EVENT SUMMARY & YOUR CHOICE:
At the end of Chapter 10, after undergoing a suffocating flight in the rainy night to bring Mark to the safe castle in the mountain suburbs north of San Francisco, Maya received a grave warning from Travis. Knowing that the hitman had seen her face and her life was in extreme danger, Travis made an offer for her to stay at the castle to protect her absolutely.
You chose [BRANCH 2]: Accept Travis's offer, staying at the castle to both ensure her own safety and remain by little Mark's side to take care of him.
The warm, luxurious sandalwood scent emanating from Travis's expensive woolen coat enveloped Maya's shivering body. Amidst the hazy rainstorm of the suburban mountains, the sound of the wind howling past sheer stone cliffs alongside the spine-chilling gaze of the tycoon poured a bucket of cold water onto the last bit of naivety inside her.
Maya looked down at her bare feet dripping with fresh blood, and then looked at Mark's shoulders still trembling uncontrollably from fear. She understood that stepping out past that sturdy iron gate at this moment meant handing her life over to the enemy in the dark with her own hands.
Biting her thin lips, pale from the cold, Maya nodded lightly, her voice trembling softly yet carrying endurance: "I... I will stay. Thank you, Mr. Travis."
Travis's chiseled face eased slightly, the suppressed tension in his ash-grey eyes lessening by a fraction. He spoke no unnecessary words, merely leaning his body to signal for her to step inside.
The ancient Gothic castle appeared before Maya's eyes like a survival fortress completely separated from the outside world. Towering arched doorways carved with exquisite patterns, thick grey stone walls, and giant crystal chandeliers hanging down from the sky-high ceiling created a space that was both magnificent and suffocating to the point of making it hard to breathe.
Travis directly led Maya up to the second floor of the castle's east wing. His footsteps were leisurely, tapping lightly on the crimson velvet carpet stretching endlessly. At the end of the hallway, he lightly pushed open the heavy red rosewood door.
"This is your room."
Maya stepped across the threshold and froze completely. The guest room meant for visitors was amazingly vast — it was larger than her entire narrow rented apartment in the San Francisco suburbs combined. A large bed covered in smooth cream silk sheets was set in the center, beside it a high-end leather-upholstered sofa set, a marble fireplace crackling with fragrant pine logs, and a vast balcony looking out over the entire pine forest submerged in fog.
"Here there are plenty of clothes, outfits, and personal items already prepared," Travis stood leaning his back against the doorframe, both hands thrust into his pants pockets, his low, deep voice ringing out calmly yet carrying absolute commanding power. "However, to ensure absolute safety for you and Mark, you need to strictly abide by a number of rules."
Maya turned back to look at him, her round eyes listening.
"First, you are not permitted to step out of the castle's east wing area on your own without being accompanied by me or the housekeeper," Travis hammered each word, his ash-grey eyes pinned tightly onto her. "Second, all of your personal electronic devices will be confiscated temporarily. You may not contact anyone on the outside — whether colleagues or friends. All of this is temporary until I resolve the threat completely. Is that clear?"
Though knowing this was a protective measure, the feeling of being completely isolated from the outside world still made Maya's heart sink. She swallowed lightly, nodding: "I understand..."
"Good. Now bathe and change clothes. In fifteen minutes someone will bring you down to the dining room." Travis dropped a short word then turned around and walked away, his tall back gradually sinking into the hallway lights.
The warm pearl-inlaid bathroom helped Maya wash away all the mud, dried blood, and exhaustion from the terrifying flight. She put on a graceful long emerald-green silk dress already prepared in the wardrobe.
Precisely fifteen minutes later, a dry knock on the door sounded. A middle-aged woman wearing an immaculately pressed housekeeper uniform, her face as cold as ice without a single trace of emotion, was waiting outside.
"Please follow me, teacher."
The servant's voice was so cold and distant that it made Maya feel more like a special prisoner than an honored guest. She quietly followed her down the spiral staircase leading toward the main dining room.
Designed like a royal banquet room, the long dining table made of ancient mahogany wood could fit over twenty people sitting, yet at this time there were only Travis and Mark. The luxurious dinner was set out by servants standing straight in rows along the wall, the atmosphere so quiet that one could only hear the crackling of burning candles and the drizzling rain tapping against the stained-glass windows.
