Asher left the Villa early in the morning because he wanted to see the conditions around the docks. He planned to monopolize one of the docks as an entry point for weapons from various countries.
"Ken, what do you think of the dock conditions? This place is very strategic and connects various neighboring countries. If we can monopolize this place, we can expand the black market area to the entire Either continent."
"Sir, what you say is true. But according to the information I got, the person who manages the docks is difficult to talk to."
Asher, gazing at the endless sea, turned to Ken with a grin, "Difficult?! Nothing is complicated if it's about money. In this world, money rules. If the person managing this place is so difficult to control, find someone else concerned and offer him what we have."
"Yes, sir, I will find out as soon as possible and report to you." Ken then went to take care of what his master ordered.
Bzzzt bzzzt
Asher's cell phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated. He reached down and picked up his cell phone. The rectangular screen showed an incoming call from Aunt An. Asher picked up the call.
"Sir, sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to report."
"Hn. Tell me, what's wrong with you calling me when I'm busy?"
"Regarding the items you prepared for her, Miss Valen had previously rejected them and wanted to leave the villa, but once she saw the conditions outside the villa, she came back and accepted everything you gave her with thanks."
"Did she say anything else, Auntie?"
"She only told me she was staying at the Addison Residence."
"Okay, I understand. You go back to work."
As soon as the call was disconnected, Asher put the phone back in his pocket. He wanted to see how Vallen was doing and rushed back to the car, overwhelming Ken, who was following him.
In the middle of his steps, Asher gave another order. "Ken, make an appointment with Mr. Addison. Tell him to make time because I want to visit his residence right now!" Asher gave the order.
"Yes, sir!" Ken replied in the affirmative and retreated to contact the concerned party.
He quickly grabbed his cell phone, contacted Mr. Addison's party, and informed them of their good intentions.
After a while, Ken returned and bowed his head. It seemed like everything went well, the way Ken looked at him without hesitation.
Seeing Ken come in confidently, Asher asked, "How?"
"Sir, Mr. Addison will welcome us at his residence. He also showed us the exact location of his residence."
"Good! We'll be there right now. I want to see how my lady welcomes me." Asher grinned. One could imagine how the woman who ran away from his grasp would eventually return to him.
The car that Asher and Ken were traveling in headed toward the given location. With high speed, it wasn't long until they arrived in front of the Addison residence gate.
A gatekeeper opened the gate, and Asher deliberately asked Ken to park the car a little further away to surprise Valen.
When they arrived at the carport, the car stopped. From behind the entrance, Mr. Addison came out. At first, his expression looked angry and upset, as if he had lost his temper. But he instantly changed his expression once he saw the expensive black car and the open window showing Asher's face.
Mr. Addison approached with a big smile. Perhaps he was too happy that the owner of a well-known company in the top 50 of Stanford State came to visit him.
With a friendly smile and a half bow, Mr. Addison stood at the side of the black car to wait for Asher to get out.
"Ken, you come with me inside. Come with me to play with Mr. Addison." Asher said to Ken, who was looking at him from the rearview mirror.
"Yes, sir. As you wish."
Ken prepared to park the car first, while Asher got out of the vehicle and immediately received a warm welcome from the host.
"Mr. Asher, welcome to my residence," Mr. Addison extended his hand and was greeted by Asher. The two shook hands.
"Thank you, sir. It is a pleasure to meet your family," Asher replied.
"I am more grateful that the owner of the famous Thunder company in Stanford State is willing to visit our humble home. Then, let me show you inside," without further ado, Mr. Addison immediately invited Asher in.
'What a faceless sycophant. If it weren't for my woman, maybe this old man's life would have ended here.' Asher thought.
Asher entered, accompanied by Mr. Addison, followed by Ken. The three of them went together to the entrance deliberately opened by the two guards at the door.
Asher's steps were firm. He entered the large and spacious mansion with a semi-classical modern design. It was exquisite for a villa in a small country like Broughton.
Upon entering, Asher took a good look at everything in the mansion. Everything was luxurious and of good quality. The design was semi-classical mid-century modern. However, once inside, his sense of hearing picked up a sound that was familiar to his ears.
