As soon as I opened my mouth, I realized my throat felt dry. It was even more embarrassing now.Soren laughed, the anger from earlier gone. "Don't look at me like that, please. You look so innocent and helpless, and I don't know if I can control myself after seeing you like this."I burned with embarrassment and glared at him. He laughed even harder."Are you finally not mad?" I grumbled from his lap."I'm still a little mad. But if you kiss me, I'm sure it'll go away."I sneered. "Looks like you'll have to seethe a little longer."He locked his arms around my waist and refused to let me go.The room was the perfect temperature, so we had removed our coats as soon as we entered. That meant my figure—accentuated by my form-fitting sweater—was on full display.He measured my waist with his palm. "I can hold your waist with just one hand.""Come on. You make me sound like a super hot succubus," I replied."You are, though. How else can we explain my falling for you and wanting t
"That's why you're coming with me. You should get to know them," Soren said, smiling."Why didn't you mention this earlier? I could have at least dressed up a little!" I grumbled. "I must look so dowdy right now. I have to be an embarrassment to you!""No, no. You look beautiful already." He turned, gazing at me with affection. "But you shouldn't look too pretty from now on. It'll attract too much attention, and I feel threatened by that."I was taken aback. "Excuse me? How did a gentleman who always seemed to respect women and their autonomy end up showing such a chauvinistic view?""I don't know what 'chauvinist' means, but I don't like it when other men stare and drool at my girlfriend."I looked out the window, sighing. "Every day, you seem less like the man I thought you were.""Having buyer's remorse?""Yeap. I realized you're too good at pretending to be perfect.""The time for remorse has long passed, unfortunately."Our banter continued. The sun was beautiful, and the
Everyone was trying to win Soren's favor, maneuvering to get a few words in edgewise.I could tell we were going to be here for a while."Come on, let's take a stroll! We'll walk around together!" Soleil suggested. "See, we always have this gathering around this time. It's hard to get everyone together during Brigidlia, you know? Everyone's always off spending it somewhere else, all around the world."I remembered hearing about this tradition from Jean.The elites of Metropolis hosted countless parties, but the Joneses were never invited. They were considered too low on the social ladder.And I? I was the unwanted daughter of the Jones family. I had even less chance of being invited.Jean Valentine, however, was different. A true elite, she had attended these parties before.I wondered if she was here.I scanned the room.Soleil thought I was shaking my head. "Oh, come on. Ren can't keep you company right now. He's stuck with those guys! But… he'll look for you later.""No, n
God, just my rotten luck! I had spent my precious day fighting with the Joneses, and now I still had to face a Kennedy in the evening! Someone should call an exorcist because I was sure these two families were demons trying to possess me!I should never have agreed to come here."Don't make things up, Edith. You ruined your own life. No one else did," I said firmly.I scanned the room and added, "And don't you know what kind of people attend this party? Even if you're fine with ruining your own reputation, maybe you should at least try to preserve your family's.""Oh, sure, because you give a damn about our family's reputation! You probably wish it was all fucking ruined!" Edith retorted, once again ignoring my genuine attempt to remind her.I sighed. I really wasn't in the mood to continue this.Unfortunately, Edith wasn't finished.She started yelling, "Do you even know who this bitch is?! She's Taylor Jones! She sent her own father to prison! She voided her civil partnership
Something I had once read flashed in my mind: "Man Rejected by a Woman: Returns with Sulfuric Acid!""Watch out!" I shouted to the crowd, shoving Soleil aside and raising my arm to shield my face.In that instant, a towering figure shot out from the crowd like a bolt of lightning. Within seconds, his presence engulfed me."Aaah!""It burns!""Wash the area where it hit you now! It's acid!"The entire hall erupted into chaos. What had been a night of celebration turned into a frenzy of screams and the pounding feet of terrified people. My ears rang with a high-pitched whine. I could hardly process what had just happened.Edith had lost her mind. She was completely mad. "Are you okay?!" Soren asked urgently.I looked up and, for the first time, truly saw his face. That moment snapped me out of my shock. He had shielded me with his back."Take off your clothes, Soren! Now!" I pushed him away and grabbed at his coat."I'll destroy you, bitch!" Edith screamed. "You ruined my
Edith wasn't going to listen easily. She scanned the room and suddenly shouted, "Martin!"A young man stepped out from the crowd, his hand over his face as if trying to remain unnoticed.He yelled, "What the hell did you do this for, Edith?! You're killing me! If I'd known you were just here to pull this shit on Taylor, I never would've brought you! Your sentence is only being deferred, for God's sake!"I recognized him immediately. He was Martin Brown, Edith's cousin and Sally's nephew.Soren turned to him, his gaze icy. "You brought her here, Mr. Brown?"Martin waved his hands defensively. "I didn't know she'd do this! She'd been recovering at home, complaining about boredom. My aunt suggested I take her out on an excursion, and I—"Soren cut him off, turning suddenly to me. "How do you want this settled?"I had been staring at Soren's back for a while, worried that the acid might have damaged his shirt, maybe even hurt him. His abrupt attention pulled me from my thoughts."T
I followed Soren's gaze to the heroic piece of clothing, now as charred as charcoal. A wave of fear rushed over me again. If that thing hit my face—or worse, Soren's head..."Sol? Where is she?""S-She was here!" I stammered, shaking. "Oh no, did she get any on her?!"The bathroom was crowded, and several people were injured. I started running toward it.As I had feared, some of the acid had splashed onto the back of Soleil's hand. She was holding it under running water.I stared at the red spots and guilt crashed over me. "Are you okay? We need to get you to a doctor!""It's fine. I checked online. For something this small, you just need to flush the affected area with running water for 15 to 30 minutes," she said calmly.I wasn't reassured. All of this had happened because of me. I could apologize and make it up to everyone else, but if anything happened to Soleil... How could I face Soren and the Kenways?"Let's go to the hospital together. Your brother is coming as well."
