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
Looking up, Zivon caught sight of the timid woman who looked just like a student who had done something wrong… So, she was finally thinking of him again after her call with Mark? Irked by the thought, he then returned to his work while scoffing, “What is it?” Upon hearing that, Xavia found herself momentarily at a loss for words. Sure, she had made sure to muster up all her courage to deal with this encounter but… with his current demeanor, she really didn’t know where to start making things right. In the end, she was prompted to sincerely say, “…I… just wanted to thank you for saving Yulia and I… Had you not stepped in, we would’ve surely died back then…” “Don’t worry about it. That aside, if you’re done, go get some rest,” replied Zivon in a monotonous tone, instantly leaving a bitter aftertaste in Xavia’s mouth. Was he still disregarding her…? In the end, she couldn’t help but clench her fists a little as she muttered, “…Is it truly impossible for us to be together again, Yo
“Honestly, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, Daddy… Basically, Aunt Sophia had someone alter Aunt Xavia’s phone, and this has disallowed her from contacting us for the longest time… In fact, due to how destructive the programming was, I was barely able to recover anything from that system! I did, however, manage to find this in the process…” muttered Maison as he walked up to his father’s laptop and typed a URL in… Shortly after, an article was revealed under the title of, ‘Woman confesses her love at Alpos Country Airport!’ Apparently, some woman had broken into the airport’s broadcasting room before proceeding to use the PA system to say something along the lines of, ‘I’m unsure whether you’ve boarded the plane already, Mr. Z, but if you haven’t, please accept my apology…! I’ve hurt you so much for coming up with insanely stupid solutions to the problem, and I admit that I’ve hurt you way more than you deserve…!’ ‘However! I never cheated on you! Anything you’ve
Instantly nodding, Maison replied, “Alright, Daddy! Hurry up and make up with Aunt so that you can finally have another baby!” Watching as Maison ran off, Zivon barely had the energy to tell the boy off. Instead, he simply strode to the master bedroom, his expression dark the entire time… While it was true that most of this was Xavia’s own doing, the fact remained that he had jumped to conclusions as well. Since that was the case, talking things out was the next best course of action. At the time, Xavia had been taking a bath. After all, after spending the entire time dealing with Sophia’s cruelty and Zivon’s iciness, she was feeling incredibly exhausted and worried. Alas, just when she thought that she’d finally be able to catch a break, she heard the door creak open…! Feeling nervous, she was quick to say, “…W-who’s there?” It didn’t take long for her to see the foggy outlines of the prestigious man, followed by his enticingly low voice replying, “It’s me. That aside, you’r
Realizing that Zivon had gone silent again, Xavia couldn’t help but meekly stare at him while adding, “…Are… you still unwilling to forgive me…? Is… copulation the only thing on your mind…?” Upon hearing that, Zivon couldn’t stop the corner of his lips from twitching. At times, he really wanted to pry her skull open just to see how her mind operated… Still, with how frightened she looked, he couldn’t help but tease, “So what if that’s the case? After letting me down for a month, don’t you think it’s only fair to return a month’s worth of labor?” …So he really was aiming to fuck her for a month! The embarrassed woman wasn’t exactly against the idea, but… she really didn’t like the idea of gaining forgiveness through such shallow methods. Still, after thinking about it for a bit, she ultimately concluded that it wasn’t all that bad, given the fact that he was still willing to give her a chance to earn his forgiveness… With that, she gritted her lips before replying, “…Fine! Bedroom
Continuing to stare solemnly at her, Zivon then asked, “…Is it true that you have zero romantic affection toward Mark now?” Instantly nodding, Xavia replied, “Correct.” “…You haven’t been intimate with him at all throughout this period?” “Of course not! I’m not some cheap woman!” Truth be told, Zivon had already gotten all this information from her Facebook post… But now that he had heard it from her mouth, it was much more meaningful. In the end, he crossed his legs before asking, “…One final question. Do you truly wish to be by my side forever from now on?” Nodding one final time, Xavia replied, “I do. Why else would I have traveled all the way to M Country? I had seriously been looking for you…” “Since that’s the case, let’s make an official announcement of our relationship.” Understandably surprised to hear that, Xavia replied, “O-official announcement…? What do you mean?” “Basically, I’ll get someone to upload a picture of both of us within private quarters… And af
Though she was slightly taken aback by his words, she quickly realized that he was hinting toward something more… ‘passionate’. With her cheeks reddened, she ended up replying, “…I… guess I’ll go sleep in the guest room then…” “Just stay,” replied Zivon, prompting Xavia’s body to freeze in place… With how quiet the dark room was, both of them could hear each other’s breathing… and since they were so close to each other, they could smell each other as well… How awkward… Even so, the nervous woman couldn’t help but clench her fists in anticipation. After all, back when she was in that cave, she had thought that she’d never be able to see him again… That he’d never forgive her in the end… Yet here she was, lying by his side. When she thought about it that way, she quickly grew more and more comfortable with his presence… and soon enough, she was fast asleep. Zivon himself hadn’t expected to fall asleep that quickly, but when he saw how calm she was, his gaze couldn’t help but so
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