Kait turned stiffly toward Frank, as if his joint had rusted.He never imagined that the brat would know Kurt. To make things worse, Kurt was respectful—even deferring to him!Who the hell was he?"It's my sister's birthday," Frank said quietly just then. "I came to celebrate with her, but that bastard over there demanded her to be his hostess.""What?!" Kurt was furious—biological connections notwithstanding, if Frank said Winter was her sister, then she was his sister.Kait must have lost his marbles to have asked her to be his hostess!If anything, he really should not have bothered to talk to Kait at all earlier!Glaring murderously at Kait, Kurt promptly shoved his shoe on his face. "Are you fucking with me? Telling Mr. Lawrence's sister to be your hostess?!"Kait was trembling all over in terror, truly horrified just then. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stinson. I'm so sorry… Please have mercy…" Kurt turned toward Frank. "What should we do with him?"Frank remained impassive as he sa
Winter slowly turned toward the old man and found him staring fixedly on her chest.She became nervous and tightened her collar in response—could he be some pervert?Frank turned when he heard the old man's voice, and frowned when he saw what the old man was doing.Kurt hurried back to the old man right then. "Is there a problem, Mr. Looman?"Iker Looman was actually a famous jeweler based in Riverton. It would be bad if word got out, what with the way Iker was staring at Winter.Iker, however, ignored Kurt and hurried to Winter's side. "Miss, may I ask where you got that pendant from?"Winter lowered her eyes in turn to glance at the pendant before her chest. "Mr. Lawrence gave it to me for my birthday," she said, turning toward Frank.Kurt then introduced Iker. "Mr. Lawrence, this is Iker Looman, the second eldest son of Riverton's Loomer family. He's a famous jeweler in this region."In fact, he was just taking shop with Iker, only to be surprised by the geezer's… tastes.
Iker was still staring yearningly at Winter. "So? What do you think, miss?"Winter was pensive for a while but eventually said hesitantly, "T-This is a present from Mr. Lawrence. I-I won't sell it."Sure, she could sell it and get rich in an instant, but that was exactly it—it was too precious to be sold.Moreover, what would Frank think of her if she did sell it?Frank was profoundly pleased with her decision—at the very least, she was not the type who could be bought.Iker shook his head in disappointment in turn. "Oh, terrible shame. No worries—I won't push for you to sell it, though I shall mourn that I missed out on such a masterpiece."Still, he was not one who gave up easily as he turned to Frank. "May I ask where you bought that pendant from, Mr. Lawrence? That's a piece by none other than Carl Weaver—I'd certainly like an introduction."Kurt smiled as well. "Mr. Looman here loves his gems. Do introduce him if you can, Mr. Lawrence. Of course, it goes without saying that
Fred gently patted Winter's head. "Don't worry. She's going to be fine—I've already arranged for a specialist for her."Beside him, the woman wearing extensive makeup spoke up. "It's just her old age showing. Why go through all that trouble? What a waste of money."Frank frowned at those words and turned toward the woman.He immediately recognized her—it was the top sales girl from that dealership he visited before.However, she had been thoroughly dismissive of him and Janet Zimmer…"And you are?" he asked.Fred introduced, "This is my girlfriend, Marian Henley, and this is Frank Lawrence… A friend."Marian did a double take when she glanced at Frank. "It's you…?""Yes. We meet again," Frank said impassively, his tone flat."Oh… You've met before?" Fred asked in curiosity."Yeah, of course," Marian said, quickly getting up and batting her eyelashes endlessly at Frank. "He came to my dealership—you should have said you were Fred's friend. I could've given you a discount.""I
Frank stared at Marian as she flirted at him like a skank, and he sighed. "Get along with Fred, and I'll make your life better—or better than it is now, at least. But if all you can think about is riding men on your way to the top, I'd rather you stay away from him."Marian never expected Frank to be impervious, completely ignoring her advances!"So pretentious…" She snorted. "No one would be the wiser if neither of us talk about it, y'know?"Seeing that she was completely unrepentant, Frank growled, "Get out of my sight.""What?" Marian did not expect that from him either.Nonetheless, Fred arrived at the doorway, and Marian promptly jumped away from Frank."Oh, what are you doing here, Marian? Mr. Summer is here," Fred said.Marian's anger faded from his face right then, replaced by delight as she exclaimed, "Oh, Mr. Summer's here? Well, where is he?"With those words, they both left the staircase.Frank followed them back to Carol's ward and found a middle-aged man in a sui
Brock was completely ingratiating himself as he asked, "Hello, Dr. King? Are there any special care wards available in Riverton City Hospital… What, the last one was just booked? Well, can't you pull some strings for me—"The doctor on the other end hung up on Brock before he could finish, and he was left staring at the blank screen and grumbling, "Fuck! All those goodies I've been giving you… It's all for nothing!"Marian entered the men's room just then. "Mr. Summer…"Brock jumped as he turned. "Oh, it's you, Marian… What's up?""Did you get the special care ward, Mr. Summer?" Marian asked in curiosity.Brock patted his chest confidently. "It's just a room. It's as good as done."Marian smiled and promptly pressed herself against Brock as she grinned. "You're so amazing, Mr. Summer…""What, you have something else to say?" Brock grinned, his eyes watching her with as much glee as lust.Marian winked and giggled. "It's a little noisy here… Why don't we talk someplace quieter?"
Fred was stupefied and confused right then. "Uh… Why?"Frank thought about it. "You and your girlfriend are completely different people."Fred frowned right then. "What are you talking about? My family's business is none of yours—don't even think about meddling." Completely oblivious to Marian's endless duplicity, Fred believed that Marian was kind, caring, and tactful. Moreover, she was always accepting of him despite his modest income—how dare some outsider like Frank criticize her?!Frank was stumped.He hesitated again but insisted, "I don't want to meddle either. It's just a piece of advice.""Enough! Get out of here, you're not needed here!" Fred snapped at him, rolling his eyes.Winter returned just then, and seeing Fred snapping at Frank, she promptly asked, "What's wrong, Fred?""Nothing," Fred told her before turning and bellowing at Frank again, "Don't you ever come looking for your sister again! You have no chance with her!"Frank shook his head exasperatedly. "
However, Fred suddenly noticed that girlfriend's collar was wide open."What happened to your blouse?" he asked.Marian froze and quickly looked down."Oh… I didn't feel that button fall off," she quickly said as she pulled up her collar.She and Brock had been in so much of a hurry that the button was lobbed off when he tore at her blouse.Fred remained puzzled, but before he could press the issue, a nurse entered. "Is Carol Zims' family here?"Fred quickly walked up to her. "Yes, I'm her son."The nurse nodded. "Your mother will be moved to the special care ward now."Fred was not surprised since Brock had said as much. "Where can we make the payment?""Payment? What payment?" The nurse did a double take. "The chief himself approved the room for your mother. Just come with me.""The chief? As in Hali King?" Fred asked in disbelief.The nurse raised her brow. "Of course. Who else could our chief be?"Fred and Marian turned to Brock right then, with Marian exclaiming in dis