Bae sat across from Zanier, her head lowered, unable to meet his piercing gaze. His handsome, cold, and indifferent face loomed in front of her, making her blush as she nervously fidgeted with the hem of her gown.
The silence between them was thick, heavy with the weight of what was to come.
Zanier's cold voice cut through the stillness like ice, his words sending a shiver down her spine. "I only have one question for you."
Bae flinched, her eyes reluctantly rising to meet his silver pupils. They glared at her, sharp and distant, like stars burning from some unreachable place.
She swallowed hard, forcing a smile onto her face as if it could mask the nervousness twisting in her stomach.
"Yes, nice uncle," she replied, her voice trembling slightly, though she did her best to keep it steady.
Her false bravado hung in the air between them, fragile and thin.
Zanier leaned forward, his expression unreadable, his voice colder still. "I promise to change your life circumstances, on one condition. You marry me."
His words hung in the air, heavy and unexpected. Bae's heart skipped a beat, her breath catching in her throat. The question, delivered so bluntly, struck her like a sudden storm.
"So, will you?" he asked, his tone unwavering, as if the outcome didn't matter to him. His cold gaze lingered, studying her reaction.
For a moment, Bae felt as though he was looking through her as if searching for some hidden answer within her soul.
She could only wonder why someone like him would make such an offer, and why his aunt, Sliva, had abandoned her—the once-adopted first daughter.
Bae's eyes widened at Zanier's proposition, the weight of his words slowly sinking in. Marry him? The idea struck her like a sudden gust of wind, unexpected and dizzying.
But as the moment passed, she found herself smiling—her usual carefree nature pushing aside any deeper contemplation.
"Of course, nice uncle," Bae replied, her wide smile brightening her face as if the gravity of the situation hadn't quite registered.
"As long as nice uncle gives me good food, then I'll marry you," she added, her voice light and playful, oblivious to the seriousness of her agreement.
Zanier's gaze darkened for a moment, his cold, indifferent expression unchanging.
"Alright, then. I'll be back for you tomorrow," he said, his tone as sharp and detached as ever.
But something in the way his eyes flicked past her, towards something or someone in the distance, told her his mind was elsewhere.
"Right now, I need to handle something," Zanier thought, his jaw tightening as his gaze shifted back to Bae, who was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
She didn't seem to notice the tension in his posture or the icy edge in his voice.
As he turned to leave, his footsteps echoing down the hall, Zanier couldn't help but think to himself, certainly the right choice.
Bae's naivety, her complete cluelessness to the gravity of his proposal
As Zanier walked into the dimly lit hall, his sharp eyes immediately caught Brag lingering nearby, watching them with an unmistakable intensity.
The tension between the two men thickened the air, a silent but palpable animosity brewing beneath the surface.
Zanier, cold and composed, walked past Brag, his presence unyielding. Without breaking stride, his voice cut through the silence, low and menacing.
"Plot your counterattack, Brag," he said, the coldness in his tone daring Brag to make his move.
Brag's lips curled into a smirk, his eyes gleaming with contempt.
"Counterattack?" he echoed mockingly, turning to face Zanier.
"And why would I bother with that?" His voice was calm, detached, as though the very idea of Zanier's provocation was beneath him. "After all, your business is yours to tackle."
Zanier said nothing more, walking away with the same indifference he had carried into the conversation.
As Brag watched him disappear into the shadows, his smirk deepened. His gaze shifted toward Bae, who was now leaving the room with a bounce in her step, clearly unaware of the storm brewing around her.
"So, she's his next target, huh?" Brag mused darkly, his thoughts turning malicious.
He had always resented Bae, not just because she was Silva's adopted daughter, but because of what she symbolized—a possible heir to Zanier's empire. His disdain for her was sharp, biting.
"I'll have you dead before your worthless dream comes true, Zanier," Brag thought, his eyes narrowing with malice.
A sinister smile played on his lips as his dark, twisted thoughts took shape. Bae was nothing more than a pawn in the grand scheme he had carefully crafted.
As she disappeared into the night, he watched her closely, his expression filled with a chilling mixture of satisfaction and cruelty.
"Enjoy yourself while you can," he thought, his sinister gaze fixed on the glass in his hand, the shards reflecting the light like broken pieces of his malicious intent.
