In the next instant, Ste found herself swept into his arms, followed by a kiss tinged with the faint aroma of red winending on her lips. Boom!


    A thunderous shockwave hit Ste, rendering herpletely stunned, her body turning to stone!


    Herck of resistance, in his eyes, seemed like acquiescence, and his kisses grew wilder, conquering with reckless abandon.


    It took five heartbeats for Ste to snap back to reality, instinctively cing her hands against his chest in a feeble attempt to push him away.


    But in a blink, her slender wrists were captured and pinned behind her back.


    "Ronald, Ronald," she cried out in shock.


    The man pinning her down, his eyes heavy with intoxication, gave her a brief nce. His gaze was deep and hazy, making Ste unsure if he possessed any semnce of reason. She managed to free her hands and cupped his face. "Tell me, who am I?"


    The hidden side of her heart, never meant to be revealed, suddenly surged forward, and Ste couldn''t believe it. After all, this was happening while Ronald was drunk. She...fancied him, missed him, loved him.


    In Ferrond, a rtionship between two persons without blood ties wasn''t a taboo. But she was scared.


    Especially whenever Ronald introduced to others that she was a kid, she felt that to him, she was nothing more than a sister.


    He cherished her with brotherly affection, loving and protecting her. If she were to reveal the true depths of her feelings and he didn''t reciprocate, it could shatter their beautiful rtionship as siblings. She didn''t want that. She couldn''t bear the thought of ruining any aspect of their rtionship.


    At the sight of him being silent, a hint of disappointment flickered across Ste''s eyes, "Don''t you recognize me?"


    Her voice carried a tinge of sorrow.


    Ronald didn''t respond but instead cupped her face, leaning in for another kiss.


    Ste turned her face away, "Ronald, please, sober up."


    If Ronald was sober now, whatever happened next would simply happen. But he wasn''t.


    She feared waking up to find out it was her he was with, and everything between them would be ruined.


    She wondered, in this moment, who he thought she was.


    As she thought about the years she hadn''t been with him, everything could be changed, her heart aching uncontrobly.


    ...


    Ste managed to free herself and


    went to make Ronald a hangover cure. Though her culinary skills were


    limited, hangover cures


    something she excelled at


    Back in Ferrond, her parents often attended social gatherings and Ronald frequently came home drunk. The hangover cures the household staff prepared hadn''t been for their liking.


    Later on, Ste had researched online and concocted a recipe that everyone loved.


    "Ronald, have some hangover cure."


    Ronald was already asleep on her room''s couch.


    Ste, clutching his neck, lifted him from the ce. Despite his weight, she found it surprisingly easy.


    No need to ask why she was so strong! That was thanks to Yvonne.


    The public face of the Quinn family business, which was quite respectable.


    But Ronald was also the heir to the Lugar family. The biggest arms dealer in the shadows, always facing dangers Ste could hardly imagine. Plus, after Ste was kidnapped at thirteen, Ronald was constantly worried about her.


    Unable to stand by idly, Yvonne took her under her wing for three months of rigorous training!