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
When she was sound asleep, a warm hand suddenly began caressing her cheek… and before she could react, she felt someone hugging her! Following that, several kisses landed all over her face… and thinking that it was Zivon, she couldn’t help but smile. Alas, when she opened her eyes, she quickly realized that he was still asleep next to her! What the hell was going on?! Her train of thought was cut short when she heard Zivon ask, “…Xav?” It was evident that he had awoken because of her movements, and after staring at her for a while, the concerned man asked, “…What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Shaking her head, she took a deep breath before saying, “…N-not really, but… I don’t know…?” “It’s alright, take your time.” “…It… felt like you were hugging and kissing me all over even though you were fast asleep next to me…” Chuckling in response, Zivon then hugged her tightly before saying, “Silly… That’s just your body yearning for me… Here, let me give you the real thing…
Naturally, this greatly shocked Zivon! To think that her condition would worsen once more! Alas, there was probably not much else that he could do about this, and that only made him feel worse. At best, she had a fifty-fifty chance of waking up again… …So be it. A coin flip meant that all was not lost yet! With that in mind, he took a deep breath before saying, “…I see. For now, just continue monitoring and treating her…” After the doctor nodded, Zivon held Xavia’s hand before adding, “…I believe in you, Xav… Please, wake up… The kids and I are still waiting for you…” His train of thought was cut short when a knock came from the door… and shortly after, Ian entered the room and said, “We have some news regarding the kids.” “…You’ve found them?” asked Zivon, an expectant look in his eyes. “Not quite. Basically, I learned that Sophia had received a lot of underwater training some time ago, and that she had recently spent a fortune on underwater equipment… I’ve also found that s
Since the Frankstons were no longer in power, everyone had a lot more time, and with their secretary, the three Frankston brothers immediately began running a covert investigation. What’s more, they even requested Stefan and Mark’s help to cover the south of Aplos. Alas, despite all their efforts, they simply couldn’t find her in the end… “This sucks! We can’t find her anywhere in the country!” “We haven’t found anything abroad either… They couldn’t have just vanished…” “Calm down. Remember that we’re dealing with a genius here, so it’s normal for her to be hard to locate.” “That doesn’t change the fact that we need to find them…” As everyone was moping around, Tiffany suddenly entered the room and said, “Hey, Lamar just told us that Fiona is willing to tell us where the kids are, though… he wants Young Master Burton to be the one to meet her.” “…Are you sure she’s not just trying to do something funny again?” replied the doubtful Ian. “People tell the truth when they’r
...So, he had learned about that, huh? Also, judging by his tone, he probably wouldn’t have ever visited her even at her deathbed… He was only here for the kids. This was the man she had fallen for? Now that she saw things from this perspective, she realized just how far she had truly fallen… It took her a while, but the spiteful woman eventually forced a nod. She was willing to talk, but only if he was willing to give her the antidote. Zivon was expecting this, of course, and he had brought along a small portion of the antidote. It wasn’t exactly enough to fully cure her, but at the very least, it would allow her to talk again. With that, he swiftly injected her with it… and shortly after, Fiona’s entire body began burning up! With that, she screamed… but shortly after, she couldn’t help but gasp with delight. She could use her voice again! In the past few days, she had been unable to do anything, not even speak or move. Alas, she had also been conscious the entire time, so with
...Though it wasn’t exactly earth-shattering to know that she had built one, it was still crazy to think that she had built such a facility! Not even Zivon had dreamed of doing such a thing! That aside… It now made sense why they had been unable to locate her this entire time. The river flowed in the opposite direction of Darlsbury river, which was why nobody had considered looking there in the first place… Damn it all! Taking his phone out, Zivon quickly gave Ian a call… and the second the call was answered, he was quick to order, “Mystic River, fifty miles offshore. The children should be there. Oh, and you’ll need a submarine.” …A submarine? The kids were seriously in an underwater facility?! Though shocked, Ian eventually told Zivon that he would head there… and soon enough, the proper people and equipment were in place to start the investigation. With how murky the water was, only the strongest headlights could pierce through the darkness… and after diving for quite a while,
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