No one leaves without my permission

Room 207. He had finally found it.

He lightly tapped on the door for some time, but received no response.

"Is she already asleep?" he muttered, rolling his eyes.

Why did she always love to sleep so much? He turned the doorknob, only to find the door locked.

He glanced around, ensuring that no one was watching, and skillfully picked the lock.

Since he was quite adept, it took him less than a minute to bypass the doorknob's defenses.

He pushed open the door and stepped into the cozy studio apartment. On the left, there was a neatly stacked desk with books and a chair.

A screen divided the room, and Joel quickly deduced that her bed was located behind it. However, there was no trace of the girl.

He sat down on the chair and gently placed Little Pumpkin on his lap, patting his back. Removing their masks, he set them on the desk.

"Don't worry, kiddo," he whispered, planting a kiss on Little Pumpkin's forehead.

🌃🌃🌃

Emily skipped happily to her apartment as soon as she stepped off the elevator, her recent paycheck safely in her pocket. As she reached for her apartment key, she noticed something amiss.

Someone had broken into her apartment.

She quickly pushed the door open, dropping the nylon bag in her hand in shock.

It was him—the handsome god!

She never expected to lay eyes on him again after their encounter five days ago. But here he was, sitting on her chair with Little Pumpkin in his arms. However, his usual cold aura surrounded him.

"Ah-ah-annyeon-gha-se yo," she greeted, bowing respectfully.

Little Pumpkin, upon hearing the girl's voice, leaped from his uncle's lap and rushed towards her. He tightly hugged her legs, as that was as high as his little arms could reach.

Joel observed his nephew's reaction with amusement. The boy had been a bundle of energy a moment ago, but as soon as he heard Emily's voice, his excitement settled back to normal.

"Wow, well done," Joel silently applauded.

Emily smiled and squatted down in front of the adorable child. She playfully ruffled his hair and grinned, realizing how much she missed his cute face.

She picked him up and met the intense gaze of the handsome god.

Feeling slightly nervous, she bowed again.

"You left and didn't come back!" Joel's piercing gaze bore into her.

This guy! He had instructed her never to return, and now he was saying...

"I'm sorry," she quickly covered up her sneer with a sincere expression.

"Whatever. Pack your things, and let's go back. It's getting late," he ordered coldly.

Wait, what? Did he just say pack up and go? Just like that?

Emily stared at him in utter shock. Perhaps she had misheard him.

"What?" she managed to utter.

Without repeating himself, Joel shot her a deadly glare, instantly reminding her of his exact words: PACK YOUR THINGS AND LET'S GO BACK!

Goosebumps formed on her skin.

"I can't... I can't just leave. I have to work, I need money. I don't..." She stammered.

Joel lazily raised his right hand, signaling for the girl to hold her tongue.

"I'll pay you double of whatever you earn," he declared.

Wait, what? Did he just say DOUBLE?! Emily's mouth hung open.

"No, I'll pay you triple," Joel added, causing Emily to squint her eyes, lost in thought.

Triple? Emily, you're rich, she mentally celebrated.

"I'm ready," she replied, her decision made.

🚗🚗🚗

As Joel drove back to the villa, Emily mentally calculated her earnings, making notes of the debts she needed to repay and the money she would send to her family.

She would still have enough for herself, and she planned to buy a few things and save the rest.

She gently stroked Little Pumpkin's hair as he slept peacefully on her lap.

Glancing up at the handsome god beside her, Emily found him mysterious. One moment he would tell her to leave and never cross his path, and the next he would ask her to live with him.

"Truly mysterious," she shook her head in amusement.

"Little Pumpkin wants you to live with us, not me," Joel blurted out coldly, as if reading her mind.

But deep down, buried beneath his cold demeanor, he wanted her to live with them more than anyone else. Little Pumpkin was merely a convenient excuse.

🏘️🏘️🏘️

"Your room is still next to Little Pumpkin's," Joel informed Emily, tossing his car keys to one of the guards as he stepped out of the driver's side.

They had arrived at the villa.

Emily obediently nodded her head, with Little Pumpkin sleeping soundly in her arms. "Yes, understood."

