It was a neatly folded beautiful scarf! “This… This is the scarf you were knitting yesterday…! Did you make it specially for my birthday?” “I did! I figured that since your daddy could pretty much buy you anything you wanted, you’d probably find a hand-knitted scarf to be more meaningful. That aside, when you wear it during the winter, you’ll surely be able to imagine me by your side. Hopefully that’ll keep you happy as well as warm,” replied Xavia in a gentle tone as she carefully wrapped the scarf around Maison’s neck. Overjoyed to hear that, Maison then leaped into her arms before exclaiming, “I… I love it…! I really do…! This is the best birthday present I’ve ever received… Nobody’s ever given me a handmade present before…” Hearing that, Xavia momentarily fell silent. She knew Jenna well enough to know that she’d never consider Maison to be her own son. That certainly explained why Maison hadn’t received any maternal love as he grew up. Sadly, Xavia couldn’t just acknowle
“Wow! There’s so much snow!” exclaimed Maison as he excitedly ran toward a snow pile before leaping into it, sending a small wave of snow sliding to the side. Worried that Maison would get sick, Xavia then helped him up and began patting the snow off him while saying, “Careful now, we don’t want you catching a cold…” “Don’t worry, I’m not cold at all! Let’s build snowmen together, Aunt and Daddy! Daddy will make a big and cool snowman, Aunt will make a beautiful and medium-sized one, and I’ll make two cute little snowmen! Let’s compare our snowmen at the end to see who made the best ones!” replied the excited child. Building snowmen was a must for children whenever there was a fresh blanket of snow. Xavia, for one, understood that, and it wasn’t like she could bring herself to refuse her overenthusiastic son. Besides, she had made several handicrafts with Yulia before this, so rolling up snowmen was nothing difficult for her. With that in mind, Yulia didn’t think too much of it.
“…Um… You know… What Maison was trying to say…” muttered Xavia slightly awkwardly. Even so, Zivon remained indifferent, simply raising a slight brow as he asked, “…Was he trying to say something else?” Staring at Zivon’s handsome face—and realizing that he really didn’t get where she was coming from—, Xavia couldn’t help but feel her embarrassment peak. While it was obvious that Maison had been implying something else, Zivon’s cluelessness made Xavia feel like she was the one who was overthinking things. Not wanting to continue making a fool of herself, Xavia then said, “…It’s nothing. I’ll go catch up with Maison first…” Watching as Xavia’s petite figure disappeared into the distance, Zivon’s expression gradually fell. With how well he concealed his emotions, it was almost as though he was a mist-shrouded mountain himself… Regardless, they spent most of the second half of the day skiing, riding in cable cars, having snowball fights, and basically going through all the other
She was too stunned to reply. After all, since she was lying on the ground, she could see that the sky was limited to a wide circle… They… They had fallen into a pit! To make matters worse, the pit was at least five meters high! After eventually snapping out of it, Xavia slowly replied, “…I… I’m fine… but this situation doesn’t look good…” Sensing her shock, Zivon and his son then looked up… resulting in them getting startled as well! “What a high pit! What’s it doing out here…?” muttered Maison. “I don’t know but we need to call for help,” replied Xavia as she quickly got to her feet and shook the snow off her body. Following that, she rummaged for her cell phone and eventually found it nested in a pile of snow. Unfortunately, the screen had gone fully dark! With that in mind, Xavia was prompted to add, “…It’s all over. My cell phone is dead…” Upon hearing that, Zivon immediately began looking for his own phone, only to hear the now desperate Xavia say, “…Have you forgotte
Not wanting to further burden them at a time like this, Maison then nodded before saying, “Don’t worry, Aunt. I’m a strong boy…” Though he said that, it was clear that all this was negatively affecting Maison’s mental health. With that in mind, Xavia simply stroked his hair, hoping to cheer the boy up. Soon enough, Zivon managed to light a fire on one of their backpacks. As the backpack caught fire, little by little, the makeshift campfire began illuminating the pit. Most importantly of all, however, was the fact that it was warm… With the fire lit, Xavia quickly carried Maison closer to it. Following that, she took his shoes off and placed them next to the fire, just in case they needed something else to burn later. As for why she took the shoes off first, it was to keep the boy’s soles warm. That way, she could decrease the likelihood of him catching a cold… Either way, after placing the boy’s feet close to the fire—and removing her own shoes—, Xavia pointed tow
That the trio could potentially be in danger…?! “You… didn’t do anything without consulting me first, right, young master…? I hope you understand that anything we do will always have loopholes, no matter how perfectly they’re done… With that in mind, it’ll be much better if no harm comes to them… However, if they do come across any mishaps, a serious investigation into the matter will surely be launched. After all, we have to remember that Young Master Zivon is still a powerful and influential figure…” The consequences would be unimaginable… Calmly turning to look at his secretary, Keith then replied in a determined tone, “There’s no need to panic. The possibility of something going wrong will only be—at most—one percent. With such a low probability of failure, if the worst still happens, would you not call it God’s will?” Upon hearing that, the secretary immediately heaved a sigh of relief. So that’s what he meant… Following that, the secretary replied, “…I see. I’ll rest assu
His deliberately casual inquiry seemed to carry a completely different meaning.Xavia’s small frame instantly tensed. Massage wherever he asked her to? Where exactly did he want her to massage?!A rather inappropriate place suddenly flashed through her mind, and she vigorously shook her head. “No. Just the normal places.”“Are you implying that the places I was going to mention are not normal? Hmm?”Xavia gritted her teeth.That’s right! He had clearly been implying that, but why did it seem as though she was the one with impure thoughts now?!She knew she would not be able to outtalk him, so she simply pinched his leg angrily.Zivon let out a muffled grunt and jerked his leg away. “That was quite painful. You seem to be in good spirits.”“Hmph, of course! Be careful or I will pinch you if you dare tease me again.” After saying that, Xavia stood up and went to take her cell phone that she had buried. She tried to restart her phone, but the only response she got was a black
That’s right!“Do you think this wall of snow is stable? Why don’t we dig some foot pedals into it like those on the mountain in the children’s playground? We can dig one and then step up on it to dig another so that we can climb all the way up.”It was not that Zivon had not thought about this idea but...“It might cause the wall to collapse, and it will be more dangerous if we get buried underneath.”Xavia thought for a while before asking, “…Is there any other way for us to go up then?”Zivon said calmly, “We did not bring any tools with us and our options are pretty limited. Actually, you could step on my shoulders and use the method you mentioned just now. You can try digging, but stop immediately if you feel the wall crumbling.”That was the only way.“Okay.” Xavia nodded. After that, she grabbed her cell phone and quickly climbed onto Zivon’s shoulders. Cautiously, she used her cell phone to tap the wall. Whoosh! A pile of snow fell as soon as she hit the wall.Zivon r
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