“A grand total of eighteen points…!” “Holy…! Master Mike truly is worthy of being the King of Gamblers’ son…!” “Young Master Burton has definitely lost this round…!” Kissing the beauty who was still in his lap, he then stared triumphantly at Zivon while saying, “Looks like I’ve already won, Young Master Zivon. Regardless, since you’re just a novice, I’m willing to let the bet slide. How about it?” The odds were clearly stacked against Zivon, and Zayne couldn’t help but facepalm. After all, Zivon was literally gambling with something he wasn’t good at with an expert! It had been a futile effort from the start! Even if Zivon got an extraordinary stroke of good luck, the best-case scenario would be a draw! With that in mind, Zayne was prompted to mutter, “Just leave it be, Zivon… Didn’t you hear that Master Mike was willing to let it slide? Things can end peacefully! If you continue, the only thing that awaits you is embarrassment from having to run naked around the city with a
G-give him anesthesia…?! He was still going to make Mike run after getting his finger chopped off…?! How cold-blooded…! Chills ran down everyone’s spines as they watched Zivon finally walk off… They had all heard that offending the young master would definitely lead to a fate worse than death. To think that the rumors had been true…! Moving back to Xavia, she didn’t return that night. After all, she didn’t want to see Keith nor Zivon. “Two glasses of wine, please…” muttered Xavia. “What kind?” “Anything. Anything that can relieve my sorrow…” replied Xavia before slowly walking to the corner and taking a seat. She remembered thinking that she had reached rock bottom about four years ago… How wrong she was… Just thinking about how increasingly tragic her life had become prompted her to drink glass after glass of wine… She didn’t even realize that two men had been ogling over her for a while now while whispering between themselves, “Hey, she looks lost.” “Think this is our cha
After staring at her tiny hand for a moment, Zivon eventually snapped out of it. Not wanting to think too much about it, he simply gave her a gentle pat. Though Zivon was a cleanliness freak—which meant that he’d never sleep next to a drunkard who hadn’t showered—he didn’t seem to mind Xavia’s current state at all… Regardless, the rest of the night was quiet and calming. It had been ages since Xavia was last able to sleep this comfortably, so Xavia only awoke in a daze at nine the next morning. Though her head was heavy, she instantly jolted awake when she heard an attractive voice right next to her saying, “Finally awake?” Turning around, she was instantly greeted by the sight of an extremely dashing face! With fair skin and supple lips, any woman would’ve swooned for him… But in the end, he was still Zivon! “…You… You lunatic…! Why are you in my bed?! What have you done to me…?!” exclaimed Xavia in a rage. Zivon, for one, had never encountered any other woman who’d treat hi
At that moment, Xavia’s heart fell into complete chaos. It was like multiple stones had been tossed into the same body of water, forming one ripple after another… At the start, Xavia had felt extremely depressed after overhearing—from the guard—that Zivon wasn’t there to save her. The feeling was so bad that she couldn’t even breathe properly back then. It was the reason why she had distanced herself from him the second she was released from prison… She had then loathed him for the longest time… Now that she knew the truth, however, she couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. It felt as though she was a patch of withered grass that had miraculously survived and begun thriving again. Still, she had no idea what was wrong with her, nor did she know why she was always this emotional when it came to him… Not daring to confront those feelings just yet, Xavia ultimately decided to change the topic by saying, “…Um… Don’t… be that strict with Jenna… In the end, she still helped me reduce my se
“…Thank you…” replied Xavia. As the scent of body wash filled the air, Zivon couldn’t help but stare at her slender arm that looked like it could break from the slightest force. It made him recall how Fourth Uncle and the prison guard had said that Xavia hadn’t eaten nor slept throughout her time in prison. His eyes momentarily deepening, Zivon eventually said, “…I’ll head to the second-floor restaurant to get you breakfast first… Come down once you’re dressed…” “…Got it,” replied Xavia, prompting Zivon to slowly walk away… Once his footsteps could no longer be heard, she took a look at the clothes he had picked for her… and realized that he had been thoughtful enough to get her undergarments as well! Just thinking about that made her heart start to beat again. How was she going to face him after this…? Regardless, Zivon reached the restaurant shortly after. By this point, Jenna called him multiple times, though he simply ignored all her calls. In the end, he even shut his phon
His tone alone was brimming with the desire to control. That aside, his words were also indirectly hinting at something else… Turning to look at Zivon, she saw that his eyes were also dead serious. He… he wasn’t joking at all… “…N-Now hold on, nothing happened between us at all-” “Can you truly say for certain that nothing happened between you two?” interrupted Zivon as he gently laid her against his arms. “…Because if so, something can happen now…” Feeling terrified, Xavia quickly pushed him away and sat by the window before nervously exclaiming, “N-No…! Um… My elder sister didn’t do anything wrong, Young Master Burton…! With that in mind, please don’t divorce her… That aside, though Young Master Keith and I are only dating due to our agreement, he truly treats me well! With all that said… I… think we should maintain our current relationship…” Upon hearing that, Zivon’s expression momentarily fell. After staring at the resistant woman for a while, he ended up snorting before
“I was tipsy, and this is the first time I’ve been in a relationship and been attracted to someone. I didn't mean to hurt you… I’m sorry.”He was the dignified young master of the esteemed Burton family, but he was apologizing to her for such a small thing. It was really very surprising.Xavia's tense body started to relax, and she looked at him with a hesitant smile. “Young Master Keith, thank you for apologizing. It makes me believe that you really do respect me and my opinion of you.”“It’s just that…ever since we got into this relationship, we were just supposed to try dating each other. There's no agreement that says you have to make sure I like you, so there's no need to trouble yourself. Nonetheless, I do hope that this kind of thing will not happen again in the future. Of course, if there is anything else that you need me for, I will definitely try my best to help.”What she meant was that she felt nothing but gratitude for him.Keith’s face fell.He really wanted to own
Huh?Who would want a hug from him?!Xavia quickly walked over to him. “Young Master Burton, why are you here?”Zivon looked at her oddly. “The children’s classes ended at 5.30pm, are you not going to pick them up?”Xavia hadn't seen the children in a long time and she did miss them. Hearing his words, she felt guilt creep into her heart. Zivon had been the one taking care of the children for the past few days, and the thought of it made her feel slightly flustered.“I will treat you to dinner after we pick the children up. I want to thank you for your help during this period, and I also want to make up for the misunderstanding earlier.” Xavia was being very polite and courteous, clearly trying to widen the distance between them.Zivon was not stupid—he knew what she was doing. He narrowed his eyes and pulled the car door open, gently and carefully helping her into the car.Ring, ring!qXavia’s cell phone rang as soon as she got inside the car. She took it out and saw that it w
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