"Don't you feel bad for your grandmother for lying to her just for your ambition to destroy Alden's company?" asked Victoria after the trio left to enjoy their meal. "Then, do you want to return when we're just about to start our next plan?" Maverick asked the question loudly and without hesitation while looking Victoria straight in the eye. Victoria was silent, looking back at Maverick. He should have known she had no other answer. Her signature was already on the contract as a guarantee. So inevitably, she must ultimately complete their plan, no matter what. At first, Victoria was confident that she would not change or violate the terms they had agreed upon, even though her conscience told her that before's plan was enough to avenge Alden's betrayal. However, Victoria's heart began to doubt when she saw Lisa, who was so kind and genuinely happy with this marriage. She even expected this marriage. "Do I have any other options?" asked Victoria after a long daydreaming. T
"So exhausting ..." Victoria sighed after sitting on the edge of the hotel bed. The very long event ended at midnight. At least for the two who were left to rest while her parents and Maverick's grandmother cared for the guests until the end. It was not easy wearing three dresses and a face full of makeup for almost 24 hours, only for a wedding that would end after a year. The hotel room door opened, and a man walked in. Victoria turned to the door, frowned as she saw him enter, and asked, "Why are you here?" "This is my room," he replied casually as he approached Victoria. Once before her, he added, "What do you think your parents and my grandmother would say if we, married coupled, used different rooms?" For a moment, Victoria was silent. Then, after a while, she realized something. "I forgot that they don't know we're just contract marriages," she muttered, leaned back, and closed her eyes. Victoria ignored Maverick, who was in the same room as her, because she was t
Victoria woke up to a lot of noise. She blinked before looking around the room for the source of the noise. She felt a sense of Deja Vu, waking up in an unfamiliar room with sounds and atmosphere. As she recalled, she was in the car after a flight of more than 10 hours with two transits with her husband. Then, she unconsciously fell asleep from exhaustion. Now Victoria woke up in a luxurious room with the sound of crashing waves waking her up. "Verick?" called Victoria to confirm his whereabouts. Victoria got up from her bed to look for her husband. She was quite wary of being in an unknown place by herself. She looked around every room in the villa but still couldn't find Maverick, which made her even more anxious. "Verick?!" Victoria called out once again. Only when she looked outside, to the backyard, she found him. He had just turned around, about to go her, when he heard his name being called. Victoria stepped out with a look of relief. "You had a nightmare and so
"Why would you think that?" Victoria frowned in confusion. Maverick opened his eyes this time and looked deeply into her eyes. However, he didn't immediately answer, leading her to repeat the question, "Alden wouldn't have cheated on Emberly if he didn't love her, right?" "He doesn't realize his feelings," he murmured, which Victoria could still hear, but it only confused her more. 'What does that mean? In the end, Victoria chooses not to continue the conversation. She fell back into silence, enjoying the warm water that soaked into her body, making her relax even more. For a while, she didn't want to think about Alden, Emberly, Agriche, or anything else. Even so, curiosity still haunted her, raising another question. "Everyone must have felt in love, including you, right?" Victoria tried to dig into Maverick's relationship with a woman named Lexie, even though she knew it was none of her business. She just wanted to confirm the answer and see how she reacted afterwards. V
The alarm on the phone woke Victoria from a deep sleep. She reached for her phone and turned off the persistent alarm. After the sound stopped, she sighed and blinked her eyes, which still felt very heavy as her body felt crushed by something. "What is this?" she muttered hoarsely as she pulled back the blanket covering her body. A burly hand seemed to be hugging her belly, which made Victoria try to focus her gaze and check whether she was still dreaming or not. It was only then that she noticed a breath near her neck. Coupled with a soft snore that sounded right beside her. Victoria, feeling anxious, immediately checked their clothes, which were still as complete as the last time they were used last night. She tried to remember what happened last night before they fell asleep and ended up like this. "We should sleep in the same room to reduce any suspicious reports to your Grandma," Victoria suggested that night after they returned from dinner. "I just thought of it a
"Tori...!" "Tori!" "What?!" Victoria, who had just surfaced after throwing herself into the sea, heard her name being called over and over again, making her a little irritated. She swam back to her husband, standing on the yacht, already preparing to go to the sea. "I thought you couldn't swim and accidentally splashed in earlier," he said with a chuckle. Victoria splashed water on his feet. "My dislike of swimming doesn't mean I can't swim, Mr. Hurlington." "I'm sincerely worried about you, Mrs. Hurlington." After that, Maverick plunged into the sea after Victoria. Victoria swam followed her husband, who seemed to be very excited. They floated on the waves as they stayed in the middle of the sea, having gone some distance from the yacht. "This island doesn't seem to have been touched by humans. The sea water is still apparent," says Victoria. "I just heard that a new species of marine fauna was discovered around this sea." Victoria couldn't help but be surpr
Agriche's Mansion "Good morning, Father, Mother." Petter and Rosalee, who saw Victoria and Maverick's presence, were surprised. Both of them assumed that the new couple was still on their honeymoon. Or at least they were at home resting before returning to their respective activities the next day. They must have wondered about the purpose of their daughter and son-in-law's visit. "Are you guys home yet?" asked Rosalee after greeting them with a hug. "We arrived yesterday morning. I'm here to pick up my things and see Father," Victoria replied. "Mr. Hurlington, can't you prevent your wife from resting first after such a long journey?" Petter's judgmental gaze turned to Maverick. "You probably know better how stubborn your daughter is, don't you, Father-in-Law?" said Maverick with a shrug as he glanced at his wife. Victoria quickly intervened, saying, "Father, 15 hours of rest is enough to make me not tired anymore." "But should you rush to meet me to take over th
'Why does this have to happen again? Victoria stared pensively at the ceiling of her room after waking up moments ago. She again felt a warm embrace under the covers that made her reluctant to get up. And the regular breathing caused a tickling sensation in her neck. Plus, the distinctive masculine scent from beside her was enough to make Victoria's heart race. Victoria turned her head to the side and saw her husband's handsome face, who was still fast asleep. She stares at him for a long time until her hand unconsciously touches the man's jaw, making him open his eyes. Maverick immediately saw Victoria and caught her touching his face without permission. "I-I'm sorry," Victoria said softly as she quickly withdrew her hand. However, Maverick was quicker to hold her back, which made Victoria's gaze return to him. She then gave an excuse, "I was trying to wake you up earlier. That's why I touched you. I didn't mean to." "Verick?" Victoria called back to him as he remained si