THE LAST MINUTE GROOM : CHAPTERS 21 – 30
BY SIR ZACH
CHAPTER 24
She got scared and started to ring the doorbell and sometimes banged on it. She was worried that the child wouldn’t eat. It was normal practice for kids like Valen. For some reason, she felt anxious and scared that something might happen to him.
She looked left and right before dashing towards her right. Getting to the twirling stairs, Jeslyn screamed for Maya.
“Riya!”
“Riya! Where is she?” She asked a maid she saw walking across the quiet sitting room.
The maid stared confusingly at her. She didn’t know who bears Riya in the house… I mean, no one bears Riya in the mansion.
“Riya!”
“Who is Riya?” Rex’s voice traveled down from the second floor’s stair landing. He was resting on the railing while staring down at the frantic- looking Jeslyn.
Hearing the voice, Jeslyn looked up to see the blue-haired Rex staring at her weirdly.
She beckoned with her hand for him to come down.
“Come here first, I need-”
“Thud”
Jeslyn stood there staring speechlessly at Rex who jumped down to stand in front of her.
“D– did you have to do that?” She asked in a weirdly low voice while her hand was frozen in the air.
“Ah, I do that a lot. It’s no big deal, so what do you need me for?” Rex said while walking to a couch. He sat down unceremoniously and stretched to pick a red apple from the fruit tray on the table.
“Ahem.” Jeslyn cleared her throat and put her hand down. She walked to stand beside Rex and stretched out her hand.
“Give me the keys to little Valen’s room,” she demanded like she knew he had them.
Rex glanced once over at Jeslyn who was wearing a light purple flare down that stopped above her knees.
‘This wasn’t what she wore this morning, right?’ he thought.
“Hey, be fast about it.” Jeslyn snapped her finger in his face.
“Ah, I don’t have the keys. Why would you even think I’ll have them?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She asked with a raised brow.
“How so? I don’t live here.”
“You went to bring him home. You certainly cannot abandon him to the helpers and leave. Logic dictates that you’ll send him to his room and leave, right?” She tilted her head. She also didn’t know if she made sense, but she was very sure Rex had the keys to Valen’s room.
“I’m not sure about this ‘logic’ you are saying, but I do have a spare key to his room, however, I cannot give it to you.”
“Why?” Jeslyn folded her arms on her chest.
“Because… It is a spare key. I can only use it when the other keys are not available.”
“Oh? Is that how it was made?”
“Bingo, you are smart.” Rex smiled, thinking he had successfully hoodwinked her.
“Hand it over,” Jeslyn stretched out her right hand and snapped her fingers before beckoning him to give it to her. She was in haste and this guy is wasting her time.
“Jeslyn Lee, I just–”
“Little Valen has fainted–” She interrupted.
Rex’s face changed instantly and before Jeslyn could blink, he jacked up from his seat and jumped over the center table. Using another couch as a stepping stone, he flipped over objects on his way and rushed towards the stairs.
Jeslyn was left speechless and watched as Rex who was running towards the stairs collided with a maid who was carrying a white statue.
The sound of the statue hitting against the white sparkling tiled floor, followed by the shattering sound of the statue filled the quiet sitting room.
Jeslyn sighed and also started to walk towards the stairs. She was too carried away by Rex’s reaction that she missed the terror on the frozen maid’s face.
Entering the door that was left ajar, Jeslyn met Rex and Valen staring at each other before they turned to glare at her.
“I told you she’s no good news. Send her packing, now!!” Valen screamed.
Jeslyn sighed. “Are we still here?” She asked while pinching her brow.
“Jeslyn, that was an expensive joke.” For the first time ever, Jeslyn heard Rex’s hardened voice.
“What’s the joke?” Jeslyn frowned.
“You told me he fainted.” Rex scowled at her.
“Did he not?” Jeslyn ignored the glares she was receiving and headed towards the couch. She picked up a cherry and threw it into her mouth.
“Hmm… so delicious–” her gaze met the death stares from the small, and grown-up man and sighed.
“Don’t kill me just yet. I haven’t sought vengeance. If only you had let me finish before running here. I wanted to add that he hasn’t eaten and his door was locked.”
“How does that relate to… Valen has fainted?” Rex asked without buying her humor.
“A child who didn’t eat and won’t open the door after thirty minutes of banging on it and ringing the doorbell, what else must have happened to him? He must have fainted from hunger.” Jeslyn said unapologetically, making Rex look speechlessly at her.
“Are you for real?” He asked.
“Hmm,” Jeslyn nodded and threw another cherry into her mouth. “Don’t blame me. It’s your fault for not letting me finish.”
“Y– you– he… forget it. Just don’t play such pranks again next time.”
“Only if you let me have a spare key to his room,” Jeslyn beamed.
“You mean you’ll do it again?” Rex narrowed his eyes.
“Hmm, I will.” Jeslyn raised her gaze to stare back at Rex in all seriousness.
Looking into Jeslyn’s hazel eyes, Rex saw something he didn’t want to think about, so he broke the stare and sighed in resignation. “Fine, I’ll get you a spare key.”
“No, I don’t want her here, get out!” Valen barked.
“Bang!”
“Stop screaming, you little peacock!” Jeslyn slapped the table, shutting Valen up.
“I know you were not taught that interrupting your elders while they talk is disrespectful and uncultured, now I’ll teach you that as my ‘hello’ gift to you.
Little peacock, when your elders are–”
“Uncle Rex, take her out of here, I hate her!” Valen’s cute face started to turn red due to anger.
Jeslyn relaxed on the couch and replied, “little peacock, do you know how much I detest you? I just want to hang you upside down and spank you until you learn the proper manners for your age, but I can’t do that because… well, leave it be.
