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38: Caretaker
Last Updated:
2025-02-15 19:35:33
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Sunshine and The Beast 39: Something Changed Since Her
MatthiasThere were times when I had to go to the hospital. It wasn’t like this was my first time being hospitalized for more than a day. I have had my rough days since I was a kid.I remember those visits all too well. I wasn’t a stranger to pain, to the sterile smell of antiseptic and the bright, cold lights of emergency rooms. As a kid, I was constantly getting hurt—scrapes from falling off my bike, cuts from climbing trees, sprains from running too fast. Each time, my body would bear the marks of my recklessness, but it wasn’t just the physical wounds that left scars. It was the absence of anyone by my side.There was never anyone to sit with me in those hospital rooms. My father was too busy with his business. That was always his excuse. Always on calls, always in meetings, always away. He didn’t have time for the little things—like showing up when his son needed him most. I learned early on to rely on myself, to toughen up. The doctors and nurses would come and go, but I’d be le
Last Updated : 2025-02-16Sunshine and The Beast 40: Unknown
MatthiasI never felt—or claimed—to be a workaholic.There was nothing enjoyable about working, yet I did it anyway because I had to. It was an obligation, something I went through to survive while also trying to feel alive.Because when it came to work, emotions were the least of my concerns. Numbers and facts always took priority, and those two things came easily to me. At work, people treated me based on what I had to offer. Transactions. Deals. Everything revolved around that. Even that old bastard who refused to acknowledge my existence couldn’t deny that he needed me—at least in business matters.A week of feeling powerless in the hospital made me restless, and it seemed that the people who thought I owed them something felt the same way. A mountain of work was already waiting for me. Even Ren eventually decided to forgo any more rest and return to work."After this, you better find me a kind and sexy woman. That’ll make all this hard work worth it."Ren clearly assumed I had so
Last Updated : 2025-02-17Sunshine and The Beast 41: Jealousy, Perhaps
Althea "How close are you and that Kennedy boy?"No hi, no hello, no good morning, no how are you, no let’s eat—not even a grunt of acknowledgement before he threw the question at me out of nowhere, mentioning someone I didn’t expect as part of our first morning conversation.Not that I expected anything different from Matthias. If he ever did greet me properly, I’d be more inclined to believe I was still dreaming, that I had accidentally overdosed on my medication, or that Matthias had been abducted and replaced by an alien struggling to impersonate him.But that didn’t mean I was used to hearing him drop random, out-of-nowhere questions while I was still in that disoriented space between sleep and wakefulness. My brain was still sluggish, my limbs heavy, and my awareness fragmented into every corner of this room–or anywhere, I didn’t know.I blinked, trying to process his words through the lingering fog in my head. Kennedy boy? Who the hell was he talking about?Did he mean Tristan
Last Updated : 2025-02-18Sunshine and The Beast 42: Woman in The Picture
MatthiasMany said that love made life more beautiful. Some swore by it, claiming it gave meaning to their existence, as if life itself wasn’t enough. Whether that was true or not, I didn’t know. I didn’t intend to find out either. What was clear was that life without love was still possible. It didn’t make a person less whole, less capable. If anything, in my case, it made life easier. There was nothing to expect, nothing to wish for, and nothing to be disappointed about. No one to betray me, no one to leave. The only thing that mattered was what I wanted and what I did to achieve it.I didn’t have to waste my time thinking about something that may or may not happen. Something that people liked to romanticize but rarely seemed to understand themselves.Nonexistent—that was what my mother’s love had been for me.I didn’t remember anything about her. Not her voice, not her face, not the way she used to look at me—if she ever did. It was just a blank space where memories should have be
Last Updated : 2025-02-19Sunshine and The Beast 43: New Plan, New Meeting
AltheaAnother day, another meeting to attend.I used to think being a boss or holding a high-ranking position was an easy job. Not easy because the work was enjoyable, but because there would always be someone else doing the boss’s work. Isn’t that why so many people want to be leaders?Unfortunately, reality wasn’t as beautiful as I had imagined. The position I currently held barely allowed me to relax or sit back and do nothing. There were always calls and emails to respond to. There was always news—sometimes beneficial, sometimes shocking because of how "innovative" it was (that was sarcasm, in case you didn’t get it). And peace felt like a rare luxury when money was something I had to deal with every single day.“You’re getting better at meetings, ma’am,” Rebecca told me. “This time, they asked fewer questions than in the last meeting.”Following the success of The Art Palette, I knew Erbeauty had to keep moving forward and coming up with new ideas. That’s why I was working on th
Last Updated : 2025-02-20Sunshine and The Beast 44: Jealousy, Jealousy
