"Why does your face look wrinkled?" Lyan inquired. He was a tall, brown-skinned man of mixed African and Caucasian heritage, his head always clean-shaven. But the difference now was that he had a thin beard and mustache, adding to the allure of his features. "Yeah, has someone been bothering you?" Terry added. They were gathered in the cabin shortly after Bash's call. Regardless of the situation, when Bash asked, they had no right to refuse. After all, their parents and they themselves worked under the Merrick family. "Some guy showed up earlier and threatened to overthrow the company. His attitude was incredibly annoying." "Why should you worry? Merrick Corp can't be shaken by such a minor threat, right?" "That's what I told Tom! But that old man threatened to take back the 20% share that the brat took from FnB and Merrick Entertainment! That's why I'm annoyed." Hearing this, Terry and Lyan were taken aback. Both of them worked in those departments. It was their playground, whe
"You! What do you want?" Anne shouted at Bash. *Whoosh.* Bash forcefully pulled the cloth covering Anne's head, not knowing why he had covered the face of this arrogant woman in the first place. "Surely, you desire me, you promiscuous harlot. You've been pretending to be high and mighty all this time, haven't you? Tsk tsk, it's a shame to waste such a beautiful face and body on that uncouth man. After this, you'll learn what it's like when I take you! Hahaha, don't crawl back to me begging for more later, understood?" Bash taunted, followed by laughter from his two friends. "Ugh! You wish!" Anne spat directly in Bash's face, making Bash slap her so hard that her lips bled. He wiped Anne's spit off his face. "Let's see if you can still talk big after what we're going to do to you," Bash threatened as he choked Anne's throat tightly. "Dude, dude, hey! You can kill her; we haven't tasted her yet!" Lyan pulled Bash's arm, freeing it from Anne's nearly suffocated neck. *Cough* "You
'You never mentioned that she has a boyfriend!' [Really? I must have forgotten.] "Haha, not funny. Especially from the Merricks! Are you out of your mind?" [Tsk, he's not in the picture. Through my thorough investigation, he also harbors resentment toward Tom and Margareth Merrick. His parents were supposed to take over the Merrick business empire, but Tom sabotaged them, so he ended up taking over. For your information, he also doesn't like Bash. You two could be friends. The enemy to your enemy is your friend.] 'Oh my God, you really don't understand human emotions, do you?' [Will our plan fail because you have feelings for Anne? Should I look for another candidate?] 'No. But how will that guy react when he finds out his girlfriend is married to another man? And no, I don't have feelings for Anne.' [Pfft... I think he'll understand.] 'Okay, you really don't get it.' [I'm offended.] 'Good, now you're acting like a human.' [Hoof... Humans are confusing. I've given you an ou
*Cough* Dr. Bertha sputtered his drink upon hearing Alex's unfriendly statement. He glanced at me again nervously, gesturing for me to sit and not respond to Alex's sharp remark. "How long are you staying here? You're not welcome here, and one more thing, be careful how you speak to my guests. You have no manners, acting like you own the place," Mr. Rocky retorted coldly to Alex, who had just swallowed his last bite of grilled meat slices. "Pops!" Anne interjected, clearly upset. "What? Why did you let this traitor in? You know they're going to demolish our house, don't you? You're letting me live my last days in unrest by associating with him, Anneke Zane." It was the first time I had seen Mr. Rocky angry, and it made the atmosphere awkward. I wanted to stand up and leave the room, but Mr. Rocky patted my hand to keep me seated. "We've discussed this, Pops! Alex is not like Tom Merrick." "He's still a Merrick! That will never change. You! You always make my granddaughter and m
"Sir, the young master has arrived home," Zhar reported to Tom Merrick, who was still working in his home office. Hearing this, Tom closed his documents abruptly. "Tell him to see me right now." "Of course, Sir," Zhar excused himself and went to find Bash, who had just entered with his two friends through the front door. They were on their way to Bash's room. Zhar couldn't help but wonder about his young master's childish behavior. "Look, the old man's watchdog is here," Terry whispered to Bash as he approached. However, Zhar could still hear him. Bash chuckled at Terry's provocation. "Young master, your father requests your presence," Zhar said, bowing slightly with a stoic expression. "Argh, what does that old man want now? Another lecture? I can't be bothered!" Bash complained, ignoring his Dad's request. He continued to lead his friends up to his recreation room, filled with various entertainment options. "Your father wishes to discuss something very important, Sir, right aw
'That was quite surprising.' [Yes, humans and their lusts.] 'I'm human too,' I protested. [Exactly, and that's what strengthens my point.] 'Are you jealous of my feelings for Anne?' [I don't possess emotional intelligence, dummy.] 'But from your tone, it doesn't feel that way?' [It's just your feelings. Anyway, don't forget to prepare your performance this evening; you need to be convincing.] 'Of course... Wait, are you avoiding my question? Again?' [...] 'Haha,' I chuckled inwardly at it. How could I find happiness just by teasing an AI? *** "Is everything ready, Zhar?" "Yes, Sir. These are the documents signed by the court," Zhar said as he handed over the necessary files. "Good, we can begin the execution. I can't wait to see that old man beg and kneel before me. Prepare the vehicle." "Yes, Sir." Zhar bowed and left the office to prepare all the necessary arrangements. Tom called Bash, who he hadn't seen since morning. "Where is that boy? Just because his parents o
[Do you want me to do something about it?] I was taken aback for a moment upon hearing the system's question, 'What's your plan?' [Well, I can make him disappear if you want.] 'Disappear? Do you mean kill him? Do you have that feature in your system? Since when are you able to do that?!' I yelled in my mind, shocked. [No, not to that extent, silly. We're programmed strictly against harming humans.] 'Phew, you really startled me. So, how do you "make him disappear" then?' [See this.] A phone call rang from Alex's pants pocket, and he answered it. "Yes, Dad, what's up?" I couldn't hear the response from the person on the other end, but Alex's face looked panicked. Anne rushed over to him, asking about his condition, and I left the two lovers to attend to their business. 'Care to tell me what happened there earlier? Was that your doing?' [Yes, I just sent a job transfer letter from his company to his home.] 'Where to? He seemed so upset.' [Of course, because he was transferre
"Your grandpa is fine now, just a minor injury, Anne," replied Dr. Bertha. I didn't want to hear any more of their conversation, so I left the room feeling anger and disappointed, unable to contain my emotions. 'What about that?' [Quite surprising.] 'From now on, create a schedule that doesn't involve me with her.' [Alright, Danzel, leave it to me. Don't forget the shareholders' meeting schedule at Merrick Corp tomorrow morning.] 'Of course.' From that moment on, I tried to avoid Anne. I even felt reluctant just seeing her. I went home only to rest and looked for excuses to leave the house as often as possible to avoid meeting her. I cursed myself for involving my feelings from the beginning. *** "Judge Harrold, how could you cancel my proposal? Have you forgotten how much it's worth? Even your porch could stand firm, I'm sure, because of that project," Tom spoke to Judge Harrold over the phone. [What do you mean by that, Tom? Are you accusing me of taking a bribe?] "Not at a