To him, Bae had always been the first piece of his game—a game he was determined to win, no matter the cost.
As Brag stepped into his dimly lit room, the scent of rich incense filled the air, masking the tension between him and Penny.
She approached him, her movements slow and deliberate, and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Her voice was shaky, as if on the verge of tears.
"After thinking about everything, I propose Bae should be stripped of her right to have a maid," Penny murmured, her words muffled as she clung to him tighter, her vulnerability palpable.
Brag's response came with a cold smirk, his hand slowly tracing the zipper of her dress.
"Indeed, I've certainly thought about that too," he replied, his tone laced with a twisted sense of satisfaction.
With a single motion, he unzipped the top of her dress, revealing her bare back.
"Really?" Penny asked, turning her head slightly to look at him, surprise flickering in her eyes.
She hadn't realized the depth of his dislike for Bae mirrored her own.
Brag's eyes glinted with a dark amusement as he leaned in, brushing his lips against her shoulder.
"That's because I have a strong feeling she'll pose a threat to you and your place in the inheritance," he whispered, his voice dripping with calculated malice.
His hands moved lower, unzipping her dress entirely, but Penny's mind was far from the intimacy he attempted.
She barely registered his touch, a growing emotional disconnect bubbling beneath the surface.
"Really?" she asked again, feigning curiosity as a shadow crossed her face.
"And how will she do that when she's lost all her rights to the inheritance?" Her words were edged with frustration, her facade of calm slipping as her mind raced.
Brag paused, his lips grazing her ear as he whispered, "Zanier. He plans to marry her."
Penny's heart plummeted at the words, her breath catching in her throat. Rage and jealousy flared hotly within her, but she masked it with a forced smirk.
The resentment she harbored for Bae intensified, the idea of Zanier choosing Bae over her gnawing at her core.
"I see," Penny finally responded, her voice steady, though her insides boiled.
She met Brag's eyes, her smile still in place, her facade as composed as ever.
"Then what's your plan for her?" she asked, her words dripping with curiosity and concealed venom.
Brag's lips curled into a faint smile as he looked down at Penny, his eyes cold despite the tenderness of his words.
"that's to yours, so do as you see fit," he said, his voice low, calculated.
He leaned in, pressing a kiss to her lips—gentle at first, but with a growing intensity. "And I'll always have your back," he added.
Penny stiffened slightly, the menacing undertone in his voice making her uneasy. His words, though meant to be reassuring, only added to the dread pooling in her stomach.
She felt the familiar weight of Brag's touch as his kisses deepened, invading her mouth with a force she had once relished, but now found suffocating.
How long have I tolerated this? Penny thought, her mind drifting as Brag's hands roamed over her body, tugging at her undergarments with little regard.
She felt them slip away, discarded like an afterthought, as his breath grew hotter against her skin.
The sensation, once thrilling, now made her feel disgusted, a wave of nausea creeping up as he took control.
"We might be physically intimate right now," Penny mused, her thoughts detached from the situation.
The intimacy they shared had long lost its appeal, reduced to a transactional necessity in their twisted alliance.
Brag's sharp bites and aggressive thrusts snapped her back to the moment, her body responding with automatic moans, though her mind was far away.
"Perhaps we both have different worries and goals," she thought, her nails digging into his back as he moved with his usual unrelenting fervor.
His "beast mode," as she bitterly called it in her mind, left her feeling powerless, trapped in a relationship built on manipulation and shared hatred.
"And as for her... I'll make sure she meets her end," Penny vowed silently, her thoughts consumed with jealousy and rage toward Bae.
She clung to Brag tightly, playing the part, all the while plotting. The only comfort she found was in the knowledge that she could orchestrate Bae's downfall. That would be her reward for enduring this.
Meanwhile, Brag lost in his thoughts, hardly registered Penny's reactions. His mind had already moved on from the moment, lingering on Bae.
"Even with situations she's in, she still is a slight threat?" he thought coldly, his lips curling into a faint, slightly intrigued smirk.
Outside the walls of their twisted embrace, across the estate, Bae slept soundly, a serene smile on her face, blissfully unaware of the darkness brewing.
Her mind was filled with innocent thoughts of Zanier's kindness, dreaming of the promise of more food if she agreed to marry him.
Unbeknownst to her, the shadows of the main house were closing in, and the safety she believed she had was merely an illusion.