AltheaMatthias was here.I knew we were in the same city, and we’re also basically in the same business world. Even so, was New York supposed to be this small? My meeting was in Brooklyn, while his office (and also mine) was in Manhattan. I didn’t think he was the type to grab lunch by twenty to forty minutes drive away.What was he doing here?It felt kinda wrong to question this. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like I didn’t want to see him whatsoever, it’s just … well, unexpected. And when I looked at him, those blue icy eyes turned into fire. I knew he didn’t call me to welcome me. He was mad. That was when I realized how close I was to Tristan.Why did it feel like I was caught doing something bad?“What are you doing here, Matt?” I tried to break the silence, hoping his gaze softened. Well, it didn’t, just like what I thought. It wasn’t as surprising as the fact he was here.His jaw tensed as he stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, even in a room filled with people. “I shou
Last Updated : 2025-02-21Sunshine and The Beast 45: Hot In The Office
AltheaHis kiss was rushed, messy, yet hot at the same time. My breath hitched. The kiss was urgent, heated, like he was trying to make a statement without words. His hands remained on the desk, caging me in, but he wasn’t pulling me closer—not yet. As if he was waiting for something. A reaction. A rejection.But I couldn’t move.My fingers tightened against the desk’s surface, the cool wood pressing into my skin as my mind scrambled to catch up with what was happening. Matthias—cold, brooding, unreadable Matthias—was kissing me. His lips were firm yet seeking, like he was testing a boundary neither of us fully understood. Heat coiled deep in my stomach, spreading through my limbs like wildfire, but my thoughts remained a tangled mess.This shouldn’t be happening.Every logical part of me screamed at the sheer absurdity of it. He was frustrating, impossible, and so infuriatingly distant most of the time. But none of that mattered at this moment. The only thing I could focus on was th
Last Updated : 2025-02-22Sunshine and The Beast 46: Her Story
Matthias“Where are we going exactly, Matthias?”Our quick sex gave a more lasting effect for my brain than the duration of the sex itself. Because everytime Althea called my name, her moan also circled in my mind. But I needed to focus. There was something I had to do first. A few days ago, I tried to look more into Reiley Hannah Alden. I didn’t find much, just as I expected, because since the start there wasn’t much to find. The Alden family was just a simple regular family that lived in a suburb, keeping a low profile as restaurant owner, while their only daughter, Reiley Alden, was a teacher. You wouldn’t find intricate and complicated information from people with that background.Maybe they would have a good life (or at least a good and normal death) if Reiley didn’t meet Jessen-Keith Lewis.To find something, I knew that I had to start from the low, from the basics. That was how I found the location of Marcus Smith, the previous head principal of the Staten Junior High, the sch
Last Updated : 2025-02-23
Latest chapter
Sunshine and The Beast 89: The Conference (I)
Matthias“And … yep. You’re ready to go.”Althea nodded slowly after adjusting my tie, her lips curling into a soft smile. “You look good with that tie.”I never really cared about ties, honestly. As long as I looked neat and presentable, that was enough. But I wasn’t about to complain if someone else took notice and made me look even more “put together.” And that person was Althea.“You’re really okay on your own?” I asked her once again.She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know you like to ask one question a thousand times, Matt. I am okay. The baby too. We’ll be fine. Just … you know, tell me if anything happens over there, okay?”That was supposed to be my line.I was actually reluctant to attend this business conference. But Cox and Tech—my company—needed to be present, especially since I was one of the speakers this time. The Milan conference was a major event, one with strong potential to expand business opportunities through collaborations, investments, and various other deals.
Sunshine and The Beast 88: The Grandmaster
Folded Page.Another plan has been successfully implemented.The man looked at the pile of papers on his desk, saw various contract signatures, letters of agreement, as well as some evidence of handover of asset transfers. It's just as usual sucess, nothing to be proud of. But this time, one contract caught his attention. The one who signed it made his smile grow bigger.Oh, Althea. Sweet Althea, he thought. She was definitely his favorite lamb. The one he wanted to keep at its best condition before it's used as the main course.A special main course, of course.The man then touched the edge of the contract with his fingertip, especially on the name listed. His chest was pounding with enthusiasm and anticipation, even though he already knew what was going to happen next.Oh, of course he did. He planned it. He planned everything.He would continue to take care of this name, to pay attention to it. No scratches, no wounds. At least, not yet. To keep it beautiful. To keep it the way he
Sunshine and The Beast 87: Protecting You in My Way
AltheaThings were changing. A lot.Althea Lewis from the past didn’t like uncertain and quick changes. Well, that was me. It took time to get used to anything, so to had a drastic change all of a sudden was draining.I meant, it took me months to finally be able to get a grasp of my new world, this business thing. And I couldn’t even say that I’d masteredt it.God knew I was far from it.Yet somehow, I didn’t mind the change that happened between Matthias and I. I liked it even, if I could put it that way.It felt like he was an entire different person, yet remained the same. The same Matthias Cox, but better. He brought a kind of stillness that didn’t demand anything from me, which was something I didn’t expect from him. At least me from months ago wouldn’t.He was calm where I was tense. He knew what to do, precise, where I was scattered and needed a lot of guidance. I didn’t need to explain my silences to him—he simply understood them. Vice versa, I didn’t feel the urge to ask abo
Sunshine and The Beast 86: My Wife
