Chapter 15
1811 Words
As soon as I entered the kitchen, both men immediately looked at me.
I swallowed and quickly lowered my head before taking the seat across from them.
Izrael’s eyes followed me, while Yoa was looking at his nephew.
Bulma was simply smiling to herself from the side.
We started eating.
The silence was suffocating.
The only sound in the room was the occasional clinking of our utensils against the plates.
“Izrael will be living with us,” Yoa finally said.
I simply nodded.
Apparently, he really did care about people who had nowhere else to go.
“I hope we can get along well, Yana,” Izrael said.
Yoa’s eyebrow immediately rose.
I froze too.
Yana?
He already had a nickname for me?
I instinctively looked at my stepfather.
That was a mistake.
I nearly choked when I saw his expression.
“I-I hope so,” I replied quickly.
I swallowed hard and hurriedly finished my food.
I couldn’t stand the tension in the room anymore.
As soon as I was done, I stood up and went to the lanai.
I needed some air.
I stared blankly into the distance, and once again, that familiar sadness consumed me.
I missed my mother.
I missed her smile.
I missed the excitement on her face whenever she brought me something from outside.
I took a deep breath and smiled sadly as I looked at the sky.
“I hope you’re happy wherever you are now. I’m okay here… somehow.”
“Looks like my nephew is going to melt.”
I immediately turned around.
Yoa was standing behind me, holding a wine glass.
I didn’t know what to say.
He sat on the other end of the couch and looked at me.
“You like him?” he asked.
My eyes narrowed.
I shook my head immediately.
“Of course not!”
Yoa gave a dry laugh.
“That’s exactly what your mother said when I asked her the same question once.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your mother had a boyfriend while we were together. That’s why she kept going out—to spend time with him.”
I blinked.
“You were okay with that?”
He looked at me.
“Yes. What we had was just a deal. We were good friends. We benefited from each other.”
His expression briefly changed.
“It’s just unfortunate that she died so young.”
I nodded slowly.
“Thank you for taking care of my mother. I don’t know what kind of life she had before, but based on the things she told me, you helped her a lot.”
I looked at him sincerely.
“Thank you.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“Everything had a price, Adriana.”
He took another sip of his wine.
“And her debt hasn’t been paid yet.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Yoa smiled.
But the smile never reached his eyes.
“You have to pay your mother’s debt to me.”
He paused.
“And you’ll be the payment.”
I couldn’t speak.
I swallowed hard when he moved closer.
Soon, there was barely a hand’s breadth between our faces.
I couldn’t move.
It was as though I had been hypnotized.
My heart pounded violently inside my chest.
I tried to look away, but I couldn’t.
His eyes seemed to pull me somewhere I didn’t understand.
Somewhere far away from the present.
I closed my eyes when he reached up and touched my face.
His thumb lightly brushed the edge of my lower lip.
“Will you pay your mother’s debt, Adriana?” he whispered into my ear.
My hands trembled as I tightly gripped the fabric of my clothes.
“Answer me, Adriana.”
His husky voice sent shivers down my spine.
I didn’t understand why this man had such a powerful effect on me.
“Y-Yes,” I whispered with my eyes still closed.
Yoa chuckled.
Then his laughter grew.
I immediately opened my eyes.
It felt as though someone had poured ice-cold water over me.
My hands trembled.
I was embarrassed.
Angry at myself.
Why had I obeyed him so easily?
Why had I forgotten for even a second that the man standing before me was my stepfather?
Yoa stood and finished the wine in his glass.
I clenched my fists.
“Is it fun playing with me?” I snapped.
He turned toward me.
“Is this what you want? You tempt me just so you can make me obey everything you want. Then once I give in, you make me feel humiliated?”
He slipped his hands into his pockets and stared at me.
I immediately looked away.
“Too late.”
I frowned.
“What?”
My eyes widened when he suddenly captured my lips.
I froze.
I couldn’t move.
I could feel his lips against mine, and my entire body seemed to stop functioning.
I stood there completely stunned until Yoa finally pulled away.
“I never said I was playing with you, Adriana.”
His voice was serious.
“I’m simply showing you how I collect what I’m owed.”
He stared directly into my eyes.
“I claim the things I want. I don’t let other people touch them, and I certainly don’t allow them to disobey me.”
I couldn’t speak.
I simply stared at him, completely lost.
“I f*****g hate that.”
His expression darkened.
