Brazen—that was what Javier was. He kept the secretary in his arms and toyed with her. No matter how the secretary struggled, she was unable to escape his vice-like clutch.Tyler was trembling in rage. “You lawless b*stard!”Tyler was not one to only curse at Javier as he picked up the phone to call the security guards.Javier suddenly grabbed the secretary’s high heel and threw it out. The supposedly ordinary black-sequined high heel turned into a powerful weapon in Javier’s hand.Tyler did not even get to react when the eight-centimeter heel of the shoe stabbed his eye. He howled in pain right away, but it was in vain.For the sake of his convenience to do anything in the office and not let others hear it, he had specifically requested a soundproofed room. Unless one fired a gunshot in the office, those outside could hardly hear the noises in there.That was why his agonized cries did not get any attention. Javier’s bold advances on the secretary were the only thing he got in r
Javier would never get rough with someone who had been forced to do a bad thing. That was, of course, if she was telling the truth. As it turned out, the secretary, Bernadetta James, had not been lying. She led Javier to the hospital, and the moment the nurse and the doctor greeted the girl, he knew she was telling the truth. A nurse giving an injection in the ward even began to chastise him. “You! What kinda boyfriend are you? The poor girl has to work during the day and care for her father at night–every single day to boot! Do you even know how tough that is? At least try to take turns, man. God, man up and share your girlfriend’s burden for a change!”Bernadetta was aghast. Her kind-hearted nurse friend was scolding the Devil Incarnate! He was going to kill her–he really was!“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Javier replied sheepishly. “I’ll take your advice into consideration.”His apologetic behavior was good enough that the nurse only chided him a bit more before letting him off
Bernadetta had once asked the doctor how long her father’s coma might last. The most likely estimate? A very pessimistic three years. And yet, Mr. James had awakened before his coma had even lasted three months. Bewildered, Bernadette rushed to the hospital, only to see that the doctor was just as puzzled by the change. According to the CT scan, the clots had disappeared completely, vanishing into thin air as though they had never existed, despite the fact that the scan a week ago had shown a grave number of clots! How could all of them be spontaneously removed in a week? One could only achieve that through surgery, and yet the doctor had never ordered one to be performed. So how had the clots just…disappeared this quickly? The doctor checked the old man’s head. Maybe he had forgotten performing the surgery. Unbelievable as it might sound, this hypothesis would at least be more plausible than the alternative. There were no scars anywhere, though, so there had not been an operat
Evanna was ready? Well, Javier had already been anticipating this before her! He had been waiting for this moment. He had been waiting for it for so long... At last!He nipped on Evanna’s skin, toying with it until her cheeks turned scarlet. When the foreplay was over, she closed her eyes sheepishly with bated breath. She puckered her lips unconsciously as she waited for the moment when she was no longer a maiden but a real woman. Goodbye, innocence! This farewell might be a skin-tearing, painful one too! This was the moment of truth—but the moment was interrupted when the phone suddenly rang. Javier was so not into it. What kind of idiot would let go of the ripe fruit in his hands for that sort of mundane sh*t?!The sudden ringtone startled Evanna, though, who turned and saw Joey’s name on the screen. “It’s my mom! Why is she calling you this early in the morning?” she asked aloud as she picked the phone up and brought it closer to Javier’s face. Javier was speechless. H
Don’s mindset was simple enough. His father had warned him not to provoke Javier, right? Then that was exactly what he would do. Why? Why?! Because his special little kid was dead! Why did someone as talented as his son have to die, while a beta soyboy sh*tbag like Javier got to extend his life like a maggot?!Don was livid. Javier should have died—not Eliott! If Eliott had survived…Don steered his car straight to Javier’s residency. When the latter came out of the house, he found himself staring at Don, who got out of his car with a gaze so stormy that it baffled Javier. Why was he so pissed? Had this idiot found out that he had murdered his kid? Don dispelled any doubts regarding what he knew about his son’s killer soon enough. “What is the point of keeping a beta maggot like you alive, huh? So others can pretend to be white knights around you?! The more I look at you, the more your very being disgusts me. You’re a beta, doormat-level c*ck! My son was born a star with a future
Don wanted to scream, but nothing came out of his throat. Of course not; Javier had used the tactics he had learned from the Grimoire to silence him and control his feet with his mind after all. The most Don could do was open his mouth with no sound coming out of his throat.The distance between him and the ledge was rapidly shrinking, and Don’s sheer panic was skyrocketing just as quickly. The workers had noticed his odd behavior. Alarmed, they hurried to his aid, hoping to dissuade the man they thought was about to commit suicide. “Stop! Stop, man! You shouldn’t go there—stop, please, just stop for a minute!”They hollered. They yelped. They tried to pull him away. The previous tragedy might have given them a chance to earn some more because the project now required them to reinforce the building’s safety features, but these were good people. Therefore, they instinctively wanted to help their fellow human being. Something yanked them back while they attempted to do so, though—t
