It was only half an hour later when Nathan reported, “From what I’ve gathered, Miss Lockhart, Miss Jarlett, and Yulia have just boarded a plane to Thalassic City.” “…Is President Walker’s project in that city as well?” replied Zivon with a raised brow. “…Y-yes…?” muttered Nathan, unsure where Zivon was going with this… Thalassic City was the largest city in the country, and it was also located at the coastline. With clear blue skies atop the vast ocean, it truly made for a breath-taking sight… Yulia herself couldn’t help but get all excited when she saw how wide the sea was. Somehow, it seemed that children were simply attracted to the idea of being able to see the ocean up close… Regardless, Yulia soon exclaimed, “We’re finally out at sea! It’s so blue!” Smiling subtly, Xavia replied, “We are… Though, it’s a little hot right now, so let’s head out to play after the sun sets. Don’t worry, it takes less than ten minutes for us to get here.” “Alright, Mommy! Then in the mea
...And when she looked up at the man’s kind expression, she couldn’t help but say, “S-Stefan…? What are you doing here…?” Upon hearing that, Mark instantly frowned. Had she really confused him with Stefan…? Back when Xavia had first needed to travel to Darlsbury, Mr. and Mrs. Talton had found Mark by accident. Later on, they learned that he was actually the child that they had left behind. However, since the Talton Group already had Stefan and his adoptive parents only had him, Mark ultimately decided not to return to the Talton family. Alas, it wasn’t long after before his adoptive father got into an accident while drunk driving and his adoptive mother fell ill. Due to all the costs he had to cover, all he could do was promise his parents that he’d go abroad for further studies… However, that wasn’t the only reason he had done so… When he had first arrived in Darlsbury, his first thought had been to look for Xavia. While he did eventually manage to locate her… he found her fli
Even so, Mark knew better than to reveal his true identity to them at the moment. He would eventually do so, of course, but not now… With that in mind, he shook his head before saying, “…Don’t worry about it. That aside, you guys go have your fun. I still need to get some work done. Oh, and by the way. Here’s my new number… Feel free to give me a call if anything else comes up.” “Got it,” replied Xavia as she took the note that Mark had just handed her. Honestly, she just felt as though something was off with him… What was it…? In the end, she simply shrugged the thought off. Yulia herself had been itching to have a good time for a while now, so she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Mommy…! Can we walk on the waves already?” “Alright, but you can’t let go of my hand, promise?” replied Xavia with a nod. After promising her mother, Yulia and Xavia then began walking across the lapping waves, a wide smile on the child’s face… It was a while later when Yulia asked, “Say, Mommy…? Why h
With how icy his tone was, anyone would be able to know better than to refute his orders… With her chin starting to hurt a little, Xavia was prompted to study his masculine face… Somehow, not even that man’s anger could make him look any less handsome… That aside, he was exuding his usual pressuring aura that disallowed many from disobeying him… Even so, Xavia felt more bitter and sad than anything at the moment… Had he assumed that she had easily come to this conclusion? Was he thinking that she wasn’t upset about it? That she truly wanted their relationship to end?! Though it had been a long and arduous journey from the moment they met till the moment she fell for him, she had to admit that he was an exceptional man. A man that not only possessed a multitude of positive qualities that other men didn’t have, but also lacked the flaws that most capitalists had. A kind man that truly made her wish that she could just fall into his embrace… How much luck had she used up just to b
Xavia felt akin to a fish out of water, and as she continued being guided by Zivon’s kiss, Yulia couldn’t help but ask, “Hmm… Teacher said that kissing would get women pregnant… Will Mommy give us a new sibling soon?” “…Little bun. That’s not how getting pregnant works… That aside, with how close they are, I’m sure we’ll get a sibling soon! Also, Aunt Dolly? Please take pictures of us! The more the better!” exclaimed Maison, prompting Dolly to go speechless. In the end, they ended up snapping photos for almost half an hour… Throughout that time, Zivon had given her seemingly endless hugs and kisses, causing her to simply flail around against her will like some puppet. It made her realize for the first time just how cold and difficult this man could be when he really put his mind to it…! Regardless, as the sky grew darker, the kids—who had been having the time of their lives—immediately began insisting on returning to the hotel to get some early rest. Naturally, Dolly knew what th
...Just how had he interpreted her message that way…?! Realizing that it was impossible to talk to this man, she simply sighed before quickly walking ahead, too lazy to be bothered with him… Watching as the slim woman hurried off, Zivon couldn’t help but raise a slight brow. Nobody had ever dared to keep their distance away from him like this… But strangely enough, he didn’t really mind Xavia doing it… Back at the hotel, Zivon placed the supper on the table before telling the children to eat together with them. Since the seafood was still quite fresh—and the children had only tasted supermarket seafood before—, the meal was a delight to their taste buds, to say the least. Though Xavia hadn’t wanted to eat at all, she was forced to eat quite a bit since the children kept handing her more and more oysters! What’s more, though she actively tried to avoid looking into Zivon’s eyes, the children were simply hellbent on matchmaking them…! “You know what? I think we’re heading to bed,
The very next morning, he quickly negotiated a contract with President Walker before boarding a plane back to Darlsbury... But unbeknownst to him, there was something else brewing within a ward back in Darlsbury! “Miss Harrison! Though that b*tch had told us that she’d leave Young Master Burton’s side, she instead flew off somewhere to get Young Master Burton to go over to her! To be able to form such plans just for her personal advancement… How shameless!” growled the infuriated Jenna who was sitting on her wheelchair. She, for one, had initially been glad that Xavia was finally gone. To think that Zivon would follow her in just a few hours! “That aside, if she really wanted to break up with him, she wouldn’t have made it so easy for Young Master Burton to locate her! I’m sure she’s using this method to create the illusion of sadness, but alas, Young Master Burton doesn’t seem to see through her tricks! The fact that he actually tailed her all the way over to Thalassic City also
Though Zivon had initially wanted to correct Sophia—since he knew for a fact that Xavia hadn’t done anything wrong, which was why she never needed Sophia’s forgiveness in the first place—, he was able to sense just how much hatred was in that woman’s voice. He wasn’t here to provoke her, just to settle things, and this made him say, “State your conditions.” Even if she asked for half of his company’s shares, so be it. However, Sophia was no longer business-minded, and to his surprise, she quickly replied, “I want you to be in a real relationship with me. Not a fake one like what we previously had. You have to be a concerned boyfriend who’ll care for me, and never push me away. I don’t mind if there’s no love. You simply have to fulfill the responsibilities of a boyfriend. How about it?” Immediately tensing up, Zivon couldn’t help but glare at her as he said, “You know that’s impossible. You should know that I’m only bothering to settle things personally because of who you are, Soph
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