Regis suppressed his smile. Slowly, he released his grip from Amora's hand and jaw, then briefly wiped his wet lips.
"It seems your lips taste the same as before. But kissing you felt like kissing a porcupine. Too stiff and painful," teased Regis.
Amora glared at him. She wanted to curse, but instead, she exhaled in frustration.
"What's wrong with admitting it, Miss Lysander? Is spending the night with me that humiliating for you, hm?"
Amora decided not to respond to Regis's words and gently rubbed her wrists, which had reddened from his grip.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Regis taking something out of his coat pocket, and then offering the shiny object to her.
"I suppose you haven't forgotten this, have you?" Regis asked confidently.
"That..."
Amora bit her lip before replying, "I don't recognize it."
“Do you think I don’t need to hold you accountable, Miss Lysander?”The deep, cold voice made Amora’s eyes widen. She didn’t expect Regis to say something so shameless.“What is there to hold me accountable for? Not reporting you to the authorities is already a kindness on my part. Plus, you took my virginity!” Amora retorted angrily.“You gave it to me, I didn’t take it without permission,” Regis corrected her.Amora’s hazel eyes widened again, then moved restlessly. She knew the man’s words were true, but at that time, she was under the influence of alcohol and aphrodisiacs, so she didn’t realize what she had done.“But, as a true gentleman, shouldn’t you have refrained from taking advantage like that?” Amora countered, irritated.“I’m not a hypocrite, Miss Lysander. Isn’t there no cat that would refuse when given a salted fish?” Regis’s remark made Amora’s face flush red with shock.She exhaled roughly several times. She was utterly exasperated dealing with Regis. She turned her fa
Seeing that Amora had left his young master's car, Mark, who had been waiting by the car, finally decided to get in. He felt uneasy, worried he might face his boss’s anger after seeing Amora's sour expression as she left.Mark guessed that the two had just had a fierce argument.“Young Master,” Mark greeted as he took a seat behind the wheel.Regis’s closed eyes opened again. He only gave a slight nod to his assistant.Mark’s forehead wrinkled. He felt relieved that his previous concern did not happen, but he remained cautious.“What about Felix Wright?” Regis asked about the man who tried to deceive Amora earlier.“He seemed very shocked earlier, but I’ve already asked him to submit his resignation as soon as possible,” Mark replied.Regis sneered. “He underestimated my warning back then,” he said.The issue regarding Felix Wright had become a particular concern for Regis. Previously, he had received a report from one of his subordinates about Felix’s abuse of power in managing his n
"Mom, please don't cry."Rayden hugged his mom, gently rubbing her back with his tiny hands."Thank goodness you weren't taken away, Ray," Amora squeaked, her voice muffled by her sobs.Rayden looked confused by his mother's words, but he sensed the worry in her tone."I am not going anywhere, Mom. I'll always be by your side," Rayden comforted his mom."Amora."Amora's sobs halted when she heard Emma Adams call her name. Slowly, she looked up and saw Emma standing there, looking concerned.Amora quickly wiped her tears, then stood up and walked over to Emma, staring at her with a worried expression."W-What happened, Mrs. Adams? Where did you come from?" Amora asked anxiously, still confused about the situation.Emma sighed softly and replied, "I don't know who did it either. But I just reported the problem to the nearest authorities. Your house is still in shambles. I didn't have time to clean it up earlier. Let's talk about this at my house instead, Amora."Amora agreed. She locked
"Do you know who's behind this, Amora?"Emma's face looked very worried. Amora guessed that Emma must still be remembering the terrifying experience she had when dealing with the rioters who had come to her house earlier."I don't know either, Mrs. Adams," Amora replied.Amora already had a few suspects in mind, but she wasn't too sure, so she had to lie to Emma.For the past seven years, Amora had never caused trouble with anyone. If she could avoid problems, she would. All Amora wanted now was to live peacefully with her son.However, some people didn't like her peaceful life, like Julia Brown or maybe Chelsea Harrison. Those were the two names that came to her mind when Emma asked that question."Really? Could they have mistaken you for someone else?" Emma asked again. She seemed to be deep in thought.A thin smile formed on Amora's lips. She couldn't give a definite answer to that either."What did we do wrong, Mom? Why are they so mean to us?" Rayden asked innocently.Amora turne
“Alright. Stop crying now.”Amora wiped her son's tear-streaked face.“You too, Mom,” Rayden said with a small laugh, wiping his mother's wet cheeks.Amora smiled and handed the drink she hadn't finished earlier to her son.Rayden took a sip and then handed it back to his mom. His small eyes looked at her intently, filled with curiosity.“So, how was the man at the blind date, Mom?”Amora nearly choked at her son's question. "You... still haven't given up?" she grumbled.The boy flashed a toothy grin and asked, “Didn't you like him?” He was still trying to pry information from his mother about the blind date she went to this afternoon.Emma listened with interest too."He was a scammer. Next time, don’t just sign me up for a blind date, Ray," A
