His kiss had the warmth of a gentle spring breeze, and even after the lift had arrived at the tenth floor, neither of them parted their lips… an eternity seemed to pass before Xavia’s phone rang out of the blue, finally snapping the two out of it. Now blushing wildly, the embarrassed woman was quick to say, “I-I’ll answer the call first! H-hello…?” “How much longer are you going to avoid Jenna, huh? She’s dead, for Christ’s sake!” growled the angry Kevin the second he heard Xavia’s voice. Naturally, Xavia was surprised to hear his sudden order. Come to think of it, she had been way too joyful on the day of her rescue to even remember Jenna’s death. It didn’t help that she had gotten so distracted because of Zivon. Regardless… “…Why should I force myself to meet her so soon?” “Are you for real? Are you really unwilling to respect the deceased?! Then again, I guess it checks out! After all, you didn’t even want to save me back then! Guess nothing’s changed! Anyway, this isn’t a
Glaring daggers at her, Kevin retorted, “I beg your fucking pardon? You playing dumb now? Fine! Here’s the whole story! I had almost died years ago because of a kidney problem, and you two were the only ones who had compatible kidneys at the time! We had brought you home because we wanted to discuss a kidney transplant, but what did you do after you heard about the news? You fucking ran off and hid! You hid so fucking well that we couldn’t find you!” “Sure, we never treated you all that well, but I’m your brother at the end of the day! How could you be so cruel?! Anyway, though Jenna’s career was still developing at the time, she had still been willing to give everything up for my sake! Unlike you, she cares about her family! In fact, she went after Zivon specifically because she wanted to look out for us! With that said, the fact that she did all those misdeeds is because you stole her man, you wretched woman!” Naturally, everyone was shocked to hear that. To think that that sinfu
...There was no way that that kidney was Xavia’s… True enough, Jenna hadn’t given birth that year. No matter how much he wanted to believe that she had just undergone a separate surgery, Zivon’s words simply continued looping in his mind… and in the end, he grew so frustrated that he punched the wall, causing blood to start flowing out… Though the snowstorm was already heavy by the time Xavia and Zivon left, it couldn’t beat the iciness in Xavia’s heart. Kevin had been the one who had told her to come over, but after she did as he told, he had greeted her with that bitchy attitude, even going so far as to claim that she was the one who had caused Jenna’s death. Draping his coat over her shoulders, Zivon gently said, “…Just stop thinking about him and get some warmth in the car…” Forcing a smile, Xavia did her best to hold her tears back… but alas, she simply couldn’t do it. Leaning against his chest, she ultimately muttered, “…Just… hug me for now…” The second he did that, tear
“…I was just telling the truth…” “…Are you not aware that mentioning an older man’s age hurts?” Following a short pause, Xavia hugged his arm while replying, “Well… to be more exact, you’re not exactly old… You’re mature and secure, and those are what I love most about you.” Smiling subtly, Zivon then asked, “Feeling a little better…?” Nodding in response, Xavia then looked out the window as he finally started the car… By the time they returned to the villa, the kids were fast asleep… but to Zivon’s surprise, Wendy was still awake. Looking at the old woman who was sitting on the couch, Zivon couldn’t help but ask, “Still awake, Mom?” Getting to her feet, Wendy replied, “But of course! You went out in the middle of the night, and Xavia got so worried that she went out to look for you… It was clear that you two quarreled, and I got so worried that I couldn’t fall asleep…” …A thirty-year-old man making his mother worry? Now this was new… Shaking his head, he was prompted to
What’s more, now that he had mentioned it, the idea of remembering such a celebrated day as Jenna’s death anniversary sent shivers down her spine. In the end, she was prompted to mutter, “…Thank you for thinking two steps ahead…” Her adorable voice seemed slightly hesitant as well, and after a while, Zivon replied, “…Well someone sounds like she’d prefer it if I stayed in bed…” Shaking her head, Xavia said, “…It’s late, so go hurry up with your bath so that we can go to bed together…” Kissing her once more, Zivon then gladly headed to the bathroom. Truth be told, since he had smoked and drank wine earlier, he had found his own scent rather unbearable. Even so, that wonderful woman hadn’t seemed to mind at all… Either way, even after three days, Jenna’s death remained at the top of the trending tab. What’s more, though there wasn’t any evidence as of yet, the people also spent their time supporting Xavia regarding the kidney case. ‘I’m sure Xavia was the one who saved Kevin ba
W-what the hell was he saying in front of the kids?! Now blushing, she was quick to reply, “F-fine! You’re extremely strong, alright?!” After saying that, she gently pushed the kids toward him before striding forward. Smiling as he watched the embarrassed woman walk off, Zivon then shook his head before placing Yulia on his shoulder and lifting Maison into his arms. It was honestly a sight to behold since not many fathers, particularly successful ones, would be caught dead carrying their kids around. Zivon himself had never imagined that he’d do such a thing, but at the moment, his only priority was to be a good father to them… Either way, it didn’t take long for Xavia to place a white chrysanthemum before her grandmother’s grave. After standing there for a bit, she heavy-heartedly said, “…I’m sorry that all this happened, Grandma… If only I had known about Jenna’s true nature a bit earlier, all of this could’ve been avoided… Anyway, I’m here to share that Jenna’s finally recei
When they arrived, it was revealed that the abandoned house had fallen into disrepair. Looking at the overgrown weeds filling the porch, Xavia couldn’t help but mutter, “…Let’s… Not go in, shall we…?” Alternating his gaze between the dilapidated house and the embarrassed Xavia, Zivon finally realized why she had been so reluctant to show him the place. In the end, he put the children down before saying, “…You two stay here, alright? I’ll accompany Mommy in.” After the kids had nodded in response, Zivon began leading Xavia into the abandoned building… The deeper they entered the cobweb-filled halls, the more embarrassed Xavia felt. She wasn’t really embarrassed about the fact that she had been brought up in such a rural area, but… the fact that she was showing him part of her past like this made her feel slightly anxious. It didn’t help that all this was only highlighting just how different they both were in terms of lifestyle! Zivon had an idea of why she was being so fidgety,
Even though Zivon continued insisting that she was the only person he had ever been in a proper relationship with, she refused to believe that. After all, with how excellent that man was, she was pretty sure that there would’ve been countless women after his ass back when he was in high school and college… What’s more, even if he hadn’t been in any serious relationships outside of their current one, that didn’t mean that he hadn’t experienced more casual ones. After all, city folks were more prone to fooling around. To top it all off, the night they first did it… It gave her the impression that that wasn’t his first time. Looking at how doubtful she was, the slightly upset Zivon was prompted to say, “Look, you were the first woman I ever kissed and touched, and there’s that.” “…You say that, but having a personality is worthless when your genitals are in charge…” muttered Xavia. “What was that?” “N-nothing!” replied Xavia as she quickly gave an awkward smile. Walking up to
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