“Alright. Stop crying now.”Amora wiped her son's tear-streaked face.“You too, Mom,” Rayden said with a small laugh, wiping his mother's wet cheeks.Amora smiled and handed the drink she hadn't finished earlier to her son.Rayden took a sip and then handed it back to his mom. His small eyes looked at her intently, filled with curiosity.“So, how was the man at the blind date, Mom?”Amora nearly choked at her son's question. "You... still haven't given up?" she grumbled.The boy flashed a toothy grin and asked, “Didn't you like him?” He was still trying to pry information from his mother about the blind date she went to this afternoon.Emma listened with interest too."He was a scammer. Next time, don’t just sign me up for a blind date, Ray," A
Royal Dragon Office BuildingRegis quickly walked into his office. He dropped into his large chair. As usual, his face was cold and expressionless.After canceling all his blind dates for the day, Regis chose to return to the office.Mark didn’t follow him back because he had to gather some information that Regis needed.Regis pressed the intercom button and dialed his secretary Monica Grant’s extension.“Bring me all the donation data I asked for yesterday!” Regis ordered his secretary.Without waiting for a response, Regis ended the intercom call. Shortly after, there was a knock at the door.“Come in!” Regis called without looking up. He was fiddling with his phone.Monica Grant walked in cautiously. She rarely interacted directly with her boss. Previously, she reported most things through Mark.Being called in suddenly made Monica’s heart race. She was worried about making a mistake. In Regis Lorenzo’s eyes, even the smallest mistake was still a mistake, and he didn’t need any exc
"Are you sure you want to return to your house, Amora?"Emma Adams watched as Amora packed some of her personal belongings into a suitcase. She tried to persuade Amora to stay with her.One week has passed since the threats from the unknown perpetrators. It has also been one week since Amora and her son stayed at Emma Adams' house. This afternoon, Amora decided to return to her own home. She didn’t want to continue burdening Emma.Although Emma didn’t feel burdened at all, Amora still didn’t want to rely on her especially since she heard that Emma’s son would be visiting her this weekend.As someone without a blood relation to Emma Adams, Amora felt uncomfortable if Emma’s son asked about her presence in the house. She thought it would be better to leave today.Amora took an afternoon shift to handle her personal matters. She had finished packing her
The sound of the bell ringing throughout Marionette International School was the most anticipated moment for all the students. Several luxury cars lined up neatly in front of the school entrance, ready to pick up the elite students.Today, all the students were dismissed early because they had just finished their midterm exams. It was no wonder the parking lot was much more crowded than usual.Mark Carter was standing in front of the entrance. His eyes scanned the faces of the students who were starting to exit the school building one by one.His gaze stopped at a teenage girl laughing and joking with her friends.“Miss,” Mark called out when their eyes met.The smile on Alicia Lorenzo’s face immediately faded. She stopped and stared sharply at her brother’s assistant.“Ugh, why are you the one picking me up?” Alicia grumbled.“The master had some business today. So the young master was asked to pick you up, and I had to get out of the car to greet you, Miss,” Mark explained.Alicia r
A meaningful smile spread across Alicia's lips. Her captivating blue eyes sparkled as she read the incoming message on her phone.The message was from Amora, sent about fifteen minutes ago, but Alicia had just opened it. She quickly replied to the message.[Wait there. I'm on my way.]Of course, Alicia was lying. She had just passed the café where they were supposed to meet and hadn’t asked Mark or her brother to stop there for a moment.Soon, Alicia received a reply.[Will it be long, Miss? I have other things to do.]Alicia clicked her tongue in annoyance. She thought for a moment and then typed another reply.[Just wait. You better be there when I arrive!]A sly grin appeared on the corner of Alicia's lips. She was very satisfied with her response. She was sure Amora wouldn’t leave until she arrived.As expected, Amora replied again. [Alright, I'll wait.]‘Ha! Serves you right. Who told you to make me wait last time,’ Alicia muttered to herself.She was still upset about what had h
"I don't know either," Alicia replied.Regis's eagle-eyed gaze immediately honed in sharply on his sister. "You don't know?"The girl rolled her eyes lazily. She snatched her phone back from her brother's hand and said, "Seriously annoying! Do I have no privacy left at all?"Alicia's protest went unnoticed by Regis."I'm almost 18, Brother. Stop treating me like a child!" Alicia continued, her face contorted with resentment."Still two months to go," Regis retorted, turning his sister's earlier statement around.Alicia grunted in frustration. She had no intention of explaining what she was doing to her brother.Her lips pursed in a sour expression, she simply stared at her phone screen to avoid looking at her brother.Regis's eyebrows furrowed."You're not dating a girl, are you, Alicia?" Regis queried with doubt, concerned that his sister might have deviant behavior.Alicia's blue eyes widened.Her gaze reminded Regis of their late mother, who had passed away when Alicia was about the
