Looking incredibly flustered, the smiling man was quick to say, “Y-Young Master Burton and Little Young Master! Are you finished yet-” However, before the man could even finish his sentence, his eyes had already widened by the sight of Xavia and Yulia standing there! “W-what are they doing here…?!” exclaimed the pale-faced secretary. Xavia herself was surprised to see him there. What was this person who had previously helped them so much doing here? And why did he look so… strange? Before Xavia could even think of a reply, Yulia was already hugging her leg while exclaiming, “Mommy! He’s the bad person! He’s the one who tried selling me off…!” “…W-what? What are you talking about Yulia? Are you sure?” asked Xavia in disbelief. Nodding confidently, Yulia replied, “Yeah! I earlier overheard him talking to another bad man to kidnap me! Basically, I was supposed to be kidnapped while I was at the supermarket! Though I wanted to run with Mommy after hearing that, Mommy simply would
Not knowing what else to do, Yulia proceeded to wail, “B-but I’m telling the truth…! He really is the bad guy, even if I don’t have any proof…!” Feeling her heart soften when she saw her daughter’s tears, Xavia was quick to lift Yulia in her arms before comforting, “Don’t worry, Mommy believes you… Please don’t cry…” Looking at how conflicted Xavia was, Maison took the chance to step up while saying, “There’s no need to cry, Little Bun! I have the proof you need!” Eyes widening when she heard that, the child sniffed before replying, “R-really…?” As Xavia and Zivon curiously turned to face Maison, the secretary himself couldn’t help but gulp. Did the boy really have evidence? What on earth was going on…?! Now that he had everyone’s attention, Maison declared, “Everything that Little Bun said was true, and I know since I have the real footage of all that had happened!” Following that, he began playing a video through the room’s projector… and shortly after, Yulia could be see
Despite being a question, Zivon sounded extremely certain… and in the end, the terrified secretary fell to his knees while exclaiming, “T-that isn’t the case at all…! T-the Little Master is just falsely accusing me! I…! I…!” “Are you seriously still trying to lie your way out?! Fine, if it’s more evidence you want, then I even have the kidnapper’s number, as well as all the phone records and messages that you’ve sent! Hell, here’s a phone recording between you and Aunt Sophia after receiving a message!” retorted Maison as he got out a recorder before clicking on the play button… ‘Are you sure everything’s settled? Did the person send any video evidence?’ ‘He didn’t, but don’t you worry, President Harrison! He’s part of an infamous underdog group in M Country that has never fucked up before! Why do you think their fees are so high? That aside, both Xavia and Yulia are powerless, so there’s no way they’d be able to escape those big, burly men! Relax, President Harrison! Once everyt
“Miss Harrison. Young Master Burton has ordered us to escort you down the mountain,” growled one of the guards as he yanked Sophia out. Since Sophia was physically weak, she almost fell due to his actions! “What on earth are you people doing? Are you alright, Sophia?” asked the worried Wendy as she quickly walked over to Sophia’s side. “I-I’m fine…” replied Sophia as she shook her head. “I’m glad to hear that… That aside… What exactly did Zivon order you to do? Are you impostors? Leave or I’ll call the police!” “Rest assured, we are only acting under Young Master Burton’s orders. If you don’t believe us, then feel free to come along,” replied one of the guards as the others began escorting Sophia to their car… By this point, Sophia was feeling increasingly uneasy. Had Zivon already realized that Xavia and Yulia’s deaths were related to her? Gulping subtly, she quickly took her phone out before sending a text to her secretary… ‘Are you sure that you did everything perfectly?
“With that said, please don’t put the blame on her, Young Master Burton…! I’m willing to take full responsibility for my actions…!” concluded the secretary, much to Xavia’s scorn. After all, there were no grudges and grievances between her and the secretary. There was no way he could’ve come up with such a vicious plan! With that, she was about to retort when all of a sudden, an icy voice growled, “Is that so…?” Before Sophia could reply, Zivon added, “So you’re saying that knocking Yulia out and handing her to the kidnappers has nothing to do with you either?” Instantly going pale, Sophia replied, “…I-” “Don’t listen to her lies, she was the one who knocked her out!” interrupted the guard who had previously led Yulia up the mountain! “To recap, Miss Yulia first came to me stating that she was Young Master Burton’s child! At the time, she looked so pitiful and I figured that a child wouldn’t lie, so I ended up leading her up the mountain to see what Young Master Burton would
Irked that she even dared to pin all her malicious actions on Xavia, Maison instantly retorted, “You’re full of crap, Aunt Harrison…! As if your secretary would ever do such things without first receiving your orders! Hell, there’s no way he could’ve had a million dollars on him without your help! I always thought you were a good person, Aunt…! To think that you’d be so disappointing…! Don’t believe her lies, Daddy! She wanted to kill Aunt and Little Bun!” Zivon naturally didn’t buy into her explanation as well, and when he recalled what he had seen back inside that cave, his glare turned icy as he growled, “…Save it for M Country’s police.” H-he was handing her to the cops…?! Even if she somehow managed to lie her way out, she’d still have to be locked up for at least half a month! Her reputation would be in shambles should that happen! Feeling utterly at a loss, Sophia couldn’t help but reply, “H-how could you be so cruel, Young Master Burton…?!” “Cruel? You’re one to talk afte
Xavia, for one, knew that her decision was foolish in the others’ eyes. After all, even she knew how dangerous the situation had been, and given how she had almost been murdered and raped, Sophia rightfully deserved at least ten years in prison… While she would love to strangle her, herself, at the end of the day, she knew she couldn’t. With that in mind, she took a deep breath and nodded as she replied, “…I am. I’ve thought this through.” Following that, she glared at Sophia while saying, “Regardless of whether you’re the mastermind or not, I’m letting you go only for Aunt Dana’s sake. True enough, I did cause you to lose your mother, but you’re actively ignoring the fact that I never directly caused her death. Remember, the main reasons for her death were her condition and the poor construction of the artificial mountains.” “All this time, I’ve been feeling guilty about her death… Trying to make it up to you… But in the end, all you did was continue tormenting me without any hesi
Since the dining table was removed after Wendy was done eating, the already icy room now seemed much more barren than before, and Xavia found herself at a loss for what to do. After all, it had been ages since the two had been alone in a bedroom together… Hell, the last time they met was when they broke up! What was she even supposed to say now?! Her train of thought was cut short when a guard entered the room while saying, “We’ve recovered your phone, Miss Lockhart. It appears that you have several missed calls.” Glad that the awkward silence was now broken, Xavia smiled as she took her phone back while replying, “Thank you…” However, when she checked her call log, she couldn’t help but frown. Mark had apparently called her a dozen times… Unsure what to expect, she then gave him a call… and when he picked up, she immediately asked, “What is it, Mark?” Upon hearing that name, Zivon’s iciness instantly spiked…! She had remained silent by his side for so long, yet all it took was
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