“Mr. Ashford.”“Mr. Ashford, it’s time to get up.”“…”Barely cracking open an eye, Ryan groaned and sucked in a sleepy breath. Turning his head towards the source of the voice, he blinked several times to adjust his eyes against the bright orange halo of light flooding into the room. Near the foot of the bed, he saw a silhouette of a woman with short, spiky hair patiently standing by.Forcing himself to sit up, Ryan rubbed his eyes as he tiredly cracked out, “Wh-who are you?”Bowing once, she politely said, “My name is Penny Fisher. I’ve been assigned as your personal housekeeper. Breakfast is ready in the dining room whenever you’re ready, Mr. Ashford.”“Ugh…”Before he had a chance to say anything more, she had bowed and dismissed herself out of the room.Scratching his messy hair, Ryan wondered how necessary it was to hav

Watching Edric storm off through the partially closed blinds of the office, Ryan lifted the folder from his chest and tossed it aside on the desk in frustration. He let out a shaky sigh to diffuse his building anger. With a shake of his head, he walked towards one of the tall, wide windows that overlooked the bustling city.Slipping his hands into the smooth fabric pockets of his suit pants, he leaned against the metal frame.It was only the first day, but all he wanted to do was to just leave the building without any consequences. He knew he wasn’t going to like things from the start, but honestly, he didn’t have the faintest idea of what he was getting himself into – other than pretending like he was running a corporation.Heck, even after he acquired three big companies – one of them was the rising luxury brand Vernest – he was never involved in the day-to-day business running, let alone to step his feet into this big company tha

Slowly scrolling through different videos, Violet hoped to find an interesting talk show late in the morning. She paused after thinking she just saw a familiar face on her handheld device. Feeling her heart beat a little faster, she changed it back as her mouth fell open in shock at what she saw.Violet couldn’t believe it as she watched Ryan’s ugly face on live broadcast. At first, his ridged, slumped posture seemed to ease as he subtly appeared to be trying to get a hold of himself, swallowing down whatever trepidations he had before clearing his throat.She almost forgot that Ryan could revert to his spineless, pathetic self again after his unexpected change. Yet, here he was.Ryan forced a smile, excusing the awkwardness she had seen long ago. It prompted a sympathetic laugh from the audience.Violet strained to hear the varying words he spoke. It wasn’t that she couldn’t hear him clearly, but it was hard to focus on another familiar face that she hated so much.Seeing Edric stand

Ryan sat alone in his dimly lit room. He wasn't an emo kid, but the darkness somehow calmed his mind after a day of torment in front of blinding flashes of the cameras.The weight of the words he just heard from Jorge about an hour ago pressed heavily on his mind. The revelation that Edric wanted to end his life at the end of this month had shaken him to the core – and at the same time, he wasn't surprised by it.In fact, he kind of had expected it, curious as to when Edric would do it, actually.Their relationship was non-existent. Strained, of course. Turbulent, without a doubt. He knew that Edric harboured such deep and violet hatred for him, despite everything.If one was to rationalize things, it should be Ryan who hated him. As an illegitimate son, Ryan was treated like a punching bag and embarrassed.Ryan was a target for Howard to let out his stress. He was forbidden to venture out of the house in case someone saw him and learned that

Right after breakfast, Thomas knocked on the penthouse door and asked if they were ready. Once they were, they left with Thomas, who had been waiting in the living room. He had been instructed to chauffeur them around Seattle today to find appropriate attire for the company's black tie fundraiser tonight.Although they were being forced to attend, Ryan surprised himself by enjoying their time together shopping for the event. Maybe it was because he got to see Violet try on dresses, or maybe it was just nice to do something normal. Before they return to the penthouse, Violet wants him to buy her a car. She would never ask him for such a thing, because even with all the wealth he had acquired, Violet could afford a car herself. Besides, she was too proud to ask for one. So, when she did ask him, Ryan easily agreed, and they bought one. Too bad, Violet didn’t let him see what the car she bought either, saying it was a surprise for him. Once they returned back to his penthouse after t