“Heh. You should know more than anyone that people can only get what they want when they have value. She had nothing back then, so she didn’t deserve you. Same can’t be said now, though! Besides, didn’t you try to cancel your engagement with Jenna to be with her back then? What are you complaining about now?” scoffed Hershel. Sickened by his father’s words, Zivon sneered before saying, “Forget it. I’m marrying Xav.” “Xavia this, Xavia that, can’t you see what she’s done to you…?! Don’t you think it’s high time you stopped?! You’re thirty for God’s sake! Are you seriously still planning to proceed with your childish relationship?! Only equals should marry, and she is clearly not on your level! It doesn’t help that she’s a short fuse! I’m warning you, I’ll make sure to sabotage your wedding one way or another…! A normal person like her doesn’t deserve to be a Burton…!” “Oh, she won’t be joining the family, and neither will I…!” retorted the infuriated Zivon. “You…! Very well, try
If Hershel’s earlier words had been a dagger to her heart, it now felt like she had been impaled with a spear. Nobody liked being a substitute, and though it hurt, she knew better than to express her displeasure to Hershel. With that, she took a deep breath before saying, “…Why are you pretending like you know him well when you’ve never been a responsible father to him? You sicken me…” “H-how dare you say that…?! Very well…! Let’s see who gets the last laugh, Xavia…! I assure you that even after he marries you, he’ll eventually divorce you to be with Whitney! Honestly, your shamelessness is on a whole other level…! Did you know that even if he stops work now, he’ll still be given millions of dollars every day! I can easily claim that he’s the most valuable man in the entire country!” “Yet you…! A nobody from the countryside with zero education and familial ties wants to marry him? You’re just an ant who doesn’t know its own weight! He’s way out of your league, and getting into su
So this was why Hershel wanted Zivon to marry her so much… Though… “…While I know you mean well, I believe that he isn’t that kind of person. What’s more, you should refrain from butting into our business in the future. I say this because the last misunderstanding stemmed from your intervention. With that said, please let me make my own judgments from now on.” …For her to remain so calm after hearing that… She truly was worthy of being his sister. But he wasn’t about to give up just yet! Maintaining his calm façade, Ian replied, “I’ll have you know that I don’t benefit from lying to you. Also, don’t forget. Businessmen only care about profits. In case you weren’t aware, Whitney has inherited all of Dennis Stanley’s properties.” …W-what? The same Dennis who had famously traveled the globe?! Before she could even fully register all that, Ian added, “You know, if I were in your shoes, I’d just give him my blessings and let him go. After all, he seems to prioritize money over love.”
Shortly after, two icy men could be seen standing before the frozen pond, and Zivon was first to say, “Don’t you dare approach Xav again, you hear…?!” Upon seeing how angry Zivon was, Ian couldn’t help but smirk. He was rather pleased with himself for being able to get Zivon this pissed, and he wasn’t about to hold back now! “Oh? And what if I do? Xavia’s not only beautiful, but she’s also incredibly kind! Few women possess those qualities! With that said, it makes me wonder why you think you deserve her! Sure, you’re rich and famous, but that’s about it! You’re an icy man with anger issues, and you even raped her back then! Hell, had that incident not happened back then, that perfect woman would have probably never looked at you in the first place!” Ian was clearly using all of Hershel’s previous insults and adapting them to fit Zivon’s case! After staring at Ian in awe, Jovan was quick to add, “Y-yeah! So what if you’re handsome and rich? True value doesn’t lie in money!” Nat
Despite how frightening Zivon was, Ian remained unafraid as he said, “That’s for having an ambiguous relationship with Whitney! And also because your father insulted Xavia! Repeat such mistakes and I won’t be so forgiving…!” Zivon had already been extremely pissed before this, and the fact that Ian was saying such things right after punching him brought his anger through the roof! Unwilling to play nice anymore, he launched a punch right back at Ian! Ian was no match for Zivon, and the impact made him fly straight into the frozen lake! The ice shattered beneath him, and Ian soon found himself shivering in icy water! Jovan, for one, had worked for Ian for ages, but this was his first time seeing anyone dare to punch his boss in the face! Regardless, as the anxious Jovan quickly ran toward Ian, the trembling Ian himself was already glaring at Zivon. Sneering in response, Zivon roared, “Coveting my woman and speaking to me in that tone, huh…?! Hope that icy water helps wake you up f
Upon hearing that, Zivon finally parted lips with her… and after staring at her rosy lips for a while, he was prompted to mutter, “…Why didn’t you inform me that my father met up with you?” …Wait. He knew? Had Ian told him about it? Then that kiss… Was it only because he felt sorry for her? Pursing her lips, she ended up replying, “…There wasn’t really a need to share that information… Besides, he was partly right as well…” She was well aware that her status was nowhere near Zivon’s, and that at the end of the day, she was nothing more than Whitney’s replacement. With how hurt she looked, Zivon’s aura grew icy as he replied, “…No. That old fart is incapable of moving past his association of money with status. With that said, I can safely declare that all he said was bullshit! Don’t worry, I’ll get him to apologize to you later!” Xavia didn’t really take Hershel’s words to heart, and she didn’t want an elder to have to apologize to her either. With that, she was prompted to say,
Even though the air outside was cool, her palms remained sweaty and her breath warm. Just why the hell was she feeling this way…?! In the end, she spent ten whole minutes standing outside before finally heading back in… Upon realizing that Zivon had brought in a tub of warm water, she hurriedly walked over to his side and said, “…Um… Are you washing your feet…? Need my help?” To her surprise, he led her to the bedside before replying, “Actually, I’m planning on washing your feet.” …Come again? The almighty Zivon was actually offering to wash her feet?! Before she could even refuse, the thirty-year-old man had already knelt on one knee! After carefully removing her shoes and socks, he placed her feet in the water and gently began washing them… Just as Xavia was wondering whether her heart would finally explode today, she heard him ask, “Is the temperature fine?” Snapping out of it, she was quick to reply, “Y-yeah! U-um…! T-thank you for offering to help, but I can wash my own
Regardless, when he saw how embarrassed she was, Zivon couldn’t help but smile. Though Ian had royally pissed him off with those accusations earlier, Xavia’s words were more than enough to convince him that he had given her more than just pain after all these years… Shaking his head, the smiling man then began wiping her feet dry with a towel… and once he was done, he gave each foot a gentle kiss! Though he had kissed many parts of her body before, this was the first time he was kissing her feet… and it signified just how much he respected and cared for her! Just as the touched woman was about to say something, the ward’s door swung open… revealing Zayne and two nurses! After a long silence, the nurses eventually exclaimed, “O-oh my! It seems that we came at a bad time…!” “I-indeed! Still, what a rare sight to be able to see Young Master Burton kissing Miss Lockhart’s feet…!” “Right?! He’s so sweet and gentle!” Their comments simply made Xavia blush even harder, and she qui
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