"You cannot leave the house for any reason. Stay right here," he instructed, hands in his pockets as he walked into the lounge.

"Yes, understood," Emily replied, following closely behind him.

"If you need anything, inform the maids, and they will assist you. If you prefer to handle it yourself, let me know. Nobody leaves without my permission. Nobody," Joel said, smirking slightly.

Emily rolled her eyes but maintained a respectful tone. "Yes, understood."

"Your main responsibility is taking care of Little Pumpkin. Understood?" He then turned and headed towards the staircase.

"Yes, understood," Emily responded, inwardly groaning.

Upon reaching the foot of the stairs, Joel turned back and faced her.

"Follow the rules," he stated calmly, but his words held an underlying intensity.

"Yes, understood," Emily bowed her head.

Joel curtly nodded and ascended the stairs.

"Aishhh... Don't leave, don't stand, don't do this, don't do that... Why not tell me not to breathe too?" she snickered to herself.

Joel paused when he reached the top of the stairs and placed his hands on the banisters. "I heard that!"

He turned around, staring at Emily with a straight face.

"Ahhh... I... I... er..." she stuttered, biting her lip.

Feeling uneasy, she bowed her head and hurriedly walked to Little Pumpkin's room.

Joel smirked and entered his own room.

After gently laying Little Pumpkin on the bed, Emily switched off the lights and made her way to her own room.

Upstairs🚪🚪🚪

...knock, knock, knock...

Joel placed his phone on the bedside table and crossed his arms. "Come in."

He had just ended a call with Noah.

A maid entered his room, bowing her head before speaking. "Sir, this bag was found in the car. Where should I put it?"

Joel's gaze fell upon the bag—it belonged to the girl.

He flicked his hair with his middle finger and sat on his king-sized bed. "Give it to the girl."

The maid bobbed her head and turned to leave the room.

"Wait," Joel interrupted.

The maid quickly turned back, her head lowered. Had she done something wrong?

"Sir?" she asked, fidgeting with the bag in her hand, her forehead damp with cold sweat.

"

Place the bag on the chair," Joel's cold voice echoed through the room.

"Yes, sir?" The maid stuttered.

Joel's expression darkened, and the room suddenly felt frigid from his icy aura.

"Yes, sir," the maid hastily walked over to the couch in the CEO's room and laid the bag on it.

She bobbed her head and hurriedly left the room, breathing a sigh of relief as soon as she stepped outside.

Joel glanced at the bag for a moment, then stood up and walked over to the couch. He unzipped the bag to inspect its contents:

Ugly shirts 🙄

Stupid long skirts 😐

Hideous gowns 🤨

Stupid earmuffs 🙄

Cheap perfume 😖

Cheap and unpleasant underwear 🤮

And a piece of paper 😒

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath.

He zipped up the bag and tossed it onto the table, shaking his head in disdain.

"Those underwear are so unpleasant to the eyes," he commented, grimacing.

Standing up, he exited his room and made his way to his study. He needed to work.

After spending some time on his computer, Joel checked the time—12:32 AM.

He shut down the system, rose to his feet, and left the study, taking long strides back to his room.

As he took no more than five steps, he heard a muffled bang from downstairs.

He furrowed his brows curiously and silently descended the stairs toward the source of the noise—the kitchen.

The kitchen door was slightly ajar, and Joel watched with twinkling eyes as a girl chugged down soju.

Though he couldn't see her face, he knew exactly who it was. No maid would dare do that, and there was only one girl with such an amusing appetite—Emily.

"Ahhhh..." Emily shook her head in satisfaction after downing the soju.

"Mhhmmmn," she grinned, clearly enjoying herself.

She opened the fridge, grabbed another bottle of soju, and swiftly gulped it down.

She continued in this manner until she had consumed five bottles of soju.

"PA PA PA," Joel clapped his hands after witnessing her drink the fifth bottle.

Startled, Emily flinched. She hadn't expected to get caught; she assumed everyone was asleep.

She clenched her teeth and turned around slowly, finding her legs suddenly weak. She had to hold onto a cabinet for support.