Royal Dragon Office BuildingRegis quickly walked into his office. He dropped into his large chair. As usual, his face was cold and expressionless.After canceling all his blind dates for the day, Regis chose to return to the office.Mark didn’t follow him back because he had to gather some information that Regis needed.Regis pressed the intercom button and dialed his secretary Monica Grant’s extension.“Bring me all the donation data I asked for yesterday!” Regis ordered his secretary.Without waiting for a response, Regis ended the intercom call. Shortly after, there was a knock at the door.“Come in!” Regis called without looking up. He was fiddling with his phone.Monica Grant walked in cautiously. She rarely interacted directly with her boss. Previously, she reported most things through Mark.Being called in suddenly made Monica’s heart race. She was worried about making a mistake. In Regis Lorenzo’s eyes, even the smallest mistake was still a mistake, and he didn’t need any exc
"Are you sure you want to return to your house, Amora?"Emma Adams watched as Amora packed some of her personal belongings into a suitcase. She tried to persuade Amora to stay with her.One week has passed since the threats from the unknown perpetrators. It has also been one week since Amora and her son stayed at Emma Adams' house. This afternoon, Amora decided to return to her own home. She didn’t want to continue burdening Emma.Although Emma didn’t feel burdened at all, Amora still didn’t want to rely on her especially since she heard that Emma’s son would be visiting her this weekend.As someone without a blood relation to Emma Adams, Amora felt uncomfortable if Emma’s son asked about her presence in the house. She thought it would be better to leave today.Amora took an afternoon shift to handle her personal matters. She had finished packing her
The sound of the bell ringing throughout Marionette International School was the most anticipated moment for all the students. Several luxury cars lined up neatly in front of the school entrance, ready to pick up the elite students.Today, all the students were dismissed early because they had just finished their midterm exams. It was no wonder the parking lot was much more crowded than usual.Mark Carter was standing in front of the entrance. His eyes scanned the faces of the students who were starting to exit the school building one by one.His gaze stopped at a teenage girl laughing and joking with her friends.“Miss,” Mark called out when their eyes met.The smile on Alicia Lorenzo’s face immediately faded. She stopped and stared sharply at her brother’s assistant.“Ugh, why are you the one picking me up?” Alicia grumbled.“The master had some business today. So the young master was asked to pick you up, and I had to get out of the car to greet you, Miss,” Mark explained.Alicia r
Mark's car had just pulled up at the arrival gate. He glanced at his young master, who was resting his eyes in the backseat.Regis looked exhausted. For the past two nights, he’d been tied up in a series of private meetings with Royal Dragon’s subordinates, carefully planning the strategy to take over the power held by Diego Lorenzo.At this point, Regis and a few of his loyal aides had managed to secure the support of some underlings willing to serve him. However, there were still others who refused, afraid of becoming the target of Diego’s wrath if their plan was ever exposed.“We’ve arrived, Young Master,” Mark said, gently waking his superior.Regis slowly opened his eyes and took a moment to assess his surroundings before stepping out of the car. Standing by the departure entrance, he spotted Albert waiting to greet him.“Have you found Old Madam Lysander yet?” Regis asked bluntly.“Not yet, Young Master. We have no idea where she’s heading. My team and I had to split up to searc
The tension in the Royal Dragon leader’s office was palpable. Everyone’s face had gone pale when Pablo Varon returned with a report that darkened Diego Lorenzo’s expression.“What did you just say?” Diego asked, his tone cold and sharp.“I’m sorry, Boss. I failed to take Miss Lysander with me. The young master showed up and took her away first,” Pablo replied, bowing his head deeply.Diego stood from his chair and approached Pablo. He placed a hand on Pablo’s shoulder and gripped it hard.“How long have you worked for me, Pablo? And you still can’t handle a single woman? Are you trying to disgrace the name of Royal Dragon, huh?” Diego hissed, a cynical smirk curling his lips.Pablo could feel his boss’s rage and disappointment. “I’m truly sorry, Sir. I’m ready to accept any punishment,” he said, dropping to his knees in front of Diego.From the beginning, Pablo had known the risks of letting the young master’s wife go. He never once thought of escaping the consequences.“My ungrateful
“H-How did you find out about this?” Amora mumbled, still feeling dazed.She had tried so hard to hide her pregnancy complications from Regis. She didn’t want his excitement over the baby to waver because of it.“You don’t need to know how I found out,” Regis said firmly. “All you need to know is that I’m never going to let you go, Amora.”His eyes burned with anger at his wife’s deception. But a few seconds later, his gaze softened.Regis took both of Amora’s hands in his and looked at her gently. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he saw the regret in her eyes.He let out a quiet sigh and spoke gently, “I hope you won’t make the same foolish mistake again, Amora. I know my father crossed the line this time. But please, trust me … I’m going to stop him.”Amora’s hazel eyes were still wet with tears. “But how can you stop him, Regis? Grandma’s already been taken to the airport, and .…”Her voice cracked as her sobs took over. Seeing his wife cry, Regis actually smiled.