I was notified that my friend request had been approved, and I immediately wired her 3,900 dollars. I was sure I had paid more than enough."She just bought a coat for your boyfriend right in front of you, Taylor. How come you're not jealous?" Soleil asked.I smiled. "Now's not the time for that. I wanted to buy him a coat too, but she beat me to it. That's actually good for me. I don't have to waste my time and effort."Soren smiled. "I wish you'd show a little more jealousy. But you're just too big-hearted."His gaze made my guilt resurface. "You're only in danger because you were trying to protect me! I'm just… glad you're okay. I don't know what I'd do otherwise!"Soren squeezed my hand. "I'm fine. Don't worry."Soleil sighed. "Oh no. Am I ruining the moment?"I let go of his hand, embarrassed.-Soren stripped off his clothes once we were at the hospital. To my relief, there were no signs of burns on his back.The nurse ran water over it and applied neutralizing soap, cl
"So what? It's always couples' intimacy hour everywhere," Soren replied with a grin, leaning in for a kiss.I turned away. "You reek of alcohol!"He sniffed himself, clearly thinking he smelled bad, too. I expected him to ignore it and keep going, but instead, he pulled me upright. "Let's go. To the showers!"I guessed he was worried that our first time after two years would be ruined by bad breath and stench.He tried to lift me into his arms, but I was concerned he might be too tipsy. We had a playful struggle before he finally scooped me up in a bridal carry."I told you. I'm not drunk!" he insisted.I realized there was no escaping him today, so I reminded him, "Our son is still at the hospital, Soren. With Aunt Sarah.""Mm-hmm. Once his mommy and daddy love each other very much, he'll see us.""Soren! Be serious!""Loving my wife is the most serious thing there is."-Two months later, my grandmother passed away peacefully in her sleep. Soren and I had only just woken u
I got up and shot Soren a glance. "You guys must have been worried about him over these two years. Thank you for taking care of him.""Why, you're welcome," Richard replied with exaggerated pomp. "He didn't torment us, actually. He took it out on his subordinates. He worked like a machine, and everyone under him had to do the same. You should really thank his employees the most!"A pang shot through me as I looked at Soren. I'd heard about this from Jean, but hearing it again from his close friends only deepened that painful regret.I thought I'd been kind, but it was likely the cruelest thing I'd ever done to him. And yet, he held no blame against me and still loved me.It moved me. I filled both our glasses to the brim.Soren looked baffled. "What are you doing? They didn't specifically want to make you drink—""A toast to our relationship, my love," I said, passing him his glass.Soren froze, clearly not expecting this from me.The crowd, though, had already erupted into che
Being with Soren felt like a walk in the sunniest, coolest spring. He told me he loved me, and that made me his equal.Know what? It made me feel confident all of a sudden.We locked eyes for a long time before I pulled away."I… I'm basically unemployed right now," I muttered.I was about to launch a new business, but my grandmother's illness and my son's age forced me to set everything aside again."It wasn't easy raising a child alone, Tay, so don't put so much pressure on yourself. Besides, with your skills, it's only a matter of time before your career takes off again."I beamed. "You really think so? That's a lot of confidence, dude.""Of course I do." He held my hands. "Starting a business takes time and energy, so how about you move in with me? I'll raise our son while you focus on what you want to do."I laughed. "Oh God, was that the whole point of this talk from the start?"Soren laughed as well, his handsome face relaxing. "Well, now that we're getting married, whe
Soren smiled. "No need to doubt. That was one of my ulterior motives."So he wanted me to agree to our marriage because he wanted sex?!I stared at him, unmoving."Come on, I'm sending you both up," he said, his driver's presence making things awkward.Soren took the baby from my arms and strode inside.In the elevator, he stared at me without blinking.I grew self-conscious. "What?""Nothing. I just wanted to look at you, not missing a single detail," Soren replied matter-of-factly. "I hadn't dared do that before we started talking again because I was afraid you might be upset."I felt even more embarrassed.He set Silas in the cot, then turned to me and walked away.It was too late. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his chest. I saw his face loom over mine and cried out, "Don't do this, Soren! This is Amanda's place!"His reason and restraint were still functioning, turning his kiss into a brief peck."When will you move to my villa?" he breathed."N
