‘I’ll be returning to Darlsbury to pay respect to my ancestors tomorrow… Would you like to come along with me?’ Of course, she did… It had been ages since they had last met, after all. Alas, she had already promised Zivon that she would go with him, so… ‘I’ll be pretending to be Xavia tomorrow for the event, so… We can meet up if there’s time.’ Slightly irked by that thought, Keith replied, ‘…Is my wife seriously paying respect to my ancestors with my uncle instead of me?’ ‘You already know why I’m doing this.’ Keith did, of course, and after a long sigh, he decided to let it slide. She had been prioritizing the better good over him ever since they started dating again, so this pretty much checked out… Oh well. This was one of the many challenges that he had to take to be with her, and as long as it meant that they could still be together, so be it. Fast forward to the next day, the ceremony was held as planned, and all Burtons, young and old, could be seen at the Burton ma
It was Thomas Squire, Fiona’s father! With rage-filled eyes, the smirking man roared, “Remember, you only have yourself to blame for all this!” Naturally, Zivon was momentarily taken aback by all this, though… Despite his shock, Zivon remained cool as a cucumber as he replied, “…There’s no need to make a scene, and… Remember, I’ve already given you a chance to repent. Are you sure you want to push your luck?” Sneering in response, Thomas snapped, “As if I could sink any lower after what you did to me and my family! Have you forgotten how well my family treated you back then…?! And how many times Fiona has saved you…?! Yet in the end, you still sent us off to some far-off country just for the sake of that bastard of a woman…!” “My wife died there from her overwhelming depression, you know?! What’s more, even though Fiona did everything that she could to apologize, you never gave her a bloody chance! And now I don’t even know if she’s still alive anymore because you fucking kidna
As everyone was left flabbergasted by his claim, Thomas aimed the camera at the unconscious Jenna’s face while adding, “She may look like Xavia, but as you can see, she has a slightly darker skin tone than her sister, and she’s slimmer too! Her tan is because of the fact that she had to stay hidden in a far-off temple while she was still in hiding, and since she didn’t have much to eat, she ended up getting thinner!” “As proof of that, I even have a confession from the temple’s abbot with me!” roared Thomas as he lifted a recording device disguised as a pen before hitting play… “Yes, Jenna did spend some time meditating here. Why?” Naturally, this left everyone shocked! Why was Jenna here instead of Xavia? And where was Xavia in the first place? What the hell was even happening anymore?! Gritting his teeth, Zivon retorted, “And why do you think she has to be here instead of Xavia?! Had your daughter not traumatized her so badly, then she wouldn’t have ended up comatose for so l
It was barely a minute after Zivon was taken away when the Frankston housekeeper burst into Ian’s room while yelling, “T-terrible news, Sir Ian! Mr. Alexander is here with the DA office, and he demands that you and Mr. Presley cooperate with them with an investigation!” Lamar Alexander was a huge player in state affairs, and he also had a reputation for handling his work impartially. Needless to say, he was also a rather dangerous candidate to be facing when it came to presidential elections… Understanding that, the frowning Ian replied, “…Stay at home and take care of the kids, Tiffany. As long as you pretend that you know nothing about all this, they can’t touch you. Jovan and I are the only ones who need to take this blow.” Naturally, Tiffany was against that idea, but… knowing that this was probably for the best, she sniffled before muttering, “…Don’t worry, I know what to do. Please take good care of yourself until then, Honey…” Nodding in response, Ian then kissed her on
Moving back to Darlsbury, the attention was quickly turned to Yasmin and Homer after Ian and Zivon’s arrest… “Were you aware of their actions? What do you think about the situation?” “Do you think the law has a right to persecute them?” Though the husband and wife had the right to remain silent and had even been ordered by Ian to do so, Homer eventually took a deep breath before saying, “…Though we could’ve easily lied, we believe that we should set a good example for the other citizens of Aplos… So yes, we admit that we knew about all this.” Naturally, this came as a shock to everyone! To think that even the royal family could be this corrupt! However, Homer was far from done explaining. “To clarify, Ian didn’t spare Jenna as many assume. Basically, he learned that Jenna and Xavia were our biological daughters at the very last moment… and because of Xavia’s unique blood type and lack of potential donors, he decided to ‘save’ Jenna as an emergency solution. That’s honestly th
Meanwhile, Zivon and Ian had no idea that any of this was happening. After all, they were deep underground and surrounded by iron walls with no way to tell what time it even was… It was a miserable sight, to say the least, but Zivon remained as calm as ever. It was already clear to him that the person who had helped Thomas was powerful enough to grant him access into the ceremony, and also contact the DA office to have them taken away. How else would everything have gone so smoothly? Honestly, though, he was more worried about the other Frankstons. After all, the triennial presidential election would be held next month, and it was now clear as day what the mastermind’s true goal was… Just as he was wondering how they were supposed to make a comeback, he heard the clanking of iron chains against the door… and figuring that that was his chance, he immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. With each step, the clanking grew louder… and once the person was right in fro
It was at eight a.m. when Lamar led a special task team and a group of journalists over to the prison… and to everyone’s surprise, his first words were, “Both of you are now free to leave.” Naturally, this shocked both Zivon and Ian! What the hell was going on? Looking at their puzzled expressions, Lamar added, “Simply put, I’ve given the situation a proper re-evaluation… and after the explanation given by your parents and the urges of the people, I’ve concluded that though it’s wrong to break the law, your cases are exceptions. For one, Sir Ian only did all that for his sister’s safety, and even though Jenna is still a criminal, it’s undeniable that she’s turned a new leaf. Young Master Burton himself did all this for his wife.” “With all that said, you’re free to go, though… Be sure to explain things properly to the public. Best of luck,” concluded Lamar as he walked off, leaving the reporters extremely excited! “How kind and considerate of you, Mr. Alexander…!” “Indeed! Th
After all, Xavia was currently seated in bed! Sure, her eyes were still closed, but with her improved complexion and pastel outfit, it almost looked like she was just taking a nap… Filled with hope, Xavia quickly strode over and hugged her tightly… Seeing that, the scientist in the room cleared his throat before explaining, “So… her condition has been steadily improving, and any signals we send to her have been garnering appropriate results as well. It’s how she sat up on her own, actually. With all that said, it may only be a matter of time before she wakes up again…” Upon hearing that, Zivon felt even more relieved. After all, he had expected all this to take much longer, so the fact that she was recovering this quickly felt like a dream… Shaking his head, he eventually muttered, “…Take Fiona and her father to Lamar.” Understandably startled to hear that, Nathan replied, “H-huh? But it took ages for us to capture both of them… Besides, we still don’t know where the kids are
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