Episode 9

While Zhia was still in the kitchen, tidying up the dirty plates they had used earlier, she continually checked her phone, as though eagerly anticipating a critical notification.

Having finished with the dishes, her attention shifted back to her phone, awaiting a rescheduled appointment with the CEO of the aloof and notoriously arrogant BLOUSHZE Group.

Her impatience stemmed from a promise made by his secretary to send over the meeting details that very day, yet no message had arrived.

"Argh, drat it! I should've never trusted that man."

Zhia felt a strong urge to curse out a man named Will. Fortunately, she recalled landing a hefty blow to his face earlier, which slightly eased her irritation.

"If there's no word by 9 o'clock, he's going to be in worse shape when we next meet," she muttered to herself, determined to give Will a lesson he wouldn't forget if he didn't deliver by the deadline.

"Hachiii... Hachiiii... Huaaaachiiii..." Rayden and Will continued to sneeze in the office, almost in a chorus.

Loyal as ever, Will was accompanying his boss Rayden on an overtime stint at the office.

Will's responsibilities were not limited to the office; he was expected to stay by Rayden's side around the clock to protect the sole heir of the BLOUSHZE Group and the BLACK SKY Mafia Clan.

"Why do I suddenly get the chills?" Rayden murmured, rubbing his arms.

"I feel it too, Sir!" Will echoed, unintentionally mimicking Rayden's actions.

"Could it be someone is talking about me right now?" Rayden pondered aloud to his secretary—the only person he could converse with in that room.

"If you're feeling it, Sir, then someone must also be cursing me at this very moment!" Will replied, sensing a similar omen.

"Or could it be that woman cursing me?" Will speculated, recalling Zhia's tough demeanor.

"Who?" Rayden asked, his attention diverted from Zhia due to an overwhelming workload since morning.

"The market brawler-like representative from Qhelfin Group!"

Will remembered Zhia's company clearly, but her name slipped his mind.

"Oh, now I remember!" Rayden said casually.

"Have you rearranged her meeting?" Rayden inquired, reminding Will of his earlier promise.

"Right, I'd forgotten to call her back. Excuse me, Sir! I must reach out to her immediately," Will stated, seizing his phone in a rush to contact Zhia and swiftly exiting his boss's room.

"So she's the one cursing someone—it's that woman," Rayden mused, sporting a smirking smile whenever he thought of her.

"Arzhia Maverick! Just who are you, really? Why do I feel like we've met before?" Rayden questioned internally, struggling to remember anything about Zhia.

Ten minutes lapsed, and a frazzled Will re-entered, exclaiming, "Sir, you must return now! The lord and lady are awaiting you at the mansion."

"Why are they there?"

Rayden was slightly taken aback but more so by Will's abrupt entrance without the slightest hint.

"I'm not sure, Sir! You'd better head back now," Will replied, showing no hint of remorse.

"Then ready the car!" Rayden ordered, his cold demeanor unaltered.

"Right away, Sir!" Will complied, preparing for their departure.

Rayden and Will hurried out, speeding toward Rayden's mansion, with convoys of guards trailing behind them.

Upon arrival, Rayden was greeted by his attractive, alluring servants and proceeded to the dining room where his parents awaited him.

"Back so late, Son?" inquired Julia Der Xavier, Rayden's mother and the esteemed lady of the house, her beauty and allure undeniable.

"Why have you come here?"

Instead of replying, Rayden coldly counterquestioned.

"Sit down! Haven't you had dinner yet? Let's eat together," his father, Noland Cano Xavier—a retired mafia chieftain—suggested.

Rayden silently took a distant seat from his parents. His indifferent and frosty manner was not due to any animosity or poor relations; rather, it was simply his nature since childhood.

"Father, have you managed the border turmoil stirred by the Tiger Dark clan?" Noland asked mid-dinner.

"Just tell me what you want so badly that you came here?" Rayden cut to the chase, well aware of his parents' tendencies; they only visited for two reasons—either to urge him to marry soon or to demand a grandchild.

"Tomorrow, Grace is returning from Milan, so I'm planning a grand welcome party. During the celebration, I wish for you both to announce the long-postponed wedding date," Julia went straight to the point, knowing her son's dislike for roundabout discussions.

"So it's the first reason," Rayden responded coolly.

"Cano, you're not getting younger. It's time you married and gave us a grandchild," Noland joined in, encouraging Rayden to marry.

"Ahh, so it's both!" Rayden's response was nonchalant, considering a marriage wouldn't restrict him.

Hearing no objection to marriage, Julia and Noland's joy was palpable, though words failed to express it.

"If we're done here, go home! I want to rest," Rayden stood and directed his parents to leave.

"Goodnight, Cano," Julia said to her son.

"Sweet dreams, my boy," echoed Noland, irritating Rayden, who paused mid-stride and turned, suggesting, "Why not give me a sibling, so the heir issue is resolved?"