*****Xavier physically jolted in his seat the moment Grace’s snap sounded, appearing like a child caught stealing snacks from the fridge in the middle of the night.In the next second, genuine fright… actual registered on his face.It would have been hilarious if it weren’t so absurd.This was Xavier, after all… the man who could flatten cities with a single blow, the man whom presidents deferred to, and the one whispered about in terrified reverence around the globe.Entire governments moved to his command, and demons who had reduced continents to ash trembled at the mere mention of his name. And yet… here he was, shrinking back like a schoolboy caught with a forbidden magazine under his mattress.“I…”He looked at Grace, who was currently glaring at him as if she were the appointed prosecutor of all womankind.Her pumped energy wasn’t just raw... it was completely unrestrained, breaking through every restraint she normally kept around herself.“I don’t…” Xavier stammered,

*****Grace’s fingers couldn’t help but tighten nervously around the steering wheel as her thoughts went out of control.She couldn’t help but want to slap herself hard on the face... not for nearly losing control of the car earlier, but for how easily she had revealed her own feelings, for failing to keep her thoughts locked inside where they belonged, and for letting her emotions take over her… allowing Xavier to see right through her.Of course, she was certain that Lyria had an interest in Xavier…. that much had been obvious. But the way she had reacted to it…‘Argh! What was I thinking?! Why was I so furious? Why did I behave like that?’ Her inner voice screamed so loud that it directly drowned out the sound of the car’s engine.The memory of her earlier outburst began to replay in her head, each one vivid and more humiliating than the last.Now that she remembered it, there was no way to wash herself clean again.She hadn’t just appeared jealous… she had looked exactly li

*****At the same time, silence filled the air across the city, inside a not-so-big living room that radiated the quiet arrogance that could only belong to an old, wealthy family.It wasn’t the ordinary kind of silence... No.It was heavy, suffocating, and the kind that pressed down on shoulders like the weight of the world, making even the faintest breath sound too loud.Seven people occupied the room at this moment, yet no one spoke.At the head of the room, elevated slightly on a platform like an emperor, sat an elderly man in a throne-like chair, his spine rigid, his gaze sharp like a blade, and his face twisted into a scowl so sharp it could carve a stone.The expression on his face was more than anger… it was a look of rage, helplessness, and cold frustration, the kind that fueled the tension in the room.This old man is none other than the patriarch of the Sky family… Grace’s grandfather.To his left, seated a step below him, was Nico, his position marking him as the pa

*****At this moment, Nico was already on his feet, his chest heaving frantically. His face had contorted into something savage, his eyes burning with fury, and his entire body vibrating as though he were seconds from tearing the furniture apart with his bare hands.“Six hours!” he bellowed, his voice reverberating through the room, and his fists clenching so tight that his knuckles gleamed bone-white. “Six… sic fucking hours we’ve sat here… and she’s still not here! Six hours, making fools of us and keeping us waiting like dogs! Tell me… what greater insult and what sharper humiliation exists than this?!”The venom and fury in his tone made a few people shrink subconsciously. Then everyone froze for a moment, unable to react.And finally…“Wait… she’s not here yet?” a voice cut through the brief silence that enveloped the room.All eyes turned instinctively, and... this voice belonged to Mason, who had also sat up in alarm, his eyes currently looking sharp, and every trace of d

*****For the first time in Nico’s life, he saw his elder brother not as the submissive fool he could trample, but as someone dangerous… someone who might actually tear him apart if pushed to the wall.Williams’s glare burned into him sharp and wild… making Nico feel like a prey being stared down upon by a predator for a fleeting second.Without even realizing it, Nico blinked rapidly, his bravado cracking.His mouth opened to spit back, but instinct screamed at him not to... that he was currently cornering a man who had been pushed past his limit, and that one more word might unleash something he might not be able to control.The feeling was something he had never felt before in his life, not especially with his spineless elder brother.And now that he did… Nico, not even realizing it, did what cowards always do. He ran to a higher authority.“Father!” he cried out, spinning toward the old patriarch like a child reporting to a schoolmaster.“Do you see this?! Do you see what