Truth be told, he didn’t need her to remind him. After all, he already knew. Honestly, wasn’t this similar to what happened in the past? He had seen her hiding behind some rockery, and he had walked up to her out of curiosity… It seemed that he was never meant to be more than a silent observer… Bah, so be it! He’d help her from the shadows for as long as he could! With all that in mind, he shook his head before replying, “…I’m fine. Though I’m not as capable as him, there haven’t been any delays with the green space. Naturally, I’m trying to improve my other aspects as well.” His reply was humble, to say the least, and Xavia couldn’t help but feel that he was much gentler than he was before. With that, she was prompted to say, “…You’re plenty capable, and you don’t need to compare yourself with him. As long as you’ve moved forward, that’s already a win in my book.” Upon hearing that, Keith couldn’t help but feel touched. Despite being younger than him, her world view was much wid
“…What’s so good about Xavia, huh…? She looks exactly like Jenna, and you didn’t even like Jenna…! If it’s about the kids, even I can give birth to two-” “Cease this nonsense, Whitney…! Only Xav has the right to bear my children, so stop having any wishful thoughts! Just tell me when you’ve made your mind up regarding the condition and be done with it!” roared Zivon before walking off, leaving Whitney dumbstruck. She… She had sacrificed so much for him… And she loved him so much…! How could he say such things to her…?! As she burst into tears, Maison and Yulia, who had been watching from a dark corner this entire time, gave each other hi-fives. “Thank God Daddy knows his place! I thought he wanted to cheat on Mommy, and I was ready to give him a big kick!” “Yeah! Though… What should we do with that woman? She tried seducing Daddy, and she may do it again!” “Oh, I have an idea on how to deal with her…” replied Maison with a smirk as he opened his palm… Somehow, he had gotten
Gulping slightly, Nathan replied, “…It’d be best if you found out on your own…” Raising a slight brow, Zivon took a deep breath before heading to the trending tab… and shortly after, he was greeted to the sight of a hashtag that wrote, ‘#Xavia and Keith, an affair in the making!’ According to the poster, Keith and Xavia had spent nearly two hours in the apartment before leaving again. What’s more, though Keith had a coat on when he got home, he had already changed his clothes by the time Xavia finally left. Attached to the post were nine images of Keith and Xavia together… The first showed Keith helping Xavia out of his car, and the second revealed that his hand had been on her shoulder as he led her into his apartment. Moving onto the third, Keith and Xavia could be seen standing extremely close by the door, and by the fourth photo, both of them were seen entering the apartment together. By the fifth image, the door had already been closed, and their silhouettes could be see
Raising a slight brow, Zivon replied, “What? Why can’t I be here when you refused to answer my calls and messages?” …It was true that she had ignored his earlier attempts at communication… And though it was honestly a slightly pleasant surprise that he came over, she still didn’t want to talk to him. With that, she was prompted to say, “…I’m feeling unwell, so if you want to talk about the news, let’s just do it tomorrow. Good night.” Watching as she covered herself with the blanket again, Zivon could tell that something was upsetting her. Understanding that, he calmly asked, “Who made you mad…? Or did I perhaps make you misunderstand me again…?” …She had seen the painting, and she had also caught them together for so long. There were no misunderstandings at all! Since she continued ignoring him, Zivon’s gaze fell as he muttered, “…Guess I’m the one who made you angry, huh? Since that’s the case, you should tell me what I did wrong now. Remember how you promised that you’d tell
“Are you expecting me to just accept that you want to be with both of us…? Or am I supposed to just tolerate all your actions…?! Sorry, but I can’t do that!” Frowning slightly, Zivon replied, “…What? I told you, what happened last night was an accident. I only told her to come over tonight to make things clear between us. There won’t be anything between her and I from now on. If I really wanted to be with her, why would I still be here?” Her anger disallowed her from properly registering his words, and Xavia simply growled, “Indeed…! Why the hell are you still here?! Go marry her already…! As your father said, she deserves you and I don’t…!” …Weren’t they talking about their issue? Why was she bringing his father up…? Regardless, with how pressuring the atmosphere was, Zivon was prompted to take a deep breath before finally saying, “…Putting that aside, what’s with you and Keith?” When he said that, she was instantly reminded of his earlier meeting with Whitney! Now fuming with
“Not because you slept with her after you got drunk, but because you tried to settle the score in secret…! Tell me, if something similar happens after we’re married, do you plan on settling things secretly like this again…?! How am I expected to trust you this way, huh…?!” …He hadn’t said that to hurt her, but from the looks of it, he had only made things worse… His train of thought was cut short when she tossed her blanket aside while saying, “Please, just… Leave… If you don’t, I will-” “No. Stay. I’ll leave,” replied Zivon as he gave her a long look before finally heading out of her room… With how loudly they were quarreling, it only made sense that Dolly and Bianca could hear everything. After alternating gazes, they waited till Zivon had left before rushing into Xavia’s room to console her… “I… I’m not even sure what to say, but if it helps, please cry it out…” “Yeah, it’s better not to hold everything in…” Shaking her head, the thoroughly disappointed Xavia replied, “…
Just like that, Zivon felt like his heart had just been ensnared in thorns… In the end, the aching man replied, “…This is all my fault, so I’ll deal with it…” Following that, he headed back upstairs, leaving Dolly and Bianca behind. The two weren’t about to follow either. After all, this was a matter between those two, and they knew better than to butt in. Since the apartment unit wasn’t that big, Zivon could soon hear her whimpers, and this made him feel even worse than before. Eventually, he saw her curled up on her bed… and after taking a deep breath, he was prompted to say, “…I know I can’t be forgiven, but please don’t cry anymore… Just… Punish me as you see fit…” As expected, she didn’t even bother replying. In fact, her whimpering arguably got a bit louder… Though Zivon absolutely couldn’t stand it when women cried, Xavia was the exception. Her tears made his heart throb, and after a long silence, he ended up adding, “…I get it, you don’t trust me anymore, and that’s compl
Zivon was a man of few words, yet somehow, he was being more expressive than he had ever been right now… Though this made him more charming than ever, Xavia refused to believe him. “…Am I supposed to believe that you could have slept with Whitney without having any feelings for her? The fact that your body reacted that way clearly means that you still have feelings for-” Her sentence was cut short when Zivon bit her lower lip… and when he finally let go, he was prompted to say, “I feel like a broken record now… Look, do you need me to slice my heart open to prove it to you…? Anyway, say that again and I’ll kiss you till your lips are too swollen to mutter another word…” He didn’t want to resort to this, but that accusation was really starting to piss him off, especially since he knew for a fact that he truly loved her! Regardless, Xavia didn’t dare to say another word… and suffice to say, the silence made things all the more awkward. It was shortly after when Zivon’s phone brok
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