“You…! Who the hell do you think you are…?! Are you seriously trying to control me?!” growled Fiona as she stomped her foot in frustration. “If he can’t do it, can I?” said a condescending voice that instantly sent waves of pressure across the room…! Shortly after, the prestigious Zivon stepped into the room… and upon seeing him, Xavia quickly went red and attempted to straighten her hair. She, for one, didn’t want him to see her in such a miserable state… Fiona herself had gone pale with worry. However, upon recalling that Xavia was the vixen here, she mustered her courage to walk up to Zivon and say, “I-I didn’t mean to hit her on purpose, Brother Zivon…! It’s just… she told me that she was your woman, and due to her flaunting, I couldn’t hold back…! It was an accident…!” …Why wasn’t this woman in Hollywood already? Regardless, Zivon didn’t pay much attention to Fiona. Instead, he focused more on Xavia… and upon seeing all the scratches on her arms, he couldn’t help but glower
With how gently he was handling her, Xavia—who had initially been in pain—couldn’t help but blush slightly as she replied, “…I-it’s fine… The pain isn’t that bad, and it’ll go away soon…” Despite Xavia’s words, Zivon continued examining the rest of her body with utmost care… From the top of her head, to her neck, to her arms… To… the inside of her clothes…?! “Hey, no wounds in there!” grumbled Xavia as she pulled her clothes closer to her chest. Wasn’t he just taking advantage of the situation?! Upon hearing that, Zivon raised a slight brow as he replied, “…What, am I really that lecherous to you?” …I-it was because he was paying such close attention to her entire body…! Now redder than a tomato, she was quick to say, “…E-either way, there aren’t any wounds on my body, so there’s no need to check there…!” “…Sure,” muttered Zivon in a slightly helpless tone. Was there really a need to be this shy when he had already seen her full body before…? That aside, hadn’t they already k
What kind of situation was this?Xavia looked around again. Chace, who was on the sofa, was trying hard to chat up Bianca, and nobody seemed to be paying attention to her and Zivon.Why did tonight’s appreciation banquet feel like a matchmaking session instead?“Can you sing?” Zivon’s voice sounded suddenly. Xavia looked back at him and admitted, “Yes, but not very well. My singing is just ordinary.”Zivon said, “Sing me a song then. I’ve not heard many.”He had not heard many songs?A thirty-year-old man had not heard many songs? Then again, he was always studying, working, managing the company, and dealing with all those cruel people at the Burton mansion. How could he possibly have the thought to listen to songs?Xavia suddenly felt sorry for him. “Okay, as long as you don’t think that my singing is bad.”Xavia stood up, took the microphone, and walked to the front as she sang a song that she liked: Gardenias in Blossom.[Gardenia blossom, gardenia blossom, like crystal
Back then, she had been ill, so it was meaningless for Zivon to come and see her again. Unexpectedly, he had actually stayed up all night to watch over her, but the next morning, she had selfishly thrown a tantrum as soon as she woke up…Last night, he had also taken care of her and stayed up very late with her.Xavia was ashamed and annoyed at herself, but also very moved by his actions.She stood up and quickly walked over to Yulia and Maison. “Shh, he is asleep. We should not disturb him.”“Oh! Okay, Mommy.” Yulia was very sensible. Maison was also smart and said, “We should move to the private room next door. Aunt, you can stay here and accompany Daddy.”Huh?“Does he need someone to accompany him while he’s asleep?” Xavia asked in confusion.Maison said very seriously, “Mm. Daddy is so handsome and there are at least ninety-nine waitresses and guests who have seen Daddy tonight. What if they try to take advantage of Daddy while he is fast asleep? Or what if Daddy has a ni
She told a white lie: “It’s nothing, I just felt distressed when I thought of how you fell asleep because you were tired.”The corners of Zivon’s mouth curled up slightly and he lifted his hand to pinch her cheek. “Your singing voice is hypnotic. I will look for you when I can’t sleep in the future.”Xavia said teasingly, “Young Master Burton, your girlfriend can even be a hypnotist when she wants to. She’s pretty incredible, right?”When did this young lady become someone who would praise herself? Zivon kissed her cheek. “Indeed, I should cherish having such a girlfriend. Why don’t I reward you again tonight?”What?!Xavia’s face instantly flushed red. “No way! You rogue!”“Hm? Didn’t you like it a lot last night?” Zivon pulled her close, his eyes as bright as stars. He would never have thought that this young lady with a sharp tongue could actually be so delicate and charming.He leaned in close to her ear and murmured, “There’s no need to be shy if you like it. As I told
In the end, Xavia realized she could not outtalk Dolly and just asked her directly, “Why exactly are you looking for me? I’ll go back if you don’t tell me.”“Eh! Okay, okay, I’ll stop talking about it.” Dolly quickly pulled Xavia’s arm and said hesitantly, “I think I saw your brother when I was in the private room just now. Although I do not have any thoughts or feelings for him anymore, the look he gave me was rather dark, and I’m scared. Do you think I should slip away? Can you help me cover up?”Xavia frowned in surprise. Kevin was here too? What did it have to do with her though? He was just a man who had never regarded her as his sister, so she did not feel any attachment to him at all.Xavia said, “What are you afraid of? Didn’t you say that you wanted to give Young Master Xenos a shot? If I were you, I would just grab Young Master Xenos’ arm, walk up to Kevin and say ‘Please make way’, then ignore him and walk away arrogantly.”Xavia’s reasoning made sense, but Dolly fro
