Through the drizzling curtain of rain.
The driver got out and respectfully opened the car door.
A long, well-proportioned leg stepped out, a black patent leather shoe landing on the ground.
The driver opened a black umbrella, tilting it slightly.
Willow West's gaze fell upon the man.
Aiden Pierce had already walked up to her.
The man wore a black trench coat. With his broad shoulders and long legs, every step seemed to kick up a biting wind.
Seeing Aiden Pierce, a faint smile graced Willow's lips.
At that moment, Willow was as fragile as a butterfly, teetering on the edge of the bridge railing.
Rain pattered on her hair.
Bright red lips, a fair complexion.
The faint smell of alcohol drifted over when she breathed.
The woman's eyes were hazy with drink. She turned, swayed, and sat sideways on the bridge's railing.
She casually kicked off one of her high heels, revealing a fair, delicate bare foot.
It swayed gently.
The rhythm was just like last night, when she had swayed in the crook of his arm.
Aiden Pierce stepped forward, his voice strained.
"Little Dog West, didn't you say you'd call me to discuss taking responsibility?"
Willow sneered. "Uncle Pierce, since when did I get a new nickname?"
"You said it yourself. If you didn't contact me, you'd be a 'little dog'!"
Willow chuckled, waving her phone at the man. "I didn't get a chance to call before Uncle Pierce came chasing after me!
You're a man of immense wealth and status. Do you really need the pittance I have to offer?"
"How much I'm worth has nothing to do with the fact that someone slept with me and then humiliated me! They're two completely different things!"
"You little liar. I'm just asking you to take responsibility for me, aren't I?
Is that enough to make you want to end it all?
The water in this Vireon River is deep and swift!
If that pretty little face of yours drowned, it wouldn't be so pretty anymore!"
Aiden Pierce's voice was low and hoarse, but the way he drew out his last words was like a little hook.
It gave one the illusion that even his voice was seductive.
Willow scoffed.
Her tone was flippant as she half-joked, "Uncle Pierce, I'm a petty person!
You really shouldn't push me too hard.
If I really can't take it and jump, won't you, an old man, lose both the person and the prize?"
As the man's tall frame moved closer to Willow, he brought with him an aura that was uniquely his.
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but having such a large, warm body next to her seemed to dispel some of the chill from her own.
His frame enveloped the woman's delicate figure.
"Willow, you know I'm not one to take a loss!
Even if you do something rash, I have ways to make sure your soul knows no peace!
Right now, instead of wasting your time here contemplating suicide, you'd be better off thinking of a way to appease me!"
The woman's voice, laced with laughter, was deliberately provocative.
'So old?'
'Bad experience?!'
Aiden Pierce pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek and tutted softly.
She certainly knew how to provoke him.
His deep pupils rippled with a cold light, his emotions dark and unreadable.
That small, crimson mouth... Its shape was plump and beautiful, the philtrum full, the color rosy. It was a shape he liked very much.
But not a single word that came out of it was something he wanted to hear!
The man frowned, clearly suppressing his anger.
Willow felt a thrilling rush, like finally lashing out after being oppressed for a long time.
Her eyes filled with glee.
A phone rang suddenly, its JINGLE JINGLE JINGLE like a demonic curse ringing in her ears.
The ringtone was coming from Aiden Pierce.
He picked up the phone. On the screen, the two words "Mrs. West" flashed.
The screen flickered, and the shrill, piercing ringtone sounded like a death warrant.
'Mrs. West?'
From those two words, Aiden Pierce detected a sense of unfamiliarity and distance.
This was not the kind of distance that should exist between a mother and daughter.
He looked down and saw a flash of unease on Willow's face.
"Willow, if you're not willing to take responsibility for me, then I'll just have to talk to your parents!"
As Aiden Pierce spoke, he made a fake gesture as if to answer the call.
Willow panicked and rushed forward.
Aiden Pierce held the phone up high. With only one high heel on, Willow was unsteady. She practically leaned against him, standing on her tiptoes to snatch the phone!
"Aiden Pierce, what are you doing!
Give me back my phone!"
The woman's soft body pressed against him as she reached to grab her phone.
As they struggled, her body swayed, clinging tightly to him.
Aiden Pierce felt his throat tighten. He wrapped a long arm around her slender waist, pulling her in.
"Weren't you so sharp-tongued and formidable just now?
What?
Scared now?
Willow, how old are you? Still afraid of your parents?"
Willow glared at him fiercely. "I can't help it. There are always meddling elders who love to tattle to parents behind your back!
Aiden Pierce, if you're still hung up about me sleeping with you last night, you can sleep with me to get even!
But right now—immediately—give me back my phone!"
'Sleep with her to get even?'
Aiden Pierce's eyes darkened as he mulled over Willow's words.
Then, a faint smile spread across his lips.
'Sleeping with her to get even... that's not a bad idea.'
Willow seized the opportunity to grab the phone. After taking a moment to compose her breathing, she pressed the answer key.
"Hello, Mom!"
"Willow, are you with Bianca right now?"
Willow lowered her gaze, her eyes falling on the man's arm wrapped around her waist.
As if possessed, Willow hummed in agreement.
"Willow, what Bianca did yesterday was indeed inappropriate!
But aren't all the men in this circle like that!
Mom knows you're a sensible girl!
You would never throw a tantrum over such a small thing and affect the partnership between our two families!"
Willow didn't speak. She placed a hand on Aiden Pierce's chest, trying to push him away and create some distance between them.
Aiden Pierce didn't budge. If he lowered his head, he could smell the fragrance of her hair.
"Willow, the partnership with the Sterling Family cannot have any problems whatsoever!
Bianca Sterling is just playing around with women for a bit of fun!
As long as you successfully get pregnant with a child from the Sterling Family, your relationship will be stable!"
Willow remained silent. Every month, Melanie Ulrich would have her body checked.
To ensure the purity of this pawn.
And to remind her that no matter how capable she was, she could never escape her mother's grasp.
Over the years, only Willow herself knew that she, the great Miss West, lived a life worse than a dog's.
Seeing her unmoved, Melanie Ulrich's voice softened. "As long as you can win over Bianca Sterling tonight, I'll allow you to visit Mount Sonden Sanitarium!"