*****Xavier laughed so hard tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, wiping them away between snickers.Grace, meanwhile, was so embarrassed she wanted nothing more than for the earth to split open and swallow her whole. Or at least eject her from the room at light speed.But… strangely, thanks to Xavier’s ridiculous laughter, the lingering tension in the room shattered like fragile glass underfoot. Warmth slowly replaced the suffocating air, and the atmosphere grew lighter.Xavier chuckled a moment longer, while Grace silently burned in shame like a kettle forgotten on the stove.Finally…“Have you always been this… powerful?” Grace blurted out before she could stop herself, her voice carrying an odd mix of shock, curiosity, and… unexpectedly… pride.Xavier didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he basked shamelessly in her admiring gaze, feeling an absurd little swell of satisfaction in his chest.He couldn’t lie… it felt sweet.Then he nodded his head, wearing the most ar

*****“Even if I wanted to take snacks with me, I’ll be too busy once I return to the office. I wouldn’t have time to eat them anyway,” Grace said, a trace of bitterness creeping into her tone.Xavier regarded her for a moment, then his expression turned serious.“I know how much you care about your work. I know how invested you are in this project,” he said, his voice calm but firm. “But I want you to remember this: the only way you can keep pushing forward is by keeping yourself healthy. You can’t drive a car on an empty tank. Think of the bigger picture.”“I…” Grace opened her mouth, words teetering on her tongue.But Xavier didn’t give her the chance to argue. He turned toward the cashier, his decision already made.“We’ll be ordering some takeaway snacks. Add it to our bill,” he instructed smoothly. “Let me have the total.”The cashier, who had been watching their interaction with rapt fascination, nearly jumped at being addressed.“I… ok

*****After vanishing from Myron’s estate the previous night without leaving even the faintest shadow behind, Mistress Ayra hadn’t immediately returned to the bar.No.She had deliberately gone far, far out of her way, traversing winding alleys and slipping through streets unfamiliar even to herself… all measures taken with the precision of someone haunted by imminent death.Her paranoia had blossomed into a full-fledged survival strategy, not after everything she had witnessed in the Myron’s estate, and Xavier’s parting words for herBefore she even dared to approach the pub again, she had already sent out covert orders through encrypted channels to her scattered Nightshadow agents across the city.Her instructions were clear: they were not to return to the main hideout under any circumstances… not until she personally confirmed it was safe, that the place wasn’t infested with unseen predators bearing the name Xavier.Why? It was Simple… self-preservation.Mistress Ayra was n

*****For a brief, humiliating second, Mistress Ayra simply stared at Bruno, her mind caught between laughter and horror.Before she could muster a response, Bruno turned back to Xavier with renewed hostility.“Bastard! Who are you?! How dare you let my woman act all intimate with you? Are you looking to die tonight?!”“This… idiot…” Ayra nearly choked on her own disbelief. “Who is the one looking to die?”On the other hand, Bruno’s loud, arrogant declaration didn’t just catch Xavier’s attention… it drew the entire bar’s.Conversation halted mid-word; laughter died mid-chuckle, and heads turned as the familiar scent of a bar fight hovered in the air.Eager eyes gleamed with curiosity as people pushed away from tables, gathering in a loose circle like vultures awaiting a feast.It took mere moments for the gossip to erupt.“Isn’t that Bruno again? Didn’t he warn everyone not to let Ayra act familiar with them, otherwise, they would face the consequences?”“Poor guy… looks lik

*****For a long, suffocating moment after hearing Xavier’s words, Mistress Ayra stood utterly frozen, like a statue caught between terror and disbelief.Her lips parted, but no words escaped. She simply gawked at him blankly. It was as though her brain had stopped processing reality altogether.Seconds dragged like hours in the heavy silence that settled between them.Finally, after what felt like an eternity trapped in the cage of her own spiraling thoughts, her mind caught up with his meaning.And when it did, shock hit her like a lightning bolt straight to the chest.No… this wasn’t just ordinary shock. This was the type of jolt that sends the heart slamming violently against bone, threatening to tear free from the ribs.Her legs wobbled beneath her, trembling with the effort to remain standing, while a cold rush of adrenaline crawled its way down her spine like icy fingers gripping her nerves.She swallowed hard… so hard it sounded deafening in the now silent, empty bar.