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
Vicky walked out with her head low, looking paler than before her bath. She even forgot to dry her hair, so water was dripping from her whole head.Tyler walked over. "What took you so long?"She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she did not notice him until she heard his voice.Startled, she paled even further."W—What?" Her eyes darted around in panic.He studied the look on her face and asked, "Why are you so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"He reached out to test her temperature, but she instinctively moved away from his touch. He froze.Not daring to meet his eyes, she muttered, "I'm fine. I guess...I'm just too tired and need some rest."He withdrew his hand. "You've been in Lovian for over a week and have been in the place for the entire day. It's normal for you to be tired." He glanced at her and said, "Your hair is still wet. I'll get the hair dryer. Dry your hair before going to sleep."Before Vicky had the chance to stop him, Tyler had gone into the bathroom and re
Click!The crisp, familiar sound of a light switch being flipped echoed in the night.Before the light was turned off, she felt as though she was suffocating from the familiar sight, but she realized that her panic worsened when the light was off.Tyler did not notice her reaction and went to bed before pulling her into his arms.She jolted and started to struggle. Tyler, who did not expect her to react this way, was shoved away."What's wrong?" his emotionless voice echoed in the air.She tried to comb through her thoughts and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm…a bit afraid of the dark."It was hardly a good excuse as a companion should ease one's fear of the darkness.Tyler stayed quiet for a while, and she took the opportunity to regain her composure."Tyler, I—"Before Vicky could explain what had happened, he interrupted her and said, "I'm sorry, Vicky."She froze, baffled as to why he would apologize when it was all her fault.His voice echoed in the dark. "I didn't believe yo
"Why is your body so cold?" When Tyler noticed that Vicky was shivering, he held onto her even tighter."What if..." she whispered. "What if I wasn't kidnapped by your enemy?""Who else would do it?" He planted a kiss on her forehead and said gently, "Vicky, I know that you've suffered for the past few days. This won't happen again, but...""But what?""You need to let me know where you're going next time you're leaving, or I won't be able to find you."One horrifying experience had been more than Vicky could take, so she whispered, "I know. I won't wander off again."It was a dangerous world out there, and she would still be resenting Tyler for locking her inside a hotel room in Arrowtown had she not spent a week in Forever Night. In comparison, Tyler never truly imprisoned her.He was her husband, and despite all the conflicts they had, he would never leave her to die.Tyler lowered his gaze, his eyes glittering in the dark. "Do you still want a divorce?"After a few moments
Tyler pulled her closer when he spotted the insecure look on Vicky's face. "It's alright now."Vicky slowly calmed down under his consolation.The lights inside the room were warm, and so was his expression.Vicky's heart settled, and she whispered, "I'm okay. Thank you.""We're married. I'm just doing my duty," he said.His temperature slowly melted her anxiety, and it was unlike anything she ever experienced before.'Is this what it means to feel safe?' she thought....When she woke up the next morning, she was still dazed about what happened. The curtains fluttered slightly in the breeze, and the sunlight shone into the room.Vicky sat up in the bed and glanced around to find that Tyler was gone.She got out of bed and opened the curtains when she heard the door opening and a familiar voice following a second later."Awake?"She turned around, feeling slightly shocked. "Why aren't you at work?"She knew better than anyone about how busy Tyler was with work.He was dre