If the news that Tyler was about to marry Sheila traveled all the way to Lovian, it could not be fake."I just want to make sure."The man thought about it and said, "I can allow that.""Really?" She beamed and marveled at how understanding the man was compared to Tyler."Yeah." The man got up to put on his clothes and mask, before turning the light on to hand Vicky his phone. "You only get one chance, though."Vicky was so excited that she was vibrating from it. "Thank you."She truly felt that she was suffering from Stockholm syndrome as she felt a wave of gratitude toward the man, despite knowing that he was not a good person.She accepted the phone and took a few deep breaths to calm herself, yet could not control the shivering of her hands as she dialed the number she remembered by heart.Beep. Beep. Beep.Once the call was made, her heart started racing.Time seemed to slip by swiftly and slow down at the same time."The number you have dialed cannot be reached at the
A day went by, and the night of the fifth day came.The man came in at around the same time as he did the nights before. He turned on the light and handed his phone to Vicky.Vicky accepted it and opened the call history to find a recording. She twitched ever so slightly and played the recording."Remember me, Mister Hart?" rang the man's altered voice.After a brief moment of silence, Vicky heard Tyler's familiar voice. "I remember.""Vicky Shaw—""I made it very clear," Tyler interjected coldly, curtly. "I've divorced Vicky Shaw.""She's in a bad spot right now. Are you really not going to help her?""How is that any of my business?" Tyler questioned.Rendered speechless, the man responded after a moment of silence, "She was your wife, after all.""I gave her a chance to be my wife, and she was the one who cast it aside. Since she chose to get a divorce, she'll have to face the consequences for it," Tyler said mercilessly.Before the man could argue, a woman's voice came i
After the silence, the man uttered coldly, "Vicky Shaw."When he lowered his voice, Tyler sounded exceptionally intimidating, and she choked on all the words she wished to say."Are you calling to tell me something?" Tyler said."Are you really getting married?""Is that all you want to ask?""I'll ask something else, then," Vicky whispered. "Do you know that I've been kidnapped?""I do."Though she expected it, her blood ran cold the moment he admitted it. "Alright, I get it. I won't waste your time."Vicky was about to hang up when Tyler stopped her. "Can I ask you something?"She paused. "What is it?""Do you regret it?"...Night fell, and Vicky laid in the darkness and stared above her with her eyes wide open.Tyler's voice continued to echo inside her head."Do you regret it?"'Regret?' She thought. 'How could I not? The price of freedom is so great that I am starting to forget why I insisted on getting a divorce.'Suddenly, she heard the door opening.The man in
At that moment, Jane brought her a clean change of clothes and hurried inside. "Get changed. Your husband has come to find you."Vicky froze. "What?""Your husband is in Forever Night," Jane repeated."My husband?" Vicky mumbled dazedly. "Who's…my husband?""Do you not know who your husband is?" Jane stared at her with resignation. "Tyler Hart. How could you not know him?""He's here for me?" Vicky remained confused. "Are you sure?""Why would I lie to you?" Jane urged, "Just wash up. He might barge in here if he runs out of patience."Jane glanced at Vicky and lowered her voice, "Stop wasting time. If your husband finds out that you've been with someone else...do you think he'll still get you out? He's going to have to pay a small fortune to get you out, you know."Vicky slowly regained her composure and asked, "Where is Tyler now?""He's negotiating with our boss. You heard all the noises from the night before, right? That was him, wreaking havoc."Vicky's mind drifted off
A towering man stood before the window with his back facing her direction, and Vicky's breath came to a sudden halt when she saw him.It had only been a little over a week since she last saw him, yet it felt like a lifetime had passed.The man slowly turned around at the sound of her footsteps.He was as cold and distant as always, and his dark, brooding eyes were like the ocean that could drown anything who stared into them.He studied her intently with an expression, and Vicky found herself stiffening.The look in his eyes darkened as he asked, "It's only been a week, and you've already forgotten about me?"Vicky felt a lump in her throat, and it took every last strand of strength within her to speak. "W—Why are you here?""You don't want me here?""It's not that, but..."Tyler seemed to know what she was trying to say. "You don't think that I'm coming to rescue you, do you?""You said so yourself.""When did I say that?" Tyler shot her a half-smile.Vicky was taken aback
Tyler was a sensible man, and there was no logical flaw in the way he analyzed the situation.Vicky studied his face and whispered, "And? How did you find me?""The man with the voice changer called me multiple times, luring me here to save you, when he hasn't even let me hear your voice once. For all I know, he could be setting a trap for me."Vicky knew that the man in the mask did not mean any harm to Tyler and only called Tyler out of her request. The man seemed to hold high social status and had no interest in trading her for money. Hence, he only did as she asked, and it was understandable that others would think that the masked man was setting up a trap for Tyler."Truth is, that man planned this kidnapping. To keep me from finding you, he took you here to Forever Night."Vicky stared at him dazedly and blurted out asking, "Did...the owner of Forever Night tell you that?Tyler nodded. "Yeah."Forever Night hosted all different sorts of guests. While some came for entertai
Tyler's familiar scent surrounded her, and she felt dazed as she buried her face into his chest."Forever Night handles a lot of customers who keep their identities hidden. Aren't they afraid of being targeted by these customers' enemies?""Even the president of Lovian has to show respect to Forever Night. Unless those people have a death wish, they'd never cross the owner of Forever Night."Her heart sank.If even the president of the country could not do anything to Forever Night, outsiders like Vicky and Tyler would die if they declared war against Forever Night.She did not care what happened to her, but she could not bear the thought of dragging Tyler down with her.Vicky looked up to stare into his dark eyes. "I heard from Jane that there's a price for you to pay to get me out of here... What did you give them?"Tyler lowered his head and planted a kiss on her forehead. "It doesn't matter."As regret, frustration, and relief washed over her, tears welled in her eyes.She
Tyler's eyes met Vicky's and asked, "What's wrong? Do you not like the food?"His voice was gentle, and she rarely heard him speak in such a tone.Feeling a lump in her throat, she looked away. "Nothing is wrong.""Eat up, then.""Right."After dinner, they returned home.Though the scenery along the way had not changed, Vicky could not help but feel out of place.It was late by the time they arrived, and Nanny Paterson was already asleep.She stopped as she stared at the mansion in darkness, feeling like a beast was lurking inside the darkness, waiting to devour her whole."What's wrong?" Tyler turned to look at her when he noticed that she stood outside the door unmovingly.She snapped out of it and said, "... I'm fine."The look in his eyes darkened, and he turned on the lights inside the house, which expelled the darkness. Vicky's heart felt slightly more at ease.She walked into the house, and everything inside the mansion was as Vicky remembered them.She spent more