Zoe’s ears were indeed red. She gripped the drawer with her slim hands and tried to stop him from peering into it. “It’s nothing! I bought a new perfume and I had just unwrapped it.”“Oh, I see.” Reacting out of his character, he spoke slowly, “Give it a whirl! I want to smell it. Don’t they always say a perfume makes a lady?” His voice was flirty but it carried a hint of a threat. Zoe couldn’t find it in her to say no to him.He had pulled open the drawer completely as they spoke. True enough, there was a bottle of perfume in there. He took it and squeezed some of the perfume behind her ear. It was probably due to the sudden burst of air, but her ear actually trembled lightly.Mason’s eyes grew darker at that. Holding her perky shoulders, he pressed his face against her neck and brushed her ear with his nose. Then, he spoke in his husky, seductive voice, “You smell so good.”She couldn’t help but tremble lightly. “Mason!”Chuckling, he said, “You’re still on your period.
Mason responded lightly after Ava was done talking. “I’m coming over right now.” However, he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he touched Zoe’s cheek lightly. It wasn’t warm like before. In fact, it was rather cold. He said in a deep voice, “I need to go to the hospital. You should go ahead and head to bed.”Zoe stayed silent. Grabbing his coat from the bed, he put it on and leaned down to touch her cheeks again before leaving.It was a windy autumn night. The moment he had left, she relaxed and started panting lightly.It was a good thing Ava called when she did. Luckily, Mason had to leave because something happened to Lilith. Otherwise, she might’ve just given in to his tender moves and brought pain and misery to herself. Sliding off the makeup table, she looked at both the business card as well as the diary and tucked them away. All of her youthful memories were in that diary.She might have hated Mason intensely, but never once had she thought to throw her d
Mason was about to say something when the door to the operating room swung open. The doctor came out and let out a sigh of relief. “We pumped the patient’s stomach and managed to stabilize her. We’re going to work with the police to get to the bottom of this incident, Mr. Mason. Just leave it to us!”Mason, however, remained calm. Leaning over, he gave some instructions to Ava. “Have Lilith transfered to Lockwood Hospital at dawn.”She nodded in response, the bags under her eyes clearly visible.Carly spoke hesitantly, “You have to stay by Lilith’s side, Mason! She could've died. She needs you now!”Ava snapped at her, “Mr. Mason isn’t a doctor, for Heaven’s sake!” That silenced Carly immediately.Then, Mason looked at Cecil and smiled, “I came here in such a hurry that I didn’t have time to explain everything to Zoe! She’s probably wrapped in her her blanket, feeling upset. Don’t worry, Cecil. I’m going to go home and keep her company now.”He checked the time and continue
Mason woke up the next morning and found that Zoe wasn’t by his side. Thinking that she was in the dressing room, he got off the bed and made his way there.His suit had been laid out, ready for him to wear. A matching watch and cuff links had been prepared as well, but she was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she was preparing his breakfast downstairs, he thought. So, he freshened up and made his way down. The servant was laying out the plates and cutleries in the dining hall. Two freshly baked croissants and a cup of black coffee, his usual breakfast, had already been set on the table. The day's newspaper was on the left side of the table as well, as usual. Zoe had always made sure everything was set up in this way.The servant noticed Mason descending the stairs and greeted him respectfully. He sat down, flipped through the papers casually, and asked, “Where’s Zoe?”She was stunned. When she came back to her senses moments later, she said, “Are you asking about her whereabouts, Mr
Mason looked at his phone and smiled.Nothing could escape from him.If he wanted Zoe, then she would be his!…Zoe hung up the phone and exited the kitchen. Mia read her expression and asked, “Are you and Mason fighting again?”She shook her head and told her stepmother the truth. “We had a rough patch a few days ago, but he came home last night and acted completely different. I can’t read him, Mia.”Upon hearing that, Mia went back to her bedroom and came out with a ticket. Touching Zoe affectionately, she flashed her a faint smile.“This is an exhibition that displays your late mother’s artworks. Give it a visit to clear your head, Zoe. Come back for dinner. I’ll save some pizza for you.”An exhibition of her late mother’s artworks?Zoe took the ticket and fiddled with it. Her mother was a Kirk. Her talents shook Jovopolis when she was young. However, just as she hit her prime, she passed away. Hundreds of her artworks were distributed on the market, each of them valued bet
Vivid colors filled the evening skies in autumn, adding to dusk’s gloriousness.Zoe made her way back to the apartment. She had just opened the door when she heard Mason’s warm, sweet voice.“I used to fix my own pipes when I studied abroad.”“I’ll just change into a fresh suit tomorrow if I get wet! It’s no problem, Mia!”…What was he doing here? Closing the door, Zoe placed her keys on the hook by the door. Mia heard her movements and came to greet her. “He’s been here for an hour now. It just so happens that the pipe in the kitchen broke and he insisted on fixing it! Is he here to take you back home?” Mia was genuinely surprised. Mason was so conceited under normal circumstances. When had he ever fixed a pipe? All men were the same, it’d seem. They could do anything previously thought to be impossible if it was about winning a lady’s favor!Taking off her coat, Zoe said softly, “I’m staying here tonight.”Mia let out a sigh of relief. “Alright. I’ll make some dinner! Y
Curling her hair with his finger, he said somewhat lazily, “Did you earn that money when you performed at Leslie’s place? Did he pay you in thousands or tens of thousands? That can't even pay for high tea at the places our people are used to.”She rested her head on his shoulder, not saying anything. Perhaps that kind of money meant nothing to him, but it was a symbol of her courage when she decided to divorce him. It was true that she had returned to him, but she still wanted to try to support herself as best as she could. She no longer wanted to be dependent on him. She never wanted to receive another check from him after having sex with him.He knew what she was thinking. She didn’t have to say it. He continued to embrace her, enveloping her hands with his big palms. He held her like that for a long time.Eventually, she felt uneasy and freed herself. “I’m going to take a bath.” However, he held her hand, his fingers entwined with hers. Pressing his forehead against hers, he
Turning on the bedside lamp, Mason sat up, leaned on the headboard, and looked at her, “What do you think?”Zoe had no answer for that. Smiling faintly, he spoke. His deep voice sounded especially moving in the night. “I’ve never loved anyone from the bottom of my heart, Zoe, and I don’t know what it feels like to be in love. However, this is the first time I've ever cared about someone. I care about you so much that I ditched my principles. I even followed you to your parents' place and fixed the leaky pipe in their kitchen.”Pausing briefly, he kept going, “Do you think I did all that just to find someone to sleep with? I think you know that a lot of women would throw themselves at me if that’s what I wanted.”Zoe refused to go along with it. “Well. I’m not stopping you.” He chuckled in response. His eyes looked dashing in the glow from the lamp. His brows exuded a charm that only mature men possessed. She knew, deep down, that any woman would serve herself up on a silver pl