She took a deep breath and looked at Kevin. “Let’s go. Where should we go to talk?”Kevin pulled her to the underground parking lot and got into the car. Since he was slightly tipsy from drinking wine, his body swayed a little.In the past, Dolly would definitely have used the opportunity to support him, get close to him, and take advantage of him, but now, she just retreated to the other side and got straight to the point: “Young Master Lockhart, what do you want to talk about? Let's settle this quickly.”She was distant and detached, not at all like the woman in the past who used to pester him for his love!The anger and rage in Kevin’s heart surfaced again. He grabbed her chin and gazed into her eyes searchingly as he sneered, “Why? Can't wait to go sing sweet nothings with your new boyfriend?” What new boyfriend?Dolly was confused for a while, then suddenly realized that Kevin had misunderstood her relationship with Zayne. However, Dolly did not intend to explain herself. “
“A bit daring of you to be all handsy with a woman in broad daylight, don’t you think, Young Master Lockhart?” said Zayne in a casual, yet simultaneously dangerous tone. Upon hearing that, Kevin raised a brow as he readjusted Dolly’s clothes… before turning to face Zayne as he replied, “What do you care, Young Master Xenos? Even if you’re both friends with benefits, she’s in my arms now. Get in line!” Dolly, for one, hadn’t expected him to say such insulting things to her face! Clenching her fists, she was just about to give Kevin a tight slap when Zayne pulled her over to his side. Since he hadn’t given any warning before pulling her over, she ended up falling into his arms. With one hand on her waist and his other in his pocket, Zayne then smirked at Kevin as he retorted, “I’m afraid you’re wrong there, Young Master Lockhart. She’s my girlfriend, so don’t you dare disrespect her again. If you do, don’t blame me for what I’ll do next…!” Zayne sounded extremely serious as he sa
Staring in shock at the kneeling man, Yulia mustered her remaining sanity as she replied, “B-but you’re younger-” “Even if that’s the case, doesn’t that mean that I’m much more ‘capable’ than your older pursuers…?” …Why were his words so suggestive all of a sudden?! Forcing herself to calm down, she took a deep breath before saying, “…Elliot, I’m not sure what spurred this decision, but… I’m not the one for you. Please find someone your age. I’m sorry.” After saying that, she strode straight for the car… but before she could start the engine, she couldn’t help but notice how desolate he looked standing under the pouring rain… Clenching her fists, it took her a while to finally sigh and walk back to him… “…Are you really sure about this?” asked Yulia, much to Elliot’s delight. “I am! Please! Give me a chance! You won’t regret it!” …When he put it that way, all Yulia could do was help him up before finally deciding to return his kiss… Sure, things had taken a sudden, unex
She stared in horror as he removed his shirt right there and then! “W-what are you doing?!” yelped the startled woman as she quickly looked the other way. “…Huh? I mean, I’m drenched, so…” “E-even so, you shouldn’t change right in front of me!” “…Yulia, we bathed together as children… It’s not like you haven’t seen everything already…” “Y-you can’t compare that to this situation…!” “Fine, fine, I… Um… Go cook, I guess… I’ll go get a change upstairs first…” muttered Elliot as he headed upstairs. Yulia herself had to try her best to calm down! After all, Elliot had been plaguing her mind in the past few days, and… she even had dreams where he had… …No! She couldn’t be thinking about such things! She needed to cook! Maybe that would help get her mind out of the gutter! Once that was done, she’d leave and finally start devising a plan to get rid of him…! As Yulia scurried off, Elliot himself was currently staring at an old photo that showed him eating some candy in Yulia’
Just as she had arrived at her car, the president of the Halls Group suddenly walked up to her, a bouquet in hand! The Halls Group had collaborated several times with the Burtons before, and because of that, she was well acquainted with the man. Sadly, he had also proposed to her on multiple occasions… and though she kept rejecting him, he never seemed to get the hint! “There you are, Miss Burton… Since you’re off work, I was wondering if you’d join me for dinner tonight…” asked the charming man. Feeling awkward, she was just about to come up with an excuse when Elliot suddenly grabbed her by the waist and said, “Oh? Another one of your admirers, Yulia…? Sorry, but she already has a boyfriend, my man. If that doesn’t deter you enough, then you should know that she prefers her partners younger. Now please leave.” Startled to hear that, the man glanced at Yulia, his eyes begging for an explanation… Yulia herself was eager to just escape this embarrassing situation, but before s
