Silence settled at the table as Nina bit her lip, scared of what Ethan would think of her if her advice went south. But when she saw a smile slowly creep on his lips as he gazed deeply into her eyes, her worries disappeared.“Thanks,” Ethan said, his smile becoming larger as he stared at her.“No problem,” Nina replied, ignoring the heat rushing up her cheeks as she handed his phone back to him.“Excuse me, what would you two be ordering?” A cheerful voice interrupted their peaceful moment.After exchanging a brief look, the two turned their heads toward the waitress, who gave them a wide grin, revealing her dimples and big brown eyes which sparkled with happiness as she waited expectantly.“Can I have two slices of strawberry shortcake with whipped cream and cinnamon? One cup of dark coffee? And a small bottle of water?” Ethan stated as he took out his wallet, and the girl wrote down his order, giving him a bright smile as she went on.“And I will have apple pie, please. And one orde
The shop was tense in silence as everyone held their breaths as they waited for something to happen between Ethan and Drak, as though their lives depended on it. “Your teacher's teaching must be crappy for you to cheat again with a weapon, or maybe you are just a dumbass who can't do any better than this!” Ethan taunted with a growl, his lips pulled in a crooked smile as he lifted his chin, meeting Drak’s glare. Standing his ground, Ethan studied Drak's body language, his eyes, and ears alert for the slightest movement, calculating his next move. Just like the impatient fool he knew Drak to be, it didn't take long for him to tighten his grip on the knife, rushing for Ethan like a madman, screaming. Tightening his own hands into a ball, Ethan's muscles tense, preparing for the coming onslaught of attacks, waiting for Drak, and once he saw him coming, he quickly raised his right leg and kicked Drak in the stomach, catching him off guard and sending him flying across the room. Wit
“How did you learn to fight like that?!” Nina laughed, sitting in the backseat of the taxi with Ethan by her side.A smug smile appeared on his lips and he leaned back in his seat. “I was a bit too young when I started learning to fight... At the age of two, my mother put me in Infinity Martial Arts school, and I was trained by a Chinese master called Dokkaebi Lee. He was tough, and by the first week of class, I was his only student...” “Wow!” Nina gasped. “That sounds so intense. What happened?”“Other mothers claim that he was making their kids cry too much, but I love being with him since my mother was always working, and he used to take good care of me.”“Aww,”Seeing how pitifully she was staring at him with push-up lips made Ethan burst into laughter, causing Nina’s cheeks to turn rosy when he muttered, “You are so cute with that face.”“Shut up!” Nina teased, facing the window, and yet, her heart was beating fast from embarrassment.A while later, the taxi came to a stop at a
Pulling the huge glass doors open, Mr. Sue led Ethan and Nina into a marble office, closing the door and motioning them to sit down on two chairs facing each other. Once Ethan and Nina sat down, Mr. Sue went to sit behind the desk before speaking again, “Well, I hope you both have a good reason for coming here.”“We heard that you are selling shares in your company and we want some of them,” Ethan said, resting back in his seat, his eyes never leaving Mr. Sue’s glare.Although he wanted to get mad that these two who had the most ruined reputation in the country were sitting across from him, making claims that their status prove to be impossible for them, Mr. Sue held himself together as he calmly asked, “If you can give me four million right now, I will give you fifty percent of my company.”Even though four million was just the right amount he needed to settle his financial affairs, he was being sarcastic and wanted to belittle them for making such a claim because his doubt and ar
The moment Ethan arrived at the gate of the Rider’s mansion, he dreaded the thought of facing Harrison, but he had to walk in there for Nina's sake, so he steeled himself, ringing the gate bell.Like music to Luke, the gatekeeper’s ears, he sat in his quarter, listening to the sound of the gate bell while staring at Ethan on the CCTV screen.“After the humiliation that you cost the boss last night, you still dare to show that your sorry ass here?” Luke scoffed. “You are blessed that you are still the boss’s son or else I would beat your ass now to gain favor with Madam Rider... Maybe I will even get a promotion after beating your worthless ass!”Frustrated that no one was answering the bell’s rings, Ethan walked over to the gate and started pounding on it, the noise echoing through the silent yard as he hit harder and harder.The more aggressively he beat the door, the madder Luke became and all he wanted to do was march out there to teach Ethan a lesson. But the thought of Madam Ride
The father and son went a full minute without blinking, and then Mr. Rider grew frustrated and said, “Will you spit it out?”“I need you to approach Mr. Simone with a proposal of an arranged marriage proposal between Nina and me.” Ethan told him straightaway. “And I also need you to arrange for the wedding to take place as soon as possible, like this weekend.” It took two minutes for Mr. Rider to go through the stages of anger to full-blossom rage, and he lashed out, “You are really pushing your luck here, Ethan!!”“As your walking blood bag, you really need to be generous to me.” Ethan casually uttered, ignoring the pain in his cheek from his father.“Is this the payment for my sins... that a prick like you is the only compatible bone-marrow donor for me!” “Maybe,”“That was not a question that was meant for you to answer!”Staring calmly at Mr. Rider, Ethan waits for a second, seeing that he was breathing heavily and his fists were clenched. “Are you going to do it or not?” Ethan
At sharp Eight-fifty on the dot, Mr. Sue and Mr. Wright were in the conference room, and Mr. Wright's eyes kept going back and forth, looking at his watch over and over again. “If I may ask, Mr. Sue... Who is this client that is making you all stressed?” Mr. Wright finally said out of nowhere, breaking the silence.Stopping in his steps, Mr. Sue looked at Mr. Wright, and then a laugh escaped his lips, making the lawyer flinch at how mocking his laughter was, and then Mr. Sue blurted out, “It’s three minutes after nine, and that bastard is not here. I won!”“Who? Why are you happy that the client forfeited the plan to buy the shares? Isn't that suppose to help Redstone cor. and save it from this financial disaster that is happening now?!”Immediately, Mr. Sue stopped smiling and his face turned serious, causing Mr. Wright to wonder what was going on in his head, and then Mr. Sue said, “You are right. That bastard came to my company yesterday, caused an entire scene, made me make a fool
The breathtaking view of the city from the transparent window of his office didn't help ease the anger that Charles felt burning in his chest and radiating through every part of his body. Silently he kept swirling the wine in his glass, watching the streets below him. His mind was too preoccupied with his current predicament to take notice of his office door opening and Dana stepping into the room. But a second later, he didn’t react when she cleared her throat to announce her presence.“Hey, handsome,” Dana said, closing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. Without saying a word, he stiffened in her embrace and then turned around so they were facing each other, and she lifted her eyes to his, and their gazes clashed. “You shouldn't be here,” Charles said without taking his eyes off her face.A frown creased her forehead and she pulled away from him, saying, “Why is your father still requesting to see Nina after what she did to you, having