“What?!” Dolly was confused. “That’s clearly you in the picture, how can…No! Could it be Jenna?”Xavia nodded. “Mm. I was asleep here the whole of last night so it could only be her.”Dolly was stunned, and eventually became furious. “D*mn it, that b*tch actually dared to impersonate you? She is really too bold! What exactly is she trying to do? I’ll expose the truth immediately and ruin her reputation!”“Wait, hold on.” Xavia felt that things were not that simple… Jenna would never do something so stupid. “I’ll go check on Mark first and find out what’s going on.”She was worried that Mark was in danger.Dolly said, “Okay, I’ll go with you.”The both of them quickly arrived at the hotel, where reporters, fans, and onlookers were gathering. “I heard that Xavia Lockhart and Mark Newman are still inside.”“I want to see them!”“Who is Xavia Lockhart?”“It’s that girl who received the Best Newcomer Award at the Youtube Grand Ceremony for filming the sunrise.”“Oh, her? I have
“Xavia Lockhart, surely you've seen the news, right?” Sophia’s tone was unkind as she said bluntly, “I was the one behind all of it to help you break up with Young Master Burton. Now, as long as you do not explain things to Young Master Burton, you will not have to worry about how to leave him anymore.”“What do you think? I’m quite considerate, right? I know that you cannot bring yourself to be intimate with other men, so I arranged for your elder sister to do it for you.”So that was it!Xavia was utterly shocked and in absolute disbelief. “Miss Harrison, you…” How could she be so merciless?!Before Xavia could say anything, Sophia interrupted her, “What's wrong? I helped you this much, so why are you still dissatisfied? Don’t tell me that you don’t want to break up with Young Master Burton after all?”Xavia really did not want to, but even if she did, she didn't want it to be like this. She eventually said, “I just feel like something that is forced will not end well. If Youn
It wasn’t exactly an easy decision to make, and it ended up troubling Xavia throughout the day… Fast forward to the evening, Yulia returned from dance class… and the second she saw Xavia, she immediately scoffed, “From today onward, I’m not talking to you! I refuse to have a Mommy who’s such a bad woman!” Following that, the child stomped her way to her room before slamming the door shut, leaving Xavia astonished. When she finally snapped out of it, she turned to look at Dolly and asked, “…Did… I miss something…?” Shrugging in response, Dolly then explained, “Well… You have quite a few fans in the dance class, and well… They talked about your relationship with Mark. As you can guess, Yulia grew very upset when she overheard their conversations…” …Even the schools had heard the news…? Feeling helpless, Xavia made her way to Yulia’s door before saying, “Yulia…? Be a good girl, alright…? That news is clearly fake, and that person isn’t Mommy… You can ask Aunt Dolly if you don’t be
However, he had never planned to step into that house again and be forced to face his dark past… Due to how deep in thought he was, he failed to even hear Maison calling him… Realizing that his father couldn’t hear him, Maison was prompted to add, “…Daddy. Aunt said that the news was fake-” “Maison, your father is in a bad mood… Don’t bother him…” interrupted Sophia as she walked over to the boy and pulled him to another room. Naturally, Maison didn’t know that Sophia was the true mastermind. However, he did know that Zivon had been nice to her in the past, so he didn’t think too hard about it when he said, “…Is Daddy upset because of the news regarding Aunt…? I already know the truth and I just want to tell Daddy about it so that he doesn’t feel upset anymore…” “…Truth?” replied Sophia with a slight frown. In response, Maison got his phone out and began playing a recording… “Yulia…? Be a good girl, alright…? That news is clearly fake, and that person isn’t Mommy… You can ask
Naturally, this made Sophia smirk sinisterly. No matter how much Zivon loved Xavia, he wasn’t someone who would just accept having his feelings ignored. The second his love was left unanswered, there’d be no future for his love interest! With that in mind, Sophia knew that all she had to do now was keep things this way. If all went well, then she’d end up becoming the next Mrs. Burton in no time…! Fast forward to the next morning, Zivon led Sophia and Maison over to an old, rustic courtyard house… And upon seeing the building, he couldn’t help but notice that the patio hadn’t changed at all even after all these years… As he reminisced about his childhood days, it didn’t take long before a familiar voice called out, “Zivon.” Looking up, Zivon was greeted by the sight of a white-haired woman… A woman whom he hadn’t met in the longest time. With a plaid top and simple gray pants on, the wrinkly-faced woman honestly looked like a generic farmhand… Even so, an onslaught of memories im
“…Hah. Thinking about me? What’s the point of thinking about me after kicking me out?” scoffed Zivon, causing the corner of Wendy’s lips to twitch. While she admitted that she had gone a bit too far back then, she had her reasons for doing all that… As tears began flowing down her cheeks, she attempted to explain herself… but in the end, she was unable to say a word… Sensing the tension in the air, Sophia quickly walked up to them before saying, “You know, this place feels rather pleasant, and I think it’d be nice if we stayed here for the next two days. Don’t you agree, Maison? I’m sure you’re curious about the house that your Daddy grew up in as well, right?” Upon hearing that, Maison was quick to reply, “I am! Can we please stay here for a day or two, Daddy? What’s that? Is that a toy from the past?” Watching as Maison ran toward a wooden cart in the courtyard, Wendy quickly followed after the boy while saying, “It is! If you bring it atop a slope, you can slide down in it.
“Just say the word. As long as it’ll help Zivon, I’m willing to do anything!” replied Wendy, prompting Sophia to beam with joy… Naturally, Xavia had no idea of any of this, and due to her lack of clarification, the people online simply continued spreading more and more rumors. This, of course, caused the worried Dolly to ask, “Are you sure you’re fine with this, Xavia…? Are you not going to explain any further to Young Master Burton…?” Bianca herself added, “Yeah. If this keeps up, everyone will really believe that you and Mr. South are dating!” Looking rather helpless, Xavia replied, “Can’t you find some other ways to divert the people’s attention…? I’ll explain things when I can…” …Why couldn’t she just explain now? As Bianca and Dolly glanced at each other, they simultaneously came to the assumption that she had her reasons for not doing so. Because of that, Bianca ended up sighing as she muttered, “Well… Alright then… I’ll try to see if I can pull their attention elsewhere…
Regardless, the comment section had apparently gone wild with people either pitying Zivon, or stating that he hadn’t visited his mother since he was now more powerful than her… And quite honestly, Xavia found both sides of the argument to be incredibly impolite! After all, who were they to talk about his private life? This was particularly humiliating given the fact that the target of discussion was someone as mighty as Zivon! Feeling more and more distressed the further she read on, Xavia was really tempted to give Zivon a call to check on his condition. However, she also remembered Sophia’s threats, which ultimately allowed her to suppress her desires… “…Say… Do you think the news was spread by regular reporters…? Or could it be that someone is targeting him…?” “Someone’s clearly targeting him! After all, how else would a tycoon’s itinerary get revealed that easily?” replied Dolly. “I agree. You should know that it’s near impossible for Chace to be tailed when he wants to be
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