CH 20

Bang bang bang!

It was early morning the next day after signing the office contract.

There was a knock on the door that sounded like someone was trying to break in.

“What kind of crazy person comes this early in the morning?!”

I shouted loudly while striding towards the front door. Then, the knocking sound decreased slightly. However, the uninvited guest kept knocking on the door. It was as if they had no intention of leaving.

‘What kind of crazy person would make a fuss so early in the morning?’

However, she was a timid person with many things to fear, including opening the door bravely. I quietly opened the window of the house and quickly checked the figure of the person standing at the front door before closing and locking it as quickly as possible.

“Noona, who is that?”

Claude woke up from his sleep while rubbing his eyes. It was reassuring to be with Claude, who has grown up, at home.

“Oh. The neighbors seem to be making a scene.”

“Shouldn’t you open the door for them?”

“…Yes.”

If I opened the door, it would definitely give me a headache.

Squeak.

When I pulled the door knob, I saw Gloria’s father standing in front of me, his body was thin and dark circles appeared under his eyes. Looking at him like that, he must have just gotten home from gambling after staying up all night.

“Is my daughter here? I have to talk to her, so tell her to come out right now!”

Gloria’s father’s breath smelled disgusting and reeked of alcohol.

The man next door came to someone else’s house in the early hours of the morning and shamelessly insisted the owner to bring his daughter. I was dumbfounded at that moment and burst out laughing.

“Sir, I haven’t even done any activities yet. You can’t get drunk and mess around here, so you should come back later at daybreak.”

“Are you ignoring me? Hey, don’t look down on me. What kind of person do you think I am? That is so rude!”

I crossed my arms and tilted my head slightly, then asked her again.

“What kind of person are you?”

“Ha- for real, you know Stephen Top, don’t you? He’s the one who becomes the ruler of a big company!”

I knew about Stephen Top. He was the number one man in the capital, and also runs a bank. I also knew very well that the rich and greedy old man was in the upper class.

‘Wait! This man only has two daughters. And Brie is already married. How can this guy call himself a high-class ruler?’

Those words made me realize as if I’d been struck by lightning.

Yes, I was entering a novel. I forgot about it and became too absorbed in my business for a while.

The content of the book ran its course even though I didn’t want it.

As I froze and stammered, Gloria came out into the living room, which she was probably awakened by the noise outside.

‘Oh, my God.’

I wanted to tell Gloria to go into the bedroom and sleep again. The phrase, written as exactly as it was in the novel, reappeared above her head.

[Gloria, the youngest child. Her father sold his own daughter to a rich old man because he couldn’t pay his gambling debts.

“Gloria. You must pay back the money on behalf of me, or else you have to marry Stephen!”

Her father shamelessly demanded that the debt he had accumulated be repaid by his own daughter instead.]

Apparently, the real story is about to begin now. Oh, this couldn’t be.

“Gloria! My daughter!”

Gloria’s father pushed me aside and ran inside the house. When Gloria’s father tried to hug Gloria, Claude quickly stepped in the middle and held the man’s body from moving.

Gloria’s father glared as if he was going to eat Claude whilst gritting his teeth.

“What are you doing? Why don’t you let go of me?”

Claude hid Gloria behind his back and said.

“Sir, please calm down and you can speak to her only when you already get back to your senses.”

“What are you doing?! You’re saying the same thing. Why did you block me when I said that I would talk to my daughter?”

It seemed like filthy thoughts flashed through Gloria’s father’s head for a moment. The man narrowed his eyes and looked Claude up and down.

“Hah! Are you going out with my daughter? Oh, is that so? Those who aren’t even related by blood are already living together like this?! No wonder! I thought it was weird before. I won’t bring this up anymore!”

The man next to him misunderstood and became excited by himself, then raised his hand as if to hit Claude. Gloria, who felt embarrassed that her father had come to someone else’s house and acted violently, shouted loudly.

“Father! Please stop!”

Gloria was born with a good temper, so it wasn’t easy for her to be upset about something in many ways. She was the kind of person who could persuade her opponent even when she was angry. When such a gentle woman got angry for the first time, Gloria’s father lowered his lifted arm.

He looked at the ceiling for a moment to swallow his anger and closed his eyes. Maybe he felt sorry and ashamed of my family because of this fuss.

“If you want to talk to me, calm down and wait at the table. I’ll make a delicious tea to make you sober a bit.”

Gloria wiped her tears and turned towards the kitchen. I pretended not to know that she had shed tears just a moment ago.

The situation would have allowed Gloria’s father to forcibly take Gloria home if I left the two alone. I was aware of Gloria’s father’s violent tendencies, so I sat across the table and kept an eye at him.

My mother said that she had to learn something about Thomas Danger’s curse and had been gone for a few days. Otherwise, Gloria’s father would’ve been scrunched up in pain as a result of mother’s irritation. For example, the curse of unexpected death or something like that sort.

The tense situation continued as they looked at each other, as if they were about to eat each other. It was the female lead in this world who broke the silence.

“You must have waited a long time, haven’t you? This is honey tea. Try it first.”