'Why does this voice sound familiar? Valen! This is his voice. How could it be? There must be something wrong in this Family. I need to check it out right away.' Asher, who had come to surprise his lady, changed his purpose.
He turned to Mr. Addison, who was beside him with a sharp gaze. He who had not wanted to show his emotions subconsciously gave off a noticeable aura of anger. "Sir, your family is great! Even the commotion can reach my ears. Don't you want to explain what the commotion was about?" Asher asked with a calm face to refrain from attacking the jerk in front of him.
"About that-maybe, my wife was reprimanding the maid inside. Yes... maybe so." Mr. Addison replied stammeringly. Asher's gaze that pressed on him mentally made him falter. He was scared, and unconsciously his forehead was already drenched in a cold sweat. He then lowered his head without looking longer at Asher's sharp eyes.
Not getting a satisfactory answer and seemingly covered up, Asher took decisive action. "You seem to be playing with my question by answering it casually. If that's the case, don't blame me for checking it out myself!" Asher took a decisive step. He walked towards the source of the voice and ignored Mr. Addison, who was about to stop him.
"Mister, wait!" Addison interrupted.
Ignoring Addison's call, Asher entered the house with an anxious feeling. 'Valen, I hope you're okay.'
Upon reaching the living room, Asher did not expect to see Valen lying on the floor with lash marks all over her body in a semi-conscious state.
"What did you do to him?" Asher interrupted with his deep voice.
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Asher immediately approached Valencia, lying on the floor covered in bruises. Even the stitches from the bullet that grazed her arm had reopened and were oozing fresh blood. "I can't believe this family is so cruel, even torturing without feeling the slightest guilt!" Asher said, looking sharply at Mrs. Jane in front of him. "Who are you? How dare you enter our residence without any manners. Are you one of this damn woman's customers?" Mrs. Jane said in a high tone without knowing who she was talking to. Addison, overwhelmed by Asher's anger, rushed to catch up. Once he reached the living room and heard his wife talking nonsense, he immediately stopped her. "Shut up!" Mr. Addison pointed at Mrs. Jane. "Don't you know that Mr. Asher is one of the largest shareholders in Stanford State?" The woman called Mrs. Jane turned to Mr. Addison, "Really?" Mrs. Jane was wide-eyed, her face instantly turning pale. The other people in the house were no exception. They began to think about their
It didn't take long for the shadow guards to turn the tables. The seven remaining assassins lay covered in blood. Two of them were unconscious and already under guard. Not long after, a helicopter managed to land not far from the scene. Asher returned to the car's location and carried Valencia's bridal style into the helicopter. Judging from her condition, Valen's body looked increasingly pale. Asher checked Valen's breathing and heartbeat several times, hoping the breath was still there even if it was weak. "Damn it! Why is her condition deteriorating!" Asher growled, annoyed at being unable to do anything when his woman's condition was critical. He unconsciously showed his concern. The helicopter began to take off with the best pilot Dragon Knight had and flew to one of the nearest hospitals in the Burnley township, Broughton Country. Fifteen minutes passed, and not far from the Burnley hospital, there was a large field, and the helicopter landed there. Asher went out to take V
"What tricks are you going to play, Asher? I definitely won't fall into the same hole!" Valen replied. She looked at her interlocutor with confidence and a hint of annoyance."Whatever you want to think of me. If I make you love me in half a year, you must accept your status as Mrs. Asher. But I will let you go if I fail and will not interfere with your life." Asher said, releasing his embrace and raising both hands by his words."What tricks are you going to play, Asher? I'm not going to fall into the same hole!" Valen replied. She looked at her interlocutor with confidence and a hint of exasperation there."Whatever you want to think of me. If I make you love me in half a year, you must accept your status as Mrs. Asher. But I will let you go if I fail and will not interfere with your life." Asher said, releasing his embrace and raising both hands at his words.Valen did not waste that. She quickly moved from Asher's lap and chose to sit back against the headboard.Released from Ashe