"He's Johannes Brown, my husband."A young woman with an extravagant appearance, dressed provocatively, suddenly interrupted the conversation to introduce the man standing next to her.The woman was Lisa Taylor, the mother of Benjamin Brown, who had previously clashed with Amora. She proudly introduced her husband and flirtatiously smiled at Regis.Johannes frowned. His face showed slight displeasure at his wife's overly flirtatious behavior."Mr. Brown is my deputy, Mr. Lorenzo," Larry explained with a cheerful smile."My father is David Brown. You must know him as he has met you at several meetings," Johannes said confidently.Regis didn't respond. He just looked at Larry sharply, making it clear that he didn't like the couple blocking his way and view."Mrs. Brown, let's sit down and talk," Larry quickly suggested, clearing his throat as a signal to Johannes.Seeing this, Johannes retracted his ignored hand and pulled his wife aside to make way for Regis and Larry.Without a word,
Larry was shocked by Regis's statement about the missing student. He looked back at his assistant and asked sharply, "Miss Smith, didn't you see him clearly earlier?"Eva jumped in surprise. She nervously wrung her hands, her face pale as a sheet of paper."E-earlier, there was a boy who left. He said he wasn't feeling well and asked to go to the restroom. I thought he didn't want the scholarship because his parents weren't here either," Eva replied anxiously.Regis raised an eyebrow. He indeed hadn't seen Amora in the room. He had hoped to meet both of them on the way to the school, but that hope vanished due to the school's negligence.Regis felt something was off about Amora and Rayden. He suspected someone was trying to prevent them from meeting him.Earlier, Rayden Lysander, Amora's son, had been in the room. Regis had seen him correctly.However, unbeknownst to Regis, Lisa had kicked the boy out. Johannes Brown's wife was disgusted by Rayden's presence.Before Regis arrived, Lis
“Do you want to meet your biological father, Miss Lysander?” Diego asked, his tone probing.He had considered arranging a meeting between them as a trade-off—if Amora agreed to leave Regis. “If you want, I can—”But Amora cut him off immediately. “That won’t be necessary!”Diego froze, caught off guard. He noticed the tears beginning to pool in her clear eyes, but there was something else there too—a sharp, almost predatory glare that made it clear she wasn’t someone to mess with.A faint, cold smile curved Diego’s lips. That side of her ... it was just like Alejandro Volker—and Diego hated that side the most.Even though he could see how angry Amora was with both Alejandro and himself, Diego couldn’t care less. In fact, he almost welcomed her hatred for Alejandro. To him, that was a win.‘Alejandro Volker … maybe the best punishment for you is your daughter’s hate,’ Diego thought with a twisted smile.He wanted Alejandro to feel the same kind of pain he felt now—being despised by you
"Are you criticizing how I handle my son, Miss Lysander?" Diego asked, his voice cold and piercing.The pressure in the air made Amora hold her breath. She quickly broke eye contact with the middle-aged man. That sharp gaze, almost suffocating in intensity, made her realize she might've crossed the line. Still, she didn’t believe anything she said was wrong.“I think you know what I really meant, Sir,” Amora replied, refusing to back down even a little.Diego scoffed. Her unyielding attitude both impressed and annoyed him. “If he hadn’t chosen a life with you, I wouldn’t have gone this far either, Miss Lysander,” he said as calmly as he could.Inside, though, rage was boiling in his chest. But he wasn’t about to let Amora see that she had managed to stir him so easily.Diego kept cornering her with harsh words, trying to make it seem like all his actions were her fault, as if she were the root of the problem. And that made Amora’s blood boil.‘No! I can’t lose it. He still has Grandma
“Mr. Lorenzo—”“Let’s talk over dinner,” Diego cut her off before Amora could say anything else. He signaled to one of his men standing by the door.Moments later, a server rolled in a cart of food that had clearly been prepared in advance. He placed a plate of beef bourguignon in front of Amora and Diego.The rich aroma of the dish made Amora’s stomach growl. She was starving—she hadn’t eaten a single thing since morning. But despite the tempting sight and smell in front of her, she held herself back.“I’m sorry, please take my plate away,” Amora said to the server.The man hesitated and looked toward Diego, whose expression had darkened at her refusal—clearly taking it as a sign of disrespect.Amora could sense the shift in Diego, too. Still, she stayed calm, projecting confidence as she stared him down. “I’m not hungry. So let’s just cut to the chase, Mr. Lorenzo.”Diego smirked. With a wave of his hand, the server quickly wheeled the food cart out of the room.“What do you want in
