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
Before the startled Jenna could even ask what he was doing here, Keith asked, “Why haven’t you replied to any of my messages or emails? Did you just plan on ignoring me for the rest of my life until I came over to meet you?” …So he had come over just to meet her? Feeling her heart skip a beat, Jenna replied, “…I wouldn’t have answered the door if I knew that it was you.” Squinting slightly, Keith replied, “…Why not? Have you still not gotten over Uncle Zivon?” Shaking her head, Jenna then said, “No, no, I’ve let go of him ages ago. It’s just… I don’t deserve your love, and you know it. I’m filthy, and the only fate I deserve is to remain here to atone for my sins for life…” It took him a while, but Keith eventually held her hand and replied, “…True, you were an evil woman in the past, but it’s clear that you’ve changed for the better. With that said, you deserve every bit of happiness that you can get, at least from me.” Though Jenna was momentarily touched by his words, she
Fast forward to three years later, several mortarboards could be seen being thrown into the air… It was graduation day, and amongst the crowd stood two prominent, smiling figures hand in hand… As usual, Xavia and Zivon were the center of attention, and after having several photos of them taken together, the other students were quick to exclaim, “Come over here, Xavia! Let’s have some final selfies!” “You too, Prof! Let us have a few with you too!” Smiling in response, Xavia was just about to head toward them when all the pushing put her off balance for a while… but thankfully, Zivon managed to catch her in time. As the crowd cheered at how romantic the two were being, Xavia herself couldn’t help but blush as she reminisced about the things that had taken place in the past three years… He had patiently guided her throughout her college years, and even though he was still relatively strict, he still allowed her to experience college life by allowing her to stay in the campus dorm
It was Fiona! For ages, she and her family had lived in a remote part of Africa after being exiled there by Zivon, and their only means of survival for the longest time was running a beaten-down clinic in a rural village. Naturally, she attempted several times to contact Zivon while she was there, hoping every single day that he would forgive her and also promising that she’d never hurt Xavia again. Anything to leave this dastardly place! Alas, the only eventual response that she got was a warning that if she dared to pester him any further, then he’d simply send her someplace worse! It was then that she realized that he genuinely hated her, and that he was probably willing to kill her just to appease Xavia… and from that moment, she began resenting both him and Xavia to her very core! She was well aware that she couldn’t take on both of them easily, which was why she had made sure to properly prepare before even considering returning. Part of that plan involved behaving so that
Watching as the confused Zivon raised a slight brow, Xavia added, “In the past few years, you’ve taken good care of both me and our family whereas I’ve only had the time to focus on my studies… Honestly, I wouldn’t have gotten this far without all your help, and since I’ve only been able to spend the weekends with you and the kids for so long, I think that it’s high time we get to enjoy some family time together…” Her words left Zivon even more surprised. After all, it was true that she had focused more on her studies rather than their relationship up till this point, which was why he knew for a fact that Xavia genuinely loved her career. Despite that, she was still choosing to put her future on hold just for the sake of her family, huh…? What a truly wonderful woman… His train of thought was cut short when he heard Maison say, “I like that idea, Mommy! You know, I’ve spent so much time reading and building models that I’m worried that people will start thinking that I’m a nerd fro
Lea Saltman suddenly walked up to Maison and handed him a bunch of candy while saying, “You don’t look like a nerd at all, Maison! You look handsome with your glasses on!” Upon hearing that, Xavia was just about to chuckle when Neal Xenos walked up to Lea and added, “If you’re giving your candy to Maison, then you can have mine!” Ignoring him, Lea replied, “Hey, can I follow you on your family trip, Maison?” Shaking his head, Maison then said, “Sorry, but this is a family-only trip… Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to bring home a souvenir.” Though slightly bummed, Lea nodded obediently. This prompted Neal to reply, “You still have me, you know? We can play games together at the park!” “How childish!” retorted Lea before running off to play with Yulia, leaving Neal slightly stunned. Why was playing at the park childish? Especially for their age? It took him a while, but he eventually walked up to her again and said, “…Then… I’ll just play with whatever you want to, Lea!” Their i
Sneering in response, the woman scoffed, “Hah! I’m Fiona, idiot!” “…W-what? But you look nothing like her… Is that a mask?” “Oh, if only that were the case! But no, this is my real face that I ruined just so that nobody would recognize me anymore! So that I could get close enough to you to finally have my revenge…! Well, Xavia?! Are you afraid yet?!” Naturally, Xavia was. To think that Fiona had waited so long just to strike back! Vengeance truly was a terrifying thing! Either way, since Zivon wasn’t stirring from his sleep, Xavia immediately attempted to make a distress call… but before she could even hit the call button, Fiona added, “Don’t even try to call your brother for help. There’s no signal this far out at sea, and even if you manage to initiate an emergency satellite call, it’ll take him at least twenty minutes to fly a helicopter over! By that point, I’ll already have exacted my revenge…!” Now panicking more than ever, the frightened woman began yelling his name… B
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