It was Joey. She had come back from her globe-trotting trip to find a cure, despite Javier telling her he could do it. After finding no other cure aside from surgery, she had hurried back to her savior like a lamb returning to its flock. She was very quick too. She called him in the morning and was already back in Chinea before evening. She still had a flight left to take to return to her home properly, as there was no international airport in this city. Javier talked a bit more with David after the call. “Don’t get too hung up on your family affairs, Mr. Dennison. You should only worry if your grip on their leash isn’t tight enough,” he said, flashing the older man a cryptic smile before leaving altogether. David needed only a few seconds to understand his meaning. Had he held onto the leash around Don’s neck more tightly, his idiot of a son would still have been alive by this point. He should have chastised him more sternly! Now, the only child he had left was his daughter—the
Evanna went to work at the academy alone after breakfast. Meanwhile, Joey and Javier went to the hospital. There, Joey met the female doctor she had seen previously for her diagnosis, Mary Maine. Mary needed to take only one look at the report to remember who she was. “Ah, it’s you! It’s alright, you don’t need to take a new X-ray. You just had one, remember? Let’s proceed to the hospitalization arrangements, shall we? I’ll schedule your surgery as soon as possible.”Then, she wrote on a piece of paper in handwriting only a doctor could understand before passing it to Javier. He was to pay the sum at the counter. “I insist on taking an X-ray, doctor. I found a Traditional Chinean Medicine practitioner who cured me.”“Now, hold on a sec. That’s alternative medicine, you know. It’s the sort of stuff I’m skeptical about! I’ve devoted my whole life to researching and practicing mainstream, evident-based medicine, and I’ve reached the conclusion that it’s the most accurate and efficie
As Bernadetta launched a barrage of kicks against the restaurant door, Mrs. Greene summoned 120% of her strength, holding the fort. The older woman had made a living terrorizing others with absurd accusations and downright unreasonable demands, but this time, she had met her match. Bernadetta James put the “man” in the word “woman”—in that she resorted to violence as soon as things escalated. In the end, it took both Mrs. Greene’s apology and a deal to provide Javier and Bernadetta with three days’ meals, all free of charge, to make the young woman stop. Then—“because I actually have a weakness against people sincerely appealing to my better angels,” according to Bernadetta—she amended the peace offer, changing the three days’ free meals to…a week’s worth. Back in the inn, Javier expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Bernadetta for rescuing him. “I can’t thank you enough for standing by my side when I needed it the most, Bern. But I can thank you a bit more if you refrain from using t
Mrs. Greene opened her flap and unlocked the floodgate, the spit during her tirade so profusive that she could water an old lady’s lawn. “It’s him, officers! It’s all him! He did this to his own camera just to remove himself as a suspect, but we know better than that! He’s the guy who stole my goddamn lingerie!”She turned and trained her finger on Javier. “You vile, disgusting, degenerate piece of sh*t! Ptooey!”‘Back at you! I'd rather spend the night with my left hand than with you!’ By this point in the morning, Bernadetta had arrived at work. Her heels clicked onto the floor as she sauntered toward the commotion. As soon as she heard what had transpired, she laughed, looking clearly amused. She trained her perfectly manicured finger on Javier and piled on. “Oh, it was him. I can testify to that! He stole Mrs. Greene’s bra because he is…the Lingerie Phantom Thief! By day, he is Javier Kersey. At night, he is Jo Ker, the Bra Stealer!” Javier threw his arms up in exasperation
Javier shook his head. By the time his vision was back to normal, the dog was gone. It had escaped! “What kind of hell spawned this little sh*t?!” Javier wondered to himself aloud. “Was this really an effect of the world changing? Is this an example of mutation because of the Storm? Or is there something else at play?”Baffled and unsure what to think, Javier returned to the dorm and told the residents to open the door. Inside, he found Florence huddling the frightened kids closely. She was white from fear, and yet in the presence of vulnerable kids, she had assumed the role of the protector without a second thought. “Hush, it’s alright! It was fake. Someone pulled a terrible prank and put on this white sheet and…” Javier made up a fib to explain the haunting away exactly because the truth could land him in a mental institution. No one would believe him—and for good reason too!Javier drove Florence back to the Yuzuian restaurant, where the latter’s electric scooter was. While
