*****Inside a luxurious, spacious CEO’s office, a majestic elderly man with a head full of grey hair was currently seated on a sofa, his face heavily etched with a frown.Accompanying him was a young man of 22 to 23 years old, excluding an aura of arrogance and superiority, seated in an ergonomic chair behind the executive desk in the office, and a lady of about 25-year-old with an overtly pampered demeanor, seated beside the old man, both of them dolled up in expensive and limited-edition designer wear.The tension in the office was so thick at this moment that if an unrelated person were to enter, they would feel overwhelmed to the core.“Grandfather, are you truly certain that b!tch will surrender this company today?” Mason, unable to mask his anxiety any longer, suddenly broke the deafening silence in the room, focusing his attention on the old man.The old man, upon hearing his only grandson’s question and seeing his hopeful gaze, his lips curved into a faint smile.“Don’t
*****“You’re definitely going to love this news!” Honey began, casting an excited glance at Grace after dismissively addressing Xavier, but then a small frown appeared on her face after which she returned her gaze to Xavier.“Is it that you’re deaf or what? Did you not hear me ordering you to get your worthless self out of this room?” she growled harshly, causing both Grace and the previously unbothered Xavier’s eyes to harden immediately.In the following moment, Honey, who was staring at Xavier as though he were not a human being suddenly felt a cold sweat break out on her skin.She was so unnerved by the coldness in Xavier’s eyes that she almost broke down.“You…” She swallowed hard subconsciously in fear, but in the next second, her eyes turned aggressive. “How dare a lowlife entity such as yourself look at me in such a way?!” She barked in fury before looking at her grandfather, acting as though she had been bullied.“Did you see that, Grandfather? It must have been her wh
*****The inside of the office is so quiet at this moment that if an ant were to crawl by, its sound would be clear for all to hear, and in this suffocating silence, every pair of eyes was currently gaping at Xavier.This lasted for what felt like an eternity before suddenly;“You—you did not just address my grandfather like that, did you??” Honey exclaimed, asking the question on everyone’s mind and jolting them awake.‘This…’ Even Grace was stunned at this moment. In fact, she was the most flabbergasted, never expecting Xavier to utter the bold words he just did.She instantly shot him a chastising look, wondering why he had spoken and just at that moment, a mocking laughter exploded through the room.“I’ve always told you, Father, that we should have expelled this arrogant brat after her father decided to sever all ties with the family. I warned you that her ambition is to take over the entire family and become its leader. Did I lie now?”“She even dared to bring an outsider
*****Despite Grace’s and Dorothy’s attempts to unravel what her family was hatching, their brainstorming yielded zero to no clues.Eventually, Grace exhaled deeply, letting her expression revert to its usual calmness after which she glanced at Xavier.“Let’s go,” she said before turning towards the door, about to leave when;“Bo—” Dorothy raised her hand and started to speak, but Grace, understanding her concern forced a small smile.“I have everything under control,” she assured her, though her tone suggested that she was merely trying to convince herself more than anyone else, but since Dorothy knew there was little to nothing she could do, she forced a helpless sigh before abruptly narrowing her eyes at Xavier.“If you mess this up for my boss again… hmph!” she growled before storming out, leaving Xavier bewildered.‘What a two-faced girl,’ he thought speechlessly before glancing at Grace when he felt her gaze on himself.“Please, don’t mind her,” She said softly, and Xavi
*****“This…” Lucius, his entourage, and Xavier were left utterly stunned by Honey’s sudden words, while Mason, noticing Lucius’s bewildered expression quickly jumped in."Young Master Lucius, how do you know my cousin has always dreamed of getting an alpha male—someone who would take full control of her life?" he asked, his voice trembling with excitement."She hasn’t married all these years despite the large number of suitors because every man she’s met has been trying to treat her like a queen, something she dislikes with passion,” he added upon seeing Lucius’s furrowed brows.Mason acted as though he were the one receiving a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.Well, in his mind, he was the one receiving it, knowing fully well that with Grace out of the way, not only would he gain full control of the Sky family and its assets—but he’d also be in complete authority over the multi-million-dollar project Lucius was going to buy Grace with.Thinking this, a shiver of excitement ran d
*****For a moment, everyone stared at Grace in a stupor, but then the Sky family, who had already anticipated her refusal exchanged a knowing smile.‘I would have thought you had been possessed or switched body if you had agreed straight away,’ they mused silently, smirking to themselves.Lucius, however, was frowning right now, his eyes locked expressionlessly at Grace.“You said the deal will not go through?” he asked, his tone seemingly to turn slightly dark, but as though she hadn’t heard him, Grace remained quiet and expressionless.