"Hn. Think of it that way." Asher hugged Valencia and stroked the long hair that was left loose. "Remember one thing, dear. No matter how cruelly the world betrays you, there is still me here who will always embrace and support you no matter what. I'm not asking you to trust my words, but trust your feelings and your heart." Asher spoke softly and touched Vallen's heart deeply. "Aaugh..." Valencia whimpered. It seemed that her injured arm was accidentally pressed by Asher's hand while hugging her. Hearing her moan, Asher released his embrace and looked at Valencia's body, which was partially scarred. Luckily, the gunshot wound was not open and was safe. Asher sighed, "Thank goodness the wound did not re-open. Sorry, dear. I think I hugged you too tightly earlier." "It's okay. You're just like that." Vallen replied curtly. Spending time with Asher made Vallen know a little about the personality of the man who married her forcefully and shamelessly. "It looks like I must get used t
"Vallen, no matter how much you hate Mr. Asher, you are officially married. I'm just suggesting you take this opportunity to get back at the people who did cruel things to you and continue investigating who you are. A man like Asher must have extensive connections. It will be easier for you to find out your true identity." "That was the original purpose of it all. Until now, I've been plagued by strange dreams, making me uncomfortable." Vallen's heart ached as she remembered the painful dreams that continued to haunt her. Once again, Raisa hugged Vallen, who was still weakened. She knew how Vallen was during her time at Addison's residence. There was no affection, let alone love, from them. "You can achieve what you're trying to achieve. I believe that, Vallen." Vallen leaned her heavy head on Raisa's shoulder, hoping the burden on her heart would ease a little. At that moment, Aunt An entered the room as the door was slightly open. She was seen carrying some gifts and placing t
Vallen shooed Luze away without budging and looked the other way. She had already suffered enough with Addison's family. She did not want to feel the hurt and pain for the umpteenth time just because of a jerk like Luze.On the other hand, Luze, still standing next to Vallen, began to crouch down to align their height and tried to reach the tip of Vallen's left hand. Meanwhile, Raisa, who saw this then, did not remain silent. She got up from her seat with a displeased look towards Luze and pushed Luze's hand away from touching Vallen.Remind you of this! Raisa acted like that not because she was jealous but because she didn't like Luze, who had wasted Vallen - her best friend."What are you doing here, Luze? Isn't it enough that you're playing behind Vallen's back and breaking her heart?" snapped Raisa on behalf of Vallen, who remained silent.There was no resistance from Luze to Vallen's cold treatment. Instead, he stood back up and glanced at Raisa, who was trying to dissuade her f
Raisa had brought Vallen back into the infirmary. It was left to Asher and Luze, who was still silent with many eyes already watching their argument. Not wanting to make a scene, Luze approached and whispered something to Asher. "What do you want, and who are you? Why are you targeting Vallen and making her submit before you?" Luze asked several questions, his eyes glaring at Asher. He seemed very unwilling for the person who was once a part of his life to belong to someone else. What a disgusting thought! Asher gave Luze a smirk and patted Luze's shoulder heavily and firmly, "You have no right to know! And this is for the last time, don't ever interfere with Vallen's life. If necessary, get out of her sight forever. Because if you dare to do so, I will not hesitate to drag you to hell right then and there! Never underestimate the threat of an Asher William Xander. Keep that in mind!" Asher replied, still calm, but his threat made Luze stiffen with his words. He then left Luze to en
"So this is your true nature, honorable Mr. Asher. Imposing everything in front of you and assuming everything that happens in front of you is my fault?! Listen, Mr. Asher. Without you telling me, I... Vallen will always remember my status as your paper wife. And don't worry about my feelings. Because I will not turn to look at the men of the past." With a bitter smile, Vallen violently released Asher's hand, the flame of anger she still showed in front of Asher as a form of protest. For a moment, Asher was dumbfounded by the earnestness behind Vallen's words. In some ways, his heart was in awe of the wife before him. Because for Asher, Vallen was the first woman who dared to refute his words firmly and fearlessly. She was also the first woman who refused to marry him at a time when all women adored him and even gave themselves up to satisfy his desires. 'A wife like you, only a fool would waste her. Honey... I will win your heart, make you accept your status, and love me completely.