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87: Protecting You in My Way
Last Updated:
2025-04-11 15:49:05
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Sunshine and The Beast 88: The Grandmaster
Folded Page.Another plan has been successfully implemented.The man looked at the pile of papers on his desk, saw various contract signatures, letters of agreement, as well as some evidence of handover of asset transfers. It's just as usual sucess, nothing to be proud of. But this time, one contract caught his attention. The one who signed it made his smile grow bigger.Oh, Althea. Sweet Althea, he thought. She was definitely his favorite lamb. The one he wanted to keep at its best condition before it's used as the main course.A special main course, of course.The man then touched the edge of the contract with his fingertip, especially on the name listed. His chest was pounding with enthusiasm and anticipation, even though he already knew what was going to happen next.Oh, of course he did. He planned it. He planned everything.He would continue to take care of this name, to pay attention to it. No scratches, no wounds. At least, not yet. To keep it beautiful. To keep it the way he
Last Updated : 2025-04-14Sunshine and The Beast 89: The Conference (I)
Matthias“And … yep. You’re ready to go.”Althea nodded slowly after adjusting my tie, her lips curling into a soft smile. “You look good with that tie.”I never really cared about ties, honestly. As long as I looked neat and presentable, that was enough. But I wasn’t about to complain if someone else took notice and made me look even more “put together.” And that person was Althea.“You’re really okay on your own?” I asked her once again.She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know you like to ask one question a thousand times, Matt. I am okay. The baby too. We’ll be fine. Just … you know, tell me if anything happens over there, okay?”That was supposed to be my line.I was actually reluctant to attend this business conference. But Cox and Tech—my company—needed to be present, especially since I was one of the speakers this time. The Milan conference was a major event, one with strong potential to expand business opportunities through collaborations, investments, and various other deals.
Last Updated : 2025-04-15Sunshine and The Beast 90: What's His, What's Mine
Business was a gamble.Like it or not, that was the fact. High risk, high return. It’s just that this gamble required more planning than just luck, and some who were invited today were all gamblers in business. Including me myself.By the time I reached the conference hall the next day, the sun had barely begun to shine and warm the cobbled streets of Milan. My name was on the program, printed in glossy ink beside the Cox & Tech logo with other invited speakers as well, and the organizers were eager to parade it. “The rising star of innovation,” one of them had said last night over dinner, like I was a brand instead of a person.I didn’t particularly care for the spotlight. But I had learned how to use it.The event was held in a grand, glass-and-stone building that overlooked one of the quieter canals. A few journalists lingered near the entrance, but not many. Most of the press would come later, for the big-name speakers. Right now, it was all murmurs and espresso, greetings between
Last Updated : 2025-04-17Sunshine and The Beast 91: An Online Tease
AltheaI rarely missed people in my life.Granny was one special case, since I didn't have that many people in my life to begin with. But this time, I couldn't explain what I felt except that I missed Matthias when he appeared on my computer screen.He looked tired, but still handsome as ever—his shirt sleeves rolled to the elbows, the first two buttons undone. His hair was slightly tousled, like he’d run his fingers through it too many times, and there was a shadow under his eyes that hadn’t been there before he left.“Hey,” I greeted softly, adjusting the webcam. “Hey,” he replied. His voice alone made my shoulders drop a little, as if it was a bit of fresh air and I could finally breathe again. “You look... relaxed. That’s good.”I smiled and leaned back just slightly, enough for him to catch the see-through slip I was wearing, the soft, sheer fabric falling off one shoulder. His eyes darkened immediately. “You’re trying to kill me,” he said.“Just trying to keep your focus on m
Last Updated : 2025-04-18Sunshine and The Beast 92: Something About Him
AltheaPeople always say first impressions are important, because that’s the foundation for how others judge you. Granny said it was pretentious—which was true—but what people said actually made sense. Because it was true—your first impression was the base of everyone’s judgment. Some people are smart enough to create a good first impression, making us believe the best in them. Tristan Kennedy was one of those people.The impression he gave was good—almost perfect, even. He made me believe he was trustworthy from just one meeting. He was the first person who told me about my mother, when no one else could tell me anything.I trusted him. So trying to see him from a different angle now was… a little weird, to say the least.It was also a little ironic that I once trusted him more than I trusted Matthias.And yet, here I was, sitting through a meeting at K Company, trying to pay attention, but also watching Tristan. Trying to figure out if there was anything questionable or strange
Last Updated : 2025-04-19Sunshine and The Beast Folded Page: Osman Cox
Osman Cox didn’t really believe in love.It had always been like that for a long time. Maybe forever, he thought.But that was before he met Janice Chase.She was a different woman. A different kind. Maybe it was because of the way she smiled, or how she didn’t really look at him as one of the Coxes. For her, he was Osman. Just Osman.And that was one of many reasons why he fell for her.They met when they were sixteen. She was the girl who always spoke her mind, the one who cut her own bangs and wore sneakers with holes in them because she refused to throw them out. Janice was … different in her own way. She didn’t care about money, status, or even legacies. She cared about poetry and justice, or weird movies from the seventies. She used to write quotes in the margins of her notebooks and once told him, “Love isn’t a big show, Osman. It’s in the little things. It’s in remembering how someone takes their tea.”He hadn’t known how to respond to that. But he remembered how she took hers
