POV JEANNE … "What? That boy came here too? I thought he was a coward who wouldn't dare to meet me forever," Leo said sarcastically. "It's all because you've been bullying him all along, Leo," Owen said and seemed to roll his eyes. "I wasn't bullying him," Leo said evasively, "I was just tell him the fact that his mother is a pimp. What's wrong?" I turned back to look at Owen who just shook his head and chose not to reply to Leo's words. What exactly is this? — I asked myself. Then I furrowed my brow and turned to Leo questioningly. A kid? Does he mean that Noah Morgan is still a kid? But judging from Leo's tone, it seems like he doesn't like that Noah Morgan — I thought. "Noah Morgan is your young brother? I've never heard of you having a young brother before, Leo?" I asked finally. I saw Leo snort with his eyes closed. When I saw him about to open his voice, it was suddenly interrupted by Owen's voice that came first. "Noah Morgan is our step brother, more precisely he's
POV JEANNE …"Why the silence? Are you incapable of replying, huh?" said Leo. Suddenly I glanced at Leo and signaled him to stop with a small pinch on his thigh. And even though we had met eyes for a moment, it seemed that my husband was just ignoring me. "Oh of course, how can one deny a fact," Leo said, "Isn't that right Gretta Juarez?" Hearing Leo's increasingly bold words made me really want to scream in frustration. Anyone please help me out of this madness! — I shouted to myself. "Stop it Leo..." My father-in-law's heavy voice was finally heard, "I invited anyone here tonight, not to show a family drama for them all.""You'd better think wisely before you act," Isaac said again in a heavy but soft tone of voice.I then turned to look at my father-in-law - Isaac Morgan. There was no visible change in his face. How extraordinarily wise emotional control — I thought.On the other hand, when I glanced at my mother-in-law — Olivia Morgan — who was sitting next to Isaac, her face
POV JEANNE…Instantly the atmosphere between us seemed to turn worse again. I really couldn't understand what my husband was doing by being a provocateur.He managed to irritate people with his sharp tongue and cold expression — I said to myself. "I'm just kidding," Leo said later, "Why so tense? Especially you Gretta — I mean ... 'mom'." "I don't ever remember teaching you to speak disrespectfully to your parents, Leo," Olivia retorted sarcastically."You know? I was brought up with good etiquette and etiquette in treating my parents. But..." "..." "...what you need to know is that me calling you 'mother' is just a formality," Leo said again, "I wasn't born of you and never will be, even in your dream anyway." "You..." Olivia stared angrily at Leo and then turned to stare at me sarcastically."Is this behavior of yours because you've been with a lowly woman like her for too long? After all, the Hart family's greatness is over." “...” "Moreover, she seems to be some kind of j
POV JEANNE…"It seems like I don't belong at any party even if it's just a dinner banquet," I said. I looked down — the first floor — where there are many people enjoying dinner at their tables, while my husband was seen greeting everyone from table to table.At first, I accompanied my husband and talked to some people downstairs. But, suddenly I felt my body get weak, so Leo took me to rest in one of the rooms on the second floor. However, after only a short time of resting, I felt bored, plus Leo having to accompany many people at the party made me feel lonely. In the end, I chose to leave the room and watch the dinner banquet from the second floor."Looks like the Morgan family's youngest son didn't come," I said with some disappointment. To be honest, I was really hoping to meet Noisjy because I idolized him. However, from what I saw, there wasn't a single young man down there — except for my husband and Owen — all of them looked to be in middle age and even some of them looke
POV LEO …DING! "Oh, you finally came."My big brother's voice greeted me as soon as I entered the bar I used to own, which was the first place Jeanne and I met. I approached my brother who was sitting in front of the bar counter. My eyes glanced at his slightly flushed face and then turned to the cocktail glass that was half full."Martini?" I called out the name of the cocktail in his glass, "How much did you drink?"I don't know how many glasses he had downed to make his face a little red. From what I know, Owen has a pretty good tolerance for alcohol. "This is my third glass," he said as he grinned at me, "Why don't you sit here and start chatting with me over a few cocktails, little brother?"Hearing Owen's words, I let out a long sigh as I closed my eyes. I tried not to hit him over the head with the whisky bottle there."I came here because I thought you had something important to talk about," I said, "If you don't have anything important to talk about, then I'll go see my
POV LEO…"You're doing something in vain," said one of the men in front of me who was still alive."...""Give up and just kill me now," he said, "Because you won't get any information from me."I stared at the face of the man in front of me with a cold stare as I smoked the cigarette in my hand. Although I didn't show any expression when I saw him, I was actually trying to digest what was happening. I then glanced at a leather mask of a human face that was on the table beside me. This man in front of me was still the same as the one who attacked me and Owen. To be more precise, that man who disguised himself as a barback and was just a partner of the main attacker who disguised himself as a bartender. Both of them were wearing leather face masks of my workers who had just been accepted into the bar I was running as a front for the main mafia headquarters under the Morgan family. In other words, my two original workers were definitely dead after losing their facial skin to the ma
