Fabian was fixing the doors and windows. Evangeline stood by his side the whole time, handing him nails.

  The hand she kept hidden inside her black robe was fair and small, giving off a faint fragrance.

  Why did he smell it?

  Because he was standing on a chair. Every time he leaned down, he let Evangeline put a nail into his mouth, and he would catch it accurately with his teeth.

  A few times, Fabian intentionally bit her hand gently.

  "So naughty!"

  Evangeline would lightly tap Fabian’s head, but she didn't use any force. Fabian also intentionally slowed down, just to let her hit him.

  It wasn't until noon that Fabian finally finished repairing all the doors, windows, and smashed chairs.

  Evangeline said those people saw blood dripping into the church and that's why they broke the windows and came in to smash things. She said she didn't blame them; after all, she had hidden Salazar.

  The priests and nuns who had gone to the countryside hadn't returned yet. Fabian was a bit worried about Evangeline taking care of Salazar alone. But both Evangeline and Salazar urged Fabian to hurry back to the villa. Madam Vivienne had paid for his time.

  Before Fabian left, he specifically helped Salazar to the restroom, bought him some medicine, and settled him down to sleep before reluctantly leaving the church.

  He wasn't worried about Salazar; Salazar could already get out of bed and walk on his own.

  He was concerned for Evangeline. He felt that in this life, he had chosen her, whether in poverty or in wealth.

  When Fabian returned to the first floor of the villa, he saw his father practicing his gait alone in the garden. He walked with discipline. Plus, the Madam had somehow found him a brand-new suit, making him look somewhat like a nobleman.

  "Dad, where is the Madam?"

  This was just a daily greeting. Fabian knew the Madam was waiting for him in the dining room at this time.

  They had a contract. Fabian had to be in the dining room by 12:00 PM sharp to accompany the Madam for lunch every day.

  Terrence, with his back to Fabian, stopped walking and turned around. "I don't know, son. Did you run into any danger during last night's riot?"

  "Of course not." Fabian dashed into the living room, crossed the long corridor, and entered the dining room.

  The Madam was indeed there.

  She sat alone at the dining table. A servant was using a bowl the size of a fist to scoop two small spoonfuls of lily and egg porridge for her—this was supposed to be Fabian's job.

  "Sorry, darling, I'm late." Fabian stood at the door and gave a polite bow.

  Actually, Vivienne noticed him the moment he entered. But as the boss, she knew that if she were too lenient about him taking matters into his own hands and staying at the church, there would be a next time and a next time after that.

  So she pretended she had only just realized he was back. Maintaining her employer's attitude, she turned and said, "Oh, you're back. Sit down and eat lunch."

  "Yes, darling."

  When Fabian sat down, the servant tactfully left the dining room. He used the most intimate posture, intending to feed Vivienne—the movement of one arm around her shoulder and the other holding the spoon.

  "Your father is outside. If he walks to the window, he can see us. Have you no shame?" Though her tone was scolding, Vivienne’s expression was smiling, clearly enjoying it.

  Fabian kissed Vivienne’s cheek:

  "Who cares? Just don't look at him. Anyway, he and I are both men."

  Vivienne leaned into Fabian’s embrace. She couldn't quite understand why Fabian had suddenly become so sweet. Was it really a case of "absence makes the heart grow fonder"?

  Vivienne had never experienced that feeling before. She had married without ever dating; her ex-husband had been a violent drunk. Later, when her business became successful, the men around her were all bought with money.

  If not for Fabian’s performance today, she almost forgot she was a woman who also needed this kind of sticky, sweet feeling.

  "You naughty man, why don't we go upstairs now?" Vivienne said, her desire already showing.

  Fabian had only taken two bites. He teased Vivienne, "It's only been one night and you miss me this much?"

  "Mhm!"

  "You're acting as if there's no man in the house. Since I couldn't come back last night, couldn't you have just spent it with my dad?"

  Normally, Vivienne would have been angry. But today, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to be mad at this sweet-talking Fabian.

  She felt that even though she didn't like Terrence's bad breath or his looks, there was no need to ruin the mood over such a small thing.

  He was a product she bought. She should enjoy him.

  As for Fabian’s intentional promotion of Terrence, she knew it; she just didn't want to call him out.

  After lunch came the official "nap" program.

  Fabian worked hard, and Vivienne was very satisfied. Afterward, however, Vivienne mentioned something to Fabian.

  "Terrence has bad breath. I'm worried the client this weekend won't like it."

  Only then did Fabian confirm that Vivienne had "bought" his father not for her own use.

  "What should we do then, darling?"

  "Go to the pharmacy and buy him a bottle of medicine. Use it as a mouthwash, once in the morning and once at night. It should show obvious results by the weekend."

