61. No More Distance

"Thank you for all your hard work, Erwin." I looked around at my employees, who were all smiling with satisfaction. "To all of you... I'm truly grateful. Enjoy your well-deserved break," I said, earning a chorus of cheerful applause.I also made sure to thank the hotel staff for preparing such an incredible venue for the event. They nodded with broad smiles before returning to clean up the ballroom.When I stepped outside, Anna was already waiting for me, sitting on a sofa with her fingers fidgeting in her lap. The lively voices of my employees lingering inside the ballroom faded as I closed the door behind me.Now, it was just Anna and me.My heart suddenly began to pound as I remembered her request for tonight.For three years, I had kept my distance from her.Tonight, every one of those boundaries would come crashing down.Swallowing hard, I forced myself to walk over to her.She immediately looked up and greeted me with a faint smile."Finished?" she asked."Yeah. They're still dr

62. Stolen Happiness

ANNAAnother nosebleed.Warm blood trickled over my lips. My chest rose and fell as I fought back the panic.Why now?I hurried into the bathroom, leaving Dylan on the bed.Standing in front of the sink, I grabbed a few tissues. Footsteps approached the half-open bathroom door. Dylan stood there in nothing but a bathrobe, leaning casually against the frame."Are you okay? Was I too rough? Is that why your nose started bleeding?" he asked, concern filling his voice.Realizing he had already covered himself while I was still completely naked made heat rush to my face. I quickly covered my exposed chest and glanced at him."I'm fine. Could you close the door?"Dylan rolled his eyes. Instead of leaving, he walked into the bathroom and took the towel hanging on the rack. I froze as he draped it over my shoulders."So you still get embarrassed? Even though I've already seen every inch of you," Dylan teased before sitting down on the closed toilet lid. His gaze lingered on me. "Why have you

63. Don't Let Me Die Here

I slowly opened my eyes. Every inch of my body ached, and my head still throbbed. Through my blurred vision, I saw someone walking into the storage shed."Please... help me," I said as she crouched in front of me. But the moment I saw the sly smile curling across her lips, I knew that was never going to happen. Not a single servant in this house was on my side. Every one of them obeyed Jessy.The young maid reached into her pocket and pulled out a cleaning cloth. My eyes widened as she shoved it into my mouth before tying it tightly behind my head."Mmph! Mmph! Mmmph!"I struggled, trying to get up, but she forced my head back against the floor. Leaning close to my ear, she whispered in a low, cutting voice."Mrs. Jessy said you'll be spending the night here," she said with a satisfied laugh. "How pathetic. Not a single person cares about you. I'm even willing to bet Mr. Dylan won't come looking for you, even if you disappear from this house completely."I bit down hard, fighting back

64. A Wish for Tomorrow

DYLAN"Move aside, Mom. If Anna really isn't in there, you shouldn't be acting like this," I said, making Jessy bite her lip. She stepped away from the door with an irritated look on her face.I knocked on the door. The commotion I'd heard moments ago had completely stopped.From behind me, Jessy scoffed. "I already told you. There's nothing in there. It's just a rat.""Where's the key to the storage room?" I asked, ignoring her excuse.She clicked her tongue. "It's missing."Knowing it was nothing but another lie, I stepped back from the door. On the count of three, I slammed my shoulder into it with all my strength. The lock snapped free, and the door crashed against the wall.The stale smell of dust and mildew flooded my senses. I coughed as particles swirled through the air. Boxes were scattered everywhere. Old books lay strewn across the floor alongside piles of broken junk.Jessy hurried over. "The rats must've done that. Let the servants clean it up," she said, grabbing my arm

65. There Was a Reason

I frowned at her question. Just as I was about to answer, she spoke again, her eyes still fixed on the cover of The Little Princess."Dylan, would you give me what I want if I wanted to have a baby?" she asked, her expression unreadable. There was hope in her eyes, but also hesitation."I don't know," I replied casually, taking the shopping basket from her. "Done? I'll pay," I said, quickly changing the subject.For some reason, I didn't want to talk about it right now. After the past few nights we'd spent together, there was a real chance Anna could be pregnant. But that was exactly what frightened me the most.If she was pregnant, I was certain Jessy wouldn't stay quiet. What happened today was enough to make me realize that the longer Anna stayed by my side, the more she would end up getting hurt.After paying for all of her books, we sat side by side in the car. Anna was the first to break the silence. Her voice sounded tired."You didn't answer my question.""If you get pregnant,

66. Losing Control

After dealing with the servants, I took some time to head to PayandC with Erwin to check on the progress of the application. Looking over the graphs he showed me, I felt satisfied. Market demand continued to climb, and even companies overseas had begun expressing interest in expanding our system.Seeing the opportunities ahead, I couldn't help feeling a sense of accomplishment. My eyes lingered on the screen for a moment. If Anna hadn't pushed me this far back then, I probably never would have reached the position I was in today."As instructed, sir, I've cleared your schedule starting at two tomorrow afternoon. The following day, though, your schedule will be much busier," Erwin said, breaking me out of my thoughts."Hm." I slid the screen aside. I was thinking about granting two of Anna's requests tomorrow. She would surely understand that my workload was only getting heavier."Do we have a lot of meetings with investors and company executives o