His Devious Rule

"Can't you see I am trying to stop your hiccups?" He always saw people drinking water while hiccuping. Since she wasn't listening to him, assuming he was helping her, he forced her.

Anya could read his actions but why couldn't he hear her first instead of blindly forcing her. She felt her head throb when she rebuffed, "No, you are trying to kill me." Then she added, "You are also trying to kill my son and parents."

He was trying to do good to her. How could he accept her allegation? "You-"

She whined without letting him speak, "If you want to… die, go ahead. Why are you… putting my family in dan-danger? I only have them. What… What am I going to d-do without them?" She said between her hiccups. Her eyes turned red and filled up again. She sniffled without letting her tears roll out.

Although Alvin heard her tantrums, he didn't take her words lightly. "What do you mean by 'if I want to die?" Alvin too wanted to patiently sit and hear her say everything that happened in the past. But she was adamant about hiding, making him livid.

Anya's eyes widened and her hiccups vanished. She had the urge to slap her mouth. This man was really scary, he could read between her lines. She thought he could understand her worry by her words and let her go.

Why was he becoming more stubborn?

Seeing her uneasy, Alvin didn't let her run. He held her waist, effortlessly lifted her above the floor hearing her gasp, and reached out to his shoulder to balance herself. He made her sit on the desk and stood in front of her.

This time he patiently helped her drink water watching her avoiding his eyes. He squinted his eyes silently saying he wasn't letting her go until she told him everything.

She stated a fact in a low calm voice, "Zane will wake up, he will cry if he doesn't see me." She used her son's name to get away from Alvin.

She still needs to think if she was ready to go against the Matthews family. Blindly going against them would be a call for a disaster. She couldn't take that risk.

Alvin knew her efforts to escape again and that made him all the more irked. She was testing his patience. He grabbed her hand and started walking towards the door.

Anya almost fell if she hadn't balanced. She ran behind him, tugging his hand, "Alvin Matthews, what's wrong with you? Where are you taking me?" She wondered if she pissed him off again.

Alvin entered his bedroom, making her panic. Without knowing what he was up to, Anya had to use her defending skills. She twisted her hand causing him to lose his grip on her. Turning around, she used her right hand to press above his stomach and pushed him back against the wall, "Can't you speak? Why do you speak with your hands?" She growled at him, displeased how he uses his physical force on her.

Alvin felt sore where her fingers were pressing him. He could sense from her smooth and clear voice that she wasn't using her complete strength. However, it wasn't enough to control him.

He knocked her hand causing her to hiss in pain and threw her over his shoulder before decisively walking towards the bathroom.

Couldn't he speak? He could but she was a stubborn mule and he was another mule.

Anya: "…"

He was so quick that she was hanging down his shoulder when she fathomed the situation. "Alvin Matthews, are you insane?" She demanded fiercely, "Put me down right now." She tried to move her legs but he was holding her firmly. She almost elbowed him but stopped. It would hurt him a lot. So she punched his back without mercy.

Alvin gritted his teeth, she looked weak and exhausted but she still had the strength to give him pain. He made her sit on the counter in the ensuite and glared at her.

Anya wanted to get off when he bellowed at her, "I dare you to get off."

Anya felt her heart leap to the throat. She didn't dare to move. She closed her eyes and frowned when Alvin moved away from her.

Why were they behaving like stupid people? Couldn't they speak like well-behaved people?

'He knows to rile me up.' She sighed without understanding why she always loses her cool around him. Recalling her behavior around him, she felt like a headless chicken arguing with an unreasonable puppy.

Alvin who squeezed the water out of the wet towel saw her lost in the thoughts and her lips curling down deeper. He had flustered seeing her cry in the study room. He couldn't understand how to deal with her when she is sad. So to cheer her up, no, more like riling her up, he looked at the wet towel in his hand and Anya.

'Pak.' Anya was sulking when a cold towel landed on her face.

Anya: "…"

Although it was gentle, somehow her eyes filled up again. He wiped her face with gentle hands while saying, "Your son will kill me if he knows you cried." Taking how careful Zane was about his mother, Alvin was sure Zane could identify her tears stains. Hence he didn't let her go to Zane.

