Mason couldn’t sleep. The blood in the bedroom had been cleaned up a long time ago, but he could smell the coppery stench in the air, reminding him of the tragedy that took place a mere few hours ago.He and Zoe had finally come to the end of the line.Yanni cried for hours. He couldn't calm her down until past midnight. Then, he passed her to Deborah to take care of her.The night was dark and quiet when he went into the study. He was smoking on the couch and wisps of light green smoke lingered in the air. It was all around him, giving him a hazy, surreal look.It seemed, incidentally, that there were a lot of painful memories for Zoe here in the study. He had done some unspeakable, humiliating things to her when he forced himself on her. Then, there was the time when he slapped her because of the vinyl. She grew cold to him after that.If there was a specific time he would point at and say, “This is where it started going downhill,” it would be that slap.He tried to salvage th
That was only to be expected. After all, they had been married for several years. She had been on the receiving end of his heartlessness for far too many times. What made her agree with his terms? Well. She was doing it for her baby!Right now, she was in no condition to raise any child. Yanni was growing slowly, but steadily. That meant she was capable of fear as well. Given her sorry state, she was afraid she’d subject her baby to fear and emotional trauma at such a young age.She loved her baby daughter so much that she was thinking about her well-being when she was just this young.Zoe was fully aware that she was betting on her own life if she went to such a place. She was vulnerable there and Lisa might not let her off that easily. With that said, she was still willing to take the risk for the sake of her baby.She responded in a trembling voice, “Okay.” She didn’t look at him, though. She didn’t want to see his heartless expression, much less think about the fact that sh
Mason started having insomnia again ever since Zoe left.He kept seeing her in his dreams. They loved each other back then. He’d much rather hold on to their happy memories. That would make him feel slightly better about himself.However, he didn’t visit her.The doctors told him that Zoe was cooperating with the treatment very much. She read books and wrote diaries in the villa. Her emotions were much more stable and she was on the road to recovery.All’s well that ends well, he thought to himself.…Yanni kept crying at the top of her lungs. Perhaps she missed her mother after not seeing her for a long time.Mason looked after her in the night and took her with him to the office in the day. Ava helped him with the baby. At this moment, she was carrying Yanni in her arms and comforting her patiently. Feeding the baby with formula, she said softly, “A baby needs her mother! It’s going to affect her health if you keep letting her cry like this.” She sobbed a little before conti
Eira felt so ashamed, she could just die.“Get out of here. Don’t make me call the security guards,” he said.She responded tearfully, “I knew it. Deep down, you still love Ms. Zoe.”Now, why would he tell her anything about him and Zoe?At the next moment, he asked Ava to come to his office, take Eira away, and deal with her.Eira was bewildered as she was being taken away. What did she do wrong? Why wouldn’t Mason want her? She was Lilith’s cousin and she resembled Zoe a little. Ava pressed the elevator button and said with a blank expression, “Flirting with a man like Mr. Mason is like playing with fire, Ms. Eira! You have to have something to make him fall in love with you!“Do you have immaculate beauty? No. You can’t even hold a candle to Ms. Zoe. How about talents? Nothing there, either. You are innocent as a lamb in this cruel reality and you expect Mr. Mason to wipe your butt every time!“He would’ve made you his mistress if he had any intention to keep you. Get it th
Mason had asked the doctor at the rehabilitation center about Zoe multiple times. He kept asking if Zoe changed her mind about returning to his side, but the doctor would always reply that Zoe was adamant about the divorce and that she didn’t want to see him.His heart sank every time he heard the doctor’s answer.After that, New Year was right around the corner in the blink of an eye. It was New Year’s Eve now. He made the point for the servants to prepare some homemade pizza for Zoe. He even sent some of Yanni’s pictures to her.She was going to be delighted to receive these, he thought.Then, he had a family dinner at Lockwood Manor, as he always did every year. However, it was going to be exceptionally dull this year. After all, his grandma had passed away and his wife was sent away to the suburbs.With that said, Lisa was in high spirits.The place was also decorated festively. As a matter of fact, it looked even more extravagant than it did in the past years, as if they wer
Mason didn’t give Gabriela the wrong idea or any fantasies that they’d be together. After all, he needed to end things with Zoe before he could start a new relationship. Never mind the fact that he was only doing it just to find someone who suited him and could take care of his baby. He sat in the backseat on his way back to his manor, holding Yanni while he fell into deep thought. After some time, Luke drove the car to the manor gate when he suddenly stepped on the emergency brake, upsetting Yanni and making her cry in the process. Mason tried to soothe her. Then, he asked him, “What’s the matter?”Luke recognized who jumped out in front of the car. Turning around, he said to his master, “It’s Ms. Eira! It’s just the beginning of a new year and she’s already trying to kill herself! I’m going to get out of the car and see what she wants, Mr. Mason.”After a moment of silence, he passed his baby to Deborah and said, “I’ll take care of her.”Eira’s face lit up with hope when s
The Wright family and Eira were invited to Mason’s manor that night.All of them felt uneasy. They weren’t sure what his intention was. Carly, on the other hand, felt pretty good about it. She said, “Mason must’ve remembered how happy Lilith made him and wanted to repay us for it. Perhaps he’s going to give us a check! Whatever it is, we’ll take it.”The joy in her voice made it hard to believe that she had just lost her daughter not six months ago. Eric barked at her, “Greed has clouded your judgment!”She was about to retort when Ava came downstairs. She put on a smile immediately and said, “I appreciate that Mr. Mason thought of us during this festive season, Ms. Ava!”Different from before, Ava sounded very cold and aloof when she said, “Mr. Mason is waiting for you in his study.”Their hearts dropped to their stomach collectively at the tone of her voice. Even Carly wasn’t so sure of herself anymore. She gave Eira a push when they were climbing the stairs, and said softly,
Underneath the chandelier, Mason was wearing a blank expression when he said, “You can do whatever you want to them. Just keep them alive!”Ava flinched in response. Then, she said obediently, “Understood.”She watched as he went downstairs. Moments later, she heard the sound of an engine being ignited from the yard. She knew he was going to take Zoe home now.At the next moment, tears filled her eyes. Zoe was coming home at last.…The road was covered with snow that night.He drove the black Land Rover slowly and came to the private villa after a long time. The medieval villa was still standing there as if time didn’t touch it, looking as creepy as ever.Pulling into the villa, he realized there were almost no signs of footprints in the yard. Snow had piled up high here. Suddenly, he had a hunch and his heart sank.He stepped out of the car and suddenly tripped. The next thing he knew, he fell on one knee on the snowy ground. The snow melted almost immediately and dampened