However, Darius still told Edward and Bridget where he was. "I'm with three of my classmates; they're drunk. I need you two to come here to help me get them back to the dorm." He hung up when he heard them cheerily agree. His expression became thoughtful—he'd never acted like this in the past, no matter how poor he'd been. Since his return to the Reid family, he seemed to have lost certain mannerisms and the basic ability to care for other human beings. He leaned back and shut his eyes, trying to figure out how things had turned out this way.To his surprise, as soon as this thought occurred to him, he felt his life force suddenly start circulating through his body despite not having channeled it. At the same time, he felt a fresh stream of life force flow into his body, meaning he was about to ascend to a new stage in his meditation. Darius raised an eyebrow in shock. For a while now, he'd been feeling like his life force had been enveloped in a layer of transparent film; he couldn
"Besides, Dragon Estate isn't exactly close to the university or where I'm about to intern," Darius said.Edward protested, "Based on what I've heard, this new place you've bought at Solaris Estate isn't occupied by anyone other than yourself at the moment, and you've already been ambushed there. That means the neighborhood isn't safe—for all you know, it could've been built by the people who are out to get you." He was most definitely against Darius living there.Bridget sucked in a breath, then said, "Sir, I genuinely think it's a bad idea for you to continue staying at Solaris Estate. No matter how you look at it, Dragon Estate is more suitable."Darius swept a gaze over them and said calmly, "The Evans family's watchdog developed Solaris Estate.""The Evans family?" Bridget felt like her brain had short-circuited and looked at him in confusion. "Aren't they one of the most prominent families in Ashweir City? Have they gotten into some sort of conflict with you? They're nothing com
Darius raised an eyebrow. "What new rule?"Rudd was asleep in the back seat. Bridget gave him a pitying look in the rearview mirror, then said, "The university stipulated that students aren't allowed to enter the dormitory after 11 pm and that they're prohibited from drinking."Darius raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I've never heard of these rules before. In any case, they're ridiculous. We, students, will be joining various industries once we graduate, and it's almost a given that drinking will be part of the job—won't we have to wine and dine our clients? If the university doesn't allow us to build up our alcohol tolerance now, how are we going to survive when we start working? It'll be especially tough during our internships." He frowned and pondered this.Bridget nodded. "I agree with you, sir. It's something that I honestly can't understand, but you can't do anything about it—it's the rule. None of the students would have the guts to break the rules; Kingston University's too pow
Edward looked at Darius. "Sir, weren't we supposed to head to the university? Why are we here? Has something bad happened?" He could hear a commotion inside the villa and looked grim.Darius shook his head. "No. Bridget took a wrong turn." Edward nodded, then glanced at the villa hesitantly, wondering whether he should tell Darius about his suspicions. As he pondered this, Darius said calmly, "There's no need to be so hesitant. I can already hear what's going on inside." He sighed and put his hands behind his back. Though his expression hadn't changed much, Edward could tell he wasn't in the best of moods. He stepped back silently.Bridget stepped forward but didn't dare say anything to Darius when she saw him seemingly deep in thought. Instead, she shot Edward a disapproving look and said, "Since you already noticed we were going the wrong way, why didn't you text us to let us know?"Edward's lips twitched. He resisted the urge to smack her upside the head. "Do you even hear yourself
The Evans siblings gulped. Though they didn't think Darius would actually kill them, they couldn't deny that he was more than capable of it. They couldn't take any risks with someone who had the power to end their lives. Iago shot Ursula a disapproving look, making her breathing speed up. This was the straw that broke the camel's back; something inside her snapped, and she threw all caution to the wind. She glared at Darius and screeched, "God, Darius! Why do you refuse to let me off the hook when you're wealthy enough to move into a place like this? What happened to being generous? I honestly wonder where your money's from. Also, do you realize how rude you are? You told me to meet you here, yet I had to waste the whole day waiting for you. I couldn't contact you, nor could I leave. I bet you arranged for someone to keep me here!" As she spoke, she glared at Iago.Darius raised an eyebrow in surprise. He thought Ursula's presence here was Erin's doing, but it appeared that Iago was
They didn't need to look at Ursula to tell what she was thinking and how she felt. Darius looked scornful, as did Bridget. Edward's expression didn't change, but he clenched his fists tightly. He wanted so badly to give her a punch. Darius took in their reactions and sighed inaudibly. It looked like whatever Bruce had done to them while he'd been comatose had profound effects—there were obvious changes in their personalities. Still, he didn't allow his emotions to show. He hadn't forgotten that he needed to deal with Ursula.As Darius' gaze settled on her, Ursula felt her hair stand on end. This disrupted her train of thought, and she raised her head to meet his eyes. She frowned and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? I haven't done anything!"Darius smiled. "Indeed, you haven't." He slowly approached her, making her straighten up and put her hands behind her back. She broke into a cold sweat, feeling oppressed by his powerful aura.Her eyes were filled with terror as she m
"That pisses me off. I think the conversation can end here," said Darius calmly.Ursula shuddered. "I'll get the hell out of here and take them with me if that's what you want!" She was terrified but soon realized this wasn't the end.Almost as soon as her words fell, Darius said, "You can go, but those two have to stay here to apologize to me. One more thing—there was an employee that helped me at the hotel; I don't think they're in for anything good if they remain there, so I'm gonna hire them to work at West Atlantics Int'l."Ursula didn't expect him to humiliate her in front of so many people and even tell her what to do with her staff. He didn't even seem to care that the Evans family was involved in this! Her eyes were filled with rage, and she clenched her fists tightly. "Darius, you can't do this! How can you utterly disregard our feelings and come to a decision on your own?"Darius raised an eyebrow and smirked, but his gaze was cold. "Stop making me laugh." He turned to Bri
Ursula's breathing sped up, and her eyes widened. "Let them go!" she shrieked.Darius gnashed his teeth at the noise. He glanced at Edward without a word; Edward immediately understood what he meant. He clapped a hand over Ursula's mouth and dragged her away. She tried to break free but to no avail. As she disappeared into the basement, Darius felt like peace had been restored. Then, he turned his attention to the couple.They gazed at him in horror, wrapping their arms around each other in an attempt to feel safer. Darius sat on the couch and crossed one leg over the other, looking at them scornfully. "I'll admit that you two are braver than I thought, but you're also a disappointment. I thought you'd do everything you could to protect your precious Ursula, but I was wrong. You didn't do anything aside from shouting." He raised an eyebrow, making them turn pale.They exchanged a look and quickly came to a tacit understanding. They turned back to face Darius, let go of each other, a