Mark suddenly cleared his throat and walked up to them, causing the startled Xavia to quickly wriggle free. Contrary to her reaction, Zivon calmly said, “Done with your parents’ affairs? Or are you here to talk about Mr. Talton?” After running around between Darlsbury and S City in the past few days, Mark sighed before replying, “I’m just here to tell you not to visit Stefan if possible… He really doesn’t want to meet Xavia right now, and I’m sure he’ll appreciate it if you follow his wishes…” Stefan had always been a kind and gentle man, and Xavia knew very well that he simply didn’t want to continue troubling her after all that she had done for him. Understanding that her presence would only stress that man out even more, Xavia nodded before saying, “…Very well. Please take good care of him while Von and I continue working out a way to cure him.” Nodding as well, Mark then headed back to Stefan’s ward… and once the door was closed behind him, he closed his eyes before saying,
To their shock, however, they soon saw a crying Lily gagged and tied up on a bed! “How dare you…?!” roared Stefan, prompting both Lily and Gavin, who was the clear culprit of Lily’s situation, to look at him in surprise. Though Lily looked like she had just seen her savior, Gavin himself simply sneered before scoffing, “What do you two want? Go focus on resolving your family issues instead of bothering me and my new-bought wife.” Completely ignoring the insufferable man, Stefan simply lifted Lily up before retorting, “I’ll just have to pay back every cent, then! Also, if you dare act this disrespectfully to her again, then you’ll only have yourself to blame for what comes next!” “H-hey! Hold it! I hope you remember that your family is no longer the powerhouse it used to be-” “So what if that’s the case?! At the end of the day, the Taltons still have a heritage compared to your commoner family! Again, if you dare lay your fingers on her again, then you better watch your neck!”
Lily was serious about doing her best to win his heart again, but little did she know that Stefan had already taken a fancy to her. She was the one who had taken good care of him for so long, and he wasn’t about to pretend that none of that had happened… Moving back to Stella, she headed off to the military base later that same day… and there, she remained for the entirety of the next three years. Naturally, she made a multitude of achievements there, and though everyone saw her as a hero, all that attention also garnered curiosity regarding her love life… One after another, her colleagues and superiors attempted to introduce her to fine men, but each time, she’d simply decline. This continued on and off until she ended up becoming a rich single lady, much to the dismay of her grandmother. In the end, the old woman couldn’t help but head over to her base and say, “You can’t seriously be expecting to remain single your entire life, right?” “I see no issue with that,” replied the
Either way, it was Maison and Yulia’s birthday a few days later so naturally, Mark attended. However, the last thing he expected was to see Stella together with another man there! Her partner appeared to be a businessman, and from the looks of it, she appeared quite happy… Well, good for her. Watching as he gave her a nod before walking off, Stella couldn’t help but smile before lowering her gaze. And here she had thought that she’d be able to get over him after being forced into this position… It seemed that no matter how many achievements she had, she’d still be bugged by this for the rest of her life, huh? Her train of thought was cut short when her ‘partner’ suddenly said, “What, can’t move on from your ex? Doesn’t matter, just be sure to maintain your distance to save us the humiliation.” Sneering in response, Stella grumbled, “…If you care so much about your dignity, then why did you get engaged with me in the first place?” She, for one, had always been a straightforward
“Good word! Is she seriously tying his shoelaces in public…?!” “I mean, big deal. I heard she’s infertile and even divorced, so this much is to be expected…” “Wait, she’s what? To think such a fine woman would end up becoming infertile… Tragic.” Upon hearing that, the anxious Mark quickly grabbed one of the gossipers by the shoulder before asking, “Where did you get this information…?! And how long has she been infertile?!” Since his voice had been rather loud and the person seemed terrified, Xavia quickly ran over to them and pulled Mark to a quiet corner before explaining, “…Sorry, but I helped her hide it from you…” Before Mark could ask why, Xavia added, “So… I learned about this quite a while ago, and though I wanted to tell you about this, she didn’t want you to feel guilty after everything that you had done for her… She even forged fake documents just to put you at ease, and once the illusion was up, she finally had the guts to leave for the army again…” “I still wan
Naturally, her question caught him off guard. To think that she would demand such a thing in front of so many people… Since Mark was taking a while to reply, Stella, who registered his silence as hesitation, was quick to reply, “Stop making things difficult for him, Grandma. I’ll decide my own marriage-” “He’s your ex-husband, so I believe that that was only an appropriate question. I hope you remember that I’m your elder, and that I have a right to have a say in this! Now let him give his own answer!” Upon hearing that, Mark couldn’t help but clench his fists. He knew very well that the old lady was trying to make him take responsibility, but honestly? That was what he wanted as well! With that in mind, he firmly replied, “…I’ll do it!” When she heard that, Stella’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. Did he even realize what he was saying?! Alas, before she could retort, she heard him add, “Don’t worry, Stella. I’ll host a grand wedding for you and make sure that nobody ev
Fast forward to a week later, Mark couldn’t help but smile as he handed her a medical document as well as a list of orphanages during their grand wedding. It was his way of saying that he was completely fine with her having a test-tube child with him, and he didn’t mind an adoption either. That, however, wasn’t the only thing that he had planned for her. Upon arriving home, he immediately proposed ninety-nine things that they could do to deepen their affection for each other… From cooking together, shopping together, and even camping together, it was clear that he had given this a lot of thought. He genuinely seemed to want this to work, and it didn’t take long for Stella to completely lower her guard. So, this was what it felt like to be loved… How nice… Moving back to Stefan, he eventually recovered, and after bringing the Talton Group back on track, he met up with Xavia to thank her and also ask for her forgiveness. Naturally, Xavia told him that he didn’t have to, and the two
Meanwhile, Tiffany suddenly began vomiting, much to Ian’s shock. After calming her down, he was prompted to ask, “Feeling better? Also… Could it be that you’re pregnant…?” Though the thought of that was baffling, Tiffany recalled that she had been feeling rather unwell recently… What’s more, she hadn’t menstruated recently either. Unsure of what to think, she ran off to the nearest store to get a pregnancy test strip… and after a bit of checking, her eyes widened. After all, Ian was right! Overjoyed, she quickly sent him a text stating, ‘I really am pregnant! You’re going to be a father…!’ Alas, due to her excitement, she failed to notice that she had accidentally sent that message to her work’s group chat instead! By the time she realized, she was already getting bombarded with messages such as, ‘Tiffany, wrong chat…’ ‘That aside, congratulations!’ ‘Right? Go delete the message already before Sir Ian sees it!’ Now as red as a tomato, she quickly deleted her message from th
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