Each of Dana’s words was brimming with sadness, and before Zivon could even reply, the old woman knelt before him before adding, “Please, Young Master Burton…! I beg of you…!” By this point, all Zivon could do was lower his gaze. He, for one, couldn’t even imagine Sophia trying to calm herself by getting drunk, nor could he imagine her crying… As Zivon remained momentarily at a loss at how to reply, Xavia—who had been watching all this from afar—couldn’t help but feel awful. Xavia had already been able to tell how much Dana cared for Sophia from the first time they met, and judging from how agonized the kneeling woman now sounded… She could tell that all she had just said was the real deal. That the devastated Sophia truly had been suffering ever since that event… It was a clear sign to Xavia that these two were actually good people… Alas, Zivon was already in love with her. If only that wasn’t the case, then Xavia would’ve gladly given Zivon and Sophia her blessings… In the en
There was a crowd of what appeared to be reporters and entertainment company agents waiting in front of the studio… and upon sensing Xavia’s presence, they were quick to flock around her while asking questions like, “Miss Lockhart! Our newest star!” “How long have you been working with Miss Jourdain? And who was the one who came up with the brilliant ideas?” “Yes, could we get more info on the video production process?” “We’re from the Heaven and Earth Entertainment, and we’re pretty big in Darlsbury. With that said, would you mind if we signed a contract with you?” “Not so fast! Join us instead! We’ve been specialists in the field for five years, and we’re willing to allow you to state whatever conditions you want as long as you join us...!” As everyone continued trying to get Xavia’s attention, Bianca and Dolly—who were staring from afar—couldn’t help but make cheering gestures to her. All this had started from the internet’s continuous speculations of whether the person
As they each attempted to get Xavia to join their companies, the agents made sure to glare at their competitors as well. Fearing that there’d be conflict soon, Xavia was quick to say, “I-I appreciate your interest in my work, but I should clarify that I was only able to get to where I am thanks to Bianca’s help. With that said, I plan to only continue working with her.” “That aside, I don’t really want to commercialize myself that much. After all, in the end, craft is my hobby, and my only hope is that some of the future generations continue passing it down. However, if I do end up wanting to join a company, I’ll know where to look now,” concluded Xavia in a polite tone. Upon hearing that, all the agents could do were leave their business cards behind before dejectedly heading off… Once the reporters had left as well, Bianca and Dolly came running up to Xavia while saying, “You did great, Xavia…!” “Yep! You were awesome out there! Now that you’ve been acknowledged, that b*tch won
After all, bearing a child out of wedlock was the last thing an artist would do if they wanted to create their career! That aside, Jenna was sure that the people would easily be able to guess what age Xavia was when she bore Yulia after finding out that child’s age…! Who’d be the ‘good girl’ then?! It was high time she showed the world how disgraceful that b*tch truly was…! Throughout all this time, Jenna had been the world’s focus. With that in mind, she didn’t want Xavia of all people to steal her thunder…! Now looking incredibly twisted, the angered woman yelled, “Actually, why stop there…?! Get me all her other misdeeds…! I’m showing it all to the world…!” Alma herself was too speechless to reply for a while. After all, even she hadn’t expected Xavia to become so popular out of the blue… While she could understand Jenna’s anger, she was also reminded of the ancient saying, ‘If two men were to ride on a horse, one of them needed to sit at the back’. It was easy to imagine Jenna
“I-I’m sure Sophia’s just cleaning up because she doesn’t want you to see her in such a state, Young Master Burton… Um… I-I’ll head upstairs to see what’s taking her! In the meantime, do have some coffee…!” muttered Dana who had learned from Sophia that Zivon only drank coffee. After getting him his drink, Dana then headed upstairs to see what her daughter was up to… Soon realizing that the door was unlocked, Dana was prompted to ask, “S-Sophia…? Are you alright…? Young Master Burton’s been waiting for you for an hour now, so it’s clear he still cares for you-” Before Dana could even complete her sentence, she let out a horrified shriek that echoed throughout the villa…! Frowning when he heard that, Zivon was quick to rush up to see what all the commotion was about… and shortly after, he saw it. There, lying in the middle of the spacious room was Sophia, lying in a pool of blood…! With her wrist looking heavily injured, it was clear that this was a suicide attempt…! Finally sna
At that very moment, Xavia found it hard to even breathe. Sophia wasn’t a bad person, not by a long shot. Honestly, she was similar to Dolly. Innocent, and burdened by love… It didn’t help that Xavia had been the one to allow Sophia to date Zivon in the first place. Had she not done that, then perhaps things wouldn’t have gotten this terrible… It made her feel like a sinner. Feeling terrified, she was quick to send Zivon a message, stating, ‘How’s Sophia’s condition? Is she stabilized?’ Thankfully, Zivon quickly replied, ‘She’s still being treated. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.’ Understanding that he was in a bad mood now, Xavia replied with a simple, ‘ok,’ before leaning against her seat with a sigh. She truly hoped that Sophia would be fine in the end… Once she got home, she shook those thoughts off to take better care of the kids. Honestly, just looking at how innocent the two were, was able to lighten Xavia’s mood… To be able to live life happily and smile from receiving can
By the time Xavia was done, it was already nine, and she was just about to leave to get a shower… when she was greeted by a familiar embrace at the door. The man’s arms were firm, and his distinct musk filled her nostrils once more, prompting Xavia to blush as she stared into the handsome man’s deep eyes… Eventually managing to snap out of it, Xavia was prompted to say, “You’re… back early…” “Ten hours isn’t exactly early. Regardless, is there anything to eat?” replied Zivon in his enticing voice as he princess-carried her downstairs… Since she wasn’t used to him being this reasonable with her, the rattled woman was quick to say, “N-no… I hadn’t expected you to return so soon, so I didn’t prepare any extras… I can cook something up for you if you’re hungry, though…” “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine with just watching you eat,” replied the man as he carried her all the way to the dining room… revealing a steaming plate of aromatic grilled chicken! There was some red lobster as we
His train of thought was cut short when Zivon’s phone began ringing… It was a call from Dana. “Y-Young Master Burton?! Sophia’s finally awake again…! However, her ECG has slowly been declining again, and because of that, her chances of survival are getting lower by the minute…! Could you please come over right now…?!” Before Zivon could reply, the beeping of machinery could be heard in the background, followed by the distressed Dana adding, “S-Sophia?! Sophia…! Please, be alright…! Please, Young Master Burton…! Please come over to meet her…! I beg of you…!” Dana, for one, was now beyond panicked. Never had she expected her excellent daughter to get embarrassed by her actions to the point of all this happening…! Regardless, before Zivon could say a word, Xavia grabbed his phone before hanging up and exclaiming, “What are you waiting for?! Didn’t you hear that her situation was dire? I’m coming along, now let’s hurry!” Xavia knew how bad Zivon was with his words, so she figured
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