze. Kaze was just chilling on his own, eating, and playing a mobile game. Cyan and her friends came at him out of the blue. He was beyond annoyed. If Cyan was not Lock’s daughter, he would’ve sl
Kaze was definitely the only one to show up to Bronze Sparrow on a bicycle. It took guts to do so. Kaze grabbed his carbonated drink from the table and took a sip before turning to Draig. He said indifferently, “I didn’t know there was a rule that a divorcee can’t attend today’s celebration. “Is there a rule that guests can’t attend the party on a bike? “Who makes the rules?” Faced with Kaze’s questioning, Draig and the others were lost for words. The guests exchanged looks. There were no such rules. However, Kaze should know his place. Kaze was asking for a beatdown by crashing a high-profile party when he was just a nobody. Draig nodded furiously. “You never learn, Kaze.”“He’s hopeless now. He’s hit rock bottom, so he’ll stay put no matter what we say.” Cyan gritted her teeth. It was frustrating to deal with someone like Kaze. No one was getting through to him. Without looking at the pair, Kaze said blankly, “Are you done? You can leave if you’re done.”
“I’m telling you, Kaze. We won’t stand by and watch you prey on these socialites,” Cyan uttered indignantly as if she stood on the path of justice. Kaze sighed. “I really want to slap you awake if not for your dad, Cyan. “Draig, you’re something else to dig your own grave in your father’s name.” “Tsk!” “Who do you think you are?” Draig and Cyan turned their noses up at Kaze’s remark. Cyan clamored, “Come on. Show me what you got.“You’re a joke. I exposed you for who you are, and you, in turn, want to slap me? “I’d love to see you try—” A woman stormed into the place and raised her hand. “Smack!” The slap echoed through the silent room, and the crowd stirred. “Buffy?” “She’s the only daughter of Jude, the former deputy chief of the Viper’s Den South River State Branch. She’s the chairwoman of Gwake Corporation.” “She’s the one rumored to be dating Lee.” Chatters filled the room. The crowd looked at Buffy in shock. Buffy showed up out of nowhere and slappe
“Should I defend you instead?” Buffy pointed at Cyan. “I heard you mocking Kaze. You better watch it. “Otherwise, you can kiss your career online goodbye. I don’t care whether you’re with Golden Scale Corporation.” Cyan turned pale. She would not doubt Buffy’s words. Buffy’s father was the former deputy chief. Jude still held influence within the organization. She had access to wealth and resources through control over Gwake Corporation. It would not take much for Buffy to get Cyan canceled. All Buffy needed to do was bribe her way to the higher management of Golden Scale Corporation.Cyan held her tongue. Unable to stand Buffy’s arrogance, Draig stepped forward in disgruntlement. “You must be Ms. Gwake. Even if Cyan was a little harsh about Kaze, she was only looking out for Kaze. You are taking things far by assaulting Cyan.“Cyan is my friend. Shouldn’t you answer to me? “Oh, I should introduce myself.” Draig looked at Buffy and said indifferently, “I am Draig
“Mr. Tenby, I thought you were speaking out for your friend, but you were just looking for an excuse to ask me out.“Try your luck with another girl. Here is not the place for you to pick up chicks.” The crowd gave Draig strange looks. Draig turned red. He glared at Buffy, tempted to lash out. Fuck. He got played. Buffy hit on him, and he simply responded. She turned things around and made it sound like he was picking her up. Unbothered by Draig’s rage, Buffy smiled charmingly. “Besides, a nice gentleman has invited me for dinner.” The crowd made guesses about who would be having dinner with Buffy. Buffy sauntered toward Kaze and sat next to him. As the crowd watched on in disbelief, Buffy hooked her arm around Kaze’s. Um… It was an eye-bulging moment. Nothing more needed to be said. It was unbelievable. Instead of steering clear, Buffy showed her fondness toward Kaze, a dumped divorcée. Buffy would make herself a laughingstock. Besides, Kaze did no
Snow, dressed in a fairy-white dress, walked in. The breaths of many hitched. Snow was just as beautiful as Buffy. If Buffy was a blazing fire, Snow was a block of ice. Moths were drawn to the flame, but no creatures would approach a block of ice. Snow was unapproachable. However, she made a beeline toward Kaze. Buffy, still clutching Kaze’s arm, glanced at Snow and furrowed her brows while Snow grabbed Kaze’s other arm. “Chairman Lee, why can’t you put on a suit for the celebration today?“Come on. I’ll take you to pick a suit.” Buffy grimaced. She knew what Snow was up to. Snow was trying to show that she was closer to Kaze than Buffy was. Buffy and Snow were able to get along before Kaze got a divorce. They were in the same boat, and misery loved company. However, Kaze was single now. Buffy and Snow realized that they were rivals now. Sparks flew as they exchanged glances. Buffy said with a smile, “Ms. Frost, weren’t you an assistant to Kaze? Your jo
Even when Draig got his ass handed to him multiple times, Draig refused to believe that Kaze was stronger than him. It had become an obsession of his. Once again, Kaze gave him another blow. Kaze was lost for words. Snow usually would not care about his attire. Even if Kaze wore his briefs to work, Snow would know where she stood as an assistant and kept her thoughts to herself. Yet now, she was going at it with Buffy. Caught between two women, Kaze felt the strain. He said helplessly, “That’s enough.” Buffy and Snow exchanged glances without another word. The crowd was filled with emotions. Some of the men were impressed with Kaze. It was not uncommon to spot moochers. However, Kaze was on another level. If these men were not so concerned about their reputations, they would bombard Kaze for tips about living off women. “What’s the point of putting on a show, Kaze?” While the crowd was envious of Kaze, an angry voice belonging to a woman echoed. The cr
Kaze frowned. “We can talk somewhere private.” Usually, Darcy was not the type to have an outburst in public. Darcy was not as composed as she made herself out to be when it came to the divorce. “Why should we talk in private? Can’t you admit to what you’re doing?” Reading Kaze’s intention wrong, Darcy said furiously, “You must have been waiting for this day for so long. Now that we’re divorced, you can screw around with other women without fear of letting me know.” Buffy and Snow grimaced. Sure, they had feelings for Kaze. Unlike Snow, Buffy had only met Darcy a handful of times. Buffy said curtly, “Ms. Quint, don’t push it. “I’ll be honest. I fancy Kaze. I had feelings for him before you were divorced. “I can only dream about marrying a responsible and competent man like him. “But Kaze and I have always hung out as friends before your divorce. We have never crossed any boundaries. “I had my moments of weakness, but even then, I would never stoop to stealing anot
Snow had already sent men to where the plane was found. If the passengers were taken away, then they must still be nearby. It was difficult to transport an entire plane of passengers to some place far within such a short time. It was a race against time. Snow did not know who would do such a thing. Kaze took a common flight like everyone else, yet it was hijacked. It was strange. The coincidence was uncanny. Snow believed the hijacking happened because of Kaze but she did not know why. “The only explanation is that there’s a traitor among us…” She finally came to an unlikely conclusion after combing through the details. If there were a traitor, it must be within the Viper’s Den. Kaze had laid a low profile for as long as he was in Butterworth. Not many people knew about his identity and those who wanted to make connections with him were because of Snow. It was unlikely that someone would go after him so suddenly unless this person knew his identity and background.
