"Really?" Alice blushed slightly, glancing at Joseph shyly. Hearing that he was so excited for her cooking made her feel that all her efforts were worthwhile."Of course," Joseph replied, still smiling."This will be the first time I cook for a guy. But I’m pretty confident I’ll whip up something amazing. I’ve always had a knack for cooking," Alice said, her confidence shining through."I can tell," Joseph said, leaning into her encouragement."Hehe, so you’ve noticed, huh?" Alice giggled. "Here, why don’t you pick? Order whatever you like!" She handed the menu to Joseph."What about you? Don’t you have anything you particularly want to eat?" Joseph asked curiously."Whatever Joseph likes, I like too. I’ll eat whatever you choose," Alice said sweetly, resting her chin on her hands as she gazed at Joseph with large, adoring eyes. Her intense focus on him made Joseph blush slightly."Ahem, alright then. I’ll pick something," Joseph said, clearing his throat as he began marking the dishe

“Fuck! You’re useless!” Raymond suddenly snapped at Scrappy. “You couldn’t even accomplish a simple task. You took all those people with you, and not only did you fail to hurt him, but all of you ended up injured. Worthless!”Scrappy could only lower his head in silence, unable to muster a defense.“Mr. Kim, I didn’t expect Joseph to be that strong. He’s like a demon,” Scrappy ventured, trying to explain.“Are you fucking kidding me? One man took down all of you? What is he, some kind of martial arts master? A god of war?” Raymond spat, clearly not buying it.Jonathan chimed in, “Mr. Kim’s right. You expect us to believe that one guy took on ten of you? Did he use some kind of trick?”Scrappy, on the verge of tears, felt utterly defeated. When he had tried to downplay the incident earlier, they didn’t believe him. Now that he was telling the truth, they still didn’t believe him. Life was unfair.“Regardless, it’s over now,” Scrappy muttered. “Mr. Kim, Mr. Jonathan, can we please finis

“When we get back, I’ll give you another massage. You didn’t sleep much last night, and after the massage, you should take a bath and get some rest. While a massage can relieve some fatigue, it’s no replacement for proper sleep,” Joseph said as he drove.“Another massage?” Alice’s cheeks flushed as she lowered her head slightly. She felt embarrassed yet excited, her emotions a confusing mix.“What? Don’t you like massages?” Joseph noticed her reaction and asked, slightly puzzled.“Huh? Of course I like them! I love massages!” Alice quickly denied, her voice a little too eager. “You’re really good at it, Joseph. Every time, it’s so... relaxing.”“Good to hear,” Joseph replied, glancing at her. For some reason, her words seemed to carry an odd undertone. What does she mean by ‘so relaxing’? he wondered, feeling something strange about the way she said it.“Mhm,” Alice murmured softly, biting her lip in a way that would have driven anyone crazy—good thing Joseph didn’t notice, or he migh

“Heidi, wait!” Charles stood up, making a half-hearted attempt to follow her. He glanced at Fiona, then hurried after Heidi, putting on a show of concern.But Heidi was already halfway down the street by the time he reached the door, leaving Charles standing there, watching her retreating figure with frustration. He cursed under his breath, his expression darkening.“Little bitch,” he muttered to himself, his voice laced with venom. “So protective of that worthless brother-in-law of yours? Just wait. Once I’ve got your sister, I’ll make sure you end up in my bed too, and then we’ll see how high and mighty you feel.”His face twisted with malice as he spat on the ground, his thoughts filled with perverse fantasies. Once Heidi had disappeared from view, he plastered a fake smile back on his face and returned to the table, sitting down opposite Fiona.“She’s young. She’ll cool down and come around eventually,” Charles said, forcing a sympathetic tone. “Don’t worry—she’ll understand you’r

“Brother-in-law, I’m not upset for myself, I’m upset for you! She’s hurting you, she’s jealous of you, she doesn’t want you to be happy.”“You two are already divorced, so why can’t she just let you go? You were always good to her, you never wronged her. Why does she treat you like this?”“Brother-in-law, I just don’t understand. She used to be different. Now she’s narrow-minded, selfish, and so full of herself. What happened to her?” Heidi’s frustration poured out, as though she had been bottling it up for far too long.“Where are you right now?” Joseph asked, steering the conversation back on track.“I’m at school. I was too upset to eat earlier, but now I’m starting to feel hungry,” Heidi admitted in a small voice, still sounding a bit tearful.“I’ll bring you something to eat. Wait for me at the school gate; I’ll be there soon,” Joseph said, checking the time.“Okay, brother-in-law. I’ll wait for you at the entrance,” Heidi replied sweetly before hanging up.From her voice, Joseph