Last Updated : 2025-04-20Sunshine and The Beast 93: Half Brother
MatthiasPersonal matters shouldn’t be brought into the workplace. That used to be my rule of thumb.Before everything started to blur. Before the probability of what my old man did started threatening everything I’d built.Tristan’s words kept ringing in my mind like a riddle I didn’t expect. To be fair, I didn’t expect to talk to him or have anything to do with him after all.“I like business, Mr. Cox. But I also like to take what’s originally mine.” And the way he said it—casual yet remarking something hidden underneath, offhanded but with eyes that gleamed like he already knew what cards he held.It wasn’t just about business. Not anymore.I wasn’t a man who gave in to paranoia. But this felt different. A threat, and also a warning. But what for? He was a stranger, or someone I didn’t like to talk about with Althea.That night in Milan, I stayed up later than I should’ve, watching the city lights from the balcony of my hotel suite. I let the sounds of the city drift past me like
Last Updated : 2025-04-21Sunshine and The Beast 94: His Concern
[94]Althea“You want to work together with Tristan?”Matthias just casually nodded, while I was looking at him with questions—a lot of questions, to be exact.The setting sun painted warm streaks across our living room wall, casting a soft glow around him. But there was nothing soft in the way I stared at him.“Why so suddenly?” I asked again, my voice rising just a little. “Is this your way of digging deeper into Tristan and his company?”Matthias nodded once more. “The closer I get to that man, the better. Everything I’ve found so far hasn’t helped much.”His tone was flat—calm, even. But even I could tell there was something simmering beneath it. Something he wasn’t saying.I didn’t want to push it further, despite my curiosity was itching inside me. It wasn’t the matter of I wanted to know or not, it was him. Something was different from him since he got back from Milan.We were fine, don’t get me wrong. It’s just … you knew the feel when the usual coffee you enjoy tasted a bit d
Last Updated : 2025-04-22
Latest chapter
Sunshine and The Beast 102: Separate Ways
AltheaWhen I thought everything was okay, all the walls were tumbling down. My life, my happiness, everything.I woke up in a haze, my head pounding as if I had been hit by a hundred storms. The sharp scent of antiseptic stung my nose, and I felt the unfamiliar weight of a hospital blanket over me. My limbs were heavy, uncooperative, as if they belonged to someone else, and my chest felt tight. It took a moment for my eyes to focus, the world around me blurry and indistinct.The pain was the first thing I recognized. A dull, aching throb in my lower abdomen, deep and unrelenting. I reached for it instinctively, as if I could touch the wound and make it go away. But when my hand brushed against the skin, it felt foreign—empty. As if the very thing I was searching for was no longer there.The memories rushed back like a flood.The blood. The pain. The terror that had washed over me in the moments before I lost consciousness. The frantic urgency of Matthias’s voice, calling my name, the
Sunshine and The Beast 102: The Truth
MatthiasThe elevator groaned as it descended, like the machine itself was reluctant to take me where I was going. Each floor ticked past with a hollow ding, echoing up the shaft like a countdown I hadn’t agreed to. Somewhere in the stillness between the fifth and the fourth floor, I caught my reflection in the polished steel of the doors; drawn face, bloodshot eyes, jaw clenched so tight it ached. I looked like a man walking into something he might not walk out of.The feeling of unease settled in the pit of my stomach, growing heavier with each passing second. The soft hum of the elevator's motor seemed to mock me, as if it knew the uncertainty that lay ahead. I tried to shake off the sense of foreboding, reminding myself that I had a job to do, a mission to complete. But as the elevator finally reached the ground floor and the doors slid open with a hiss, I couldn't help but wonder if I was walking into a trap.I didn’t bother adjusting my coat when the doors opened. The hallway ou
Sunshine and The Beast 101: Meet Me
MatthiasAlthea's condition was getting worse, to the point she had to get into an operation room.Time did not make everything calmer; instead, every second scraped across my nerves like the edge of a dull blade. Each tick of the wall clock sounded louder than the last, a metronome counting down to something I couldn’t name. The longer I sat there, the more I felt like I was unraveling by degrees, breath by breath.I sat stiffly in the dimly lit waiting area just past the ICU doors, one foot tapping without rhythm against the waxed linoleum floor. That smell—the sour tang of antiseptic—clung to everything: the walls, the plastic seats, and the inside of my throat. It mixed with the faint scent of coffee long gone cold and something metallic, like the memory of blood. The air was cool, but my jacket stuck to me anyway, and every breath I took felt borrowed.I tried to distract myself by flipping through a magazine left on the table, but the words blurred together and the pictures seem
Sunshine and The Beast Folded Page: Her Parents (II)
[Folded Page]Flashback, Part IIThe phone rang just past three in the morning.The burner, tucked beneath a drawer in the dresser, buzzed once—twice—its low hum slicing through the silence like a blade. Jess hadn’t been asleep. Not really. His body had settled, eyes closed for just minutes, but his mind had remained wired, straining through the dark for sounds that didn’t belong.His hand moved automatically, fingers closing around the phone, the sickening feeling of dread blooming in his stomach before his brain could even process why. Something was wrong. He knew it.The moment he answered, his voice was rough, hoarse from a mix of exhaustion and a deep, gnawing fear.“Reiley?” The word came out more as a prayer than a question, but it was too late. His heart was already sinking.The voice on the other end wasn’t hers. It was too calm. Too controlled.“Jessen,” the woman said. Her tone was efficient, practiced — not one ounce of emotion, not one crack of humanity breaking through.
