Axel didn't know what could hurt more than the fact that... today he lost both of his parents.Two years after his mother's death, his father passed away, and Axel always knew that day would come soon in his life from the first second he faced his mother's death.There was nothing that his father would have wanted and Axel had always seen the reluctance in his eyes whenever Alexandrov realized that he still had to continue his life alone without Beatrice.And today... they had literally left him alone to be back together in a place that... well, Axel wasn't sure where they were. He believed that there was life after death, but he didn't know exactly where that place was. Wherever it was, at least he knew that his parents were back together in an eternity that no living person could ever see."Axel," Cailynn grabbed his wrist and leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked out of the cemetery. "You're going home with me, aren't you?"Axel let out a long breath.Not far from him
Axel thought that dreaming of meeting Angeline—touching her hand and hugging her all night when he knew his body lacked the strength to open his eyes was a pleasant dream.He cried. Yes, he did.Just as Chloe had said more than ten years ago, Axel finally found a hug that allowed him to cry there.He found that hug, and he honestly cried there.Many things he let out through his tears—the pain he had let stay in his heart for years, along with every anger, disappointment, and pain that burdened him.Yes, Axel hugged her tightly and cried there after letting his body endure a fever for the past week.Throughout the night, he kept his eyes closed because he feared the dream would end right when he opened them. So, rather than letting himself realize what was happening, he preferred to stay in the illusion that burdened him.Unfortunately, what he thought was a dream—an illusion that appeared in his mind because his body could no longer bear the pain- turned out not to be the dream he th
Eve couldn't describe how she felt when her feet stepped through the large pillars in front of the main door of a mansion that was not unfamiliar to her—a mansion she once called home.It had been a month since her last memory of that place. A month had passed, and she thought she would keep counting every day as she woke up alone in her bedroom."Eve," Cailynn reached out her hand to her.Eve looked up and glanced at Cailynn's outstretched hand for a moment.In front of the mansion's door, there were two men who were not strangers in er memory. And not far from them, Anthony stood with Cassy and Taylor."Come on, Eve," Cailynn repeated her sentence.She still remembered what happened when she first arrived.No. No one greeted her. She came with fear of death—afraid that something bad would happen and she would lose her baby.At that time, fear dominated her heart more than anything. But now, she was not afraid of death or losing her baby. A month ago, she walked through death, and sh
Eve woke up earlier than usual. Well, she was ready at the dining table before breakfast time, and she admitted that she did it for a very clear purpose—something she had been thinking about all night while sleeping alone in the old room she used to sleep in the mansion.The room remained clean and comfortable to stay in because Cassy said that the maids cleaned it every day for some unknown reason. Some of her stuff was still left—whether she was still allowed to call them hers or not. However, she tried to reassure herself that she was still allowed to use everything in the room, including taking a blanket to wrap around her body while sitting by the window until midnight.Not much had changed from the forest surrounding the mansion—it all still looked so dark at night that she couldn't see anything. As she always did, she wondered why this mansion had to be built in the middle of such a secluded forest. And as she had predicted before, she didn't get an answer to that question.Tim
Eve didn't know what to do in Axel's mansion throughout the day.There was nothing she could do except repeating every habit she had for the past week—waking up, sitting at the dining table with Cailynn, being in the horse stable all day, then walking through the forest from evening till night.This place felt so quiet, whether it was truly quiet or it was just her feeling because she always felt alone.Cassy and Taylor still worked there, but she rarely met them lately because they were mostly assigned to Axel's headquarters in downtown Seattle.How did she know all of this? Of course, Cailynn always told her everything, even though she remembered that she had never asked for any information."Your apple pie, Miss."Eve looked up when a maid placed a plate of apple pie in front of her."Who asked you to make apple pie?" Cailynn furrowed her brows as she pulled the plate towards her—giving Eve no chance to understand what was happening."I only brought the food made by the chef, Miss.
"Have you really lost your mind now?!"Axel wasn't surprised when someone entered his private room—a room located at the far end of the clan's headquarters.Yes, of course, he remained unsurprised by the yelling and the sound of the door being roughly opened.Well, he was prepared to face something worse than this... and maybe he would get it. Indeed, he would get it."Do you really want to destroy everything and make yourself the dumbest human being ever?" Cailynn still had the same look—eyes full of anger that could make anyone tremble when facing her. However, of course, that look had no effect on Axel at all."You've really lost your sanity, and this time, I can't hold myself back, Axel! I'm sick of all this!" Cailynn threw a magazine containing a photo of him with a woman in a bright red dress who appeared to be smiling sweetly at the camera—showing happiness that was so genuine while her hand displayed a diamond as if she was showing her engagement ring.Stupid. Anyone who saw t
Axel never imagined that he would attend a party amidst the crowd of Seattle's socialites. Well, this party was not only attended by Seattle's socialites but also by almost all wealthy people who had significant influence in the United States, especially those living in New York.He didn't know how this party would be ready in just two days, but it seemed like everyone worked hard to prepare a party for that... Axel himself didn't care much about it. There were many familiar faces to him, but of course, he hardly recognized most of the guests who came to his party.Well, who cared who came to this party? The only thing he wanted was to see people he didn't know coming to his party and making the news of his engagement more talked about."I'm still surprised when you throw a party like this," Adeline held his hand and walked beside him—admiring everything at their party before Axel led her near a pillar outside the ballroom, which was the main venue of their party. Yes, this was their
Eve didn't really know how she felt right now.Everything felt... gray, and she had no explanation when she stepped out of Axel's mansion.Stupid. This is what she should have done since she heard Axel's rejection when she first came here. Why wait for him in his mansion when she knew Axel no longer wanted anything from her?"Yes, I'll go back to New York," Eve nodded softly as she heard Kaira's question who came to pick her up."Stay at my apartment for a while," Kaira took a deep breath and started driving her car through the vast grounds of the gloomy mansion where she had been living for the past week.Why did she let Kaira pick her up? Because... she didn't know how to refuse when she knew she needed her friend's help so much."Of course," Once again, Eve nodded without any objection.Staying at Kaira's apartment until she found the right time and reason to go back to New York was something she really needed.She couldn't bear to go back to her apartment and live alone there. But