Gloria brought a cup of liquid consisting of honey mixed with warm water and placed it on the table. However, the color and concentration of the tea in front of her father and the tea in Claude’s teacup looked completely different.

It’s the same honey tea, or their tea might have a high yellow concentration of honey. I would say that the tea in front of the middle-aged man was almost the same color as hot water.

Gloria smiled at my questioning eyes and turned her eyes to her father. Unlike when she looked at me, she had a cold facial expression when she stared back at her father.

“What did you want to say that you barged in so rudely? As I said in the previous letter, I know that our relationship is over.”

Gloria declared that she would sever ties with her father from the day she left home. Gloria’s father recalled what she had done under the influence of alcohol, and he had never sought out his daughter since then. It wasn’t supposed to be a common reason for him to lose consciousness because of alcohol. That’s why I guess the man agreed to break his relationship with his daughter.

However, today?! Without any shame this ugly faced man revealed himself in front of us.

Gloria’s father coughed loudly, raised his chin, and spat out a ridiculous argument.

“How long are you going to live like this?”

“What’s wrong with my life?”

I immediately agreed with my friend and added an opinion to provoke Gloria’s father.

“That’s right. Gloria is living very happily without her beggar father.”

His sharp gaze was directed at me. The man looked at me intently.

‘Well, I said the right thing. What do you want me to say?’

I stuck my tongue out at the grown-up middle-aged man. If that man got angry and hit me here, that would be a good thing. I think I would only get one punch. And then I would report the assault he caused to the National Police Agency.

Gloria’s father just ignored me as if I wasn’t there, and shouted at Gloria.

“What did she say? Huh? Who the f*ck hasn’t gotten married at such an age?! Do you want to live in someone else’s house and appear so miserable? Did I raise you like this?”

Huh. I don’t think the one who has played, eaten, and gambled with the money Gloria saved was qualified to say that. This old man continued to shout with impudent concepts in his mind.

“That’s why I said that! I have a very good marriage offer for you. Get ready to get married!”

Sigh, I knew he would say this. He must have come with a purpose.

“The good marriage you’re talking about is not with a rich and dirty old man, right?”

The man shouted again, perhaps shocked by what I said.

“Age doesn’t matter! Money is the most important thing in life! Isn’t it, Gloria?”

Yes. Money is the most important thing in life. However, there were other things that were important besides money. Especially when it comes to marriage. For example, a man’s face, height, and body, or personality and love.

‘The first priority to pay attention to is …. Visual.’

An old lady once said this. If a person has a handsome face, she would feel better when he sees his face even if she was angry at him. I used to believe in that word too much.

Slurp.

Gloria, who was drinking tea, looked down and didn’t reply to her father’s words. However, looking at her slightly trembling fingertips, I was sure she felt overwhelmed by her anger. She has a quiet personality, so that must be the reason she didn’t say anything to her father openly like I did a moment ago.

However, if she just held back her anger like this, it would upset herself even further. At this time, I had to come forward.

I punched the table and raised my voice.

“If you’re so fond of him, you can marry him! You can’t give Gloria, who is like his granddaughter, to him.”

“L-Like his granddaughter? I think she’s a little younger than that?”

Even the man who said so looked unsure. Claude stood there expressionlessly. Gloria sighed and said.

“Father, I’ll take care of my own wedding. I want you to stop taking care of my life from now on. I’m serious, so don’t come like this.”

Gloria got up from her seat. Then, her father knelt on the floor. He cupped his hands together and started pleading.

“Gloria! Please save me! If you don’t marry him, the old man will kill me.”

“Were you gambling even when you don’t have money again?”

“Yes, I’m really lucky this time! I thought I would get ten times more! That’s why I borrowed money from them. I didn’t know it would be like this.”

Gloria’s father bowed his head and shoulders helplessly. Not knowing what was in his mind, he hurriedly rolled up his clothes and pleaded to her while showing the bruises and scars along parts of his body. I even saw the man’s bulging belly in the process.

“Gloria, if you want to help with my debt, please marry Stephen. I’m begging you. Otherwise, father will die. I have no idea how scary they are. Hey, how sad would your dead mother be in heaven if father died? Huh? Please.”

When Gloria didn’t blink an eye, he evoked sympathy by bringing up her mother’s story. Gloria shuddered when she was about to leave. She had heard about her mother’s death which was apparently caused by her, so she used to have a sense of indebtedness to her family.

“See you tomorrow. We can talk…. No, can’t we talk to my future son-in-law?”

Gloria let out a long breath. She put her hand on her forehead and let out a groan.

“Let’s talk. However, I can’t promise to agree to this marriage.”

“Yes, yes! The more you meet someone, the more sincere they are to you. He has a lot of money. Seriously, what else do you have to show besides being young? Baron Stephen has a peerage and has bought a nice townhouse in the capital for your honeymoon. You just have to walk along without doing anything at all. Do you know how easy it is for you? Hahaha!”

Then, how easy was it to tell your daughter to get married to someone she only met once? Her father smiled and thanked Gloria continuously before leaving the house.