Chapter 225: Chapter 223: Deserves a Spanking

The man’s words hammered against her fragile eardrums.

His gentle words were like a call from a distant place.

Mia Grant instinctively moved to obey, but a second before she stood up, she came to her senses.

’No, that’s not right.’

Beneath his gentle exterior was a bottomless abyss.

It was a trap.

Mia Grant took a deep breath. "I’ve already explained things with Simon Adler."

"As for why I’m here... I need a little time to think, to piece things together."

As she spoke, she glanced at the clock on the wall. "It’s getting late. You should go upstairs and rest. We can talk tomorrow. Tomorrow."

The dead of night, utterly silent, was no time for this conversation. They couldn’t continue.

The man across from her didn’t move a muscle.

"Why you’re here... even if you don’t tell me, I have my ways of finding out."

’So?’

Mia Grant blinked.

"So, I have no intention of ruining such a lovely evening by talking about such dreary things."

"..." As she stared blankly, a shadow moved before her.

Mia Grant looked up and saw that the man across from her was on his feet.

She froze, turning her head away just as he leaned in to kiss her.

With that single movement, the Blackening Value above his head spiked, turning red once more after a long time.

"The third time,"

he said with a smile.

Mia Grant met his gaze, her lips parting as if to speak, but she stopped herself.

Silas Grant gripped her chin, tilting it up.

On the sofa, his tall frame loomed over her.

Her long hair fanned out in disarray, a few strands vanishing into the crevice of the sinking cushion.

His overbearing presence washed over her, completely enveloping her.

She had nowhere to run.

Even her gaze was captured, unable to look anywhere but at him.

"I... I..." Her hands pressed against his shoulders, her resistance plain to see.

Silas Grant braced one hand beside her head, looking down at her. "Babe, I really do want to respect your wishes and understand what you’re thinking."

As he spoke, the hand gripping her chin loosened.

Mia Grant was surprised.

Before she could react, she saw him raise that same hand and take off his glasses.

CLICK.

"It’s just... that’s not an option right now."

"I hope you can understand."

The glasses slipped from his fingertips, landing on the carpet.

It was as if they had struck her in the chest; her heart gave a violent lurch.

Without a second thought, she knew better than anyone what this gesture meant.

Her ears flushed hot. "Just listen to me. I think we have some major issues between us. We should take this chance to resolve them, not..."

In moments of danger, adrenaline floods the system. The will to survive forced her words out two, three times faster than usual.

Even so, Silas Grant didn’t give her the chance to finish.

Such dismissive ploys didn’t work on him.

"...Mmph!"

Her lips had just parted, the uncomfortable name she was about to use forced back down her throat before it could be spoken.

His kiss was nothing like his gentle words.

’An illusion. It was all a lie.’

’Liar.’

’He was biting so hard. It hurt.’

It was violent, brutal—like a relentless storm on the eve of the apocalypse.

She was swept up and swallowed whole, tossed about in the raging tempest.

She wanted to cry for help, but when her lips parted, all she breathed in was the bone-chilling cold of the gale.

Having learned her lesson, she obediently kept her mouth shut, only for him to grip her chin and halt any further attempts at resistance.

He was incredibly perceptive, both at work and in his personal life.

He could detect and shut down the slightest hint of defiance.

As the feeling of suffocation washed over her, Mia Grant’s eyes grew hot.

The near-death sensation, mixed with terror, made her tremble uncontrollably.

After what felt like an eternity, he pulled away, giving her a gasp of air.

A helpless sigh ghosted past her ear. "You really should learn how to breathe."

Mia Grant ignored him, gasping for air as she raised a hand to cover her eyes, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill.

’This was just a kiss... She couldn’t bear to imagine how much more intense things were about to get.’

The tip of her nose tingled, and the urge to cry grew stronger.

A single teardrop escaped, slipping through her fingers. Before it could trail down, his warm palm gently brushed it away.

Then, he slid one hand behind her, stroking her back and patting it gently. "Alright, just take a moment."

’There he goes again, putting on his Mr. Nice Guy act.’

’Such a master of deception.’

Mia Grant pouted. "Are you... going to continue later?"

Her hand was still covering her face, so Silas Grant couldn’t see her eyes. His gaze landed on her trembling lips as he asked in return,

"Mia, do you think a single kiss is enough to make up for everything you’sve done recently?"

"Little girls who misbehave get spanked."

"..." Mia Grant choked on her words, indignant. "But I didn’t do anything wrong."

"Mm," Silas Grant replied indulgently. "Anything else?"

He was patiently giving her time to plead her case.

He’d said he didn’t want to hear anything that would spoil the mood, but when it came down to it, he was helpless against her.

Mia Grant fell silent.

’All the things I’ve done recently...’

’Counting them up, in Silas’s book, every single one was a crime punishable by death.’

"Nothing more to say?"

"Alright." He nodded. "I do."

"I know you feel wronged, but I’m also really..."

His voice trailed off, a thousand unspoken words dissolving into a single sigh.

It was as if he truly didn’t know what to do with her.

She quietly parted her fingers, peeking at him through the gap.

The smile was gone from Silas Grant’s face. Mia Grant’s heart dropped. Thinking fast, she rushed to say, "I didn’t want to come here either."

"They forced me! I’m one of the good guys!"

"Besides... you’re the one who told me not to contact you. So I didn’t dare reach out. Why are you blaming me now?"

"And about Simon Adler, I’ve explained it so many times. I barely know him. From a certain point of view, we’re allies at best, and he’s on your side, too."

"I know."

Silas Grant lowered his gaze and wiped away the tear tracks from the corners of her eyes. "That’s not what I’m angry about."

"Then what is it?" Mia Grant blinked, her mind racing.

’I’ve been on my period the last couple of days, so I haven’t been running around.’

’I haven’t done anything, have I?’

’Wait.’

A sudden thought struck her, and a nerve ending somewhere inside her gave a violent JOLT.

"Figured it out?"

"..."

He smiled, but there was little sincerity in it.

"The... the blind date was the old master’s idea. It had nothing to do with me. The old master told me to go meet them in your place."

"I didn’t want to go... but it would have been bad for everyone if I refused. I didn’t want to cause more trouble right now. The less fuss, the better. It was just one meeting."

"There was more to it than that," Silas Grant cut through her excuses mercilessly. "Was it really just ’meeting them for me’?"

"My recent blind date candidates... you picked them out yourself?"

"..."

Mia Grant was speechless. "How did you know?"

Meeting her wide-eyed, innocent stare, Silas Grant’s thin lips pressed into a tight line.

The time for talking was over.

The intermission was over.

It was time to get down to business.