“You heard the young friend’s question, don’t you?” The old man of the Sky Family, frowning with dissatisfaction inquired, and only then did Grace internally heave a sigh before finally focusing her icy stare on Lucius.“Because I’m already married,” she announced firmly, making sure everyone heard her clearly, and in the following second, it was as though she had thrown a bomb.No one other than Xavier had expected this response from her—Not
*****“This—how… how is this possible?” Everyone mumbled dazedly after staring in a trance for what felt like forever.They continued gaping blankly at the red certificate in Xavier’s hand, hoping it wasn’t real, but the official stamp of the city’s marriage office boldly on it, only made it undeniable, as it was one of the most impossible to forge in Riverton City.“You—you…” the Patriarch of the Sky family, Grace’s grandfather, who had maintained his calm thus far, even when Xavier interrupted and held Grace’s hand stuttered, pointing a shaky finger at Grace.Of all the things he had planned and prepared against, Grace getting married out of the blue was not one of them.His face turned red from fury and his breathing grew labored as though he would explode at any given moment.“Father…” Nico, seeing the old man’s present state spoke with concern, but then a thought abruptly crossed his mind, making a smile instantly cross his face.“The situation is not that dire though,” he
*****“Take care of that so-called husband,” Lucius, who had seemed playful, smug, and arrogant a moment ago suddenly commanded indifferently, his eyes icy cold and filled with murderous intent.The bodyguard at the back, as though he had already expected the order hurriedly nodded his head respectfully.“Yes, boss,” he responded without asking any questions, and with that, Lucius entered the car the door held open by a nervous old man.After settling in, he thought for a moment before glancing at his secretary, who sat beside him, pouring his wine.“Attack her company from all sides until she comes to me for a way out,” he instructed, a sinister and cruel smile breaking out on his face.“Consider it done, boss!” the Secretary replied eagerly, her eyes brightening with viciousness, and Lucius, satisfied with her response, sneered.“Once I, Lucius Scoan, set my sights on someone, even if they are goddesses directly from heaven, they will belong to me and no one else,” he growled
*****The atmosphere in the conference room was so stifling at this moment, the tension so thick it was almost tangible, as every eye remained locked on Lucius. “He… he is really young master Lucius?” one of the representatives stuttered.“What’s he doing here?” Another murmured in a daze.“Wasn’t he the one who ordered our various companies to pressure Sky Group?”“Or… could he be here to finish them off?”Murmurs spread among the representatives, their confusion evident in their wary glances at Lucius, trying to decipher the reason behind Lucius’s presence.Grace, however, remained outwardly indifferent, though her heart churned with a mix of nervousness, confusion, and suspicion.‘What’s he doing here again?’ she wondered, her cold gaze on him. ‘Didn’t I already make it clear to him yesterday that I would never have anything to do with him again?’Finally, Mason.He still appeared utterly dumbfounded right now. His earlier fury completely vanished, replaced by an overwhe
*****The atmosphere in the conference room was so stifling at this moment, the tension so thick it was almost tangible, as every eye remained locked on Lucius. “He… he is really young master Lucius?” one of the representatives stuttered.“What’s he doing here?” Another murmured in a daze.“Wasn’t he the one who ordered our various companies to pressure Sky Group?”“Or… could he be here to finish them off?”Murmurs spread among the representatives, their confusion evident in their wary glances at Lucius, trying to decipher the reason behind Lucius’s presence.Grace, however, remained outwardly indifferent, though her heart churned with a mix of nervousness, confusion, and suspicion.‘What’s he doing here again?’ she wondered, her cold gaze on him. ‘Didn’t I already make it clear to him yesterday that I would never have anything to do with him again?’Finally, Mason.He still appeared utterly dumbfounded right now. His earlier fury completely vanished, replaced by an overwhe
*****The tension in the conference room was suffocating at this moment, a taut silence following Xavier's nonchalant words. “Again?” one of the representatives whispered, their astonishment breaking the stillness.Suppose the representatives had initially dismissed Xavier’s earlier remarks as a slip of the tongue or some misunderstanding, his repeated references to Grace as his wife left no room for doubt, the weight of this revelation, striking them like a tidal wave.Their eyes instinctively turned to Grace, knowing that if she had failed to hear Xavier before, she must have heard him clearly now. To their shock, however, her expression remained composed—eerily calm.This lack of denial instantly deepened the representatives’ confusion, and they exchanged dumbstruck glances, as though they’d just stumbled upon a secret capable of shaking the very foundations of the world.‘Grace is married?’ all thought in unison, their hearts pounding at this revelation.Mason, Honey, and
*****The conference room was still as death right now, the air heavy with tension.All eyes continued darting between Mason, who currently stood in stunned silence, acting as though he had just eaten a bunch of flies, and the handsome newcomer, who had just casually stridden in, exuding confidence, his easy demeanor somehow commanding attention.Different thoughts went through the representatives’ minds and their confusion cackled like static in the silence.This continued for what felt like an eternity until finally;“Hmph!” Honey broke the spell with a derisive snort.