"That painting cost seven billion, amore," he stated as a fact.
We returned home, and the painting, well, the frame was broken, the canvas in an unimaginable state—it was already torn. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to throw it that hard," I sat on the sofa, the damaged painting laid out on the table in front of me.
"I don't have seven billion to buy another art like that. And that's the only one left of Picasso's masterpiece," I knew he was angry at what I had done. Since we got home, his gaze towards me had turned sour, and he kept his distance.
He wiped his face in frustration with his hand, his sharp eyes glaring at me. "I wish I didn't bring you with me. You ruined my only mission tonight," he said before storming out of the house, not even looking back at me.
Letting out a deep sigh, I focused my gaze on the painting. If only Aleksei were here, I thought, he might have been able to fix it. I entered my room and changed clothes when my phone rang on the bed. Without checking the caller ID, I answered.
"Miss Chu."
Raising an eyebrow upon recognizing the voice on the other end. "Mr. Hwang?"
"I'll send you the manuscript of the next chapter of the stor–" A sudden gasp from the other line caught my attention.
"Mr. Hwang? Are you okay? Mr. Hwang?" I sat at the edge of my bed.
There was no response, not a sound— "Lady Aurelia, where the hell are you?"
I was speechless. His voice. Aleksei, but how?
"You talk or I'll kill this man. Right now," he threatened.
"Don’t. Don't kill him." Why is he so harsh?
"Then, where are you? I tried to get this man to talk, but no matter what I did, he chose to stay silent. Only this time I caught him."
“I told you the truth back then, but you chose to have me imprisoned, didn't you? Give the phone back to Mr. Hwang. I need to speak with him.”
“And why would I do that? Who are you to boss me around when I'm the King.” He is finally back to his old self. 
Frustration coursed through me. “Give. It. Back. Aleksei,” each word I uttered carried weight. There was a few seconds of silence on the other line before I heard Mr. Hwang's voice. “Are you okay, Mr. Hwang?”
“You need to finish the story, Miss Chu. The course of events is changing the longer he knows about me. You are my last artist,” his speech indicated his struggle.
“I have a lot of questions, but I'd rather not ask you and waste my time. Please, be careful, Mr. Hwang.”
“I’ll explain everything once you finish it.” The call abruptly ended, leaving me staring at the phone in my hand.
Moments later, I received a message from Mr. Hwang. I immediately headed to my table where my computer and Wacom iPad rested, untouched for a while.
“Meow~” Dreamer suddenly climbed onto my lap. I smiled gently and softly stroked his head before turning on my computer and iPad.
“Momma is busy…”
“Meow~”
“It's okay, I'll spend my days with you after this. I have to do this first.”
“Meow~”
As Mr. Hwang had mentioned, changes had indeed occurred in the story. Lady Aurelia was now part of the story, a character that previously did not exist. Queen Avalone was in a vegetative state after the incident, and the baby? It was gone. As for Aleksei... well, he was not dead, but it was mentioned that he had captured the person who cast black magic on his Queen—no—please tell me it's not Mr. Hwang.
The next day, I woke up quite late. I had fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning, still not finished outlining the story. Being a manhwa artist was no easy task.
I headed to the kitchen, fed Ichi and Dreamer, then proceeded to cook lasagna for myself. After eating, I showered and dressed before heading to the living room, where I no longer saw the painting that had been laid out on the table the night before. Maybe Lucian had come back to retrieve it.
A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts, prompting me to open it slightly. It was Dad. I opened the door wider, and he entered, scanning the room. "Where's Lucian?" he asked as he took a seat in an empty chair.
“He's gone. He won't come back. Do you want anything to eat?” I inquired.
“When I came here, Aleksei was also not around. Now even Lucian is gone. What is going on here while I'm not around?”
“Nothing, really.”
He shook his head, “Can you bring me a tea? I need to discuss something with you.” I promptly went to the kitchen and returned to the living room, placing the tea on the table in front of him.
“What is something that you wanna discuss with me?” I sat across from him after he sipped the tea and placed it back on the table.
“Layla is pregnant.” he looked serious as those words came out from his mouth.
“And?” I raised an eyebrow, questioning him.
“I want you to let her stay here for a whi–”
“No,” I interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.
“Winter, please. Can you do this for your sib–”
“She is not my sibling,” I said firmly.
“She is my daughter and so are you. Just let her stay here for a while, Winter.”
“My answer is still no, Dad. Didn't Mom agree to adopt your child from another woman and you both let her stay in the house? Why can't you do it now?”
He couldn't answer my question.
“Who is the father?”
He couldn't meet my gaze directly.
“Dad, I'm asking you. Who is the father?”
He fell silent.
I sighed, “Whoever the father of Layla's child is, my decision will not change–”
“It's… Nikolai.”
I gasped and covered my mouth in shock at what I heard. Kuya Nikolai, what have you done?
Dad looked at me, tears glistening in his eyes, but he held them back from falling. “Your mom didn't know about this. She didn't even know that Layla is pregnant. So as a father, I'm asking you to let her stay until Layla gives birth.”
“Does Kuya Nikolai know that Layla is pregnant, that he is the father?” Dad gave a slight nod in response to my question. My hand dropped to my lap. It felt like there was a lump in my throat, making it hard to swallow.
“They told me everything–”
“Abort it, tell her,” without hesitation, I suggested to him.
“Winter.”
“You are our father, and if you don't want the child, it's your decision. I don't want to be part of it.”
He stared at me for a few seconds, “You changed.” he stated.
“You lost me the day you brought her home,” I smiled weakly, holding back the tears in front of him.
“Winter…” tears finally streamed down his face.
“I'm sorry, Dad. I can't help you,” I stood up and promptly turned away, tears falling silently.
I value the Chu family, but I can't comprehend the fact that my own older brother impregnated his half-sister. That's disgusting.
жжж
Author's note: I gasped when Winter said, “You lost me the day you brought her home.” Darn, that hit hard.