Before he could remove the wet towel and take a good look at her, she whimpered, "If you want to take care, couldn't you be a little careful?" He choked her on water and slapped the wet towel on her face.

As if adding one on another, she was craving to cry hard so that she could get rid of the heaviness from her chest. Nevertheless, she bit her lips and held back.

Alvin realized it was foolish of him to do so. She neither got angry nor argued with him. He left the wet towel aside, yet she kept her eyes closed and chewed her pink lips that were turning bright red. He lowered his voice, "Couldn't you stop annoying me?"

He understands she was doing everything so that her parents and son won't be in trouble.

Couldn't she take his help and solve the problem?

Was it necessary to avoid him repeatedly?

A tear rolled down on her cheek causing her to wipe it away quickly without opening her eyes.

Alvin sighed. Fine, he knows her intention wasn't to annoy him. "Why can't you tell me?" His low voice had a hint of annoyance and helplessness against her.

He saw the same sad smile appear on her face as she lowered her head. He could see a drop of tear hanging on her lashes but she refused to cry. Her fingers clutched the overcoat with all her might before she was able to utter, "How could I put you against your family?" But she already put him against them as soon as she said her family was in danger because of his family.

"I have already fallen out with them." He argued patiently, trying his best he shouldn't make her cry.

She pressed her lips to a thin line lowering her head further. A teardrop fell on her hand when she opened her lips to say, "How could I increase the distance?"

She never liked to be a reason for putting Alvin against his family. Now that she knows Alvin's situation with his family, was she setting Alvin against his father?

Alvin had an extreme urge to smack her but controlled. She was thinking of him and his family putting herself at a disadvantage. He didn't know what to do with her.

He didn't care about the Matthews family, except his stepbrother. But his bond with his stepbrother won't stop him from doing anything against the Matthews family.

Recalling Dennis and Catalina didn't have loathsome gazes on him, Alvin was sure they didn't know the Matthews family was threatening her. He lifted her chin to face him but she kept her gaze down. He asked seriously, "Does that Loudmouth know about the Matthews family troubling you?" He thought that might be the reason Krystle hates him.

Anya pouted with a frown. She wanted to kick him for still calling Krystle as 'Loudmouth.'

Seeing her silent, Alvin fished his mobile while threatening her, "Fine, I will ask her." In reality, he didn't have her number. It wasn't difficult to get anyway.

Anya quickly blurted out, snatching his mobile away, "No, she doesn't know it's Matthews. Don't tell her." Krystle will go berserk if she gets to know it was the Matthews family.

Alvin's face deadpanned realizing nobody knows the burden Anya was silently carrying all these years. He was alone, he had nothing to lose but she had a little life and her parents. It made sense to him why the naive, clueless girl had to grow herself strong.

He met her reddened moist eyes. He cupped her face, gently caressed her cheeks, "And you are working in whatever department because you are trying to be strong to protect your family against the Matthews family." Anya Owen was a simple girl who stayed away from troubles. She had happily agreed to follow him to his company. So it was an easy deduction.

Anya: "…"

Anya wanted to move from his hand that was making her crave to lean into his palm. Her fingers dug into the jacket and stared at him.

And he was right. The Matthews was indirectly the reason she became an officer, worked her a** off to reach the stage where she was. With a little more effort, the Matthews family wouldn't dare to touch her family carelessly.

But, will Catalina let her continue the job? Anya doubted.

Alvin sighed hearing her silence. He knew he was right. His hand itched to smack her again but he cupped her face with both hands. For the first time, he sounded indulgent, "You Goofball, you could have ruined the whole company single-handedly…" '…without being hard on yourself.' She was an exceptional hacker with top-notch skills.

Anya blinked softly, feeling his big warm palms against her skin. She felt like a little girl after a really long time. It was a good feeling.

She pursed her lips hearing his words. Her voice was barely audible when she said, "I… I was terrified." She wasn't even twenty-one at that time. Everything was too overwhelming for her to grasp. There were times she had cried all night, quivering in a corner, locked herself in the room, afraid to step out. It had taken her a lot of time to get over it just for the sake of pregnancy.