With how badly her voice was quivering now, it was evident that she was in shock. He… actually wanted her to abort the ‘child’…? When he saw her eyes dimming, Zivon simply didn’t have the heart to tell her that she’d never be able to conceive another child for the rest of her life. Holding her in his arms, he then comforted in a soft voice, “…It’s… not the right time for this child, Xavia… If he’s birthed, not only will it be detrimental to your health, but it’ll also negatively affect your reputation and current situation… With that said, please don’t be saddened and be sensible about this, alright…?” …Be sensible about this? Looking at how calmly Zivon was distinguishing between the pros and the cons, Xavia felt like he was just dealing with the situation like he was dealing with work… and it instantly made her heart go frigid as she asked, “…Not the right time? When’s the right time, then?” Her question made the corners of Zivon’s mouth twitch. She had a blood clotting disor
Sitting in his office, Zivon ended up smoking a cigarette… and another… and another… and soon enough, he had smoked every last cigarette in the box. The box itself was fairly new, and still had twenty sticks last night… With that in mind, it only made sense why Zivon’s throat now felt uncomfortable… Whatever the case was, it was at four in the evening when Zivon finally decided to take a shower in the lounge. Following that, he changed into a clean suit before heading back to the old mansion… To his surprise, Xavia was nowhere to be seen. Hadn’t he told her to wait for him in the private court…? …Did she take it that badly? Was she planning to run off with the child?! Terrified by the thought, Zivon then quickly attempted to give Xavia a call… Thankfully, she picked up, and he immediately asked in an anxious tone, “Xavia? Where are you?” Upon hearing his worry-filled voice, Xavia somehow felt even more upset than before. After all, before this, his words and actions made it fee
The prestigious Young Master Burton had his sleeves rolled up… and he was now in the kitchen operating a knife…! By god! When did the young master even learn how to cook?! Though Nathan was left utterly shocked, he quickly ran over while exclaiming, “Y-young Master…! Please put that knife down! If you want to cook anything, allow me to do it…!” While Nathan couldn’t really cook, there was no way he was allowing Zivon to continue! To Nathan’s dismay, Zivon simply replied in an indifferent tone, “There’s no need for that. Just wait outside.” “…But-” “Don’t make me repeat myself,” commanded Zivon, Prompting Nathan to finally leave… Once he was gone, Zivon began taking the raw, greasy chicken out, together with the other ingredients. Under normal circumstances, anyone who was a clean freak would’ve surely flinched when their fingers touched the greasy chicken. Zivon, however, wasn’t just anyone. Instead of simply tossing the chicken aside, he patiently began cleaning it accor
After all, true love didn’t exist in this world, especially when it came to high, mighty, and charming men like Zivon. With that, she calmly replied, “…I’m not mad, nor am I thinking of anything else. As you said, the child came at a bad time, and if anyone with bad intentions were to spread the news around, then it would not only ruin our reputation, but also the rest of your family. At the end of the day, my sister is still your wife, so this child and I aren’t exactly acceptable to the public.” “We’re both adults here, so I figured I may as well deal with this calmly. Again, I’m fine, so go back and just focus on taking care of Maison…” added Xavia. ...Xavia was being extremely sensible… A little too sensible… Though Zivon found it strange, she was still in a pretty vulnerable state at the moment, so he didn’t want to pick a fight with her. With that, he showed her his thermos before saying, “I’ll leave, but only after I feed you some soup.” This left Xavia momentarily stunn
Moving back to Xavia, her room’s door was soon pushed open… And upon looking up, she saw that it was Keith…! That beast of a man…! Was he even aware of how much harm he inflicted on her last night?! She really wanted to kill him…! Thankfully for that man, Xavia knew that killing others was against the law, and she wasn’t about to do something that stupid. What’s more, it could potentially affect Yulia’s life too, as well as her freedom. With all that in mind, Xavia did her best to remain calm… Keith himself casually walked over to her bed—almost as though nothing had happened last night—before looking at her as he asked, “So, have you thought long and hard about it?” Desperately trying to keep her emotions in check, Xavia replied, “…It’s one thing for me to feel grateful to you, but it’s another for you to bring harm to me…! Do you really think I can just pretend that nothing happened after last night…?! Regardless, since you did still save my life back then, I’ll at least agree
With that in mind, Xavia replied, “Deal. Though I’ll have to make things clear with him.” “Acceptable. I guess we have a deal then,” replied Keith, understanding that the future of their relationship had now been settled. After Keith walked out, Xavia instantly found herself heaving a sigh of relief. Once she had locked her room door, she quickly headed into the bathroom. Now that she could see herself in the mirror, she took some of the ointment that Keith had left behind before starting to apply it on her wounds… Each wound stung, and the pain was so great that Xavia soon felt beads of sweat rolling down her forehead… Even so, no amount of pain could compare to the aching in her heart… Her life was just filled with scars, huh… Either way, once she was done applying the medication, Xavia began using every second of the next seven days to design her new green space proposal… Zivon himself made sure to keep his distance from Keith, though he still took the time to deliver soup
It looked completely different from the other designs! In fact, there were several highly detailed areas fitted across the extremely detailed concept map! The first area contained a quaint and artistic-looking literary courtyard surrounded by camphor trees and green stone paths. There were even gardens and small lotus ponds connected by bridges all over the area! As for the second area, it revealed a lush bamboo forest. Within it, lay several houses, studies, and pavilions, all made from bamboo. Since it was also surrounded by landscapes and mountains, the area looked truly breathtaking… Even the third area was just as creative. It contained a magnificent-looking round house, and everything had an aesthetic similar to what one could see in the movie, ‘Big Fish and Begonia’. Then again, this place was far larger than the house in the movie, and it honestly made the structure even more special. Moving on, there were cave areas, yurts, and many other areas… all in all, there were
“Zivon, you’re messing with us, right…?” Looking at everyone with extremely determined eyes, Zivon then replied, “It really wasn’t me, Grandma. As proof, why don’t you announce the name of the designer, Uncle Larry?” Zivon himself had a hunch of who had submitted that proposal, and he was keen on finding out if he was right. “Very well, Young Master Burton,” replied Larry as he flipped the design sheet around… revealing the name Xavia Lockhart! “M-My god…! Xavia designed that?!” exclaimed Helen as her eyes widened in shock. Even the others were shocked as they started saying things like, “H-How is this possible?!” “How could a hillbilly like her possibly design such a masterpiece…!” “That’s definitely not her design…! There must be some sort of misunderstanding…!” growled the infuriated Jenna who was jealous and dissatisfied beyond words. How ironic. After giving Jenna a short glare, Zivon commanded, “Go get Xavia over, Uncle Larry.” “Right away,” replied the butler a
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