POV JEANNE … "Hm..." I was sitting in one of the seats inside one of the famous fast food restaurants in America. Both of my hands were holding a jumbo burger that was half gone, while on my table was still another portion burger, a portion of fries and a portion of chicken nuggets, also not forgetting about a large cola. I chewed the food in my mouth slowly, savoring each flavor. This was the first time I felt that fast food would taste this good, even though I wasn't a fan of fast food like burgers, fries, or the like. "Since when did fast food taste this good?" I said as I stared at the jumbo burger with double cheese in my hand, "Did they improve the recipe?" I took another bite of the burger in my hand and chewed slowly, until I felt thirsty. Just as I was about to drink my cola, I realized it was gone and just left the ice cubes which had almost all melted. "Ah, it was out," I muttered softly as I looked at the counter, "I'll buy another glass." I then quick
POV JEANNE … "He's 21 years old? I thought he was around 17 years old," I muttered. I sat in front of the dressing table with my gaze focused on the screen of my phone, reading an array of information about 'Noisjy' a.k.a Noah Morgan on a fan website. "..." "It's so different from Leo and Owen," I muttered again with a clumsy smile. When compared to Leo and Owen, Noah has a face that looks cute rather than manly. Maybe his face type is more similar to Jonah Mason — the manager of the bar where I used to work before I got into a contract marriage with Leo. While I was busy with my phone, I suddenly felt an embrace on my stomach from behind. "Ah!" I squealed in surprise. Suddenly, I turned my gaze toward the large mirror in front of me. From the reflection of the mirror, I could see my husband hugging me from behind while kissing my neck and shoulders. "Leo?" I said. "I miss you baby," Leo said as he buried his face in the border of my neck and shoulders and hugged my sto
POV JEANNE … "What?!" I got up from my position. I stood behind Samuel's body and then released my grip on Samuel's arm. "We met long before you knew my brother, you say?" I asked in astonishment. For a moment, our eyes met as Samuel glanced at me. However, not long after, he took his eyes off me again. "Forget it." "..." "No matter how well I explain it to you, it won't change anything," he said. She then released my grip on her arm and walked out of the room. CREAK! SLAM! I, on the other hand, was still rooted to my spot and staring at her disappearing figure from behind the door of the room. Not even the banging sound of the door closing made me flinch. I then threw myself back onto the bed behind me, sitting down while staring at the door. With a bitter smile, I muttered, "What the hell did he say?" I paused, trying to digest what Samuel had just told me. At least I tried to dig up my memories of Samuel back then. However, I couldn't find anythin
POV JEANNE…SLAP!I slapped Samuel as soon as I regained my consciousness. Staring at him without a word coming out of my mouth. He looked surprised and seemed to freeze for a while. Until he finally looked at me with a soft gaze full of regret. "I'm sorry...""...""I couldn't hold myself and —""I-It's late," I interrupted him and immediately turned my back to him. I bit my lower lip, trying to hold back all the emotion inside me. "Jeanne, I —""Go back to your room," I said, "I'll open the door for you from this room." Then I walked in and went to the door that connected this room with the second floor corridor. CLICK!After the lock opened, I immediately opened the door to my room.I then turned around and looked at the balcony door. Samuel was still standing there, looking at me before he finally lowered his face. Shortly after, he walked towards me."I'm sorry."Those were the last words I heard from him, before he walked out of my room. SLAM!Immediately afterward, I sl
POV JEANNE…"Good night, dear...""...""...and have a good rest."After chatting for a while with Aunt Lydia a.k.a Samuel's mother in the TV room while enjoying a cup of warm tea, our conversation finally ended at midnight. Aunt Lydia then escorted me to one of the rooms on the second floor. It was the same room I remembered from my first stay at Dawn's family home. "Thank you, aunt Lydia and good night to you too," I replied. CREAKShe didn't answer me and just gave me a smile as she closed the door. However, only halfway through closing the door, I saw her suddenly stop. "Ah, I almost forgot to say this," she said as she opened the door completely again. "Yes? Do you need anything?" I asked back. I saw that afterward, Aunt Lydia was smiling and seemed to be teasing me. "By the way, Samuel's room is next to yours," she said in a teasing tone. I knew where this was going, but I chose to pretend I didn't know. Smiling awkwardly, I replied, "I see." "Well, just in case you
