...S-Sophia…? Oh god, she had misunderstood, hadn’t she…?! After all, it looked like Sophia was ready to murder Xavia at any second…! Quickly getting to her feet, the panicked Xavia immediately attempted to explain, “I-It’s not what you think-” “I’m just checking on Xavia’s hand injury,” interrupted Zivon as he calmly stared at Sophia. What a laughable explanation. Glaring at the two, Sophia now realized that this ‘harmonious couple’ were secretly villains this entire time…! It didn’t help that Zivon’s previous words kept pounding at the back of her mind…! Gritting her teeth, the enraged woman retorted, “Indeed…! A f*ck tonne of misunderstandings this is, right…?! I guess I was the fool this entire time for being so optimistic about everything…! You two view me like some caged monkey, don’t you?! An utter joke?! I’m done with all this! I hate you all…!” Following that, the hysterical woman ran out without another word… With how terribly hurt she looked, Xavia couldn’t help bu
Upon hearing all that, Xavia finally snapped out of it and ran toward the two while yelling, “T-that isn’t the case, Miss Harrison…! It’s my fault for going against what I promised…! Young Master Burton was wrong too since he didn’t abide by your agreements! With that said, please don’t do all this when you’re innocent…! If you die now, I won’t be able to go on…! L-look, I promise that I’ll leave the villa immediately after this for an entire month…!” “If you’ve gotten much closer to Young Master Burton by then, I swear I won’t ever show up before you again…! If I go against my words, I’ll get struck by thunder…!” declared Xavia in her most determined voice. Naturally, Zivon couldn’t help but feel the corner of his eye twitch when he heard that. Sophia herself simply began laughing maniacally till tears began rolling down her cheeks. Once she finally caught her breath, she retorted, “As if I’d believe you after all that…! Even if you do follow your vow this time, it doesn’t matte
There was a good chance that she’d never be able to return to his side… Though the thought was upsetting, she was far too filled with guilt to care. After all, she had almost been the reason for Sophia’s death tonight… Had Sophia managed to commit suicide earlier, Xavia truly didn’t know how she would’ve carried on with life… and she wasn’t about to risk that happening again now that she had a chance to make things ‘right’. With all that in mind, Xavia ultimately replied, “…Miss Harrison is still highly unstable at the moment, so you need to care more about her… Even if I may end up unable to fulfill my promises to her, we should abide by the contract more strictly from now on… As for the consequences you mentioned… I believe that if we truly were meant for each other, then we’ll eventually end up together…” “After all, at the end of the day, the only people who can impact our love lives are ourselves… Because of that, I believe you should understand where I’m coming from and jus
...He was making a vow, just as she had… and at the same time, he was clearly warning her not to cross any lines throughout the month. While she got where he was coming from, she also felt that it wasn’t appropriate to be making promises about everlasting love at the moment… In the end, she simply muttered, “…Got it. Either way, I’m heading in first… Good night…” This time, Zivon didn’t stop her. Instead, he watched her leave… and once the lights in her living room were on, he finally turned to leave… As he made his way through the night, he exuded a certain iciness… an iciness that nobody could understand without the right context… As for Xavia, she knew for a fact that her bad mood wasn’t going to go away anytime soon… Sophia’s suicide attempt, and her month-long separation with Zivon… What was her future going to be like…? No matter how much she thought about it, she remained stuck in square one… In the end, she sighed before heading to her bedroom… only to find out that nob
What was Mark doing here this early in the morning? Standing amidst the dewy grass, Mark looked like the epitome of a ‘brother next door’… and the way he currently was reminded Xavia of how they had first met… At the time, Xavia had only been six, and her foster mother kept chastising her for being immature and not doing house chores properly… In the end, that woman ended up forcing Xavia to clean the yard overnight without any dinner as punishment… By morning, her frozen little hands were all red, and she only snapped out of it when she heard the courtyard’s doorbell ring… Upon opening the door, she saw a boy about her age dressed in a black down jacket and a grey scarf wrapped around his neck. From his wide grin, it was clear even back then that he was the friendly type… Regardless, he had come over to deliver some dessert that his mother had prepared. As the young Mark was handing Xavia the dessert, he had frowned and commented, “Gee, your hands are freezing! Here, take my sca
In the past, Xavia had barely ever thought about the consequences of her actions… Because of that, she felt like a completely different person now. Regardless, he was quick to reply, “…Though I’m glad to hear you’ve matured, I’m serious about this, Vee. Nobody else that I know fits the brand’s concept more than you do. To prove that I mean it, you should know that my brand hasn’t ever had a spokesperson, even after all these years. As for the scandals part, I’m sure you were just framed in all of them. All in all, please understand that I’ll always support you till the very end…!” Upon hearing that, Xavia pursed her lips before saying, “…Mark, you don’t know what I’m going through now… It’s a lot, but to make things short, things aren’t great at the moment… With that said, either find another spokesperson or leave the position open…” Mark, for one, hadn’t expected Xavia to be so determined. Knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to talk her out of it, he simply sighed as he r
In the end, Bianca’s constant persuasions made Xavia agree… and on the very next day, Demon Land’s developers announced the news. Attached to the post were pictures of Xavia from previous events, and it didn’t take long before the post hit the trending tab. ‘#Demon Land uses Xavia Lockhart as an in-game model!’ ‘Holy cr*p, is this real? To think that they’d use a real person as an in-game model!’ ‘I know, right? It’s the first time I’ve heard of something like this happening! Still, they made sure to pick a real beauty as the model, huh?’ ‘Does she deserve such an honor, though?’ ‘I’m a fan of the game’s novel series, and I can attest that her beauty is befitting of the role!’ ‘Oh, she deserves it, alright! Unless you’re implying that you’d make a better model than her! Make sure to donate ninety-million dollars while you’re at it!’ ‘Chill, y’all. That aside, with how beautiful she is, I can safely say that Demon Land made the right choice!’ As with all online sensation
Looking at Bianca’s phone, Xavia soon read, ‘#Xavia Lockhart involved in prostitution?!’ Attached to the post, was a caption that stated that back in the day, Xavia used to work as a food delivery worker in a gourmet restaurant in S City. The caption also added that Xavia barely thought twice about selling herself to the wealthy to earn an extra buck! At the bottom of the post, was a high-definition video of her taken from a bar, and in it, she seemed almost eager to be intimate with a fat man…! ‘Holy cr*p! Is that really her?’ ‘Who else could it be? Do you think Jenna would be caught dead wearing such shabby clothes?’ ‘I can hardly believe my eyes! She seemed so pure on the outside… To think that on the inside…!’ ‘Tell me about it… To think that I was praising her beauty just this morning… Makes me want to vomit now that I think about it.’ ‘Mood.’ Aside from that post, Demon Land had apparently uploaded their own post that stated, ‘Due to her shady past, we have decided
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