"The one who handled the payment," Darius added.Pearl's eyes lit up. It wasn't because of the employee—she was happy that Darius had told her about it without being asked. She said, "Does she want something from you? I noticed how beautiful she was."Darius' lips twitched. He ruffled her hair and said, "When did you start thinking about irrelevant things?" He shook his head. "There's something special about this woman. None of the other employees spoke to her, but their respect for her was evident. She must hold a special position there."Pearl looked confused. "Wouldn't Floyd have told you about that?"Darius shook his head again. "Your guess is as good as mine."Pearl decided to change the topic to one that was more pressing to her. "So, what did she want with you? Don't tell me she just wanted to get to know you."Darius shook his head and started typing out a message. "That's what I'd like to know. I'm gonna ask her directly." He sent the message, then tucked the phone into his p
Darius looked shocked. "Wait, you're also a Chamberlain? You're Pearl's …" He trailed off, looking at Fleur doubtfully.Fleur shrugged, looking helpless. "So, the Chamberlain family's heartless enough not to mention a word about my existence to the younger generations, huh? I'm her aunt."Pearl looked stunned. "No, that's impossible! I've never heard of you; my father's an only child!" After a pause, she calmed down and continued, "There's no way we're related. If you really are my aunt as you claim to be, then you should be around my father's age. Yet, you look to be around my age."Fleur sighed. She turned away and smiled, but Darius could tell it was sad. He frowned, waiting for Fleur to answer them. She said, "Pretty observant of you, but I'm sorry to say you're wrong—I'm only six years older than you. Also, your grandfather is my father, but your grandmother is not my mother. My birth surprised everyone, and though I'd been allowed to use the Chamberlain name, no one in the fami
Oddly enough, Pearl's father didn't make a sound despite having clearly heard Fleur's words. This made her start to tremble uncontrollably; she didn't even know why she felt like this. She asked shakily, "F-Father, is she telling the truth? She told me her name is Fleur Chamberlain."After a long silence, Liam said, "Yes, she is, but I hope you'll understand why your grandfather and I did what we did. I'm guessing Fleur told you she was sent away over a potato chip, but that's not the whole truth. We sent her away because she was extremely hostile to you when we told her it wasn't right to feed you potato chips. She hated you, and as your father, that was something I would never be able to accept! In any case, her mother was an employee at the hotel who'd tricked your grandfather into sleeping with her—that's how she was conceived. Still, we accepted her as part of the family. We didn't expect her to be grateful or anything, but we thought she'd at least think of us as her family. Unf
It wasn't something Pearl could pull off. Fleur said, "You're indeed clever, Darius, but it's just gonna stress me out when we have anything to do with each other in the future."Darius seemed unfazed by her words. He raised an eyebrow, put his wine glass on the table, and looked her in the eye. "Actually, there's no need for you to trust or befriend me." He leaned back and rested his arms on the armrests. "I'm tired of playing games—tell me what you're here for."Fleur didn't expect him to be so blunt. She dropped her smile and said, "Simply said, I want you to avenge me.""Give me the details." Darius calmly grabbed his spaghetti and started eating as if nothing had happened. On the other hand, Fleur's face turned red as she started trembling with rage. From Pearl's perspective, Fleur and Darius seemed to be in two different worlds. It was as if there was an invisible barrier between them, and they couldn't see each other. One was speaking agitatedly as her spit flew, while the oth
Fleur's emotions were relatively stable now. "I came to you because I heard something—Thompson's in contact with someone in the Reid family's inner circle, and they've devised a plan to take you down. I think this piece of news should be enough for me to bargain with you." She held her head high and smiled at Darius proudly. A few seconds later, it stiffened. In her imagination, Darius should've been unsettled by her revelation; he should've been urgently asking with whom Thompson was working and what their plan was. Unfortunately, things didn't always go as planned.Darius didn't even bat an eyelid at her words. "Many people in the Reid family have it in for me—it's basically part of my daily life." He smirked; it was filled with confidence and arrogance. "You might not believe this, but none of them are capable of laying a finger on me when operating alone. That's why they choose to work with others. Unfortunately, they've failed to harm me thus far."Fleur's heart started racing a
"You don't know how dangerous he is. Shouldn't you at least investigate him?" Pearl said. "That's unnecessary," replied Darius. "The way I see it, he's a fool." He patted her on the shoulder and said in a softer tone, "The fact that he and Fleur have been at each other's necks for so long, even allowing her to have the upper hand, is enough to tell me what I need to know about him." After that, he didn't say anything else and focused on his food. As he ate, he sensed Pearl staring at Fleur, her body tense with anxiety. She didn't touch her food at all. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder before pulling her to him. Pearl lost her balance and widened her eyes in pleasant surprise as she toppled toward him. Was she going to end up in his arms? However, before she could, Darius stopped her and held her in place. Then, he said, "Have you shaken out of it? Are you calmer now?" He slowly pushed her upright as she stared at him in confusion, but he didn't say anything to her. I
Darius concluded that the person who'd murdered his father was ready to make another move. This time, he was the one they were after! He shot to his feet, trembling with agitation. Suddenly, he staggered forward and spat out a mouthful of blood. Then, he blacked out and collapsed on the floor. As he fell, he crashed into the table, causing a ruckus. Pearl's heart jolted when she heard this. She darted out of her room and bolted downstairs without hesitation, skidding to a stop when she saw two black-robed people in the living room. Darius, who was unconscious, lay before them.Pearl screamed, making the two black-robed people turn to look at her with bloodshot eyes. Her chest heaved as she reached behind her to whip out a pistol and her phone. To her relief, the two black-robed people weren't too quick to react. She fired at them while calling Edward. At this moment, Edward and Bridget were strolling along the street. Suddenly, they stopped and exchanged looks as an ominous feeling
Pearl squatted before Darius, sensing the black-robed people present starting to get agitated. Despair washed over her. She only had one bullet left; it would help slow down the black-robed figures but wouldn't do much else. Their heads were about as penetrable as bricks, and they didn't seem bothered by their gunshot wounds anyway.At this moment, Darius stood in the realm in the book tattooed on his arm, looking at Teivel in surprise. "You've merged with your physical body!"Teivel nodded. "Yes, and it's good that it happened when it did. The moment I opened my eyes, I saw you in danger."Darius didn't dwell on the subject. He put his hands behind his back and looked out a window showing what was happening outside the realm. He frowned when he saw Pearl standing before his body protectively.Teivel leaned close to him and clucked his tongue while shaking his head. "That look on your face is the farthest thing from being touched. Aren't you moved by a powerless woman trying to protec