"Divorce isn't always a bad thing anyway." "..." "Sometimes, it's even a good thing to get away from a toxic relationship," she said, smiling at me, "So at least be happy. Maybe it's God's way of saving you from the harm that will come to you if you stay with him." Hearing those words, I fell silent and immediately thought about my relationship with Samuel. If I think about it, our relationship is too toxic to maintain. Even though Leo said he loved me and I was already in love with him, the way he expressed his love sometimes made me feel uncomfortable. "You're right, auntie," I said later, "Thank you for giving me a new perspective." Lydia then replied me with her warm smile. "Of course, dear," she said and then glanced at Samuel with a meaningful smile. "..." "Moreover, you can count on Samuel from now on," she said in a teasing tone, "He will glad to help you." I see where this is going - I said to myself. Instead of rejecting him outright, I just smiled
POV JEANNE … "How was the food, Jeanne?" "It's delicious," I said as I smiled at the woman in front of me, "You've always been a talented cook, auntie." I was currently enjoying dinner at Dawn's family home. I occasionally glanced at Samuel who seemed to be enjoying the leftovers on his plate quietly. "Ah, you praise me too much~" Lydia — Samuel's mother — said with an embarrassed smile. "Hm, it just common taste," Samuel said suddenly, "Besides it, I think you put too much —" Samuel stopped what he was saying and smiled awkwardly. I followed the direction of Samuel's gaze to his mother, who was already glaring. "N-No, it's not," Samuel said then and stammered a little, "I was just joking. Mom's cooking is the best, hahaha." Then Lydia's sharp gaze softened as a smile spread across her face. "Thank you~" she said. "Hm, but it would be better if you didn't cook anymore," Samuel said again, not long after that. "Samuel!" Lydia said half shouting. I was jus
POV JEANNE … "Is it really okay?" I asked. I was currently in Samuel's car and we were heading to Dawn's family residence. After rejecting Samuel's propose, I decided to go home. But Samuel suddenly invited me to have dinner with his family. And I don't know what came over me, but I said yes. "After all, this is your quality time with your parents," I said again. I looked doubtful at Samuel who was sitting in the driving seat, right next to me. He then glanced back at me. "Calm down," he said, chuckling softly, "Don't you already know my parents?" I lowered my gaze and then said again, "Yes, but it's been a long time since I've seen them." "..." "Isn't this supposed to be your time with them anyway?" I said again, "You once said that you often don't have time to spend with them, even to enjoy dinner together." A second later, Samuel chuckled softly. "Oh come on Jeanne, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you," he said casually. "..." "They already think of you
POV JEANNE…"So that's the problem...""...""I think he's gone too far," Samuel said, "And it's best that you separate from a temperamental person like him." "...""You'll only put yourself in a toxic relationship if you continue to stay with him," Samuel said again, "Moreover, your marriage is only a contract. What's with a guy like that? Only dare to give the woman he loves with a contract marriage. Tch! He's a loser."I smiled weakly when I heard Samuel's words. What he said was true, nothing good would come from maintaining a relationship with a temperamental person. However, on the other hand, I still love Leo. And even though I said earlier that I didn't want this child I was carrying, I still had the conscience not to throw it away. "I also think it's fine to be the father of the child you're carrying. Of course, if you don't mind," he said again. My eyes widened when I heard the sentence that came out of Samuel's mouth. However, instead of answering him, I smiled bitterl
POV JEANNE… "Leo, what did you do?!" I said in a high tone to Leo just after he poured the drink on Noah's face. But he seemed to ignore my words. The next second, Leo seemed to grab Noah by the collar and then he punched Noah's stomach and face.WHACK! WHACK!"You bastard! How dare you approach my wife when I'm not around," Leo said as he kicked Noah several times in the stomach. I, who saw this, immediately approached Leo and tried to stop him. "Stop it! Leo! Enough is enough!" I said.I tried to bring Leo a little away from Noah who was crying in pain on the floor while holding his stomach."Ugh! Cough! L-Leo, listen to my explanation, this is all just ... a misunderstanding — Cough!" Noah said, stammering in the middle of his groaning and coughing."Misunderstanding? You said that after I caught you approaching my wife, hm?!" replied Leo and then I heard him laugh sarcastically, "Don't you remember what you did back then, huh?!" "Leo, don't! Stop it! This is all just —""Sh
POV JEANNE…"Yes, do it that way..."CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!"Give a more natural smile — Yes! Good!" Amidst the hustle and bustle of the people around me, my gaze focused on the figure of Noah who was still in the middle of a photo shoot and recording session for an advertisement. "It was only a month ago that he did a 'face reveal' as Noisjy, and now he has a lot of advertising jobs," I said as I smiled at him.After I left Marea Restaurant yesterday, Noah immediately contacted me. We had originally promised to meet in person at Ocean Prime Restaurant, but Noah suddenly informed me that afternoon that he might be a little late because he had another job to do. I finally decided to go to his studio, which also happened to be not far from Ocean Prime. I then turned my gaze around and found the studio crews looking at me hatefully. It seems that apart from being a crew, they are also fans — I thought.With a smile of astonishment, I then said, "And there are also many troublesome fans