Naturally, that sudden declaration left everyone shocked! It took her a while, but Yasmin eventually replied, “S-Son… This isn’t something to joke about-” “And who said I was joking?” interrupted James, instantly causing Yasmin to glare at the increasingly anxious Lana. With all eyes now on her, all she could do was meekly reply, “…We… We’re officially married… It’s true…” As expected, this only made the mood even more stagnant than before. After all, most of them were already aware that she had feelings for Ian once, so… The fact that she had this sudden marriage… Did that mean that she was going to start seeing him everyday again as her brother-in-law…? Lana could definitely feel everyone’s unease, and only God knew how much she wanted to run away right now to escape all those scrutinous gazes… Gently patting the top of her hand, James took a deep breath before saying, “…Why the odd gazes? Sure, she used to like Ian, but she’s already moved on. With that said, I see no prob
Fast forward to the next morning, Lana awoke with a groan. Her body felt like it had just been hit by a truck… and following a yawn, she looked to her side… Only to freeze in place. After all, rest right next to her was James…! What’s more, he had no shirt on! What the hell had- …Wait. That was right. They had finally told the rest of the Frankstons about their relationship last night… and when Ian had sincerely hoped that she would have a better life with James, she had gotten so emotionally overwhelmed that she chose to drown it all with wine… After that… She had gotten rather sexual, and… And…! To think that things had progressed so rapidly in a single night…! Rubbing her temple, she couldn’t help but think about how she had gotten into this situation in the first place… That was right… Back when she was experimenting on herself, she had almost kicked the bucket but thanks to Ian, she managed to live another day… Following that, she ended up becoming his personal physician, and
After reading all there was to read, Lana finally realized that the person who had silently been guarding her this entire time… Had been James all along! No wonder he had been so mad when she was being half-assed about their marriage! He had genuinely been trying to make it work after waiting for literal years…! She… She truly was a fool for taking this long to notice…! Her train of thought was cut short when she heard some shifting beside her… and after wiping her tears away, she quickly tucked the journal away and turned to face James… Since her eyes were now red, the groggy James immediately snapped to attention as he said, “You… Did you cry…? I… I’m sorry for being so impulsive last night, I… I’m just… so sorry…” He knew he should’ve held back, but when the woman of his dreams threw herself into his arms last night… There was no chance in hell that he was going to be able to hold back. Still, the damage had been done, and it was now time for retribution… Holding her hands,
Fast forward to the next day, James made sure to tell everyone that Lana finally realized that he was the one who had saved her back then… and thanks to that, everyone was able to breathe sighs of relief. At the end of the day, they were still skeptical about their relationship at first, but now that Lana knew the truth… Well, things were surely much better than before. As everyone congratulated James and Lana, sincerely this time, Xavia found herself missing Fabiola more and more… Checking her phone, she saw that Zivon had notified her earlier that he was still safe, but… When was she going to receive news about her poor child…? Her train of thought was cut short when Jacob approached her with a drink and said, “…Thinking about Zivon and Fabiola…? If you miss them that much, then you should go searching together with him… Don’t worry about the other kids, they’ll be safe with us…” Touched to hear that, it took her a while to reply, “…Even if I did accompany him, I wouldn’t be
Fast forward to the next evening, Ellen arrived at Darlsbury, and Xavia and Jacob made sure to pick her up at the airport as gratitude. With how beautiful Ellen was, Xavia couldn’t help but feel slightly stunned. After all, Zivon had worked with that woman for quite a while before managing to wake her up… To think that he wasn’t even tempted to fall for her… Feeling slightly touched, she shook her head before saying, “Welcome to Darlsbury, Miss Garcia… Your help is truly appreciated.” Smiling in response, Ellen replied, “Don’t worry about it. Honestly, you should thank Zivon for my willingness to aid you. I’m only driven by how devoted and loyal he is to his family.” Xavia knew that Ellen had no reason to lie, so after a nod, she was prompted to say, “I see… Thank you nevertheless. Putting that aside, I’m sure you must be exhausted after your long flight, so do rest up first… We can visit Sophia at the hospital tomorrow.” “I’d like that,” replied Ellen as she began pulling he
...Truth be told, he had seen that message earlier but… when she was actually in front of him, he really didn’t want to follow Xavia’s orders… It didn’t help that Ellen had a rather tight-fitting turtleneck on… Damn it! He needed to calm down! Gritting his teeth, he put on a calm façade before marching forward, leaving Ellen speechless. Was this man simply incapable of acting courteously? Bah, whatever! She was just here to treat Sophia anyway! Upon arriving at the ward, Ellen was greeted by the sight of a lifeless-looking Sophia, her eyes dull as stared at a baby’s shoe… and when she noticed the presence of the stranger, Sophia’s eyes widened in fear as she backed away and whimpered, “N-no…! Please…! Please don’t hurt my baby…!” Frowning slightly, Ellen took a while to reply, “…Don’t worry, I won’t hurt it.” Following that, she slowly began approaching Sophia… but every time she got close to her, Sophia would simply bolt to another corner of the room. As Ellen helplessly rub
She was greeted by the sight of Jacob rapidly tapping on his phone while yelling, “Stop camping, Angela! I’ve already carried the team enough! Come back to the middle lane already!” Raising a slight brow, she couldn’t help but walk up to him and say, “…May I remind you that you’re in a hospital? Please keep your tone down and act your age!” Her voice distracted him just enough for him to lose… and after squinting at her, Jacob replied, “Well some of us have to remain youthful. Get with the times already.” …The nerve of this man…! “Just because I don’t get along with people, that doesn’t mean that I’m not up-to-date with the rest of the world! Also, what’s the point of liking the same things as people like you?” “…What are you implying?” “Take a guess,” scoffed Ellen, leaving Jacob slightly speechless. Her tongue truly was as sharp as always… Rubbing his temples, he eventually replied, “…Anyway, any new news?” Lowering her gaze a little, Ellen replied, “…None yet. She’s
Momentarily too stunned to even react, she was only able to snap out of it when Jacob, who had quickly put on more clothes, yelled, “Some privacy, please!” Quickly looking away, the flustered woman replied, “W-well I’m not the one who runs around in his boxers! Have some shame!” Squinting slightly, Jacob then said, “…Have you forgotten whose room you’re in?” Realizing that this was technically her own fault, the embarrassed Ellen replied, “I-I only came over to look for my documents… I wasn’t expecting the door to be unlocked, and… had I known you were like this, I wouldn’t have come in in the first place!” …Alright, his bad habit of not locking the door was his fault too, but… With how flustered she now looked… “…Anyway, why are you even blushing so much? Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a naked man before.” “…I don’t need to answer that. Also, you’re equally as flustered as I am! Now give me the document already!” snapped Ellen, leaving Jacob momentarily speechless. It t
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