Feeling rather displeased, Xavia replied, “…Bring his gift over…” “Very well,” replied the housekeeper before hurrying off to get it. He had made sure to properly store it since it was a gift from the great Zivon Burton, and barely a minute later, he returned and said, “Here it is.” Upon opening the gift, Xavia found herself momentarily too stunned to even say a word. After all, within the box was what appeared to be a beautifully made herbal cake. Aside from its tantalizing colors, its rich aroma made it clear that it was made with only the finest of herbs. What’s more, there was even a card in the box that wrote, ‘I baked this, and I had a doctor appraise its healthiness. May you live a good long life, Madam.’ In all honesty, the gift wasn’t as expensive as most of the things Yasmin had received. Even so, it was by far the most valuable thing she had gotten from this birthday party! After all, the great Zivon Burton had specifically taken the time to learn how to bake just to m
Even so, Xavia wasn’t deterred. Following him into the house, she then sat by his side and said, “My mom really loves your gift, you know…? Thank you for being so thoughtful toward my family members…” Though he could tell that she was sincere, he didn’t even bother to look at her. Since he wasn’t replying, she eventually added, “…You know, I thought you didn’t go to the party… Why didn’t you meet up with me? That aside, you should really have a sip of the milk tea while it’s warm-” Before she could even finish her sentence, Zivon slammed his pen against the table while growling, “It’s too late to be concerned about me now you hypocrite…!” “…Come again? What do you mean by that? I genuinely care for you…” replied Xavia. Glancing at the pink dress that made her all the more beautiful, Zivon smirked before saying, “You only care for me when you feel like it. If you’re going to neglect me whenever you want, then don’t you think your ‘care’ is rather cheap? Go home. This isn’t a sui
“I refuse!” yelled Xavia as she attempted to kiss him again. No matter how many times he tried to push her away, she continued clinging to him like a koala… and though he was successful with avoiding kisses on his lips, that only gave her room to kiss his cheeks and neck. Feeling like he was going to go insane soon, Zivon growled, “What the hell do you want…?!” “I want you!” declared Xavia without any hesitation. Just as Zivon was about to reply, Xavia finally landed her lips on his. Naturally, he tried to pry her off, but before he knew it, she was already giving him a deep, French kiss… It took him a while, but he eventually managed to push her away before saying, “…Xav-” “You love me, I know it. Also, you lowered your tone, which can only mean that your body is responding to me,” interrupted the adamant woman as she stared straight into his eyes. Sadly, Zivon couldn’t really deny that, and he was slightly pissed that his body had failed him. Shaking his head, the anger
“…And that’s somehow my fault?” replied Zivon with a slightly raised brow. “N-no, it’s… never mind… A-anyway, I’ll never ignore or misunderstand you again, so please give me another chance…! You’re also doing this for the kids’ sakes, you know…? After all, there’s a high chance that if we part ways, we’ll meet others, and you know how harsh stepparents can be…” Squinting at her, Zivon replied, “Don’t try to use the kids as an excuse. That aside, nobody will ever dare to touch them while I’m still alive!” “…While it’s true that you’re powerful, the fact remains that Jenna was still able to mistreat Maison a lot in the past…” …Damn it! It took him a while, but he eventually growled, “…Get up.” Since Xavia refused to budge, Zivon added, “…I need to get some water to cool myself down!” Realizing that he was having a reaction toward her, she was quick to ask, “…D-does that mean you’re no longer mad…? Look, if you’re still angry, I’d rather you take it out on me!” It was eviden
...Wait, didn’t that mean that…! Now blushing a little, Xavia muttered, “…I-I’ll just… double check to see if he stayed or not, then…” With that said, she took her phone out, the same one that she had claimed to have forgotten to bring along, and sent Mr. Cornwell a message. It didn’t take long for Mr. Cornwell to receive the message, and after getting Ian’s approval to let Xavia stay, he sighed before driving off… Once she was notified about that, Xavia sighed in response before saying, “…Alright, he’s gone… Um… You told me to stay so… What do you have planned…?” Raising a slight brow, he was prompted to tease, “For starters, why don’t you tell me what you want me to do?” …Where was she even supposed to start?! After a long pause, the blushing woman replied, “…I… I hope that you’ll forgive me… A-and once you do, I would like it if you gave me lots of hugs and kisses while calling me your good wife…” Her wish was genuine. After all, she really missed his constant pamperin
Her answer never came, and the longer she hesitated, the gloomier Zivon got. And here he thought that she was truly sorry… As it turned out, she didn’t even know why he was angry! So all that earlier talk had been for nothing…?! Despite his silence, Xavia could feel his iciness growing by the second. Knowing that she’d risk getting sent away again if she didn’t act fast, she took a deep breath… before ultimately saying, “…I… I’m sorry, I don’t actually know what you’re mad about… B-but I do care for you…! Why else would I have caused such a scene… Either way, please tell me what I did wrong so that I won’t repeat the same mistake again… I’ll even reflect on my actions…!” With how sincere she sounded, Zivon couldn’t help but feel his rage dissipating… And honestly? That pissed him off a little. After all, he had a right to continue being mad at her! Even so, now that he had cooled off a bit, he figured that it was probably a good time to try talking things out with her. Following
What’s more, she was regarding him as a family member, and after a long, emotional pause, he was prompted to look at her while asking, “…If this is the case, then why did you refuse to see me that day?” “…It’s because I saw Fiona’s Facebook posts… I got upset, so I went over to meet you. Alas, when I arrived, I saw her tenderly treating your wounds, so I got even angrier and ended up heading home… When you came over, I assumed that you wanted to apologize, but even so, I was too mad to care… I even ended up wailing my heart out to Dolly and Bianca, you know?” “Thankfully, they were sharper than I was, and they told me not to distance myself from you since it was all clearly a trap from Fiona… Anyway, by the time I made up my mind to meet up with you, you had already left. Though I wanted to run after you, my brother stopped me, saying that there was something wrong with the way we interacted… He then told me the truth about Fiona, and I ended up feeling so guilty that I spent most
Raising a slight brow, he then turned to look at Xavia for a while… and eventually, he was prompted to reply, “…As long as you don’t mind getting eaten up.” Upon hearing that, Xavia couldn’t help but gulp. Come to think of it, couples that successfully made peace after long quarrels tended to yearn for each other more… Though his suggestiveness was clear as day, she wasn’t as hesitant about the topic as she usually was… At the same time, she didn’t want to just focus on doing that either! With that in mind, she was quick to change the topic the second they entered the house. “…U-um… Why don’t you have the food I brought over, first? Before they turn cold…?” Looking at what she brought over, Zivon replied, “…You know I don’t like milk tea and hotdogs… But since it’s been a while since you’ve brought me food, I guess I’ll have some,” replied Zivon as he turned the heater on and began unpacking the food items. This left Xavia feeling slightly guilty. After all, while it was true t
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