“Regis, your father actually had a reason for doing all of this.”Amora’s words made Regis frown for a moment, but then he let out a short, dry chuckle.“A reason? What reason could he possibly have other than wanting to control his rebellious son?” Regis scoffed.Just like Amora once had, Regis had no idea about the real reason behind his father’s constant efforts to keep them apart.Seeing the hatred in Regis’s eyes whenever he mentioned Diego Lorenzo, Amora finally decided to share what Diego had once told her.She thought maybe—just maybe—it would help lessen Regis’s hatred toward his father. She could’ve easily kept it to herself, letting Regis continue to resent Diego as payback for everything that man had done to her.But her conscience wouldn’t let her pretend she didn’t know the truth.“Regis … your father did all this out of hatred and revenge toward my dad,” Amora said, leaving Regis completely stunned and confused.“What do you mean, Amora?” Regis asked, his gaze narrowing
Seeing the deep regret on Amora’s face, Regis let out a sharp sigh. He hadn’t meant to scold her. He just wanted her to understand how her actions affected them both.Regis tried to keep his emotions in check, not wanting to lash out. He knew Amora was clearly torn and dealing with a difficult inner conflict.“Haven’t I told you time and time again not to carry everything on your own, Amora?” Regis reminded her gently.Amora didn’t respond. Her head remained lowered until Regis reached out, cupped her chin, and lifted her face so their eyes could meet again.The look in Regis's eyes, which looked shady and sad, made Amora feel both comforted and hurt because she felt guilty for hurting him with the divorce papers she’d filed.“I’m your husband, Amora. Didn’t we agree to face all our struggles together? Can’t you give me just a little time to prove that I can turn this around without asking you to sacrifice everything?” Regis asked, his voice soft but full of emotion.He still believed
Regis and Amora had just entered their rented house, but Regis was still gripping his wife’s wrist tightly, causing her to wince in pain.“Regis, didn’t you hear me? Let go of my hand!” Amora snapped, clearly annoyed at being dragged around by her husband.The sound of the bedroom door slamming made Amora jump. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the fury in Regis’s eyes.Amora swallowed hard and muttered, “That hurts, Regis.”Seeing how helpless she looked, Regis finally let go of her wrist. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the red marks left by his grip.Even though guilt started to creep in, Regis didn’t say anything. He still couldn’t bring himself to forgive what Amora had done.His lips curled into a bitter smirk as he glanced at the small suitcase behind her. “So you’re leaving, huh? Who told you to do that?”His voice was laced with a mix of anger and disappointment. Amora nervously bit her lip, slowly lowering her gaze, unable to meet his eyes.“Why are you quiet? A
“Did you bring what my boss asked for?” Pablo asked, his expression completely unchanged.Amora looked down at the document in her hands, her heart heavy. The papers were divorce papers—something she had prepared at Diego’s request, and a requirement to get Rayden accepted into the Lorenzo family.The truth was, she still wasn’t ready to divorce Regis. But the pressure and threats from Diego had completely worn her down. Unlike Diego, she held no power. And more than anything, she didn’t want to see Regis crushed under the weight of his own father.“Miss, my boss isn’t someone who breaks his promises. He’ll accept your son as part of the Lorenzo family, just like he said. Your sacrifice won’t be in vain,” Pablo assured her on his employer’s behalf.Hearing that, Amora felt something heavy lift from her chest. ‘I’m sorry, Ray. I know I made this decision on my own, but I believe one day, you’ll understand this was the best thing I could do for you,’ she thought.Amora handed the docume
"See you later, Mom. Don’t forget to come, okay?" Rayden said as he said goodbye to his mother.They had just finished breakfast, and Regis was the one taking their son to school. Amora had claimed she needed to finish some housework first so she could fully enjoy the event Rayden was participating in later.Amora only gave a small nod to her son’s words. She kissed his forehead lightly and murmured, "Take care of yourself, Ray."Rayden frowned. "I’m not gonna hurt myself, Mom," he replied, assuming she was still worried about his archery performance later.Amora gave a faint smile. Her eyes shifted to Regis, who was looking at her with a meaningful gaze. But she quickly looked away and said, "Go on, or you'll be late.""Come on, Dad! Let’s go!" Rayden called out as he grabbed his backpack."What is it?" Amora asked, puzzled, when she noticed Regis still hadn’t moved from his spot, even though their son had already jogged toward the door."Aren’t you forgetting something?" Regis asked
“Maybe Albert and the others were right. The more I stay silent, the more Father will keep using his power to pressure Amora. I need to put a stop to this—fast,” Regis thought to himself.His face was filled with distress. His mind was racing with plans he had crafted with his loyal subordinates. He’d originally planned to check in on his wife, but changed his mind and stood up, needing to confirm something first before taking any action.Meanwhile, Amora sat silently on the edge of her bed, staring at her phone screen, her thoughts consumed by the message she had just received.Tears streamed steadily down her cheeks. She covered her mouth with one hand to muffle her sobs so no one outside her room could hear her crying.She quickly wiped her tears with the back of her hand and looked again at the message on her screen. It was from Chris. He had saved her number without her knowing.[Amora, I’m not sure if you’ve found out yet or not … but I just want to say congratulations. Accordin