Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Of course. You have my gratitude whether or not I manage to woo your mother,” John said.
“Really?” Jason asked.
“Yes,”
“How are you going to thank me?” Jason inquired.
“How about a set of every toy you mentioned just now?” John suggested.
“Nah, those are what Mom likes,” Jason complained.
“Jason, who are you talking to?” Mary asked. She could not hear Jason while he was on the video call just now because of the shower. She came out of the shower while drying her hair, and saw that Jason was sitting on her bed, appearing to be on a video call with someone on her phone. Her expression became stern.
Jason immediately hung up. He quickly deleted the video log and said with a smile, “I wasn’t talking to anyone, Mom.”
“Really?” Mary asked as she suspiciously walked to the front of the bed. She picked up her phone and checked the records, then placed it on the bedside table. She told Jason, “It’s time for you to sleep.”
“Alright, Mom,” Jason replied. He slid off the bed and waved to his mother, then said, “Mom, I can sleep on my own. Goodnight.”
Jason ran out of Mary’s room. Mary laughed. He tugged at her heartstrings.
Jason had lacked oxygen before he was born and had always been frail because of that. He only grew healthier after receiving treatment until he was two. However, Jason had always been especially sensible and knew how to care for her. Aside from occasionally pestering her for a bedtime story or to sleep with her, Jason would obediently sleep on his own.
Mary sat in front of the dressing table and dried her hair. She then followed it with a simple skincare routine.
She had just stood up when she heard footsteps coming from the corridor. The footsteps sounded a little erratic. She frowned. Max Gaston was back.
She heard a knock on the door sometime later. She pursed her lips and remembered the words Max had told her at 1587 during the afternoon, but ultimately opened the door for him.
When she opened the door, Max stank of alcohol. There was a drunken stupor in his deep eyes. Max swept his gaze across Mary’s sleeping gown and it turned a shade darker. He whispered, “I haven’t had dinner yet. Come downstairs and prepare some food for me.”
Mary knitted her brows and replied, “I’m about to sleep. Cook for yourself.”
She did not like the smell of alcohol on Max’s body. She was about to close the door, but Max seemed to have anticipated that. He squeezed himself into the room before she could shut him out. He then pressed her body against the door. Mary could smell the thick stench of alcohol mixed with Max’s masculine scent as he said, “You can have a meal with John Liam, the man you like. You can do anything for Paul Johnson, whom you grew up with. I was the one who took care of you for ten years, but now I am nothing compared to them?”
“You’re drunk,” Mary retorted. She knitted her brows and looked away.
Max kissed her cheek, then her ear.
“Max Gaston, didn’t you want to eat? Let me go, I’ll cook for you,” Mary said rigidly as she struggled.
“Alright,” Max answered. Mary felt his breath disappear from her neck. She quickly opened the door and escaped the room.
Mary checked on Jason’s room before she went downstairs. Jason was sound asleep with a faint smile on his face, as if he was having a nice dream. Mary’s heart filled with warmth.
—
Mary carried a bowl of noodles upstairs 20 minutes later, only to discover that Max had fallen asleep on her bed.
“F*ck!” she could not help but curse. She placed the bowl on the table, then went to the bed and tugged on Max’s arm, attempting to wake him up. She shouted, “Max Gaston, wake up!”
The man on the bed seemed to be fast asleep. He did not react no matter how hard she pulled or how loudly she shouted. However, Max pulled her into his embrace when she was completely unprepared. He then turned around and pressed her beneath him.
Mary screamed in shock, her expression contorting drastically, “Max Gaston—”
The words that came after were muffled by Max’s kiss. Mary could not free herself no matter how much she struggled. She could not move. It was only after Max finished kissing her and turned back to lie on the bed that she crawled up, panting and flushed.
She did not think that Max was pretending to be drunk. She knew that Max could hold his liquor, which meant that he probably drank a lot to become this inebriated. “Drunkard.”
Then, she resigned to her fate and bent down. She removed his shoes, then went to the washroom to fetch a basin of water to wash his face. Bathing him was impossible. She did not have the strength to move his muscular frame, though she would not do it anyway. ‘Just leave him be. He won’t die from being dirty for one night,’ she thought.
Max’s phone rang just as Mary finished caring for him and was about to head downstairs with the noodles. The screen of the phone flashed the name ‘Sandra White’.
Mary hesitated for a moment but ultimately accepted the call. She greeted Sandra dismissively.
Sandra was suppressing her fury when she heard Mary’s voice from the other end of the line, “Mary, why do you have Max’s phone?”
Mary could tell that Sandra was furious enough to kill her, yet was afraid that Max would hear her. She wanted to laugh when she heard Sandra’s hysterical tone. Chuckling, she replied, “He’s asleep, so I took your call.”
“What do you mean?” Sandra questioned her.
“I meant what I said,” Mary said flatly.
Sandra owed Mary a great deal. Not only did Mary almost lose her life thanks to her, but she also caused the death of her baby. Mary had been pregnant with twins. She wanted to destroy Sandra whenever she thought about the baby that left her.
“Mary Hanks, put Max on the phone. I have something to say to him,” Sandra uttered.
“I told you that he’s asleep. You can call him tomorrow if you need anything,” Mary replied.
“Mary Hanks, you bitc—” Sandra cursed, but Mary had hung up at the last syllable.
—
In the Gaston household, Sandra had just been hung up on. She thought back to how Max had daringly said that he forcefully kissed Mary in 1587 during the day, and now, Mary had just told her that Max was sleeping at her place. Wave after wave of jealously assaulted her as she clenched her teeth in fury. She raised her hand and was about to smash her phone on the ground when she heard a knock on her door.
“Sandra, are you asleep?” the voice outside asked. It belonged to Sofia Garcia.
Sandra went forward to open the door. Outside, Sofia had a glass of milk in her hand as she said, “Sandra, I came to give you a glass of milk. Have it before you sleep.”
“Thank you, Sofia,” Sandra said as she invited Sofia into the room.
Sofia observed Sandra’s expression and asked, “Why don’t you look too happy? Is it because Max didn’t come back home?”
“Sofia, Max is smitten with that vixen, Mary Hanks,” Sandra clenched her teeth in fury as she said.
Sofia was shocked, “It can’t be that bad, can it? Max lives on his own and doesn’t come home much these days. Based on what I know, Mary and Jason are living in their old villa.”
“Sofia, it’s true,” Sandra complained. She explained to Sofia about how Mary had picked up her call just now, then paused before continuing, “Sofia, if this continues, I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be able to marry Max. If Mary crawls into Max’s bed again, then—”
“That won’t happen. Max would not be all over her that quickly,” Sofia assured Sandra, then said, “You’ve already moved in here. How could you think that you will not be together with Max?”
“Sofia, I really feel like I won’t have that chance and that I might not become your daughter-in-law,” Sandra said worriedly.
“Drink the milk first and have a good night’s sleep. I guarantee that you’ll marry Max and become the Gastons’ daughter-in-law just like you wished,” Sofia promised.
“Then, I’ll thank you in advance,” Sandra said gratefully.
—
Sofia Garcia did not rest immediately after returning to her room. Instead, she went into a hidden room and opened a safe. From inside, she took out an old photo..