Chapter 36: Seven years

Hana bit her lip tightly as tears slowly began to fall.

Throughout these seven years, no one had ever understood how she had lived. She had to work hard, take care of her children, and manage her own life. She had never truly had anyone to rely on.

Whenever she felt troubled, her mind would automatically recall her memories with Brandon from the past.

She could not remember anything other than the moments she had spent with him. Two years of her life were completely missing from her memories. Her only sweet memories were the times she had been by that man’s side and with her parents. That was all.

Seeing Hana’s tears falling more heavily, Brandon smiled. His hand wiped the tears from her face.

"Look... you still want me, Hana. And I feel the same way. I have never forgotten you, not even for a single day. Never," he emphasized again.

Hana finally pushed Brandon away and knelt down. She covered her face, which had begun to swell from crying.

"Brandon... I hate you... I really hate you... why did you leave me? Why did everything end up like this? Didn’t you promise that you would only protect me and marry me as your wife?"

Hana’s sobs grew louder. Her trembling voice sounded desperate.

"Seven years. I was gone for seven years, and you couldn’t find me. You failed to keep your promise. You didn’t protect me properly. And now... you still want me to be your mistress? Brandon... you’re truly cruel," she sobbed.

Brandon knelt down. He moved closer and hugged Hana, just as he used to do when he tried to calm her whenever her crying became uncontrollable.

"I’m sorry... I’m truly sorry. I regret my decision back then, Hana... I really never thought everything would end up like this. Every day throughout these seven years, I have never stopped regretting my decision."

Hana finally looked up and wiped her tears with both hands.

"I don’t want to continue this relationship. I still want you, but that’s because of the memories from the past that are still attached to me. That’s all. Our lives have become completely different. And I never wanted to be a mistress. You know that very well, Brandon."

Brandon shook his head. The gentle look that had filled his eyes earlier disappeared, replaced by a cold silence.

"I’ve said it many times, Hana. Let me make up for all my mistakes in the past. I will marry you officially and make you my only wife, but please be patient. Until I truly control my family. I won’t let them hurt you again."

Hana shook her head. "You’ll hurt me even more if you do that," Hana said before immediately standing up and turning away, leaving Brandon behind.

Brandon’s hand lifted as if he wanted to grab her hand, but it quickly stopped in midair.

Seeing Hana enter the bedroom again, Brandon finally hurried to his study in the house.

His face was slightly pale. He massaged his temples several times before opening his laptop.

He sneered as he looked at the various important documents now gathered in his database folder.

"You dared to separate me from Hana, hurt her, and destroy her life. You will definitely regret it," he said softly.

Brandon grabbed his phone and brought it to his ear. "Change the plan slightly. Don’t do anything and keep a close eye on them."

As soon as the call ended, Brandon turned his office chair toward the large window in the room. He leaned his body against the back of the chair.

"Hana... I had to work so hard to find you. No matter what happens, even if I have to hurt you a little longer, I hope I won’t let you go. I will take revenge for you one by one and make you see all of it clearly."

Brandon closed his eyes after a while, allowing the room to return to the silence that should have filled the place.

As night slowly arrived, a private plane began flying away from the luxurious Melvin City toward the gloomy Karua City, where Hans Xin’s underground businesses had almost all been sold.

Zahn sat in his seat, facing Hans Xin in front of him with an evaluating gaze.

"How can you be that stupid? Why are you different from Sean and Kevin’s fathers?"

Greo, sitting behind him, could only shake his head. Almost fifty percent of his master’s businesses had been sold, with debts beginning to pile up and waiting to be paid the next morning.

Hans Xin looked at Zahn with slight annoyance. "Weren’t you the one who said that Hana only wanted to marry a poor man with a lot of debt? Now that I’ve done it, how can you blame your own father?"

"Ahhhh!" Zahn cried out in frustration. "I shouldn’t have saved you yesterday. This is really embarrassing me in front of Mom. How could my two brothers bring such good fathers, while I brought a father like you?"

"You!" Hans Xin shouted, equally frustrated.

"Eat this," Orland Hesh said as he handed him a piece of candy.

"I don’t like candy. Sean is the one who likes it, and Zahn doesn’t like it either."

Orland raised one of his eyebrows. "Really? I thought you would have inherited Hana’s genes when it comes to sweet foods. Just like your two brothers."

Kevin jolted. "But Mom has never liked eating candy all this time," he said.

Dion Sexa, Orland Hesh, and Hans Xin all looked at Kevin in slight disbelief. In the past, Hana had always loved candy. She was even often seen looking like a child who had collected lots of candy on her bed after receiving her salary from work.

"Are you sure your mother has never wanted to eat candy all this time?"

Kevin nodded firmly.

The three adult men glanced at each other but said nothing until Sean spoke.

"Idiot! That’s because Mom always gave all her candy to Zahn and me," he said. "She collected her favorite food for us, and you’ve been easily rejecting Mom’s candy until now just because you say you don’t like it. You’re even more stupid than Zahn when it comes to this."

Dion Sexa looked at his son, who possessed intelligence similar to his own. Sure enough, his son and Hana were clearly superior to the two useless sons of the men beside him.

"Sean, do you want to inherit Dad’s company? Dad won’t just give you the ten percent of shares you’ve been after since yesterday. If you want, Dad can give you everything."

Sean looked up at Dion Sexa with a frown.

"But on one condition," he added.