Chapter 6: Promises and Returns

Leah's POV

Matto paused for two seconds, then resumed thrusting with renewed intensity.

I was fucked into speechlessness. He took me two more times before he finally came, his release hot inside me.

"Your stamina is terrible," he said, carrying my utterly immobile body into the bathroom for cleanup.

"That's because you..." I glared at him weakly, barely able to speak. "You never stop."

"Still have energy to talk?" Matto teased. "Looks like I wasn't thorough enough. We can continue."

"No... I can't," I refused immediately, already feeling the swelling between my legs.

"Just kidding." He laughed, finishing the cleanup before carrying me back to bed. "Sleep now."

I had no strength left whatsoever and fell asleep instantly. When I woke again, Matto was already gone from beside me. I sat up, but the soreness in my waist forced me to lie back down immediately. At this rate, he'd fuck me to death.

I adjusted my position and reached for my phone, finding a note instead. Matto had left it, explaining he was preparing for the wedding and that I should rest at home. There was a housekeeper available—I only needed to press the bell beside me.

I didn't really want to trouble anyone, but my throat was parched, so I pressed it. Within half a minute, someone knocked and entered. "Ma'am, breakfast is ready."

Given the time, it could just as well be lunch.

I waved my hand. "Just bring me some water first."

The housekeeper left, and I opened my phone to find a message from Kyle saying the family company had suddenly received an investment and I needn't worry.

Soon the housekeeper returned with water, and my stomach growled uncontrollably.

"Ma'am, would you like to go downstairs for your meal now?"

"Sure," I replied, but the moment I got out of bed, my legs buckled uncontrollably and I collapsed onto the floor.

The housekeeper cried out in alarm and rushed to help me up. "Ma'am! What happened?"

"I'm fine." It was all Matto's fault—the man wasn't human. How could anyone have that kind of stamina?

I obviously couldn't go downstairs to eat now and had to ask the housekeeper to bring the food up instead.

Just after I finished eating and the housekeeper took everything away, Matto called. His first words were, "I hear you've been saying I'm not human?"

"Of course not," I immediately denied, though I'd certainly been saying exactly that earlier. But he wasn't home—there was no way he could have heard.

"There are cameras in the house," Matto said, indicating a location. Sure enough, a red light was blinking there.

What a pervert. How could he install something like that in the bedroom? If anyone saw the footage, wouldn't that be disastrous?

Wait—if he was saying this, didn't that prove he'd been watching me the whole time?

"No! You have to turn off the cameras!"

At this rate, what privacy would I have left?

"Just messing with you. That's an ordinary smoke detector." Matto chuckled. "I'm just calling to check on you. As long as you're okay, that's all I need to know. I've got to get back to work. See you tonight."

He hung up directly.

How could he know I called him inhuman if he was just teasing me? I was still processing this when another message arrived on my phone—an invitation from the Tess Dance Troupe asking me to join.

This was the nation's premier ballet company. Countless people broke their backs trying to get in without the slightest chance, and it had always been my dream too.

I'd been studying ballet since I was three years old, decades of unbroken dedication. I'd been injured countless times but never gave up, because this had also been my mother's wish. She'd abandoned her own dream to take over the family business, and I wanted to fulfill it for her.

I'd submitted my résumé on a whim, never expecting to actually receive an invitation.

I immediately had someone bring me a laptop, logged into my account, and replied to express my honor at the offer. However, I estimated I wouldn't be able to go for a few days, so I arranged with them to report in a week.

This news lifted my spirits so much that even my body felt lighter.

When Matto came home, I was watching the troupe's new performance. They'd asked me to familiarize myself with it so I could practice along when I arrived.

"How was today?" He plopped down beside me and asked about my condition. "Still uncomfortable?"

Knowing what he meant, I closed my laptop. "Don't you already know?"

"Still feeling defiant?" He squeezed my hand.

"Not anymore..." I shook my head, though that was only on the surface—in my heart, I still dared.

Matto was considerate enough not to fuck me again. Every day like clockwork, he left in the morning, came back at night, then gently held me as we fell asleep together.

God, it was like living in a dream.

A few days later, Kyle called again.

"How have you been lately?" he asked about my situation. "Is everything going well?"

"Very well," I replied, then after brief consideration told him, "We're planning to hold the wedding in half a month."

"Really? Then I'll need to take good care of myself so I'm in the best shape for it. And I have good news for you too!" He told me excitedly about the current situation. "Leah! With that mysterious investor's capital injection, I've already gotten the company through this crisis."

"That's wonderful." I knew it—as long as the funding was in place, Kyle's efficiency was always fast. That bastard Elias had been deliberately withholding funds to keep us under his thumb, but things were different now.

"How are you doing?" Kyle asked carefully. "Is the man you married treating you well? Have you suffered any grievances?"

"No," I said, looking at the marks on my body that had only just faded today, somewhat helplessly. "He treats me quite well."

"If you suffer any grievances, you must tell Dad," Kyle said, terrified I might be mistreated. "Don't just endure it alone."

"Don't worry, Dad. I won't let myself suffer." I wasn't the type to swallow grievances silently.

Kyle confirmed several more times before finally feeling reassured, then changed the subject. "Actually, there's something I wanted to discuss with you."

"Go ahead."

His voice sounded hesitant, as if considering whether to speak.

After deliberating for a long time, he finally continued, "Well, do you have time recently? Would you come home for a visit? Lyra and Mia have realized their mistakes and want to apologize to you."

"Apologize?" I sat up abruptly. "Are you sure?"

Those two had been so insistent that Elias was right, demanding I go back, even threatening to disown me. How could they possibly apologize?

"I talked with them a lot after that day, and they've come around," Kyle continued. "They were wrong. Family is most important. All those years of affection weren't fake—they were just panicking because the company was about to collapse, and in their urgency they said terrible things. They hope you can forgive them."

I hesitated. They say thoughts and words that emerge in crisis situations are the truest—could they really have changed their minds in just a few days? Or was this just a surface gesture, pretending to yield because they didn't want to fight with Dad?

Kyle spoke again from the other end. "It's okay. If you don't want to come back, then wait until you're ready to forgive them, whenever that might be."

Kyle was still considering my feelings, just like always.

I made a sound of acknowledgment. "Let's talk about it in a while, then."

If they'd decided to apologize, surely the timing didn't matter.

"Good! Good!" Kyle said twice, making promises. "Don't worry, this kind of thing won't happen again. Trust Dad. If you have time, just let me know in advance so I can prepare."

His words were earnest. He was getting older and mediating between both sides only because he wanted to preserve this family.

Forget it... my heart softened in the end. I sighed. "Then I'll come back tomorrow for a visit."