“I can feel my blood boiling every time Izra calls you that.”
Before I could understand what he meant, he reached out and fixed my hair.
Then he smiled.
Instead of making me feel flattered, that smile terrified me.
It looked like the kind of smile a man would wear before killing someone.
A killer smile.
And somehow, the effect it had on me made my knees weak.
“W-What are you talking about?”
My voice barely came out.
“I-I’m your stepdaughter.”
I knew it was wrong.
I knew this was wrong.
But I couldn’t calm myself down.
I couldn’t think properly.
Yoa laughed at my words.
“Did I ever accept you as my stepdaughter?”
I couldn’t answer.
“How did you even end up in this place, Adriana?”
I remained silent.
“The next time I see you together with Izrael, you won’t like what I do.”
His voice became dangerously calm.
“You wouldn’t want to piss off Joaquin Baltazar.”
He turned away.
“I promise you, you wouldn’t like it.”
I remained standing there.
The moment he left, the strength drained from my knees.
I collapsed onto the couch.
I couldn’t understand myself.
I just stared blankly ahead, replaying everything that had happened.
“Here. Drink this. It’s cold, so it’ll help you calm down.”
Bulma suddenly appeared with a glass of juice.
“B…”
“I know. I saw everything.”
She sat beside me.
“So?”
I stared at her.
“Christian Grey or Massimo Torricelli?”
I closed my eyes.
Oh, God.
As if my headache wasn’t bad enough already.
I looked at her.
“Ah! There’s really something about those Baltazars, huh? It goes straight through you.”
“B, I don’t understand.”
“What? That you’re starting to fall for Gov?”
I immediately frowned.
“Because come on. Even if he does absolutely nothing, almost every woman would fall for him.”
She shrugged.
“Anyone would probably be willing to spread their legs for him. You saw him, right? One look from those eyes and you’d probably be spinning three hundred and sixty degrees every day if he were the one holding you.”
She grinned.
“Even I’d be willing to do a helicopter.”
“Bulma, he’s my mother’s husband.”
“Of course he is! Who said he wasn’t?”
She rolled her eyes.
“Adriana, listen. They were only married on paper. And your mother is gone now.”
“But that’s not a reason for me to go after my stepfather.”
I shook my head.
“I’m still young, and I’ve already made so many mistakes. Falling for Yoa isn’t even something I should consider. I can’t. It’s wrong.”
“It’s only wrong in the eyes of judgmental assholes—”
She paused.
“—I mean, people.”
I glared at her.
“Why? It’s not your fault if you fall for him. When your heart decides something, you can’t always stop it.”
She was clearly encouraging me, and I couldn’t tell anymore if she was really my friend or if she was simply more loyal to the Baltazars’ Dragon Balls.
“What do I know about love, Bulma?”
My voice softened.
“I grew up without knowing what real love was in this complicated world.”
I looked down at my hands.
“The only love I know that’s pure and genuine comes from God.”
I swallowed.
“What I’m feeling is wrong. I shouldn’t listen to it, and I definitely shouldn’t give it any attention.”
Bulma suddenly looked at me seriously.
“Do you love your life?”
I nodded.
“See?”
She smiled.
“Then just follow whatever Yoa wants. That way, we won’t have problems.”
I gave her an incredulous look.
“I’m not telling you to let Yoa manipulate you, okay? Although… that’s kind of what I’m saying.”
She shrugged.
“If something isn’t good for you, refuse immediately. That’s your right.”
She leaned back.
“But if you’re not hurting anyone, why should you care what they think?”
I remained silent.
“You won’t be happy if you spend your whole life listening to other people’s opinions. What you’re saying is true, but what do they actually know about your life?”
She sighed.
“It’s easy for people to say hurtful things about others, but when someone says something about us, suddenly we get angry. They don’t care if they hurt someone because that’s how toxic people are.”
She looked at me.
“If you’re going to base your happiness on other people’s opinions, you might as well stop living. Because life becomes meaningless when your entire existence depends on what everyone else thinks.”
I stared at her.
“If Mama were still alive, do you think she’d approve of everything you’re saying right now?”
Bulma smiled.
“Even in my dreams, I’d be carrying holy water.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Seriously? My mother isn’t a ghost. She’s in heaven.”
“Hey! You don’t know that.”
I glared at her.
I seriously wanted to pull her hair.
Sometimes I wondered how she could say the most ridiculous things with such a straight face.
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