When Vivian woke up, daylight had already filled the room. She nced at the wall clock; it was 8:20 AM. Alone in the room, a wave of panic washed over her. “jos?” she called out.


    She shouted jos’s name, but the room remained eerily silent with no response. After calling out a few more times, Vivian wrapped a bedsheet around her naked body and began to search for jos in the room, therge bathroom, and on the balcony, but he was nowhere to be found. It was then that she realized, jos had truly left.This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Copsing onto the bed, she noticed a note on the nightstand.


    It was from jos.


    “Vivian, I’ve decided to cut my vacation short. I’ve already started back at work. I can’t afford to be distracted, there’s too much in the mafia that demands my attention. If you’re awake, have Mare take you back to the apartment. If there’s an emergency, call me – jos.”


    That was it? He left just a note and didn’t even wait for her to wake up?


    Vivian sat back on the bed, dazed, as she realized that jos was genuinely angry because of her foolish actions.


    Mare, following jos’s instructions, escorted Vivian back to the apartment, where Luzia had already woken up. She was sitting on the living room couch, munching on chips and watching a TV series.


    Seeing Vivian, Luzia tilted her head with a puzzled look. “Vivian?”


    “Yes, it’s me, Luzia.” Vivian walked over and hugged Luzia dejectedly.


    Luzia patted her back, somewhat incredulously. “Weren’t you on your honeymoon with jos? You should be in New York or Hawaii by now. Why are you back?”


    Vivian began to cry on her shoulder. “I messed things up. I slept with him.”


    “Did he force you? He can be too rough. Are you hurt?” Luzia lifted her sleeve and lowered her cor to check for any serious injuries.


    “No, quite the opposite.” Vivian, realizing that Mare was still present and could hear their entire conversation, blushed.


    She wanted to ask Mare to leave for a while, but he retreated to the kitchen, signifying that was as far from her as he could get. His task was to ensure Vivian’s safety.


    “The opposite?” Luzia eximed, cupping her face in shock. “You mean he was gentle with you?” She could scarcely believe this was jos. But Luzia’s confusion deepened. “Then why are you back here? You should be on your honeymoon. You have to believe that a couple more times…”


    “I messed up, and he’s mad at me.” Vivian sobbed, covering her face. “I asked if he could annul your marriage to Joseph, and he got angry, saying I deceived him. He regretted showing me pity and respect.”


    “It’s my fault.” Luzia grasped Vivian’s hands, frowning. “Did you sleep with jos because you heard me say that if I serve Paavo well, he’d agree to anything, even to annul my marriage?”


    Vivian nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I didn’t think it would end up like this.”


    “I misled you,” Luzia said with regret. “I’ve been with Paavo long enough, and we’ve developed enough rapport in bed that I gained hisplete trust before I dared to make any requests.”


    “This isn’t your fault. I was too impatient, too afraid,” Vivian said, unable to forget the angry look on jos’s face. She couldn’t bear the thought of him treating her coldly and harshly in the future.


    Vivian cried out in pain. “What should I do? I haven’t been married for 24 hours and I’ve driven my husband away. He’s be indifferent to me, no longer showing pity or respect. He’ll be my Capo, not willing to be the gentle husband to me anymore.”


    Luzia also felt at a loss. She had never encountered such a situation, but still offered Vivian advice. “I think you should apologize to jos first. You need to do something to regain his trust.”


    Vivian wasn’t sure if she could really win back jos’s trust, and Luzia couldn’t provide a definite answer. They both knew the Capo was stubborn and not easily swayed.


    Wiping her tears, Vivian choked up. “I don’t understand why he said I deceived him. It was a transaction, wasn’t it? We had sex, and he got my body.”


    “No, Vivian, jos was definitely not just angry about you deceiving him,” Luzia said while pressing tissues to Vivian’s eyes, which quickly absorbed the tears. “He’s a cold man. The position of Capo and his followers demand that he be so; he never pities anyone. Yet, for the first time, he showed you pity, and all he got in return was what you call a ‘transaction.''”


    “Capo doesn’t need weakness. But your ‘transaction’ made his pity seemughable. To him, it signifies weakness, a chance you gave to hurt him, which is lethal.” Luzia hoped Vivian would grasp the gravity of the situation. “Perhaps he’s angrier with himself than with you.”


    “I never intended to hurt him.”


    “Yet, in reality, your ‘transaction’ deeply wounded him,” Luzia shrugged helplessly.


    With a heavy sigh, the sensation of utter despair washed over Vivian. She felt weak and copsed onto the couch next to Luzia. “I’m so sad.”


    Luzia stroked her hair. “Look at it from another perspective. At least your first time was beautiful. He was gentle with you.”


    Luzia’s constion soothed Vivian somewhat.


    “Paavo… was he gentle?” Vivian inquired.


    Luzia paused, “I don’t know. I’ve never been with any other man.” Her voice was emotionless, and Vivian, leaning on her, couldn’t see whether she was smiling or sad. “I suppose he was gentle. Being too rough would cause a woman to bleed a lot, and I didn’t bleed much.”


    “He showed off our bedsheets to people, using them as a tool for boasting. Of course, it was about more than just bragging; it was also about status.” Luzia exined. Being jos’s cousin, the Hargrave family had offered her to Paavo to affirm his status as a ruler.


    Luzia didn’t mind being a pawn in a family alliance; at least she and Paavo were in sync in bed.


    Vivian blinked. Bedsheets? She hadn’t paid attention to them. jos didn’t seem to take them either; he was too angry.


    So, had she bled?


    Vivian couldn’t remember.


    “He said he would never pity me again. I don’t know how he will treat me now,” Vivian said anxiously, clutching Luzia’s hand. “Will it hurt?”


    “Maybe it will, maybe it won’t,” Luzia couldn’t give Vivian a precise answer.


    Vivian didn’t me her; everyone’s perception of pain is different.


    “Has Paavo ever been angry with you? Has he… treated you harshly?”


    Luzia pondered for a moment. “Well… at first, we didn’t know each other well. All I had to do wasply with him to avoid a lot of trouble. As we lived together longer, there were bound to be arguments, and he would get angry, sometimes throwing things around roughly. But as long as I pleased him in bed, leading to mutual pleasure, his actions would be less harsh when I appeased him.”