  Fabian knew that medicine, he just didn't want to waste the money.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  But thinking about his father’s first day selling himself to earn a living, he gritted his teeth and turned to leave.

  "Wait."

  As Fabian was about to step out, Vivienne called him back and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. "I'm the one who hired your father, and the medicine was my idea. Naturally, I should pay for it."

  "This..."

  Fabian hesitated. He had already decided not to take money he hadn't earned anymore.

  "Take it."

  Vivienne pressed the money into Fabian’s hand. It felt good to give it; it was the first time she had met a male escort who didn't want money.

  One hundred dollars was enough to buy fifty bottles of that medicine. Fabian, of course, only bought one. When he returned, he stuffed the remaining money into his father's pocket.

  "Where did you get this? You didn't steal it, did you?"

  When Terrence asked this, Fabian glared at him and shook his head hard.

  This kind of money couldn't be seen by the butler or the servants. They would get jealous and badmouth Fabian to the Madam.

  Terrence didn't understand that. He figured that since Fabian had just gone upstairs for a "nap" with the Madam, he must have served her so well that he got a bonus.

  This money was enough to cover their family of seven's food for two months. It was wonderful.

  Terrence felt this industry had a future. Since his son wanted him to fix his bad breath, he would fix it.

  As long as he wasn't castrated, maimed, or whipped like in the legends, he could accept whatever a rich lady wanted him to do.

  He even felt his hesitation from yesterday was a bit ridiculous.

  After experiencing one day of a rich person's life, Terrence finally realized how miserable he had been for the past forty years.

  In his youth, rich women had made advances toward him. He regretted not accepting them back then. Selling his body like his son was doing—how great was that?

  He had been poor for so many years for nothing!

  ...

  Elena didn't need to come up with crooked schemes to make money.

  Making jam for sale might not be legal now, but it would definitely be in the future.

  Taking advantage of the fact that they didn't have to work the fields today, she teamed up with Lucy and the two brothers, Roan and his sibling. In just three hours, they produced fifty jars of jam. They almost ran out of jars.

  Thinking about how fifty jars could sell for 3,000 pesos—nearly equal to Commander Solana’s monthly salary.

  This money was too easy to make!

  As the five of them were about to cook dinner, Bob’s wife arrived. She insisted they all go to her house to eat.

  She even called Elena "daughter."

  Elena understood. Daniel’s wife and child must have been discharged from the hospital. Only because Daniel had returned and told them about his "sworn sister" would Bob’s wife call her that.

  Since it was like this, Elena wasn't being polite anymore. She insisted Roan come to "her house" for dinner.

  Roan was confused. What did she mean by "her house"?

  Was Elena’s house the same as Bob’s house?

  Lucy, who had already heard from Elena on the mountain about Daniel taking her as a sworn sister, wasn't being polite either. She grabbed "Sofia" and immediately headed to "Elena’s house" to eat.

  Bob’s family was hosting a feast. They had a new grandson and a new goddaughter—blessings like this don't happen twice in a lifetime.

  He stood at the door welcoming guests, inviting relatives into the courtyard one by one.

  Seeing Elena walk over, Bob pretended to be angry and put on a stern face. "Why didn't you tell your father earlier? I only just found out I have another daughter."

  "Hehe! If I told you too early, you might have thought I was a scammer." After teasing Bob, Elena reached out and took Bob's daughter's hand.

  "Her name is Bonnie. From now on, she’s your older sister," Bob introduced her.

  When they went to the hospital together last time, because they were busy saving a life, it was only now that Elena finally learned Bonnie's name. She called out affectionately:

  "Sister!"

  As the two sisters held hands and were about to enter the courtyard, Bob got anxious and called out from behind Elena:

  "Wait, you haven't called me 'Dad' yet."

  "..."

  Even when Bob’s wife called her daughter earlier, Elena hadn't responded.

  The words "Dad" and "Mom" didn't seem to belong together in her life. She really couldn't bring herself to say it yet.

  Bonnie saw that Elena wasn't used to it. She turned and scolded her father, "Go greet your guests! What's the rush? The girl is shy, don't you know?"

  Over a dozen tables of hearty food were set in the courtyard, each with good wine and cigarettes.

  Before the meal officially started, Bob took Elena’s hand. His wife stood beside him holding the grandson. He introduced her to all the guests:

  "This child is Elena. From today on, she is my youngest daughter. The grandson is named Wilder. I invited you all here today to witness this. In the future, when you see Elena, introduce yourselves properly so you don't get the seniority wrong!"

  All the guests clapped and cheered.

  According to local etiquette, this was the moment Elena had to call Bob "Dad" and his wife "Mom."

  This time, she used all her strength and shouted the titles as loud as she could.

  "Dad! Mom!"

  Bob’s wife quickly handed the grandson to Bob so she could give Elena a big hug. "So beautiful! This is my youngest daughter!"