I came here because I know you haven’t eaten and you certainly wouldn’t want to eat anything. That’s how stubborn you seem to be. But don’t worry, I’m not here to beg you to eat. In fact, I’m glad you aren’t eating anything.
I’m your stepmother, after all, an evil stepmother at that, so I’ll be the happiest if you fall sick due to hunger, so, little peacock, don’t eat, ok. Hahahaha…”
Jeslyn got up and walked out while laughing like a villain.
Valen’s face turned white. He was mad, very furious.
Valen turned to Rex and enunciated frantically, “You see that?” he pointed his finger at the door. “She hates me to the extent she wants me dead!”
Rex nodded, “it seems that’s the case. She hates you, little nephew.” He turned his lips downward in a sad pout.
“Then why would father still marry her? It’s clear that she was sent here by the enemies.” Valen looked at Rex in alarm.
Rex looked bummed out. He glanced at Valen before he walked to sit on Valen’s light blue king-sized bed and shook his head.
“She is not an enemy, but a friend. We cannot offend her, you’ll get to understand that in the future.” Rex understood what Jeslyn was playing at, so he decided to have fun. What would be greater than watching this quiet and boring house descend into chaos?
“B– but she just threatened me!”
“You know what to do to ruin her plans, don’t you? Do the opposite of what she wants, that’s how to infuriate your enemies to death. Learn from me and stop listening to Mulan.”
“No, Mulan is a good person.”
Rex shrugged his shoulders and opened his hands. Valen isn’t attached to anyone but he has a soft spot for Mulan.
Valen bit his cute pink lips while debating. After struggling for a long time, he finally said, “bring the food.”
Rex raised his head with widened eyes. “D– did you say to bring the food?”
“Should I change my mind?”
“No, no, of course not.” Rex beamed and hurried off to the kitchen.
While leaving, he turns from time to time to make sure it wasn’t an illusion.
Valen had never done what he said he wouldn’t do even if the world was ending. How much does he loathe Jeslyn? His animosity towards her must be overwhelming.
“I knew there was a reason behind my brother bringing home a wife. It turned out he already calculated everything. No wonder he doesn’t interfere. Hahaha… Good move brother. I hope Jeslyn would be able to help Valen.” Rex soliloquized while walking along the passage.
Meanwhile, inside a well-lit dungeon, Maverick could be seen sitting on a chair with three people in the cell. Two men in black were standing at both sides of a young man hung on the wall with chains attached to his limbs.
The chained man was stark naked in front of Maverick who had one long leg over the other.
The chained young man’s body looked fresh and clean. There was no sign of torture or anything except for the injuries left on his limbs by the chains.
Maverick unfolded his leg and leaned forward, “spill it,” he said.
If his voice used to be deep and villainous, his voice right now was worse. It sends chills down a person’s spine.
“Master, I… I know nothing about it.” The man chained to the wall said in a raspy voice. He knew he was going to die, so why would he give out the secret that has been giving him power for so long?
Thanks to this secret, he was able to form his own faction that was slowly rising under his boss’ nose.
“Drill faction… Celine,” Maverick let out.
Hearing his faction’s name and his lover being mentioned, the man turned ferocious and forcefully pulled at the chains.
“You dare not touch them!!” He roared.
“Bang!”
“Ahh!”
Getting shot on his stretched-out naked thigh, the young man screamed and groaned in pain.
He wanted to fall to the ground and hold his thigh that was shot, but because his hands and legs were spread across the wall, he couldn’t move, which intensified the pain from the bullet wound.
The more he tried to move, the tighter the chains became, so he stopped moving. Besides, there was nothing he could do anymore since he had struggled to the extent that his limbs were almost tearing apart.
How could he have forgotten that nobody raises their voice at Maverick without getting their tongue ripped out? It was obvious that he was still useful and that was why the two men standing beside him didn’t rip out his tongue like the chained man used to rip out their enemies’ tongues.
“Spill it,” Maverick repeated.
“I don’t know! I only received orders from the phone.” He screamed in frustration. He had been asked that question multiple times by his two friends standing beside him and he had told them times without numbers that he had no idea. What else does Master Maverick want?
He would rather die than say it. If he’s dead, the money he left behind can be used by his girlfriend. He was sure that his master wouldn’t care about Celine. He only called her name to threaten him.
“Bang!”
“Ah!!” He howled in pain as he twisted on the chains, provoking the chains to tighten around his limbs and stretch him even more. His body had long been covered in sweat and some parts of his body had turned red from being stretched for a long time.
“Bath him and get rid of his existence,” Maverick commanded before he got up and walked out.
“Yes, master!” The two men said with a bow.
“N– no, no, no, please! I’ll tell you everything, please I’m Sorry! Forgive me! No, please, don’t do this, we are friends, tenth brother, second brother, please don’t listen to master, Spare my people, my Celine, please!”
He begged hysterically but none of the two paid attention to him. One of them went out of the dungeon and the other glanced at the chained young man with sweaty skin and shook his head.
“Fourth brother, you should have known better than anyone else what master hated the most. You knowingly sold out information to his rivals and not just that, you are one of those who did that to him 7 years ago.
You even had the guts to stop his investigation. Fourth brother, your liver is huge. You knew that meddling in his investigation would hinder his search, yet you did it without dread. Who gave you the mind to go against master?
Was it the Yu family, or the Xu family? It can only be one of them.
Anyway, don’t worry about Celine. She is also one of the existence that master wants to be erased. I’ll take charge of her. I have always had my eyes on her for a long time and I can’t wait to hear her screaming under me before she dies.
Ahh, I wonder what it would feel like to bang that girlfriend of yours. Tell me, does she like rubbers or raw?”
THE LAST MINUTE GROOM : CHAPTERS 21 – 30
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