Though anyone else would’ve found her tone to be powerful and slightly intimidating, Zivon simply raised a brow before replying, “I don’t want Maison getting along with half-hearted people who are emotionally confused.” …What? Her eyes now widened in disbelief, Xavia couldn’t help but exclaim, “Who are you calling half-hearted and emotionally confused?! Are you sure you’re talking about me?!” “Did you not return home to look for your first love? Then why are you dating Keith now? May I remind you that you’re also still in touch with your previous lover. Is that not a textbook example of an emotionally confused person?” said Zivon, leaving Xavia momentarily speechless. There… There were reasons for all that! But… how was she going to explain it all to him…? Upon seeing that Xavia couldn’t refute, Zivon simply placed the cheque before her as he said, “Leave.” Though his voice was extremely commanding, Xavia was discontent with leaving like this. Before she could reply, however,
After a brief pause, she calmly replied, “It’s not like I want to, but you should know that one lie leads to another. Allow me to remind you of your high authoritative position, Young Master Keith. If things were to get serious, there’ll surely be severe consequences… With that in mind, rather than dealing with the media now, we should instead be taking our time to resolve this matter.” …What an intelligent girl… Keith, for one, had never met someone as level-minded as Xavia. Regardless, he quickly said, “…While the solution is to resolve this matter, since the news has just passed, it’ll only lead to further speculations if we don’t handle this properly. How about this? We start thinking of countermeasures after tomorrow. What do you say?” This made Xavia go silent for a while. After all, who knew what would become of the situation by then? Still, it was true that everyone had been focusing on both her and Keith recently, to the point where she received constant comments and messa
The antique shop had all sorts of rare calligraphy and water-colored paintings, as well as all manner of exotic-looking treasures. Even so, those weren’t enough to prevent Zivon from turning around to look at the two people who had just entered. After a brief pause, Zivon narrowed his eyes slightly, causing a chill to spread around the shop… Even Jenna’s expression fell slightly. The sight of Xavia made her remember the time when Zivon had angrily forced her out of his car back then. At the time, she had thought that there really was no future for their relationship, and that things would only get worse and worse. To her eventual surprise, however, Zivon preferred staying at home to accompany Maison after work these days. Speaking of the boy, he no longer pestered Xavia, and he was quite well-behaved as well. In a way, it seemed like Xavia had ceased to exist in their worlds. With that in mind, Jenna had figured that it was only a matter of time before Zivon completely forgot abo
She was quickly slapped by the cold, hard truth. Whatever the case was, she had her answer. Just as she was about to reply, however, Keith smiled before saying, “Since you needed so long to think about it, I already know your answer.” Upon hearing that, Xavia quickly replied, “You don’t know a thing. He isn’t charming to me.” “Oh? Is that so…? Well, your sister, for one, seems fully devoted to him…” replied Keith—who clearly didn’t believe her—in a slightly mocking tone. His words momentarily stunned Xavia. It was all clear now! He had only been doing all this for Jenna to see! She was his target all along! This realization, however, made Xavia feel slightly irked. After all, it showed that she was still being used as a tool! With that in mind, she rolled her eyes at Keith before retorting, “Regardless of whether she’s devoted to him or not, you should stay away from her. Just to make things clear, if you two do anything else, I won’t help her take the blame again.” Following
Followed by a commanding tone, stating, “Get some burn ointment. If you don’t have that, get some aloe vera gel instead.” Once his order was complete, the man grabbed her fine hand before pulling Xavia toward the landscape pond in the courtyard. Since the running water there was cold, he quickly placed her burnt hand into it… and the second he did that, Xavia quickly felt the pain dissipate… Though she wanted to thank him, the man quickly instructed, “Don’t move. Continue soaking your hand a little longer to prevent blisters.” Shortly after he said that, the sales personnel came running over. Trembling as she handed him some aloe vera gel, the panicked woman then said, “H-here’s my perfect aloe vera gel from my cosmetic pouch…! You can use it on the young lady first…! I’ll run to the pharmacy next to get some burn ointment…!” After Zivon took the gel from her, she disappeared in a flash… Regardless, after placing a few wet paper towels aside, Zivon began uncapping the aloe vera
His statement made Xavia frown slightly. Wasn’t it normal for her to call him that? Besides, she could’ve easily chosen to widen the distance between them, yet here she was, calling him something to show that they were related. So why was he being this cold to her? After a slight pause, Xavia was prompted to reply, “…Do… you think I should’ve called you Uncle Zivon instead…?” Upon hearing that, Zivon’s expression grew a hundred times more frigid! It took him a while to reply, but after smacking his lips, he eventually said in a chilling tone, “…So, you like calling me Uncle Zivon, don’t you? Very well, then. As a junior meeting your elder, shouldn’t you be doing something to express your respect?” Raising a slight brow, Xavia was prompted to ask, “…And… what exactly do you have in mind…?” “Pouring me some tea for me, of course. I await your great performance, Niece-in-law,” replied Zivon in a rather sarcastic tone with particular emphasis on the word, ‘niece-in-law.’ Followin
As the tall man walked closer to her, the pressuring aura—he always carried around—made it feel like he was a hunter out to get his prey… With that in mind, Xavia felt her body tense up as she instinctively took a step back while saying, “W-what do you plan on doing? I’ll call for help if you take another step further!” Sneering in response, Zivon only stopped once he was inches away from her. Following that, he scoffed, “Just so you know, a few words are all I need to make it impossible for you and Keith to be in a relationship. In fact, I could make it that no man would ever dare to marry you again!” Though Xavia didn’t really care about the former, she did care about the latter. After all, the only way he was getting all men to fear marrying her… was by forcing her to copulate with him! That was what she feared most! Her face now pale, she clenched her teeth before growling, “You…!” “I what?” replied Zivon as he rubbed the coffee stain off her lip with a finger. “In the en
“…Sure. Let’s go,” replied Keith as his brows slightly relaxed. Following that, he led Xavia out of the antique shop, making sure to casually greet Zivon on their way out. It was only once they were outside that Xavia felt she could finally breathe again. To her, the air was always thin whenever Zivon was around… That aside, since her hand was injured, Xavia took the opportunity to suggest, “Um… Since I scalded my hand, it won’t be convenient for me to wear a dress tomorrow, Young Master Keith… Why don’t you just say that I personally picked the gift? That way, I won’t have to attend, right…?” Naturally, Keith had his reasons for wanting her to attend, so there was no way that he was letting her off that easily! With that in mind, after staring at her for a bit, he eventually said, “It’s just a minor injury. You’ve already made a promise, so you can’t just back down now. Speaking of dresses, I’ll be sending you a gown for the banquet later.” This made Xavia fall silent. How unl
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