Even the weakened Yulia couldn’t help but mutter, “I… I don’t want to die…!” Heartbroken to hear that, Sophia couldn’t bear to see the children like this… But at the same time, she didn’t want to lose them either! Was there no option to exclude her agony…?! In the end, she was prompted to yell, “Stop it…! Stop forcing me to make a decision…! G-give her something to ease her pain first! I need a moment!” Watching as the devastated woman ran off to hide in her office, Maison couldn’t help but lower his gaze… And after a while, he looked at his mother, as if to ask if they were being too cruel to her. Xavia certainly didn’t think so, especially since Fabiola was now missing. With that, she simply shook her head before helping the doctor treat Yulia. Her daughter looked far weaker than she had before, and they really needed to leave this place as soon as possible… She’d have to take things into her own hands! With that, she waited till the children were asleep before heading ov
Each word stung badly, and Sophia hated the idea of Yulia dying, and also didn’t want the other two to distance themselves from her… She… She knew what she had to do now. She had to save Yulia…! With her mind made up, she rushed out and grabbed the doctor by his hands while yelling, “Do it! We need to get her to a hospital while we can…!” Though startled by her sudden change of heart, the doctor was quick to nod before saying, “…Alright!” Before he could start planning things out, however, Sophia added, “However! Be sure to do everything incognito! Yulia’s identity must not be revealed…! Also, if you’re found on your way to the hospital, then promise me that you will not expose this location! With all that said… Please… Please keep my baby alive…!” Placed in a difficult situation, the doctor replied, “…Are you sure you want to separate the children when their sister is already in this state? They’re already devastated by all this, so it would be wise if we all went together…”
Gulping a little, Xavia used sign language to ask her what was wrong… but to her shock, Sophia quickly ran up to her and gave her a tight hug! Before Xavia could even register what was going on, the sobbing Sophia muttered, “…Thank you for willingly staying with me…! Please, I… I just need someone to communicate with…!” The truth was, she hadn’t spoken properly to anyone in the longest time, partly because of all this, and because of her past actions… Sure, Zivon and Xavia had forgiven her, but the rest of the world remembered her sins, and even when she was still out and about, almost everyone hated her… She hadn’t even been able to make new friends, and she grew more and more withdrawn by the day… To make matters worse, her house was ruined by a flash flood, and shortly after, she had that miscarriage… With all that misfortune, it only made sense that she’d crack from all the pressure… Just thinking of all that hurt, and after a long pause, she was prompted to add, “…The worl
“…In the past, he said that he’d love me no matter what… and though I kept insisting that he was too young for me, he said that that didn’t matter, and he made sure to bring me to all sorts of places including pubs and karaoke…” “Even after my downfall, he kept me away from my depression by teaching me all sorts of art techniques, saying that nobody deserved to be deemed truly unforgivable… And because he was literally the only light of my life back then, I believed him. I believed that with his help, I could get a second chance, but… In the end, I learned the truth. And that was the fact that he never truly loved me…!” “One day, he returned with a younger woman… and before I could ask who she was, he declared that he only remained with me because he needed my money for his future investments…! What’s more, he even told her that I was old and mean and didn’t deserve to be with him…! Even though I’ve always treated him respectfully…!” Naturally, this left Xavia stunned. Had her se
Finding Xavia’s words reasonable, Zivon replied, “I’ll talk to him and tell you what I find.” “I appreciate it…” said Xavia who was genuinely pleased that he hadn’t decided to call her naïve or overly kind. Smiling in response, Zivon replied, “Were you expecting a lecture? Xav, I already knew what I was getting into when I married you… Jokes aside, stay safe, alright?” “You too…” concluded Xavia before flushing the toilet and heading out… When she got back to the room, she realized that Sophia had fallen asleep with her boys in her arms… and following a sigh, Xavia covered them up with a quilt. Having nothing better to do, she began exploring the place… and to her surprise, the kitchen was filled with all sorts of fresh meat and vegetables. There was even a fully sustainable garden down here that would ensure that they wouldn’t ever truly run out of food… Moving on, she was able to find a playground, study, gym, and many other facilities… It was clear that Sophia had put a
Though initially shocked, Xavia was quick to realize that Zivon had probably planned this with the doctor to lure Sophia out. With that in mind, she breathed a subtle sigh of relief before writing, “Calm down, could you show me the message?” Nodding weakly, the worried woman showed Xavia her phone… and sure enough, it was a message from the doctor. Though she found it slightly odd that Zivon hadn’t told her about this plan before executing it, she quickly shook her head before adding, ‘…You should know that my friend’s daughter died just a few days after getting leukemia… With that said, why don’t you go to her? I’ll stay here with the boys while you’re gone…’ As long as Sophia left them alone, then they’d surely have more chances to succeed! Either way, the pale-faced Sophia replied, “B-but what if I get caught…?! I’m not ready to face the world again…!” ‘But this could be the last time you’ll be able to meet her alive… Think about how she’s feeling without you by her side…’
Confident that the plan would work, Sophia quickly began packing up and waited till the boys were asleep before allowing Xavia to apply makeup on her… Once done, she was prompted to say, “Alright so… As long as you stick to your part of the deal, I’ll stick to mine. I should warn you that I have security cameras everywhere here, so if you dare do anything funny, I’ll know. Naturally, I believe that you’re not that kind of person, but it just had to be said. With that, I’ll be off!” Smiling gratefully, the reluctant woman then took a deep breath before starting to make her way out… Naturally, Sophia’s final words left Xavia in a bit of a dilemma. After all, she knew very well what was in store for that woman, and she couldn’t imagine her reaction once she learned the truth… Considering her mental illness, wasn’t this a terrible approach…? Just as she was about to consider telling this to Zivon, she was startled when a familiar voice suddenly whispered her name from behind! Turni
“You heard what I said, though… Escaping will still be a little hard-” “As long as there’s a chance to escape, then we should take it!” exclaimed the excited Xavia as she hugged him tightly. What a pleasant surprise! Gently patting her head, Zivon replied, “Alright, calm down and go get some thick clothes for yourself and the kids. Oh, and get hard shoes too if they’re available. We move the second we’re ready.” Nodding in response, Xavia then ran off to do just that… Meanwhile, Sophia had just made it out into the open. Taking a deep breath of fresh air after what felt like ages, she clenched her fists before starting to hobble toward the city… …But barely a few seconds later, she found herself surrounded by a group of men in black! Now encircled, the pale-faced woman was quick to say, “W-who are you people-” “The gig is up, Sophia!” retorted an unfamiliar voice, prompting her to face it… and though it took her a while, she finally realized that the person who had shouted…
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