Meanwhile, Hanley had just arrived home from work. Though he had earlier been surprised to find Fabiola gone, he wasn’t too worried about her. After all, she had probably just returned to her family’s side. With that, he sent her a text before heading off to take a shower… Once he was done, however, he couldn’t help but raise a slight brow. Strange… She didn’t usually take this long to reply… Sensing that something was off, he immediately ordered his secretary to check on Fabiola… It was a while later when his anxious assistant reported, “A-apparently she went hiking in the Alcier Tips this afternoon, and she ended up getting caught in an avalanche! From what I’ve gathered, Mr. Xenos has already headed over to rescue her…” Shocked to hear that, Hanley gritted his teeth before putting his coat on and heading straight for the Alcier Tips… It was around then when the sleeping Fabiola finally scrunched her face before opening her eyes… and though it took her a second, she quickly r
Though caught off guard, Fabiola quickly shook her head before muttering, “I-I already told you… We’re through-” “I know it’s my fault for not properly treasuring you before this… And I know you still care for me, even though it’s not as much as before… With that said, why don’t we give it another shot…?” Pursing her lips, Fabiola replied, “…Look, I’m only doing all this because you got hurt because of me… I’d treat anyone the same. Also, as you said before, you only ever saw me as a sibling… and, well… The same applies to me now.” Those words immediately sent his mood plummeting… and after a long silence, he was about to reply when a knock was heard at the door. Watching as she bolted toward the door, clearly unwilling to continue facing the awkwardness of the situation, Neal couldn’t help but lower his gaze even more… Either way, Fabiola was soon left surprised when she opened the cabin’s door… After all, it was Hanley! Feeling her heart soften almost immediately, the woman
Clenching his fists when he saw Fabiola holding the cream, he took the container from her hand before icily saying, “…You know what? Just leave him to me…! You can go snow gazing instead…!” Feeling speechless, all Fabiola could do was follow his orders… Once she was gone, Hanley glared at Neal before saying, “She isn’t someone to be ordered around, and if you really need help, I’ll do it.” Despite how authoritative Hanley was being, Neal simply sneered before saying, “You should know that she’s been doing much more than this for me in the past… From helping me with my tie, to tidying my desk, she’s always been happy to care for me… Reminds me of how worried she was for my health as she cared for my leg all night…” Gritting his teeth, Hanley growled, “…If you can brag this much, I guess you don’t need this medicine at all!” After tossing the medicine onto the bed, Hanley attempted to leave… But before he could head outside, he heard Neal scoff, “Think about it, though… What ha
Just as Fabiola was wondering how to even react to what had just happened, she felt Hanley’s hand on the back of her head… and just like that, they were kissing on the lips once more! This time even deeper than before! It was almost a full minute later when he finally let go of her again… and after a brief pause, the first thing he said was, “…Yeah, this should be enough…” Still rather disoriented by everything, the blushing woman couldn’t help but avert her gaze before muttering, “…Promise?” “Promise…” Watching as Hanley smiled, Fabiola quickly looked away before continuing to eat her noodles, desperately hoping that that would help calm her down… It took her a while, but she eventually furrowed her brows before saying, “…Actually, hold on. My turn to be mad!” “…Come again?” “You said you never had a girlfriend before, right? Well, that kiss was near-perfect! There’s no way you could’ve kissed like that without practice!” Feeling helpless, Hanley replied, “…What’s so h
When Fabiola was finally done with his wounds, she waited till Neal was fast asleep before finally leaving the room… It didn’t take long for her to see Hanley again, and upon noticing how sour his mood was, Fabiola was quick to explain, “Don’t worry, nothing happened… He’s already in pain, and I just didn’t want him to catch a cold either. With that said, please don’t overthink it, alright…?” Watching as she kissed his cheek, Hanley felt his anger slowly subside… and in the end, he hugged her before saying, “…You only view him as a brother, right? I know that much, and I’m not petty enough to be mad over that…” Smiling in response, Fabiola then nodded as she enjoyed Hanley’s warmth. Unbeknownst to the two, Neal hadn’t fallen asleep at all, and watching how close the two were, he couldn’t help but grit his teeth… It was around noon when the sky finally cleared up again… and seeing that, Fabiola was prompted to say, “You know, I think it’s high time we descended the mountain… N
Fabiola could tell that Hanley was fully ready to take things to the next stage, and though she was fearful of what would come next, she simultaneously didn’t want any of this to end… To her surprise, however, he suddenly parted lips with her at the last second… and after taking a deep breath, Hanley said, “…You know, it’s been a long day, so I think you should get some well-deserved rest…” Not wanting to stop now that they had gotten this far, Fabiola hugged him tightly as she replied, “But I want to continue kissing-” “Princess, you know how things will end if we continue doing that…” Fabiola knew that, of course, and though her cheeks were still red, she had fully convinced herself that she was prepared for the consequences. With that, she eventually muttered, “…I mean, we’re both of legal age and we’re already married, so…” Upon hearing that, Hanley couldn’t help but gulp… but shortly after, he quickly shook his head before carrying her to bed… And before she could say a
...She… Called him her beloved… Had she truly acknowledged that he was her husband now? That meant that he was no longer Neal’s substitute, right? His train of thought was cut short when Fabiola leaned her head against his shoulder and added, “You know what? It would be a shame not to take a photo together now that we’re both up here! Come on!” Though Hanley was momentarily caught off guard by her words, his stiffness quickly faded into joy as he smiled… and moments later, the sound of a ‘snap’ could be heard. A new memory eternalized… Naturally, Fabiola wasn’t content with only having one picture, and she continued taking more pictures with him until she was all tuckered out on the ground. Following that, Hanley quickly began setting up camp… and in no time at all, the tent was up, and the food was cooking. As night continued creeping in, the glow from the campsite felt increasingly romantic… and in the end, the pleased Fabiola couldn’t help but ask, “…Hey… Why don’t we do it
Before the speechless Hanley could even think of a reply, Fabiola suddenly widened her eyes before adding, “…Wait. You’re… You’re gay, aren’t you? Oh my God! It all makes sense now! You’ve just been treating me well so that you can keep your secret lover in the shadows!” “…You sure have an active imagination, huh? Is having sex with you the only indicator that I’m a regular male?” replied Hanley who was already squinting by this point. “No shit, Sherlock!” declared Fabiola almost instantaneously… And naturally, that only served to further hurt Hanley’s pride! Unwilling to continue being humiliated like this, Hanley pinned her against the ground and began kissing her passionately… and though Fabiola had been mocking him just moments earlier, she was now starting to get frantic! Was their first time really going to be like this?! Thankfully, Hanley was able to sense her unease, and after parting lips, he was prompted to ask, “Well…? Still doubtful…?” Nervously shaking her head,
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