I knew what had happened to me. I knew what two years had done to my face. A woman aged much faster when she had a child, after all.Celebrities looked the way they did because they didn't bear the weight of child-rearing. They had the money to pamper their faces and dedicate themselves to rigorous exercise routines.I had raised my son on my own. I had help when I needed it most, but most of the time, it was just me."So, you don't think I've grown older and uglier?" I muttered.Soren laughed."Oh, I do!" he teased. "But you're the mother of my son.""What does that mean?! And you said you weren't pitying me!"He laughed again—this time, affectionately. "I was joking. I don't think you're any less than who you were back then. I actually wish you'd grow older, too. That way, only I remain by your side."I couldn't come up with a response to something so ridiculous."Do you need me to throw a grand, elaborate proposal to finally convince you I'm serious about wanting to spend t
"It's the way he looks at you. His eyes look suspicious!"Suspicious, my ass. Jamie was so far away from him by now that there was no way Soren could see anything in Jamie's "eyes."I sneered. "Don't be daft. He's got a girlfriend now." "Oh, really?""Yes, really. Can we go now?"My old colleagues had been staring at us, and I really didn't want to become the subject of their gossip. I just wanted to leave.Soren finally told the driver to go.Silas had probably exhausted himself from crying. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep in my arms.Soren stretched his arms out. "Let me.""I'm fine. It's okay for him to sleep like this. My arms are fine," I replied.I didn't want to give him an excuse to enter Amanda's residence with me again. I was only here temporarily, and I certainly didn't want things to get... steamy and intimate at her place. Besides, I didn't want to be steamy with him, period.Soren withdrew his arms sheepishly and snickered to himself.Annoyed, and
"Hello?""When are you coming back?" Soren asked in a low voice.I stood and left the lively private room. "I'm having lunch with some old colleagues. What's up?""Wow. So while I was trying to handle our son, you went out to have fun," he whined.Please. He wanted Silas with him—he was just being dramatic.The wine gave me enough courage to respond, "Weren't you the one complaining about missing out on your son's childhood? I'm just being considerate.""Fine. Where are you? I'll bring Silas to you. He wants his mom now—no one here can calm him down," he replied.Just as I had expected.I figured lunch was nearing its end anyway, so I gave him the address. "Call me when you arrive. I'll meet you at the entrance.""Got it."I returned to the room and quietly told Amanda, "I have to leave soon. You guys go ahead."She checked her phone. "Nah, we should all start packing up. We still have to work this afternoon!""Oh, right."I paid for our meal while the others chatted.Whe
The company had seen some new hires, but many were familiar faces.Case in point: Cherry Birkin. Now Amanda's assistant and principal secretary, she was ecstatic to see me."Tay-Tay! You're back!" she cried, rushing over to grab my arms. "It really is you! I'm so glad you came to see us. After disappearing for two years, I honestly thought you'd never come back!"Amanda, who had been the one to welcome me, stood beside me, smiling. "See? Your old colleagues have been complaining about you being heartless.""Aww, I'm sorry for being gone so long! How about this? Lunch is on me! Cherry, gather the old crew and invite them over!""You got it!" she replied eagerly.I stepped into Amanda's office—the same one where I used to work.A lot had changed in the interior, but everything felt warm and welcoming. The company was thriving under her and Jamie's leadership.There was a knock at the door. I turned to see the man himself."So, you really are back, Taylor," he said with a grin. "
I was irritated. If I were being generous, I'd say Soren was being proactive. If I were being honest, though, I'd call it disrespectful—he was undermining my agency!"I haven't even agreed to this yet!" I snapped, straightening my back and glaring at him as the seniors watched. "Who gave you the right to make decisions for me?!"Soren barely reacted. "You overthink everything. You hesitate more than you need to, so I thought... why not just ask your grandmother and aunt?"Turning to Sarah, he added, "What do you think, Aunt Sarah? Do you approve of us being together?"Sarah blinked, stunned, then shot a quick glance at my grandmother. My grandmother raised her hand, as though she had something to say. I leaned in immediately. "I'm listening, Grandma..."She took a deep breath, grasped my hand, and said, her voice raspy, "I can tell… Ren really loves you… You have a child now… It's good for you two to just get married."She paused, then added, "That way, I… can finally let go...