"Grandma ...."Amora’s whisper was soft and full of sorrow. She deeply regretted dragging her innocent grandmother into her mess.Clutching her phone tightly, Amora’s earlier resolve to avoid Diego completely shifted. Without a second thought, she bolted out of her rented house and rushed to the meeting place Diego had set.Thirty minutes later, she arrived. Amora glanced around before stepping toward the restaurant.Her brows furrowed when she saw the sign hanging on the restaurant’s door—it said closed. But the street outside still buzzed with activity like usual. A place like this shouldn’t be closing this early.Her heart pounded. A sinking feeling settled in her chest as her mind conjured all the terrible things that might be happening inside. For a second, she considered turning back. But then her grandmother’s face flashed in her mind, reigniting her courage.She took a deep breath, bracing herself, and pushed the door open. The silence inside sent a chill down her spine.The r
“Oh my God. What time is it?”Amora shot up in bed, completely startled to see the sun already high in the sky. She turned to glance at the wall clock and nearly panicked—it was almost ten in the morning. And she hadn’t even started prepping lunch for her husband and son yet.Running her fingers through her already-messy hair, she groaned, “Ugh, I can’t believe I slept this long.”She had only meant to lie down for a bit—but somehow, she ended up sleeping for three whole hours!Normally, no matter how tired she was, Amora never slept this deeply. Something felt off. She realized she’d been feeling unusually drained for the past week, and today it was even worse.“Am I ... actually sick?” she murmured, worry creeping into her voice.But a moment later, Amora shook her head firmly. She tried to shake off the fear with a positive affirmation. “No. I can’t be sick,” she said with conviction.She didn’t want to give Regis anything else to worry about—especially not her health. So she pushe
It had been three days since Regis, Amora, and Rayden moved into their modest rental home. A calm morning greeted them with warmth and cheer. The scent of freshly baked pizza mixed with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air.“Morning, Dad,” Rayden greeted as his father walked out of the bathroom and joined them at the dining table.“Morning, Ray,” Regis replied, bumping fists with his son.Simple mornings like these had become a special kind of happiness for Regis over the past few days. A warm greeting and a genuine smile to start the day—no wealth or power could ever replace that.But deep down, Regis still carried a concern—he hadn’t secured any steady income yet. Over the past two days, he had applied to several companies, but not a single one had called him in for an interview.Regis suspected his father had a hand in that. Both Gino and Xavier had previously offered him positions in their personal businesses.But Regis turned them down. Their lines of work didn’
“Mad?” Amora raised an eyebrow.Regis gave a hesitant nod. “Aren’t you? I mean, you were completely silent on the drive here.”Amora let out a small laugh before replying, “I’m not mad. I was just a little annoyed earlier. I’m sorry.”Seeing how concerned Regis looked, she added, “But I’ve thought about it, and I understand—you were only trying to keep us safe.”Earlier, Amora had stayed quiet in the car, reflecting on Regis’s words. She realized that her stubbornness might’ve put them in danger. But Regis had misread her silence, thinking she was giving him the cold shoulder.“I was going to say sor—”Before she could finish her sentence, Regis leaned in and kissed her lips.Amora’s eyes widened in surprise. She quickly glanced around, noticing the agent who had accompanied them looked just as shocked. The agent immediately turned away, pretending not to see anything so as not to make Amora feel uncomfortable. But Amora's face had already turned bright red like a boiled lobster.“Reg
“Sir, are you sure you don’t want to rent it? If you’re not interested, I’ll pass it on to another potential tenant. Someone else is coming to view it this afternoon,” The agent said.Despite the agent’s subtle threat, Regis firmly declined. But before he could say more, Amora tugged on his arm and politely asked the agent if they could have a few minutes to talk in private.She pulled Regis aside to a quiet corner of the room and said, “Honey … I don’t think we’ll find another place like this for this kind of price, not with these specs. Don’t you want to at least think it over?”Regis paused, clearly seeing the look on Amora’s face—she didn’t want to lose this opportunity.They had to be careful with their spending right now. Offers like this didn’t come around often, and honestly, anyone would be tempted.But Regis had a gut feeling. Something about this just didn’t sit right. He suspected someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes, using the agent as a front.“But Amora … d
"Lysander Group Declares Bankruptcy! Charlie Lysander in Critical Condition!"That was the headline glaring back at Amora. Her face turned pale as shock washed over her.Oddly enough, she didn't feel even the slightest joy. She should've been happy to see the Lysander family suffer after they cast her aside seven years ago.But instead, seeing her grandfather lying helplessly in a hospital bed made her chest ache. She felt like he didn’t have much time left.Noticing Amora standing frozen with trembling hands, Regis immediately clasped her hands gently."What’s wrong, Sweetheart? What are you looking at?" Regis asked as he glanced at his wife's phone.Amora showed him the news article. "I had no idea the Lysander Group has been in financial trouble for a year now," she murmured after reading the details.Regis smirked slightly. He wasn't surprised in the least. "They had it coming, my love. Mario Lysander is a terrible businessman. He’s been running the company into the ground since h