Busy

Lucas was silent for a moment, rubbing his forehead hard. A dark, poisonous glint flashed in his gray eyes, though he tried to hide it—Raina caught it anyway.

Finally, he smiled and said, “Miss Carrington, you misunderstand.”

Raina met his gaze, returning a sharper, fake smile. “Do I?”

“Of course,” he said firmly. “I was an old friend of your mother. Back then... I watched her go down the wrong path. But it was her life’s work, so I just want to protect it.”

Raina raised an eyebrow. “Wrong path?”

Lucas’s expression clouded, and he shook his head. “Old stories. Not today. You’re still young and don’t understand business. Vireon Labs might not get far with you in charge, so why hold on so tightly?”

Raina glanced at him coolly. “Whether it goes far or not, I can’t decide. But it’s mine, and I’m not letting go. ThanNexon for the advice, but if that’s all, I’ll be going.”

Lucas’s face finally broke. “You’re so stubborn!”

Raina said nothing, stood up, and walked down the flower-lined path out of the mansion.

Just as she reached the door, she heard a loud crash behind her.

Lucas had slammed his tea cup onto the ground, shattering it.

The scalding tea spilled out, slowly cooling and settling like a delicate flower on the floor.

Under a pavilion bursting with flowers, Lucas looked grim and cold. After what felt like forever, he finally snorted and seemed to make up his mind. He picked up his phone and dialed.

Playing with a flower in his hand, he said, “Mr. Willow, Mireille has successfully developed the VIREXIN. This time, we should be able to get the membership spot, right...?

Outside the Hale Manor, Raina sat in her car but didn’t drive off right away.

While she was lost in thought, her phone rang—it was Leif.

Raina blinked, a bit surprised. She wasn’t that close with Leif. But then it hit her—could something be wrong with Gale?

She quickly answered, “Mr. Vexley, is everything okay? Is Gale feeling sick again?”

Actually, Gale’s been pretty stable these last couple years, hardly ever having meltdowns.

On the other end, Leif’s voice was cold and tight: “No.”

Raina let out a small breath of relief and leaned back, rubbing her forehead. “Then why are you calling me...?”

There was a tense pause, then Leif asked stiffly, “You busy?”

Yeah, actually, she was pretty busy.

Hale family stuff was way more complicated than it looked. Otherwise, Lucas wouldn’t have insisted on meeting her alone even after agreeing to let Mireille marry into the Hale family.

Raina rested her fingers on the steering wheel, sounding casual: “Not too bad. Is there something you need?”

There was something off about his tone—like he was annoyed? But Gale was fine. Probably just imagining things.

After a long silence, Leif’s voice came back, cold and clipped: “No.”

Then the call ended.

Raina: “...”

What did I do to deserve this?

Seriously, rich people must just be bored and weird.

She twirled her phone in her hand, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, at Vexley Group’s top hospital in the Estravia, in a VIP room:

Leif stared at his phone, his face icy and tense, his brows furrowed like he was holding back some dark storm.

Rael stepped back a bit, giving him some space.

On the bed, Leif’s only younger brother, Leo Vexley, munched on an apple. He glanced at Rael with a look that screamed, ‘What’s up with my brother? He looNexon like his wife just dumped him!’

Rael gave a fake smile and pretended to look off into the distance.

Leo’s apple suddenly didn’t taste so good anymore.

He stopped eating and sat up straighter, staring hard at Leif.

Trying to sound brave, he said, “Uh… bro, is something wrong? You look weird. Kinda scary…”

Leif snapped out of it, going back to his usual cold, distant self. He shot Leo a glance and said, “You want your other leg broken too?”

Leo immediately shook his hands, “No no no! One broken leg is enough! I hate pain! Please spare me this time. I swear, no more fights after this!”

Leif snorted skeptically, “You really think your promises mean anything?”

The two brothers looked kinda alike, about 70-80%—except Leif’s sharp and intimidating, like he owned the place. Leo had a friendlier, softer face.

Leo giggled, “They started it, not me. I only threw kicks... ouch ouch ouch! Bro, I think my leg’s hurting again. Gunter, come look! Is my leg about to break again?!”

He knew exactly how to distract people when lying.

Leif could tell he was probably faking, but seeing his face go pale, he let it slide.

Gunter came by, read the mood, and dragged Leo off for another check-up.

After a quick once-over, Gunter listed some minor issues and then made a quick exit.

Leif stood by the bed, voice heavier now: “How long are you planning to stay in the hospital?”

Leo pouted, “I’m not staying on purpose, it’s just the leg hurts, I can’t walk…”

Leif looked at him coldly, “Oh yeah? After we take over Nexon Racing, I’ll hand it off to someone else to manage.”

Leo blinked, surprised and excited. “What?! Bro, you really bought Nexon Racing?!”

Leo raced too, and even secretly started a few small teams. But running a proper team costs crazy money and manpower—and not every racer wants to stay on the same team.

Old teams like Nexon need fresh blood every year, which is a huge investment.

Leo had only dared to race secretly before because, well, his skills weren’t great and he was scared Leif wouldn’t back him.

Leif glanced at Rael, who quickly said, “We basically have a deal. Contract signing’s this afternoon.”

Leo’s heart warmed.

After a while, he looked seriously at Leif, voice a little hoarse. “Bro… don’t blame me for wasting my time with this stuff…”

The Vexley family was huge and powerful in the capital, respected even above the other top three families.

But as the only younger brother, Leo never really cared about the empire growing bigger.

Leif said, “What’s the right path? What’s the wrong path? Who cares? Do what you love. I’ve got your back.”

Leo’s eyes filled with tears, red-rimmed. After a moment, he said softly, “Bro…”

Leif patted his shoulder, “Come on, you’re a grown man. Stop being so whiny. Rael, take Leo to Nexon Racing this afternoon… get those papers signed.”

***