If they were sent to capture Kaze, then they were severely under-numbered. In addition, they allowed Kaze to be alone with the captives, which proved that they were inexperienced. Or maybe they did not know what he had done in the past as the God of War. Kaze believed that the mercenaries were after him but they did not know his true identity. There must have been some miscommunication between them and their employer, which was good news to Kaze. Tiguan and his men were eating. Since they were unable to identify the target, they were forced to bring everyone back. The plane was huge. It would be an easy target for the law enforcement to locate them. Maybe the outside world had caught wind of the hijacking. “Boss, what should we do now? That man seems like he vanished into thin air.” “We got his boarding information but we can’t identify him on the plane.” “Who are we looking for exactly? Why is he so mysterious?” The men were baffled. “We are looking for the righ
“We are almost there. We have to transfer these people as soon as possible. The plane must take off right away. We cannot leave any traces behind.” They must hurry or they would be caught very soon. They held the pilot hostage and forced him to do an abrupt landing. The sudden descent caught everyone off guard, shocking them. A few of the passengers even hit their heads. Many of them did not get the chance to fasten their seat belts. Kaze grabbed Barney and protected his head from hitting the front seat. “Thank you.” Barney looked at Kaze with gratitude and then looked outside. “Where are we? Have we reached?” He was worried that they would be completely trapped. “They are going to transfer us elsewhere.” Kaze had a similar experience before and he knew what the hijackers would do next. “Transfer us? Are they going to transfer us to somewhere secluded and kill us all?” Barney looked horrified as he stared at Kaze. He somehow felt safe beside Kaze. “They sai
With trains, there was still an option to jump out. However, everybody was sitting ducks in a plane. Kaze had always been sensitive when it came to safety. He had a sinking feeling in his gut as if something was about to happen. He turned his head back to observe the plane’s interior. Several passengers stood up in the business class section. Strangely, these people were seated separately. However, they seemed to know each other. They exchanged glances as if searching for something. Finding the whole thing bizarre, Kaze observed them. Those passengers went straight into the air stewardesses’ compartment and disappeared out of Kaze’s sight. Kaze could not shake off the eerie feeling. Something was off. He looked back, and several more rose to their feet. These individuals were young but toned. They likely underwent some form of specialized training. Kaze had a bad feeling. Trouble was brewing, and the plane was likely being hijacked. “Why are you looking around? Is
“I see. What bad timing.” Katie was a little disappointed to learn that Kaze had left, but in a way, she was relieved. She had gotten on Kaze’s nerves, and he could turn around and make things difficult for her. Now that Kaze was gone, Katie got to keep her job. She did not have to fear Kaze’s retaliation. The news caught Leah off guard. “Why did he leave without saying goodbye? I didn’t even thank him yet.” Leah had a hard time digesting the news. She had been waiting for a chance to show her gratitude to Kaze and see him again. He was out of her life before she could do anything about it. “I’m sorry. Chairman Lee’s departure was unplanned.” Snow put on a professional smile, appearing friendly and distant. “Please present the gifts to him for us if you can. We are grateful for Mr. Lee’s help.” Katie was annoyed that Leah could not spend time with Kaze. The bond could help with her career. Kaze’s departure cost Katie an opportunity, but there was no point in dwel
“Now that’s the spirit. You can’t take every matter into your own hands. You’re a leader now. You should put the right people in the right jobs.” Feeling relieved, May nodded. “Where’s the guy? I have been wanting to meet him. I missed the chance when I was unconscious.” May came over right away just to score a chance to see Kaze. Kaze saved her life, but she did not have the chance to thank him in person. “I set the date. We’re seeing him tomorrow afternoon. Let’s freshen up. I’m taking you home to rest.” With a time in place, Snow had to get ready. May nodded. The pair returned to the mansion where they felt at home. Even though it had been a while since their return, nothing had changed. “Did Jet say anything when he stepped down?” May was clueless on the specifics. “He went mad and ran out. I get this uneasy feeling, but I can’t locate him anywhere.” Snow was concerned. Jet, as witty as he was, likely played up his meltdown. It was a shame that Jet got aw
“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