With that, Shaelyn picked Zayn up by the hand, spun on her heels, and turned away.She was not just livid—she felt hurt. Two years of not returning home, and this was the reception she got simply because she brought Zayn with her? How was this her family? Sometimes, she really wondered if she even needed to go home at all. Plus, the things they had decided to sling against Zayn was just beyond the pale!It was at that moment when a middle-aged woman bearing a striking semblance to Shaelyn materialized at the door. Leaning at the direction Shaelyn was, she yelled, “Come back here, young lady!”Shaelyn stopped dead on her track and turned to face the middle-aged woman. “Hi… Mom.”It was evidence that she feared her mother to a certain degree.The middle-aged woman closed the distance between herself and her daughter. “So, the thought of coming home never crosses you unless I call and remind you, hmm? Do you even remember the mother who had raised and nurtured you? Do you even rememb
“What do you think you’re doing, Lottie? Say hi to Rugal now!” Shirley Wade, Shaelyn’s mother, grunted after shooting her daughter a forceful glare.The young woman was exasperated, but she was also too scared to disobey her mother. Still, the way she greeted Rugal was so haphazard and halfhearted, anyone could tell it was insincere and devoid of any amity.Unsurprisingly, Shirley was displeased. Scowling, she snapped, “What’s with that attitude, Lottie? Can a simple, kindly greeting kill you?”Rugal leaped to his feet to defuse the tension. “Ah, please, Aunt Shirley. It’s alright. I actually like her like this.”Shirley broke into a pleased chuckle. “Damn it, Rugal. You’re such a polite, pleasant young man! It’s impossible not to like you even more!”The smile on Rugal’s face widened until it reached his eyes, which then darted to Shaelyn’s face. He was not even trying to hide how much he was infatuated with her. In fact, his attention soon slid from her face to the contour of he
Everyone else in the family was so impressed, they gawked in total shock. A diamond necklace worth 1.2 million dollars? Now that was unprecedented to them!Rugal was smiling so hard, his eyes were buried by the creases. He shook his hands in feigned humility and said, “Yea, it’s just 1.2 million dollars. Your average diamond necklace, I guess… Sorry that it isn’t more. But! I promise you that more splendors await!”The adulation the Turners leveled at Rugal had become even more fervent. Several women among them—all of whom were still single—wished they were Shaelyn herself if it meant they could be Rugal’s wife who would never need a day of honest work in their life ever again.Rugal already had a script in his head—Shaelyn would become so surprised and moved that her tongue would fail her, she would struggle to form the right reaction, and finally, she would throw herself into Rugal’s arms. How many women had Rugal conquered with this playbook?His prediction could not be any furt
Shaelyn’s admission was akin to a slap across Rugal’s cheek.Ever since he heard about her return, he had spent a mammoth sum of money to procure a gift before rushing to the Turner’s mansion from the inner city. After all that displays of sincerity, it turned out that the woman who was supposed to be his wife had a boyfriend she had cohabited with for a long time! This was utterly mortifying! An unprecedented humiliation throughout his life growing up!The Turners could see storm clouds pouring all over Rugal’s countenance to their growing fear and anxiety. They had never hated Shaelyn so much in their life!With a veneer of nipping frost in his mien, Rugal turned to Shirley and demanded, “You told me Lieselotte’s single! But from the looks of it, that isn’t the case at all, is it? I need an explanation!”He was not even going to hide the fact that he was seriously enraged—that’s how much ire this revelation had raised! Frightened, Shirley tried to do damage control as quickly as
Rugal paused for a second before snickering to himself, adding, “And how do you suppose my uncle will feel about this? He called me before I came here today, you know. He’s very invested in this marriage, too, because I’ve always been one of his favorite juniors. If my uncle knows about this fiasco, ma’am… Well! Let’s just say you Turners aren’t going to survive his wrath.”He was threatening Shirley, and she knew it. Her face paled as beads of cold sweat began to form, her mind mortified by the possibility of offending the mayor. The mayor was too important and powerful; she could not afford to cross him!“Master Rugal, please, I beseech you to calm down,” Shirley said reassuringly. “You don’t have to worry. The only reason why Lottie brought a man home this time is because she wants to tick me off. That man can’t possibly be her boyfriend at all, believe me. She claimed they’d lived together for a long time, but I know for sure that it’s a load of bunkum!“The thing is, my wayward
Zayn ignored him completely in favor of taking a swig of his coffee. Naturally, his obvious dismissal lit up another fuse to Rugal’s already fiery temperament, and now he looked even angrier.“You deaf or what? I’m talking to you here!” Rugal snarled, his voice laced with rage.Zayn set his mug down and leaned onto the back of the couch, making sure his eyes were on par with Rugal’s. “I’m not leaving her.”Rugal sneered. “You really don’t know your place, do you?” he demanded, straightening his back with a smug, self-important look to the amazement and awe of the Turners. “I’m Rugal Gonzalez! My uncle is Yuri Gonzalez, Mayor of Tael City!”Whatever dominating effects he had hoped to achieve, though, it was lost on Zayn. To the latter, Rugal was a clown, a little ant thinking it could intimidate a boot. Zayn was not just any random guy on the street; he was the terrifying legend who managed to boot master fighters like Xander and Mia out of existence with his fighting prowess! How c
“The fight hasn’t started yet, right?” Shaelyn asked worriedly as soon as she reached Zayn, who shook his head.She sighed in relief. As one of the few who knew about how crazy powerful Zayn was, Shaelyn was sure that if Zayn started balled his fist and threw it forward, her family members could morph into a single titan and still be knocked out-cold.Of course, ignorant as they were, the Turners pointed at Zayn and cried about his luck instead. “You’re fortunate Lottie’s here. You were so close to kissing the floor, pal!”Zayn had no idea how to react to this.Shaelyn considered her pugnacious cousins with a death glare. “You idiots really want to die, don’t you? You have no idea how relieved I am that this stupid brawl you’re looking for hasn’t happened yet, man. If he fought you—not just any, but all of you—I swear to God, even He can’t help you!”“Pfft! Dramatic much?”“You and your awful hyperboles, Lottie!”“Like hell I’ll lose. I can wipe the floor with ten of that dweeb
The commotion was so loud, everyone was jolted into a startle. Rugal had it worse, though; he had been sipping his coffee when it happened, so he accidentally shoved a whole gulp of boiling liquid down his throat and was now yelping in pain.Seeing the throng busting into her house dialed Shirley’s temper to the eleven. With a loud smack on the table, she fumed, “Oy, the hell you think you are?! You ruined my perfectly good door!”The group was made out of about ten or so men who were all dressed in suits. The one in the middle, who looked about in his thirties, was wearing a pair of shades. Just one glance at him, and everyone could tell that he was a bigshot disinterested in friendly chats about the weather. Even the men behind him looked pretty cool, if not intimidating.Their presence ushered a change in mood. Suddenly, the Turners froze, their indignance fizzling out. One of them, a middle-aged man, turned pale and dove behind his family’s backs, as though worried that someone