Naturally, Zivon had no idea that his meal had been drugged, and he headed upstairs to resume work after dinner. However, moments after he had finished his tasks and watched Sophia fall asleep, he felt an odd sensation within his body… An extremely familiar one. After all, this wasn’t the first time he had been drugged by someone…! Was the culprit tired of living or something?! Now extremely irked, Zivon immediately attempted to leave the room… Only to realize that it had been locked shut! Not even the finger scanner appeared to be working! Thoroughly displeased, Zivon turned to glare at the sleeping woman. Only she could manage to come up with this elaborate plan…! With that in mind, he strode over to her side before grabbing her by the collar and growling, “How dare you, Sophia…! Did you think drugging me would be without consequences…?!” Instantly startled awake, Sophia couldn’t help but quiver in fear as she stared at the terrifying man. It took her a while, but she eventuall
“…Um… Why don’t you head home for the night, Miss Harrison…? Young Master Burton is really angry at the moment… That aside, I’m sorry I didn’t attempt harder to talk you out of it earlier… I shouldn’t have just agreed to help you…” muttered the concerned Xavia as she handed Sophia a black umbrella. Hah! As if things would proceed this smoothly if she hadn’t helped her earlier! This buffoon of a woman…! Despite her malicious thoughts, Sophia was careful to keep her saddened façade on as she replied, “…It was my choice to do it. Regardless, since you did everything that I ordered, I’ll believe in your sincerity for the time being. Now head back to the villa. As you said, he’s furious right now. I’ll take care of all this tomorrow…” Following that, Sophia got into a kneeling position and remained silent… Despite how drenched the depressed woman was, she didn’t appear keen to take Xavia’s umbrella at all… This left Xavia flabbergasted. Was Sophia really undergoing this torture just t
She just wanted to help Sophia! However, as she was attempting to come up with a proper explanation, she suddenly realized that she couldn’t do so. After all, if she outed Sophia now, then she wouldn’t be able to set the two up again after this! As for Zivon, the longer he stared at the pale-faced woman, the angrier he got! Weren’t women supposed to be possessive of their men?! Why was this one trying to set him up with another person instead?! Hell, hadn’t she done this on multiple occasions?! Unwilling to allow her to abuse his tolerance any further, Zivon glared at her while growling, “You want me to be with her that much, huh…?! Very well, then! I hope you won’t regret your choice! However, don’t think for one second that I’ll allow you to reunite with Mark! You’ll stay by my side forever, even if you have to become my mistress!” …S-so she wasn’t going to be able to free herself from him even after he got together with Sophia?! Though the terrified woman knew that Zivon was o
Naturally, this made Xavia’s heart sting even more. Though it now felt difficult to even breathe, Xavia ultimately knew that she had to prioritize his orders. With that, she made her way to the kitchen and began doing as he had asked… Since she had made antipyretic broths for Yulia whenever the girl fell ill, it only took her half an hour to return to the bedroom with the porridge. By that point, Zayne had already given Sophia a check-up, and he was just done giving her an injection when Xavia entered the room. “Your temperature is still pretty high, so be sure to stay in bed and rest for now… Only resume work once your temperature returns to normal, got that? That aside, since you’ve told Miss Lockhart to prepare some antipyretic broth, I won’t bother preparing any medication for her. Don’t worry, I’ll come over again later to see how she’s doing.” After a subtle grunt, Zivon then turned to look at Xavia before ordering, “Bring it here.” …Was he treating her like a common ma
She simply hadn’t expected to be hurt over and over again because of all this! Since Xavia remained silent, Sophia was prompted to add, “Admit it, Xavia! You never planned to abandon Young Master Burton! After all, you wouldn’t be concerned with such minute details if you truly wanted to leave!” Now infuriated, Xavia retorted, “Just because I want to make amends with you, it doesn’t mean that I’m willing to harm those who were kind to me! Don’t you think smearing my reputation for your gain is a bit too much?” “Like you’re qualified to talk about that! Regardless, after all that’s happened, are you really going to tattle on me? You should know that I’ve removed any parts of my involvement from the surveillance footage, so good luck trying to use that! At the end of the day, you never had to follow my instructions, yet you did! Now enough of all this!” scoffed the angered Sophia as she stormed off before slamming her room door shut. Naturally, Xavia felt incredibly irked by all
All her life, she had been called a bearer of bad luck… Only Mark had constantly reassured her that that wasn’t the case, telling her that the others were just full of cr*p, and that she was his lucky star… Naturally, she didn’t really believe his words, yet… The fact that he had called a seer over just to make her feel better… It was proof of how considerate he still was. He was protecting her again… Just like the good old days… Mark had never changed. Her train of thought was cut short when Frank Angus took a sip of tea… before retrieving a paper and pen from his bag. After writing down a few characters, the old man was prompted to say, “Now… These eight birth characters are yours, correct? If so, I’ll be taking a look at them now…” Since Xavia gave no objections, Angus began writing a series of figures on the paper… Though no layman would be able to understand his scribblings, his serious expression was enough to make anyone trust in him… Throughout the process, Xavia found he
Sighing in response, Angus then said, “…Though we seers can predict a person’s overall fate, we can’t actually reveal Heaven’s will…” After stroking his beard one final time, Angus then left, leaving Xavia looking rather depressed… The fact that she knew that she’d eventually be in danger… It felt like Angus had just strapped a timebomb onto her body… How nerve-wracking…! Mark himself was prompted to say, “…Sorry for that… I was hoping to resolve your negative thoughts, but I never expected that…” Noticing how worried he was for her sake, Xavia forced a smile as she replied, “…It’s fine. Remember, Grandpa Angus called me a lucky star, so I’m sure nothing too terrible will happen. I’ve already made it this far anyway, so nothing will be able to stop me! I’m sure of it! Also… I really appreciate all this.” “You know, I’ve been feeling utterly terrible in the past few days, wondering if I’d continue hurting those around me over and over again… However, after hearing what Grandpa A
“As for why I came home so late, it’s because I finally regained my appetite after hearing what the seer had to say about my fortune…” concluded Xavia as seriously as she could. Raising a slight brow, Zivon replied, “So I’m assuming you’re touched by his actions, huh?” This left Xavia slightly startled. Who wouldn’t be touched after being treated that way? Since Xavia didn’t give a response, the irked Zivon added, “…Very well, then! Since you’re so touched, why did you even bother coming back? After all, in your heart, I’m nothing more than a paranoid and domineering man whom you can’t wait to push away, right?!” …How had he even misunderstood her this much…? Pursing her lips, Xavia replied, “…Look, about what happened yesterday-” “Stop. I already told you that I’m not interested in your explanations. You just keep pushing my limits, and I have a feeling that it’s because I keep being so forgiving…!” interrupted Zivon as he lowered his head… before biting her hard on her lowe
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