Eva took a moment to gather her thoughts. She also tried to control her emotions as she said, "Christian, look. It''s not like I expected to be the only woman in your life."

    "Since I felt that you could possibly become stronger and stronger over time, I thought that, eventually, women would gather around you like ants in huge numbers."

    "In my life, there hasn''t been a single man in authority I''ve known who had just one woman, it was always more. So, I knew you would be the same eventually."

    Christian didn''t like her labeling him along with other men out there, and felt angry, but Eva, who didn''t know how to sugarcoat her words any further, continued.

    "So, I was prepared for that."

    "Even then, do I really need to discover this about you on my own, in this way? Can''t you just tell me yourself?"

    Despite everything she was saying, Eva knew that what she was doing now was nothing more than a grumble, with the final conclusion already set in stone.

    As she knew she wasn''t breaking up with him no matter what, and the idea of his sister distancing herself from him felt like even more of a fantasy.

    Eva knew herself well, and had it been a normal woman he had allowed to leave that hickey on him, someone other than his sister, she would have lashed out at him far more.

    Nonetheless, she could never be fine with this. Even if it hurt her more to discover that her man had been marked by some bitch than him making out with the said one.

    If she had the power, she would have naturally put a collar on him with her name written on it. But because she knew she couldn''t, she at least wanted to be the first among the many, especially in marking her place, even if her opponent was his sister.

    If she couldn''t win in familial love, she at least wanted to win in every other area.

    The silent awkwardness lingered, and Christian, still feeling strange about how this particular subject, one he thought would create a much bigger problem, had ended up being resolved this way, felt both relieved and unsettled. So, finally, he asked.

    "Do you have anything else you want to ask about?"

    Eva, now with permission to voice all her doubts, began pondering what else she needed to know. What important thing was there for her to ask? But now that the issue with his sister was out of the picture, nothing else came to mind. For her, his attitude and intentions toward her were the most important things, and he had made those clear enough, even after hearing everything she had said about herself. So, was there something else she wanted to ask him?

    In the end, Eva couldn''t think of anything. As prying on his special abilities or the kind of strength he had, was not something she even demanded from her daughter, after all.

    Well, she was curious about where this conversation was going, but she knew he would eventually come to this part, so she simply said that she doesn''t have remaining question.

    And hearing that, Christian finally decided to return to the more important subject; her story. Even though he had been sidetracked and she was gracious enough not to make a fuss about his sister''s subject, he wasn''t the same, and said, "So, you said you''ve told me everything, but hearing your story, I was still able to infer something... something you didn''t mention."

    ''So, it really came to this?''

    Eva, hearing Christian, couldn''t help but feel a pang of fear, wondering if he was misunderstanding her, and as he continued speaking, her anxiety grew.

    "You tried to use me, didn''t you?"

    ''No, I didn''t.''

    Eva wanted to deny his statement. From the start, she had planned for a fair trade. It was because his intentions had been so obvious that she had gone along with him, inadvertently pulling him into the whirlpool of her problem. But really, was that her choice, or his?

    Still, knowing that she was partly responsible for him facing these two assassins... or at least the first one, as she hadn''t told him her situation, despite it being his decision, made Eva unable to deny his question.