Vicky held him back. "But, Old Mister Hart and your parents...""Don't worry about them." Tyler narrowed his eyes coldly. "Their actions will only escalate if we don't show them what it means to mess with us. Only pain can truly teach a lesson. That's human nature." He lowered his head to meet her eyes. "They'll never dare to pick on you ever again."Vicky wanted to tell him that he did not need to do that for her but felt hypocritical for saying so."Thank you." She buried her head into his embrace. "Thank you, Tyler.""Don't thank me. You were only in these troubles because of me." He caressed her hair and continued in a gentle tone, "I'm just doing what I should do."She wrapped her arms around his neck abruptly and tip-toed to kiss him.He was stunned for a split moment but soon snapped out of it and took over control....The following days were peaceful and serene.Gloria had left, and Aria had not reappeared. Even the Hart family had quieted down.Vicky and Tyler spent
Vicky looked at the plates in his hands. "Don't you have work today?""Mm." Tyler placed the lukewarm oatmeal on the table. "I'm not too busy today, so it's fine to go a bit later."Lately, whenever Tyler had free time, he would cook breakfast for her.The gloom in Vicky's heart dissipated somewhat, and she smiled. "Then I must eat more today."Tyler sat across from Vicky. "I have an appointment tonight, so you don't have to wait for me to have dinner."With the conversation concluded, the two of them ate breakfast in silence, as usual.Although Vicky had said she would eat more, she did not manage to fulfill her words due to her preoccupations.Tyler gazed at Vicky and suddenly spoke up. "What's wrong? You don't like your food?"Vicky snapped out of her thoughts. "No, it's delicious.""You've been lost in thought today."Vicky did not know if she had been too obvious or if Tyler was just perceptive.She lowered her gaze. "I was contemplating whether I should hire more desig
As soon as she entered the studio, Cece teased, "Vicky, are you and Mister Hart back to the honeymoon phase lately? I saw him dropping you off from upstairs."Vicky smiled wordlessly.Cece instantly sensed that Vicky looked bothered and whispered, "Vicky, what's wrong? Did you fight with him?""No." Vicky snapped out of it. "I'm just thinking about some designs. I'll get to work now. Just order me whatever you get for lunch and bring it back to me later."Cece nodded and watched as Vicky walked away in shock.Once Vicky was back in her office, she sat on her chair blankly for a while before pulling her phone out.The text she received earlier was from the mysterious man. [Vicky, I need you to do something for me.][What is it?] she replied.[I need you to make a copy of a certain document on Tyler Hart's laptop.][Why do you need it?][It's best that you don't know.][But how am I supposed to help you if I don't know what you want?][Vicky, there's no such thing as free lun
[I'm already here. When will you arrive?]There was no response.Just as Vicky considered if she should make a call instead, her phone vibrated.[Sorry. Something came up. I might be late.]The look in Vicky's eyes darkened as she thought to herself, 'Is he late, or does he not plan on coming at all?'After a long thoughtful pause, she stepped out of the club and found a hidden corner not far away that could guarantee sight of the door.There were too many restrictions for hiding in the room, and she would have no means of improvising if the mysterious man arrived at the door, only to decide against going inside.The person said they had met before, and though Vicky did not have a photogenic memory, she could recall most of the people she had met in the past.Sometime later, a black car stopped outside the entrance, and as the door opened, a familiar-looking figure stepped out.His back faced Vicky, and she could not see his face, but she instantly straightened her back in int
[Are you not here yet?] The mysterious person sent.Vicky glided her fingers across the screen to type. [I am in the room now.][You weren't here when I came inside, though.] The man replied.Vicky's breath hitched. [I was occupied and went outside for a moment.][Sorry, I can't stay too long. Let's reschedule.] The man replied.Vicky stared at the text for a long while before replying. [Sure.]She did not believe in the man's excuse and realized that he might have left fearing that she was up to no good when he saw that the room was empty.She did not stay for long and went to the lobby to wait for the elevator.Ding! The elevator arrived, and she went inside to find that it was occupied by another person.She did not pay much attention to the other person at first, but she froze when she accidentally caught a glimpse of the man's face later on."It's you!" She stared at him. "You..."The gentleman did not seem surprised to see her and smiled kindly at her. "We meet again,
Vicky stood still for a few moments before walking toward Tyler's car.Tyler was resting with his eyes closed and opened them when he heard knocking on his car window.He unlocked the car when he spotted Vicky outside, and she immediately opened the door to the passenger's seat."Why haven't you left?" she asked."I wanted to wait for you." He looked at her and asked, "Why are you out so soon?"The lights inside the car were off, and the neon light of the club shone into the car faintly; his features appeared clouded under such lighting."... My client said something else came up, so she can't make it today."Rescheduling meetings with her clients happened frequently, but Vicky still felt slightly uneasy about lying.Tyler did not ask much about it and simply started the car. "Let's go home, then.""Okay."They arrived home early. Tyler went to his study to finish up his work, while Vicky sat on the couch, staring at her phone dazedly.After a while, she finally summoned the
Ever since that day, the mysterious man had not reached out to Vicky again, and the peaceful days returned.However, Tyler seemed to be extremely busy after that and no longer had time to return home for dinner.One day, Tyler ended work early and returned home in time for dinner.Vicky glanced at her watch and picked up her purse to leave her studio when her phone rang.She pulled her phone out and smiled when she saw Tyler's name on the screen. She answered it and asked, "Have you returned home?"After a brief moment of silence, Tyler said, "Vicky, something urgent came up. I'm afraid I can't come home tonight as well."The smile on her lips froze in place. "A—Again?""Yeah."Vicky knew Tyler was busy as the CEO of Hart Corporation, but they had not been able to dine together for a whole month, and she could not help feeling upset."Tyler, when will you be done with work?" she asked."It'll take some more time.""I thought you didn't have anything else to do today.""Some
However, as Vicky watched the continuous stream of phone calls and the assistant constantly knocking on the door to report work, she felt that her presence there would only hinder his work, so she left."You don't know that for sure," Cece whispered. "Vicky, men like Tyler, handsome and of distinguished status, are desired by many women. Even if he's married, it won't diminish his charm in the slightest. You can't be so casual about it."Vicky did not take it to heart and simply replied, "He won't cheat on me. I trust him."Cece wanted to say more but could only sigh silently after seeing how certain Vicky was.The waiter quickly brought the dishes they ordered.The fragrance of the food and spices filled the air, making Cece's stomach growl. "Mm, it smells so good! I'm practically drooling."Vicky laughed and said, "Between the two of us, we don't have to worry about appearances. Let's dig in and eat as much as we want.""Well, I won't hold back, then!"Cece picked up her spoo