With that tale done, it was now time to return to Yulia’s story… Ever since she was a child, she had undergone countless hardships with her mother… and even after she was able to reunite with her father, things didn’t go much easier from there. To make matters worse, Fabiola ended up getting kidnapped for the longest time, resulting in Frank ending up the way he was today… Because of all that, it only made sense that she’d mature much sooner than others her age, and unlike the naïve girl she used to be, she was an extremely competent woman today. Alas, because of how used she became with working, she soon lost the urge to find herself a romantic interest… Things continued that way until… Well, that time that Elliot… …Wait, what was she thinking?! He was younger than her, for heaven’s sake! Quickly shaking her head, she attempted to force herself to concentrate on work again… But before long, a knock was heard on the door. After being allowed in, the department manager entered t
Knowing that there was no point in keeping things a secret anymore, Rea took a deep breath before saying, “…Alright, so… The truth is, I’ve always been highly competent, but… I’ve been pretending to be useless just so that you’d eventually marry me… The trip my parents are taking… That was my suggestion too…” Feeling speechless, it took Frank a long while to reply, “…So you weren’t really drunk when you did all that last night?” Pursing her lips, Rea awkwardly muttered, “…I wasn’t… Luna suggested it, and since it sounded like a good idea to accelerate things…” …Fucking hell, to think that he had fallen straight into her trap without even putting up a fight! Watching as he glowered at her, Rea gulped before adding, “A-anyway, now that we’re married and there’s potentially a baby in my belly, you won’t divorce me, right…?” “…Oh, believe me when I say that divorce is the easy way out! From today onward, I’m making you pay for your actions for the rest of your life!” Fast forwa
Fast forward to the next morning, Rea awoke with a yawn… What a nice sleep… Wait. Why was she naked? And why was Frank…?! Her following scream immediately woke the icy man up… and upon looking at her, he was immediately reminded of what had transpired last night! Essentially, Rea ended up clinging to him, and though he initially wanted to just carry her to bed to let her rest… Damn it! Had she really been that sensual?! How had he lost control so easily?! His train of thought was cut short when he realized that Rea was bawling her eyes out… and after rubbing his temples, he was prompted to say, “…Why are you crying when you’re the one who initiated this? I’ll have you know that I never forced you-” “I-I know, but…! I’ve just…! This is my first time…!” whimpered the quivering woman, prompting Frank to purse his lips. As if he wasn’t in the same situation… “…You’re not alone there.” “It’s not the same! Men are free to sleep with whoever they want but when it comes to women, I’l
“Say, wouldn’t you agree that the food smells delicious…? Why don’t I teach you how to grill, Rea…? Oh, but make sure to take your clothes off first before we start! Wouldn’t want them to get dirty…” With how drunk Rea was, she wasn’t able to fully register his words… and just as he was about to touch her clothes, an icy voice roared, “Stop right there…!” Instantly feeling a shiver run down his spine, the man turned around… and to his horror, it was Frank! Young Master Burton’s perpetually icy son…! Why the hell was he here?! Before the frightened intern could think of how to even react, Frank walked up to him and growled, “Leave now before I chop your hands off…! Don’t make me repeat myself!” Nodding in terror, the man frantically bolted off… and once he was out of sight, Frank glared at the tipsy Rea before adding, “This is what you meant by learning how to be more responsible…?!” “Huh…? But the food really did smell super good… I want to learn…” mumbled the drunk woman.
After leaving his office, he headed off to look for Rea. She had said that she wanted to use the bathroom, but… It had already been half an hour since she disappeared. What trouble had that idiot gotten herself into this time? Thankfully, it wasn’t long before he found her laughing along with some of his interns… When the interns saw him, they were quick to bow and say, “Good morning, Mr. Burton.” Barely even glancing at them, Frank looked at Rea and said, “It’s time to head home.” “I… Won’t be following you back…” “…And why is that? Are your parents back?” “No, it’s just… These are my good friends back from school, and they’ve been staying together to learn to be more independent… With that said… I think that staying with them will be a good start for me to learn more about how the world works. Thank you for taking care of me up till this point, Frank… I won’t bother you anymore.” Raising a slight brow, Frank then looked at the interns for a while before saying, “…Are you
Regardless, after leaving her in the room, Frank returned to the shower to cool himself off… but no matter what he did, he simply remained irked. It got to the point where he couldn’t relax at all, and after wrapping a towel around his waist, he grabbed his phone to send his father a text. ‘Was there really nobody else who could’ve taken care of Rea?’ ‘What? Can’t even care for a woman properly.’ ‘I’m a busy man.’ ‘I trust in your time management skills.’ …Though he really wanted to tell Zivon that he had misplaced his trust in him, he didn’t want to disappoint his father either. With that, all he could do was clench his fists before giving Rea’s parents a call… “Hello? Frank? Why are you calling at this time of night?” “…When are you and Uncle Saltman returning, Aunt?” asked Frank who wanted them to take back their idiot already! “…Huh? What was that? Sorry, the line isn’t very good… I hope Rea isn’t giving you too hard a time! Don’t worry, we’ll be back after about a