Right the moment the chopper landed at the wide field at the back of Lucius's manor, I thought he would tell me below the belt words for going to Simon and hesitating if I should come back to him or not. But I was surprised when before I could speak, I felt Lucius's arms on me. He was hugging me tight, crouching, and with face buried on my neck."I really thought you would come back to him," he said with forlorn voice that moved me. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Maddy. Forgive me, please."The way how he pleaded made me feel bad and at the same time… glad. I figured that I indeed loved him in that small span of time. I wasn't able to move on fully from Simon for I know that there is still a part of me that still love him, but in spite of that, I'm sure that there's also another part of me that loves Lucius. I don't know who weighs more, but I guess I still need to find out soon."I understand, Lucius. I kind of have an idea what you've been through now, and I understand that you too, want

"Harmed me physically? She hadn't. She just did so many things to provoke me. She's envious of everything I have, and I knew she wouldn't stop pissing me off until I leave Dad's place. I know I shouldn't have left because I'm the real daughter, but I figured I don't want to sacrifice Dad's relationship with his wife because of my issues with my evil stepsister. I had no choice."Looking back now, what if I stayed? Would I have stayed to be a human with my ordinary life?But thinking about it, if I stayed and never went to Lynnwood to live there… I don't think I would have a chance to meet Simon. And I wouldn't meet Landon too."Your stepsister is not an amazing person at all. A sane man won't take somoene like you for granted unless he's an asshole. I wanna go to your Dad's country and meet that boy sometime so I could teach him a lesson."I subtly glared at him."It felt like it happened long ago, it doesn't really bother me now, so you don't have to do that.""You sure? Because it w

“You are quite a reader, huh. You have a lot of books,” Landon said, looking at my shelf.I think Mom really put effort in cleaning and organizing my room when I was not around. Because the last time I’ve been here, I remember the room was so messy. I was not in my usual state those days, disturbed and frustrated. Now that I’m back, I realized that I missed my room too. This room had a lot of memories with me and Carter. I could even consider this as our love nest. But although our story didn’t end good, if that could even be considered as an ending, I still treasure every moment we spent together. It’s already a part of me and I don’t think I can take it away.“Yeah. I’m a certified bookworm.”Landon looked at me with dark eyes. “A very beautiful bookworm.”I chuckled.“When do you want to meet your father?”“What about tomorrow? We can stay in his house for a day or two if you want. His house is bigger than Mom’s but not as big as yours.”“Whose house do you like better, though?”“I

“Your so-called husband is so bitter, Maddy. I don’t like him,” Jaxon said so blatantly.“Likewise, mongrel.” Lucius then held my waist. “We should get going now, Maddy, or else we will be late on our flight.”“Right. We’ll go now, Jax.”“I suppose you will be back soon? Even though I don’t like your smell now and your husband, you are still my friend and I want to hangout with you.”“Yes, we will be back soon.”Jaxon’s forehead creased as if he was confused by something. “We? What do you mean by that? Don’t tell me…” His dark gaze dropped to Landon and I guess I knew what that look meant. Though before I can open my mouth for my answer, Landon was quicker. He spoke first.“Yes, we will go back. We. I will be staying with my wife wherever she is. Do you have a problem with that?” Lucius retorted in an arrogant tone.Jaxon’s jaw clenched as if the news he received was really bad.“In Doris’ house? Seriously, Maddy? You would let someone as dangerous as him stay close to your mom? Have

I looked at Lucius and waited for the answer too, confused because we hadn’t talked about this.“I want to ask for Maddy’s hand in a marriage.”My lips fell apart. That wasn’t part of the script!“Pardon?” Dad asked, his forehead was creased. The surprise in his expression told me that he clearly heard it but he couldn’t believe it.“I want to ask Maddy's hand in a marriage,” Lucius said again.“But she’s just in college! She’s not ready for that, I’m sure!” Natalia butt in as if her opinions will be honored. I raised a brow and looked at her sharply. For all she knows we’re already married.“Do you know about this, Maddy? Have you two talked about this?” Dad looked at me.I couldn’t answer right away. I glanced at Lucius and his eyebrow was slightly raised as if he was urging me into something. At the end, I looked at Dad and answered.“Yes, Dad. We already talked about this and… I also want to marry him.”Natalia’s eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe me. What? Was she expecting