A resentful wail—interspersed only by sobs that sounded more like someone was being strangled—was echoing in the middle of the night while Javier and Florence could not see even a single soul out there? Animated by the power of “hell, naw!”, Florence dove into Javier’s arms for protection. Her hands were clasped firmly on either side of her head, hoping to block out the ghastly demand in her ears. Her eyes were squeezed so tightly shut that even a crowbar could not pry them open.Javier himself was just as terrified. He would have felt better if he could see the source of the voice rather than just hear a woman sobbing about getting her head back. At least he would know what he was up against! But just hearing it without any visuals at all?! Nooooope!Then, Florence hugged him in a “help-me!” sort of way. She was soft and supple—damn, that sexy figure in combination with her silky-smooth skin sure was welcoming. She was warm, and damn did she smell good! Nothing competed with fea
The dog barked in protest as it pointed its paw at Javier with the intensity of a mob before executing a monarch. The flames in its eyes were so bright that they could incinerate Javier into ashes in milliseconds. In the end, though, all that protest was for naught. Constance tied it up in the parking garage, while Javier watched in glee. Ah, sweet, sweet revenge! The stupid dog had thought it could set him up, had it? That would teach it!The look the Pomeranian shot him almost felt like a threat: ‘Just you f*cking wait, hooman!’‘Wait for what? How much can a stupid b*tch like you do to me?’ Javier scoffed in his mind. Now that the four-legged pest was gone, Javier turned back to Constance and talked about the new orphanage. As it turned out, despite the old woman’s sentiments for the building she had founded, she was a lot less obstinate and unreasonable as she might appear. “I mean, I don’t object to it completely. I know the new place is gonna be better, but…” She faltered a
Florence called half an hour later to tell him where they’d be having dinner. After leaving the inn in Bernadetta’s care, he hurried to the venue. Florence had picked a newly-opened Yuzuian restaurant. Javier had never liked Yuzuian restaurants, but since Florence had invited him, courtesy stopped him from asking the woman to change their meeting venue. He found Florence quickly enough and sat across from her. They placed their orders, and Javier began his performance: He started sighing and doing his best to look forlorn. It intrigued Florence enough to ask what was wrong, and Javier told her about his unfortunate beef with Constance that day.“It’s so unfair, man! Why would I bully a dog for no reason?” he moaned. “I’m sure Aunt Constance misunderstood. You’re a knightly, heroic, kind man! How could someone like you possibly get off on hurting a dog? I’m sure Aunt Constance was just too worried about the dog’s welfare to think things through. She didn’t mean it. I can vouch for
Herschel was dressed quite sharply today. It was the full ensemble—black leather shoes, black slacks, a white collar, and last but not least, the good old oil-slicked hair. The typical look of a high-ranking office worker, just as Javier had requested. Ordering him to get in his car, Javier asked, “You brought all the stuff I told you to?”“Yo, I would never forget the stuff my boss told me to bring. I’ve got all the preparations down pat. You can check ‘em if you don’t trust me,” Herschel replied. He fished an ID and some documents out of his leather bag. “See? All the documentation a journalist in the most important room of a news agency would have.”After a round-check and some instructions, Javier sent Herschel on his way to complete his mission. The man was strangely reluctant, though. “Boss, you told me you decided to work in that inn, right? Does that mean, you know, that you’re gonna call me ‘boss’ while you’re there?”Javier had almost forgotten he had mentioned this. It
Javier’s suspicion turned to Constance Hellman’s white Pomeranian. He turned to the director’s office and met the dog’s eyes. With its paws on the windowsill, it hoisted itself up to look out of the window. Seeing the dog cracking a lopsided grin and baring its fangs—beaming as smugly as a teacher’s pet who had managed to subdue everyone through the power of being the boss’s favorite—made it look both amusing and chilling. It would have been had the dog not caught Javier’s gaze, suddenly dropped the smile, and put on a face that seemed to be saying, ‘I’m just your average dog! Nothing to see here!’And then it feigned—yes, feigned—a yawn as its one last measure to cover up the fact that it had been laughing smugly to itself. ‘What. The. Actual. F*ck?!’ Javier thundered in his mind. ‘B*tch’s a natural actress! What’s it doing here instead of being interviewed on a talk show after becoming viral on TikTok?’In combination with Russell’s report, the incident inside the director’s of
As Javier was befuddled, Constance rushed in from outside and picked up the white Pomeranian gingerly to carefully check its injured leg.“Oh, baby, what’s the matter? Did you hurt your leg?”The white Pomeranian whined in pain and began twitching upon hearing Constance’s concerned question. This upset Constance so much that she admonished him sternly. “Mr. Kersey, I thought that you were a loving person, but I can’t help doubting your motive now.“I’m skeptical about you taking good care of the kids here when you’d even hit a cute dog!”Javier felt extremely offended. When had he hit the dog? He hurriedly explained, “Madam Hellman, I didn’t do anything!”Constance asked angrily, “You didn’t do anything? Why would it suddenly limp now and whine so pathetically? Why did it hurry over to me? Give me a reasonable explanation!”Javier was in distress as well. “How would I know? It was fine when I was carrying it just now, but it wanted to get down on the floor, so I carefully placed