MatthiasTristan Kennedy.One name that I didn't really care about before. One name that had lived quietly in the shadows all this time, like a ghost behind a curtain. Everyone knew who Charles Kennedy was. He wasthe filthy rich misogynist who had crazy ideas that almost tanked his own empire.Almost. Underlined that word. Because his company was also one of a kind, an evidence of miracle, some would said.Some said that Charles came to his senses before the fall, miraculously managing to steer the wheel before he succumbed to illness. Others said it was a blessing from God for bad people. The latter sounded like nonsense, if you asked me. That kind of poetic ending sounded dramatic, too clean. I never liked those versions of the story. If God was real, He didn’t run a business portfolio. And companies like K Company didn’t just bounce back from near-collapse on sheer luck.Someone had pulled the strings. And if they could do that, then they were either a genius, or a psycho. The line
Sunshine and The Beast 85: The Boy from The Past
MatthiasEven though people say the crime scene will be the strongest evidence, the reality is often not the case. There would be times where you found nothing but the wind, no trace of a scent.However, again, I didn't have many options.The police station was not helpful, the orphanage that Cyan visited—I didn't have time to go because of the many meetings and the money-crazy people who could only sue instead of thinking and working—didn't give much information, so my option was Staten Junior High.I had gone to Marcus before to ask about Reiley, but I went back to school to ask something else; to see things from a different perspective. Some things was worth it to be checked twice. At least, I hope this one did.I had never thought I would come here once again, and some of the teachers sure shared the same thought, but they welcomed me nevertheless.“Mr. Cox, come in,” said Mrs. Josephine, the new vice head principal. She smiled so brightly, probably because I just told her a few d
Sunshine and The Beast 84: We Missed You
AltheaIt was weird remembering how before I felt like I can’t get used to this world, and a few months later I felt empty because I wasn’t sitting on my working desk.It was strange; how quickly the walls of my office started to feel like home again. The smell of brewed coffee lingering in the air, the faint hum of the overhead lights, the rustling sound of papers and keyboards and footsteps just outside the glass doors.It had only been a few weeks since I last stepped into this space, but it felt longer. Too long. I used to complain about deadlines and office noise, but now that I was here again… I missed it. All of it. Even the chaos.I walked into my office slowly, fingers grazing the edge of my desk like I was reacquainting myself with something lost. It was clean, perfectly arranged. Just the way I left it.“God, finally.”I turned around and found Rebecca, my assistant, standing at the doorway, arms crossed, a wide grin on her face. She looked the same, stylish as always, sharp
Sunshine and The Beast 83: Is This Okay?
Althea“Is everything okay, Matt?”The question slipped out before I could stop myself. I tried to make it sound casual—nonchalant, even—but my voice betrayed me with just the faintest edge of concern.Matthias stood across the room, near the wide living room window, one hand loosely holding his phone while the other hung at his side. The morning light softened the angles of his face, casting a golden glow across the lines of his jaw, but it didn’t do much to hide the tension in his shoulders.He didn’t answer immediately. He just stared down at the screen like he was reading something important. Or pretending to.“Matt?” I called him once again.Finally, he exhaled and looked over his shoulder. “Yeah. Everything’s under control.”It was the kind of answer you gave to stop more questions. The kind meant to reassure without actually offering anything real. I set my coffee cup down on the table a little too loudly.“That’s not really what I asked,” I said, more pointedly this time.Matt
Sunshine and The Beast 82: The Connection
MatthiasI made sure Althea was asleep before I slipped out of the bed.She’d curled into my side like she always did lately, breathing deep, her fingers unconsciously gripping the fabric of my shirt even in sleep. Maybe I could’ve stayed. Maybe I wanted to. It had become a quiet habit—sharing the night, the bed, her warmth. I didn’t know when it started to feel natural, but it had. And I didn’t mind it.But not tonight.Tonight, there was something I needed to do. Something I’d been pushing off for too long.The doctor had said she needed rest, and I wanted her to have it—wanted her to be safe, even if it meant doing the darker parts of this alone. So I moved carefully, slipping from the bed and tugging the covers back over her shoulder before leaving the room and closing the door with a soft click.The apartment was dim, quiet. I padded through the living room barefoot, the only sound the low hum of the city outside the window. I adjusted the headphones, waiting for the familiar chi
Sunshine and The Beast 81: Let Me Take Care of You
AltheaThe more you deal with money, the more screwed it becomes.Lesson learned, but the class wasn’t over yet.If anything, it was just the start of a syllabus I never asked for.I woke up to the scent of something warm drifting from the kitchen—eggs, garlic, maybe a touch of rosemary. It was soft, comforting, something I hadn’t realized I missed until it filled the space around me. My feet padded across the floor, and I followed the smell like it was pulling me with invisible threads.And there he was.Matthias stood by the stove, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, spatula in one hand, coffee mug in the other. A faint stream of morning light spilled in through the windows, casting a golden hue across his face. He looked… peaceful. Out of place, almost, in the soft domesticity of my kitchen.He glanced up when he noticed me. “Morning.”I blinked, definitely not expecting a greet for him. “Are you… cooking?”He turned back to the stove like it was no big deal. “What does it look like?”
