I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 77: 77:Reason.

Silver already knew where this was going. The system notification had told him enough, even so, he remained silent.

Cruella sighed dramatically.

"I went to meet Miss Ravenna today since I only wanted to warn her."

Silver raised an eyebrow.

"Warn her?"

She nodded sadly.

"I told her not to misunderstand your feelings. I didn’t want either of you getting hurt."

Her eyes became slightly watery.

"I never expected her to react like that."

Silver looked at the mark on her face.

"What happened?"

Cruella gently touched her cheek.

"She..."

"...she slapped me."

A nearby contractor looked over before quickly pretending not to listen. Cruella noticed that Silver could see her gaze shifting briefly before settling back on him.

Silver almost admired the performance.

"I never insulted her. I only tried explaining that perhaps you were moving on too quickly. I wanted us to avoid misunderstandings."

Her voice trembled just enough.

"I didn’t expect her to just stand up out of nowhere and... And...Then hit me."

She lowered her eyes.

"I don’t even know why she hates me. I just wanted to help. You know I’m a good person right? Is it wrong to help others in need?"

Silence filled the parking lot. Cruella waited for the expected reaction. Perhaps sympathy, concern, or for Silver to become angry.

Instead, Silver asked calmly,

"Are you finished?"

Cruella blinked.

"...What?"

"You’ve finished speaking?"

She stared at him, flabbergasted.

"...Yes, but..."

Silver nodded once then stepped closer, cutting off her rebuttal. His voice remained calm, almost friendly.

"You think I’m a fool..." he met her gaze, "I’ll give you one piece of advice, Cruella."

She looked hopeful at that. Silver smiled, a very small smile.

"If you have an issue with me... bring it to me." His tone remained almost conversational. "But if you decide to involve Ravenna again..."

The smile disappeared.

"...then we’re going to have a problem."

Cruella frowned then stepped back subconsciously. Silver had never looked at her so coldly before. It scared her, a little.

"...Silver..."

He interrupted.

"I’m serious."

His eyes never left hers.

"I don’t care what happened between you and me... I ended that; get that into your head. Ravenna has nothing to do with our past." His voice became colder."If you harass her again...I’ll make sure every member of this family, your fiancé included, learns exactly why. I won’t protect your reputation or stay silent... and from that moment onward..."He paused."...I’ll consider you someone standing against me."

Cruella valued her reputation more than anything else since that was what benefited her the most. The certainty behind the words carried enough weight.

She just stared, completely stunned. This wasn’t the Silver she remembered, not even remotely.

He looked at her one last time then added quietly,

"So let’s not make enemies of each other or I might just end up killing you," Cruella went pale. Silver chuckled," The latter was a joke... or not."

The sentence sounded almost gentle. The continuation didn’t.

"Stay away from Ravenna."

Without waiting for an answer, he walked past her. Leaving Cruella standing motionless. Even after he disappeared into the hotel... she still hadn’t moved.

.

.

.

The hotel lobby buzzed with quiet conversation. Silver immediately noticed two unfamiliar receptionists whispering.

"...Apparently she slapped her."

"...I heard the other woman insulted her first."

"...Someone said there was water everywhere."

"...She deserved it."

"...Shh."

Silver smiled slightly. He walked to the front desk.

"Excuse me."

Silver smiled slightly and walked to the front desk.

"Excuse me."

The receptionist looked up.

"Oh! Young Master Silver."

"I’m looking for Ravenna."

She smiled knowingly.

"Third floor. She’s been back for about twenty minutes."

Silver thanked her and headed upstairs. He got to the familiar door two minutes later and knocked softly.

A gentle knock echoed through the room. Inside, Ravenna looked toward the door.

"So soon? Words really travel fast."

Mallory giggled.

"I’ll get it."

The door opened. Silver stood outside with a slight frown on his face.

Mallory smiled.

"I knew it."

Silver looked confused.

"...Knew what?"

"Nothing." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

She stepped aside.

"Come in."

Silver entered. The room immediately felt warm, because someone was cooking. Mallory had apparently prepared dinner; a simple stew, fresh bread, and tea. A quiet but beautiful home-cooked meal, although they were technically in a hotel. That made him miss his parents’ cooking.

Silver suddenly remembered that he hadn’t eaten since morning. His stomach reminded him rather loudly.

Ravenna looked up from the book she was reading.

"...Hungry?"

Silver answered honestly.

"...Very. I could eat enough for ten people"

She laughed.

"Sit, it should be done in a while."

Silver didn’t move, he awkwardly stood there trying to find where he should sit. The chairs had her suitcase on them and some other things. She was sitting on the floor cross-legged.

"Come here."

She patted the space next to her. Silver moved before she could call a second time and plopped down close to her.

A few minutes later, Mallory had the food laid out on a blue table mat on the floor.

"I hope you like it young master," Mallory said, her lips lifting into a cheeky smile.

Silver chuckled. Ravenna lightly knocked her elbow onto his side.

"Don’t entertain her, your food is getting cold." freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Silver nodded and dived into the food.

Dinner turned out surprisingly peaceful. Silver stopped acting mindful after exactly three seconds. The food was that good.

Halfway through the meal he finally looked toward Ravenna.

"So."

She already knew.

"...You heard."

"I met her outside."

Ravenna sighed.

"I figured. Aaah!... This feels even more embarrassing when you respond like that."

Silver tilted his head.

"What actually happened?"

Ravenna looked genuinely offended.

"I behaved okay. It wasn’t that bad."

Mallory coughed suspiciously. Silver looked toward her. She smiled awkwardly when their gazes met.

"... I can feel you not believing me, but it’s true. "

Ravenna ignored the betrayal.

"I was behaving then she started it, it’s all her fault. I might have called her a merchant..." She rolled her eyes but refused to meet Silver’s gaze,"... And a fraud, maybe."

Silver sighed heavily. "God... that’s..."

Ravenna nodded and Silver also nodded each thinking about something different.

"She retorted and said I’m the one selling fake feelings."

Silver nearly choked on his tea.

"What?"

"Then she implied I was some sort of replacement."

Silver slowly rubbed his forehead.

"I see."

Ravenna continued dropping the bombs.

"I asked why she was worried if she wasn’t interested anymore."

Silver couldn’t help smiling.

"And?"

"She didn’t answer. I think I hit a mark on that one. Any normal person would have left but she didn’t and decided to double down."

Mallory burst into laughter. Ravenna looked completely innocent.

"Then she turned around and also called me a fraud."

Silver raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"I don’t even know why."

Silver actually laughed out loud. Ravenna pointed accusingly.

"Don’t laugh."

"I’m trying not to."

"It isn’t working."

"It really isn’t."

Ravenna folded her arms dramatically.

"So... I don’t even know how it happened... she suddenly stood up and poured water on me."

Ravenna took a deep breath, calming her rage.

"Then she had the nerve to say; Oops! The cup slipped. When it was clear she did it on purpose," Ravenna said that while imitating Cruella’s voice.

Silver couldn’t help but laugh. He just couldn’t take it seriously, even Mallory was having the same problem.

"That’s something else," Silver satiated her, "You managed to push her to the brink. She rarely loses her temper."

Ravenna continued.

"... And then she kept talking like my shirt wasn’t fully soaked and was almost see-through. Thank goodness I had an extra T-shirt inside."

Silver already knew where this was going.

"So... I slapped her."

Silence filled the room. Silver looked at her and she looked back at him. Then both spoke at the same time.

"Instinct."

"It was instinct."

They blinked, then both started laughing.

Mallory sighed.

"You two are terrible influences on each other."

Neither denied it.