“What’s a nobody like you doing here?” Her voice dripped with disdain, fury, darkness, and coldness.“Huh…” The representatives blinked, stunned.‘Was he really not the powerful backer that brat had been arrogant about?’They thought, the realization hitting them like a punch.In the next instant, all their attention swung back to Mason, whose face was now a shade of crimson—embarrassment, anger, and disbeli
*****“So, President Mason, you said we only needed to wait a minute. It’s been almost three hours now since then. What exactly are we waiting for?” One of the representatives asked without standing up, now showing his complete disregard for Mason and the entire Sky group as a whole.While the question sounded as polite as possible, it was tinged with simmering frustration and unhappiness.They had thought that having been made to return to his senses, Mason would at least try to address them now, but contrary to their thoughts;Mason, slouched arrogantly in the president’s chair, shot the speaker a venomous glare, his irritation still lingering from his earlier defeat in the video game.“Then get the hell out of my company if you can’t wait again!” he snapped, his tone as sharp as broken glass.“This…” Everyone flinched, following which a stunned silence fell over the room, the representatives staring at Mason, their jaws slack with disbelief.“P-President Mason…” one of them
*****Back in Sky Group.“President Mason, what exactly are we waiting for?”The voice of Praise, one of the representatives suddenly cut through the heavy silence that had settled over the conference room like an oppressive fog, her question echoing what everyone in the room had been thinking for the past hour as their patience eroded like sand in an unforgiving tide.As soon as her voice sounded, all eyes immediately darted toward Mason, who had returned over an hour ago only to slump lazily in the president’s chair, hunched over his cell phone, completely absorbed in a video game.That’s right.One would have thought he would have addressed the room after his return, but no. As though he wasn’t the one they were waiting for, he had been frantically playing the video game since his return, his thumbs clicking rapidly across the screen of his cell phone, sweat glistening on his brow, as though he were locked in a life-or-death struggle in the virtual world.….“Die! Just die
*****”Young… young master,” a trembling voice abruptly broke the silence inside a lavish hotel room.The speaker was a flushed, naked woman who was currently sprawled across a king-sized bed, gazing up with watery eyes, her breath shallow and uneven.Perched on the edge of the bed, Lucius—equally unclothed—was just setting down his phone.His sharp, cold eyes immediately flicked toward the naked lady, and in the next instant, his expression darkened with unrestrained disgust.“Snap out of it already, you whore!” he barked, his voice cutting through the intimate atmosphere like a whip.“This…” The lady jolted as though slapped, the haze in her eyes dissipating like the wind.She stared at Mason in bewilderment, unsure how the man who had just shared a heated moment with her—whom they were just planning another round together could transform so quickly.She couldn’t react for a moment, but then recalling that this was how Lucius always turned cold and dismissive after getting wh
*****For a brief moment after Mason shattered the palpable tension in the room, silence reigned, everyone staring dazedly at him, frozen in disbelief.This stillness stretched on, only to be broken by the nervous shuffling of the representatives, who hastily wiped the beads of sweat from their brows, their gazes flitting nervously toward Grace, her earlier icy demeanor still fresh in their minds.‘As expected of the Ice Goddess,’ they thought uneasily, recalling the sheer weight of the presence she had released from a mere question alone.‘No wonder no one else from the company dared come, no matter what bonuses were promised,’ some of them thought, swallowing hard.Grace, meanwhile, sat motionless, her gaze fixated on Mason with a mixture of confusion and incredulity.She had been moments away from taking control of the situation, fully prepared to salvage what she could—even when she knew perfectly well that she’d ultimately lose the company to Mason.‘Why would he do that?’ th
***** At first, Grace had been deeply shaken by the coordinated actions of the partner companies, whose perfectly timed decisions to cut ties and demand repayment of debts seemed almost too calculated. The coincidence had been heavily weighing on her mind, and this was what she had been trying to process when Mason's sudden accusation hit her like a bolt of lightning. His words left her momentarily stunned. But as she regained her composure, her gaze fixed on Mason, her eyes narrowing, and her expression turning cold and resolute. “You… seriously believe I’d sabotage the company I’ve spent my life building?” she asked, her voice sharp and frosty, cutting through the charged silence like a blade. “What will a desperate witch not do?” A derisive snort responded, drawing everyone’s attention to the speaker, Honey, who was currently glaring venomously at Grace, her lips curling with spite. Grace’s brows immediately knitted with dissatisfaction. “What do you mean?” She ask