‘He’s dead.’ That statement was a bombshell that nobody wanted to hear. To think that Xavia’s resistance would end up getting someone killed! Even Mike hadn’t expected someone to die from this minor incident! Speaking of Mike, he was now striding toward Xavia… and upon standing before her, he gave her a tight slap before roaring, “Congratulations! You’re the first woman I’ve ever hit!” Flopping to the floor, Xavia’s cheek quickly grew swollen and red from the impact… However, she didn’t even flinch. In fact, she hardly reacted to the slap at all. Instead, her hands were now trembling as her deathly pale face looked in the direction of the fresh corpse. …She… had just killed someone. She… was a murderer… No. No! Feeling immensely terrified, the girl—who had never faced such a situation before—eventually yelled, “I… I didn’t mean to…! I didn’t mean to kill him…!” How could things have gone wrong so quickly…?! How could she have killed someone who clearly had the upper hand ju
Throughout an ordinary person’s life, sickness, quarrels, and death were part of the norm. However, nobody would ever expect to be sent to prison for life for committing murder. With how huge this situation was, Xavia now felt the pressure of a mountain on her back, her world fully collapsed… Tears flowed down her cheeks as the stupefied girl hugged her knees on the floor. She had never cried when Jenna made life difficult for her. She hadn’t even shuddered to the thought of her biological parents’ ruthlessness. However, she was utterly terrified now. After all, she was going to spend the rest of her life in prison… What should she do? How was Yulia going to properly grow up without her around? Her tears simply wouldn’t stop as misery flooded the tiny cell… Meanwhile, Yulia—who was standing in the courtyard—continued staring at the arched courtyard door as she asked, “…Fairy Dolly…? Is Mommy not coming home tonight either…?” Dolly herself had her arms around her knees—while sea
Following that, he tossed his phone toward the cabinet before ordering, “Sleep.” This made Maison go silent. Why was Daddy getting angry at him when his fury came from Aunt and Brother Keith getting together again? How aggrieving…! As for Xavia, she had terrible dreams all night… In one of her nightmares, she was in a majestic and solemn-looking court. “After the trial, Xavia Lockhart was found guilty of murder! With that, I sentence her to a life of imprisonment from this moment onward!” declared the jury as he hammered his gavel, sealing Xavia’s fate. Following that, several onlookers could be seen clapping while murmuring things like, “She should’ve just been executed! A murderer deserves no mercy!” “To think that someone this young would secretly be so vicious!” “I told you that country bumpkins have no virtues! The Lockharts should’ve never brought her into the city!” As the crowd continued saying hurtful things, a few officers stepped forward and forcibly began drag
Thank god none of that was real… Unfortunately for Xavia, her relief was short-lived when she realized that she was still in the detention center! She was still going to face a life sentence, so everything she had dreamed had a chance of really happening! No! She didn’t want to spend decades in prison! She didn’t want Yulia to be an orphan either! Now anxious out of her mind, she began slamming on the door while yelling, “P-please…! I was merely acting in self-defense! I didn’t intend to commit murder! I need a lawyer…! Please, let me out…!” “What on earth are you going on about… He was clearly trying to get the knife out of your hand… It was deterrent behavior. With that in mind, to think you have the nerve to claim that to be self-defense! His parents are asking for you to get the death penalty, you know? It’s impossible for you to appeal now…” muttered the guard, prompting Xavia to momentarily fall silent. The other party was trying to stop her…? But things were clearly not
“Thank you… Thank you so much…” replied Xavia as she slightly reluctantly gave Zivon’s to him. All she could do was beg for his help now. Even if she had to tell him his daughter’s identity, she’d rather do that than have her daughter be turned into an orphan despised by all… To her surprise, the first thing she heard was a woman’s voice asking, “Hello? Are you looking for Young Master Burton? He’s taking a shower at the moment.” …It was Jenna. Were they sleeping together tonight…? Then again, they were husband and wife, so that wasn’t out of the ordinary… Though Xavia momentarily felt a hint of discomfort, she quickly calmed herself as she replied, “…It’s Xavia. I’m in trouble. Could you come over to the detention center? I need your help…” “…The detention center…? Hold on, I’ll be right there.” “…I appreciate it…” replied Xavia, feeling a lump in her throat. To think that in the end, Jenna—who always treated her terribly—would actually come to her aid without question… As it
“…It’s true. Essentially, I received a call from Cara yesterday, stating that she was in trouble. Though I immediately rushed over, I soon found out that she had used me as a betting chip to gamble! What more, she promised Mike that if she were to lose to him, I had to spend the night with that man! Naturally, I refused. As I attempted to escape, I tried to wrangle my hand free from one of his subordinates… Unfortunately, I ended up…” muttered Xavia truthfully. “I… I really didn’t mean to do it… I was just thinking about escaping and it really was out of self-defense…! Since I’ve helped you so much, could you lend me a hand this time, sister…? Can you get me a good lawyer to help clear my charges so I can be released…?” asked the helpless Xavia who was clearly placing all her hope in Jenna. Unbeknownst to her, the person before her wasn’t her benefactor. Instead, she was the culprit behind all this! Whatever the case was, Jenna then held onto Jenna’s wrist before reassuring in a
‘Mark met with an accident, so I’m headed to M Country, Dolly. Please help me care for Yulia for the time being. I’ll contact you once I’ve settled down.’ ‘Xavia’ also sent Maison a message, stating, ‘Aunt’s gone off to look for someone extremely important to her. With that said, be a good boy and get along with your mommy, alright? Aunt will reward you if you do. Also, try to set your mommy and daddy up more, okay? It’s impossible between me and your daddy…’ Last but not least, ‘Xavia’ made sure to upload a photo on Facebook—that showed her side profile holding onto a boarding ticket—that had the caption of, ‘A ticket to start a new life. I won’t be updating my account for a while. Goodbye, everyone!’ Naturally, this left the people following her confused and surprised. ‘Didn’t she just announce her relationship with Young Master Keith? Why’s she suddenly going abroad?’ ‘Think something came up?’ ‘At least she can go abroad… It’s hard for us to even travel beyond our state
With how serious he sounded, Jenna felt a lump in her throat as she replied, “No… I… well… I did have a look at it when the news about Xavia popped up earlier… However, I couldn’t unlock the phone due to your password…” Still looking as cold as ever, Zivon then said, “Don’t touch my phone without a good reason ever again…” “…Got it,” replied Jenna, prompting Zivon to walk away… Once he got downstairs, he clicked to check on the news… and at the top of the trending tab, was the hashtag, ‘Xavia Lockhart leaves the country!’ This made Zivon narrow his eyes. Clicking on the original post, he soon saw what Xavia had posted on her account. She had gone abroad…? But hadn’t she just been with Keith last night? What on earth was going on? Sensing his father’s confusion, Maison—who was seated at the dinner table—was prompted to say, “I know why Aunt went abroad, Daddy…” Despite hearing that, Zivon simply ignored his son. It was clear that he didn’t want to even hear the reason. Even
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