It was nearing midnight and Yulia was already asleep! It’d be highly inconvenient for Xavia to carry her sleeping child out in the dead of night… “What? Is that a problem? Was that conviction just for show? I’m warning you, b*tch. If you don’t leave right now, I’ll be taking pictures of you and your daughter and uploading them to the internet! Should that happen, everyone will come to learn that you’re the kind of person who brings your daughter around to crash marriages!” jeered the oppressive Lily without filtering her words. Naturally, this startled Xavia. To think that this insatiable woman wasn’t even willing to spare her child! Clenching her fists, Xavia eventually replied, “…I’ll have you know that I’m only backing off out of respect for your child. Also, if anyone’s a marriage crasher, it’s you. If you need a refresher, Stefan and I were already in a relationship before you came along and dragged him into bed. With that said, I’m sure it’s clear who’s the real third party h
After receiving multiple mentions from Zayne, Zivon eventually got the message. Immediately clicking on the link—instead of replying to Zayne first—, Zivon was soon greeted by the sight of a gentlemanly Stefan escorting a lovely-looking woman out of a car. Though her face couldn’t be seen, Zivon could tell that it really was her. Still, with how cooperative and well-behaved Xavia—who had the aura of a young lady from a humble family in the video—was being in Stefan’s presence, Zivon couldn’t help but feel that she behaved completely differently around him… Regardless, so she was this keen on leaving early just because she wanted to meet up with Stefan and check into a hotel room with him? The thought of it alone made Zivon so irritated that his hand turned white from clenching his cell phone too hard… Zivon’s train of thought was cut short when his message notification ringtone began playing in succession. Returning to the group chat and seeing that it was just Zayne spam mentionin
Not only was the chairman married now, but he had a child as well… With that said, what would Miss Whitham think of Stefan if he suddenly made an official announcement about his relationship with Xavia?! Surely such an announcement wouldn’t benefit Xavia either! With all that in mind, Anthony was prompted to say, “…There… has to be a better way, right, Chairman Talton…? After all, if you announce your relationship with Miss Lockhart now, I believe it’ll negatively affect both her as well as your image…” Raising a slight brow, Stefan simply replied, “…What? When did I ever say that I wanted to make an official announcement about Xavia and me?” “…Huh? But… if it isn’t Miss Lockhart… Were you actually referring to Miss Whitham…?” said the surprised Anthony in utter disbelief. After all, Anthony knew for a fact that Stefan had no feelings for that woman. In fact, Stefan was even disgusted with Lily! With that in mind, why on earth would he officialize their relationship? Easily gue
It wasn’t long after before Lily began getting an onslaught of messages. By the time she picked her phone up, she realized that she had already received over a hundred messages from her friends, stating things like, ‘My god! Are you really with Stefan now?!’ ‘You actually managed to nab the national husband?!’ ‘How the hell did you do it?! I’m dying of envy!’ ‘Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner?!’ …What? But she was sure that she hadn’t told anyone about her relationship with Stefan before! Utterly puzzled, Lily then logged into Facebook to scroll through the news… only to realize that the top hashtag on the trending tab was, ‘#Stefan Talton gets married!’ The main post itself was uploaded from Stefan’s official page, stating, ‘Marriage certificate signed with @AlluringWhitham.’ Honestly, the post felt almost business-like if anything. Not a hint of sweetness or romantic sentiments at all. Even so, the fact that he had tagged Lily in the post was still utterly shockin
Naturally, she wasn’t going to tell the details to anyone. Regardless, she then gave her agent a call before ordering, “I want you to investigate Xavia’s love history. I need a list of all the men that she’s ever fallen for in the past.” “Got it.” Despite having so many people out to get her, Xavia remained blissfully unaware in her sleep throughout the night... Waking only when morning came, Xavia couldn’t help but raise a slight brow when she turned her cell phone on and saw that she had missed several calls from Stefan, and even more from Dolly. Regardless, the thought of Stefan made Xavia feel slightly sad and dejected. Truth be told, she wasn’t really angry with him since she understood him well enough. With that in mind, she knew that she shouldn’t have turned her phone off and made him worry. Still, she was in a terrible mood yesterday, and she didn’t want to pay attention to anyone or anything else… Shaking her head, she then decided to first give Dolly a call to see
Just hearing that was enough to remind Xavia of how thoughtful and attentive Stefan truly was. Slowly taking the envelope away with her stiff hands, Xavia then forced a smile before replying, “…I appreciate it. Do tell him that I’m doing fine.” Nodding in response, Anthony then turned to leave… only to quickly turn around again and say in a rather hesitant tone, “…Just to clarify, the chairman truly loves you… I’ve served him for many years, and this is honestly the first time I’ve seen him set his heart on a woman. With that said, I hope that you’ll consider meeting up and comforting him one final time… That way, both of you can part on amicable terms… You know, after he returned last night, the chairman-” Knowing that it probably wasn’t anything good, Xavia interrupted, “…I apologize, this isn’t a suitable time to meet. Even so, I will consider your words. In the meantime, do take care of him…” Staring at the pleasant girl for a moment, Anthony couldn’t help but sigh in his hea
True enough, a small woman wearing a trench coat could be seen walking out of the elevator in the dimly lit basement. With a cap and mask on, it was clear that she didn’t want others to recognize her. Even so, it was impossible for the trio not to know that it was her. With that in mind, Maison quickly exclaimed, “It’s Aunt!” Before the child could even open the car’s door, however, another car could be seen slowly driving toward Xavia… before stopping by her side. Shortly after, a slender man exited the vehicle before escorting her in, in an extremely gentlemanly manner. Following that, the car quickly drove off as if it were never there before… …She… was still meeting Stefan at a time like this? When Xavia clearly knew that Stefan was married to another woman? Was that why she was meeting him privately?! Now fuming with anger, Zivon growled, “…Is this the miserable and suicidal state you said she was in…?” For all Zivon knew, she was flourishing! Maison himself could have n
...But that was fine. If her heart had never been for him, then he should just set her free… As Stefan’s car drove off, Xavia—who had secretly been watching from a distance—felt her smile slowly disappear. The truth was, she had already rehearsed saying all that before they met up. She, for one, didn’t want to place Stefan in a tough spot, nor did she want to embarrass him. Aside from that, she simply couldn’t bear to face his apology. After all, not only had she never contributed anything to their relationship, but she had experienced several ambiguous incidents with Zivon as well… With all that in mind, Xavia figured that her ease and smile would help him feel less guilty. That was the least she could do… Her train of thought was cut short when the muffled sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. Realizing that it was going to rain soon, Xavia quickly got some of Yulia’s favorite snacks—in the supermarket—before hailing a cab and returning to the hotel… Upon realizi
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