Sunshine and The Beast Folded Page: Her Parents
[Folded Page]FlashbackThe rain battered the windows of the small house like fists of fury, the storm outside a violent mirror of the one raging within. Wind shrieked through the trees like lost souls, and every thunderclap seemed to rattle the very bones of the house.Reiley Alden paced the length of the living room, her bare feet soundless against the worn, splintered hardwood. She moved like a caged thing, restless, hunted. In the cradle tucked tightly into the corner — the safest corner she could find — baby Althea slept fitfully, her tiny face scrunched in some fretful dream only infants understood. The occasional twitch of her small hands made Reiley’s heart ache in a way that almost brought her to her knees.The storm outside was nothing compared to the one brewing inside her chest. She longed for it to pass, for the world to somehow become kind again — but some part of her, the part that had survived too much already, knew it never would.She paused by the fireplace, the flic
Sunshine and The Beast 100: Emergency
MatthiasA panic attack slammed into me like a freight train the moment they wheeled her through the emergency room doors.Althea lay so still on the gurney, her skin almost translucent under the harsh fluorescent lights, her breathing shallow and uneven, as if each breath cost her more than she could give. Her head lolled slightly to one side, and the sight of it—of her, usually so vibrant and stubbornly full of life, now fragile and terrifyingly still—carved something brutal and cold through my chest, a feeling I couldn't shake even as I stumbled forward.I tried to follow—I needed to follow—but a nurse stepped into my path, palm up, firm but not unkind. "Sir, you have to wait here. We'll update you as soon as we can," she said, her voice kind but leaving no room for argument."No—" I rasped, the sound of it cracking out of me, unfamiliar and raw. "I’m sorry," she said again, softer this time, her eyes flickering with sympathy. "Please. Let us help her."Helplessness crashed over
Sunshine and The Beast 99: Warm Hug, Closer Danger
AltheaThe world tilted when I tried to sit up, but I was okay. My stomach did a little dance, and I bit my lip, blinking against the wave of nausea that swept over me. The old couch moaned as I settled back into its cushions, pulling the cozy blanket even tighter around my shoulders, as if it could hold me together."Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Then, Matthias's voice broke through the quiet, low and urgent.I shook my head firmly, even though the motion made the room spin again. "I'm doing well, Matt," I said, though I could see he was worried. "It's just a feeling of nausea. It's just the usual stuff that happens during pregnancy."Matthias remained seated near the window, but the tension in his body was almost tangible. His arms were crossed, his broad shoulders stiff beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. Golden shafts of fading afternoon light slanted across the room, casting long shadows that made everything feel both too still and too fragile."You've bee
Sunshine and The Beast 98: Destructive Plan
Folded PageThe room was pretty dark, with only a desk lamp lighting up a bit, making everything look a bit dull and sickly. The curtains were drawn tight, shutting out the world, as if even the night outside didn't deserve to witness what was about to go down.He was sitting still, and you could barely see him because he was so dark. The only sign of his anger was the soft, regular tapping of his finger against the armrest.On the desk, a small bottle of medicine sat upright — harmless at first glance, and pretty ordinary.But it wasn't a typical situation.Not to him.Not to her.And definitely not to Matthias Cox.He took a slow, thoughtful breath as he leaned forward, his hand hovering over the bottle before finally picking it up. The glass felt cold against his skin, but he welcomed the chill. It helped him think. It reminded him why he had waited so long for this.Althea; The ideal crack in Matthias's armor.He was turning the bottle slowly between his fingers, studying it like
Sunshine and The Beast 97: Was it Only Stress?
"Oh, God. The meeting was finally over."I let my head drop to the table with a soft thud, not even bothering to hide my exhaustion. The sleeves of my blouse took most of the impact, but that didn't stop me from letting out a sigh - long, dramatic, maybe even a little whiny. I deserved it. Today's meeting had been a slog. Convincing investors that art had value-not just financial, but cultural, emotional-was like pulling teeth with a teaspoon. Worst of all, I actually liked the project.Tristan laughed and placed a cold bottle of water at my elbow. "You survived. Barely.""I deserve an award," I muttered without lifting my head. "Preferably something shiny. Or chocolate. Or edible. All three, actually.""Edible awards," he mused. "There's a startup idea in there somewhere."I groaned. "Don't make me think about business right now. I need food. Or I'll burn up.""I already ordered." He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms behind his head. "You like noodles, right?"That made