The moment he saw Maya walk in, Mark — the boy who was originally sitting dazed swinging his bare legs — instantly snapped his head up. The child's ash-grey eyes brightened like tiny stars in the middle of the dark night.
"Ms. Maya!"
Mark cried out in a voice full of surprise and happiness. The boy pushed aside the napkin on his lap, without hesitation rushing straight toward Maya. By a natural reflex, he threw his arms around the teacher's waist, pressing his small face tightly against her warm silk dress.
"I'm so happy... Teacher is staying at home with me now! Dad didn't lie to me!" Mark looked up, a rare pure smile blooming on the lips of the child who was normally perpetually gloomy.
Maya was moved, stooping down to lightly stroke his soft, slightly damp hair: "Be good, Mark. I will be here with you."
Travis sat at the head of the dining table, quietly observing that moment. His eyes softened slightly when he saw his son's smile — something that for a very long time he had no longer seen in this cold house.
"Now Mark, sit at the dining table. Don't bother Ms. Maya anymore," Travis spoke in a low, deep voice, signaling for the servant to pull out a chair for Maya to sit right beside him and Mark.
Although the atmosphere was warmer thanks to Mark's presence, the dinner was truly a psychological ordeal for Maya.
On the expensive gold-plated porcelain plate before her were luxurious Western European dishes arranged exquisitely: gold-flecked Wagyu beef steak, abalone soup, and truffle mushrooms. Beside the plate was an entire row of silver knives and forks of all sizes arranged neatly in order.
To a poor girl raised in the slums, who was only accustomed to using wooden chopsticks and humble plastic spoons, that glittering row of knives and forks was no different from a maze.
Maya hesitated, her hands awkwardly picking up the small outer fork and the meat-cutting knife. She tried to recall the minimal etiquette she had seen in movies, but her clumsiness caused the metal fork to slip off the piece of beef, striking heavily against the porcelain plate surface, creating a sharp CLANG! in the quiet space.
Maya's face instantly flushed red with embarrassment. She lowered her head, her hands hidden beneath the edge of the table clutching her silk skirt hem tightly. The servants standing around the room still maintained faces cold as ice, but Maya felt the awkwardness burning every cell of her body.
Right at that moment, a gentle wave of warmth drew close beside her.
Travis did not laugh or show annoyance. He leisurely set his knife and fork down, leaning his body toward Maya. The large, warm, and sturdy hand of the man wrapped around the trembling hand of the young teacher.
"Don't be nervous. The meat knife is held in the right hand, the fork in the left," Travis lowered his voice, his breath carrying the faint scent of sandalwood lightly passing over Maya's ear, causing her to involuntarily shudder.
He carefully adjusted each of her fingers, guiding her how to place her index finger on the back of the knife to create gentle cutting pressure without making a sound. His hand lightly intertwined with her fingers, gently guiding the knife blade to cut a soft piece of meat perfectly.
However, even when the piece of meat had been cut, Travis's hand did not immediately release.
He held her hand firmly, his thumb casually brushing over Maya's smooth back of the hand that had a few small calluses. The touch lasted longer than necessary for an instruction. The atmosphere between the two abruptly became stifling, a surge of electricity running along Maya's spine, causing her heart to miss a rapid beat.
Maya raised her eyes, accidentally catching Travis's ash-grey eyes looking at her from an extremely close distance. In the deep, dark eyes like the deep night of the cold tycoon, she saw no contempt or pity, but a deep, complex observation that was burning a subtle spark.
"Thank you... Mr. Travis," Maya stammered, her voice as tiny as a mosquito's buzz, softly pulling her hand out from his warmth.
Travis withdrew his hand, his face quickly regaining its usual composed, cold appearance. He nodded lightly, returning to his meal as if nothing had happened: "Eat. You need to recover your strength."
Beside them, Mark was completely unaware of the subtle undercurrent that had just swept between the two adults. The boy happily ate all of his portion, continually putting the best pieces of vegetables onto Maya's plate, his eyes overflowing with joy because for a very long time this large house had finally gained the feeling of a true family.
That night, returning to the luxurious guest room, Maya stood by the glass window frame watching the rainstorm pouring down onto the pine forest. The safety in this castle was real, but the vague warmth from Travis's hand and the bloody secrets shrouding this family made her know that... her life from now on would forever no longer be peaceful as before.
