"I'm a man of my word," Edison replied shortly, shrugging off his shoulder.

Melinda stared at Edison, utterly unconvinced. She thought the latter wouldn't obediently agree to her condition unless there was a hidden agenda behind it. So, she firmly demanded, "Swear that you mean it."

Edison watched as Melinda's body trembled with horror. He placed his hand on his chin, and a hidden smile crept into his mouth. It was futile: Edison never believed that Melinda would dare to drink, and he thought that even if she did drink the wine, she would certainly pass out. So, she would not be able to leave anyway. Therefore, this bet ultimately favored Edison's side. In the end, he recklessly swore.

The others also stopped crowding Melinda and sat on the couch to watch the show. They also believed Melinda would never take the bottle and gulp it down unless she went crazy. Contrary to those thoughts, they still pushed Melinda to drink and coaxed her with some sweet words.

Melinda saw their ill intentions, and fury started to bloom in her heart. She didn't want to stay any longer with these bastards, and to do that, she had no choice but to drink.

And so Melinda gulped down before she took the bottle of wine to her mouth, slowly swallowing it down without breathing. Exaggerated as it might sound, she almost felt like drowning as the wine started flowing down from her lip to her chin and neck. She looked so hot that she made the boys drool over her sexiness in an instant. Melinda, however, wasn't aware of that. She couldn't even feel the piercing gazes of those around her and was focused on drinking instead.

Melinda, as her schoolmates said, was the definition of natural beauty. She was so pretty that she got the title of the hottest girl in the school just a month after the semester started. However, almost everyone could tell that she wasn't clever and outgoing. She was alone most of the time, if not all the time.

But because of her inexplainable charm, Edison adored her. Since nobody wanted to mess with Edison, people started to avoid her even more. Not that Melinda cared about those trivial things.

Edison's lip parted a bit, and he was stunned in his seat. To see Melinda's innocent yet charming look rendered him speechless. Inwardly pleased, Edison subconsciously licked his lip and stared more at Melinda with awe in his eyes. He wanted to talk to her so badly and wanted to see how she would look in bed, naked.

After a couple of seconds, Melinda finished drinking the bottle of wine. Proud yet disgusted, she slammed the empty bottle on the table. She knew she was about to lose consciousness at any second, so she gathered all the remaining ounces of courage she had and verbalized her mind. "Done! I did it, Edison. Keep your word, and let me go." Her face flushed red, and her voice grew hoarse. She couldn't even keep the balance of her body.

When Edison didn't answer, Melinda spoke again. "You swore, didn't you? Now, man up and keep your promise if you still have a string of dignity in your body." After finishing her words, Melinda took a deep breath and tightly held her bag in her arms, utterly ready to rush outside and get out of this goddamn place.

However, just when she was about to get out of the room, her waist was suddenly pulled by Edison, who immediately went after her. "Mindy, let me give you a ride," Edison said— the menacing attitude he had earlier was long gone now.

Melinda, who was a bit drunk, abruptly slapped away his hand in disgust. "I don't need you to drive me home, Edison! And please! Get your filthy hands off me." She glared at him and tried to push him, but it was useless because of the man's unimaginable strength. Edison didn't even waver and pulled her closer, resulting in her falling into his arms.

Melinda wanted to complain, but no words escaped her mouth. But despite being unable to stand straight, she tried to break free from Edison, who kept touching her body. Thinking that depending on her strength alone wouldn't do much, Melinda roamed her eyes around the place to get help. And, just in time, she saw a familiar build of a man not far away from where she stood.

'Is that Jeff?' she inwardly asked, then later confirmed, 'It's really Jeff!'

"Jeff! Help, please! Help Me!" Melinda yelled at the top of her lungs. Since she was still on the brink of her tipsiness, she didn't mind whether she would get all the attention of the people around her. At this point, all she wanted was for Jeffery to hear her plea for help and for him to get her out of this mess.

Even though Jeffery didn't hear Melinda's voice, the man beside him did. Because of that, the latter poked Jeffery's arm, pointed in Melinda's direction, and asked, "Dude, do you know that girl? I think he's calling you."

Puzzled and confused, the man narrowed his eyes and observed the situation. Since he saw the woman, Melinda, crying, he figured she wanted to run away from the man beside her. If anything, it seemed to him that he was forcing her to do something she didn't like.

Desperate, Melinda twisted and turned her body as she called for Jeffery's help. She looked so pitiful, and she later on wailed in distress.

Jeffery, who finally heard Melinda's pleas, frowned as she stared at her. When he realized it was indeed the little crybaby he knew, he almost pounced at the man who made her cry.

Edison was so focused on Melinda that he didn't notice that Jeffery had already set his deadly gaze on him. He had no idea how much the latter had been wishing him dead in his mind as he continued threatening Melinda. "Behave yourself, Melinda," he warned. "My patience is already running out hearing your loud cries. Don't blame me if I suddenly snapped."

Melinda's continuous plea for help was like a broken record that gradually annoyed him. However, what infuriated him more was her direct rejection. He felt so low as a man seeing a woman almost puke on his presence.

Edison was about to drag Melinda away from them when the person in his arms was forcibly taken away by another man. Startled, Edison stood frozen in his spot until he realized Melinda was gone in his arms. "What the… What the hell? Who would do such a thing to me?!" Edison furiously exclaimed and turned his head to see who it was. "Huh? Mr. Jeffery? What are you doing here?" he asked, instantly transitioning from a furious tiger to a tamed cat.

Edison subconsciously gulped down his saliva upon meeting Jeffery's gaze. His expression was void of emotion, but it sent him an indescribable feeling of danger. Apart from that, seeing how Melinda casually hid behind Jeffery's back fanned Edison's anxiousness even more.

'What's... with them?' he inwardly asked, shocked by the two's closeness.

"D-Do you know—" Edison stuttered before Jeffery cut him off.

"Never lay your hands on her again," the latter warned before he left the club with Melinda in his arms.

Once they were outside, Jeffery turned to Melinda, who was still crying nonstop. Worried, he asked, "He's gone. Why are you still crying?"

"He's a bad person. He's a liar. And he was bullying me, Jeff." Melinda proclaimed as she sobbed. She doesn't usually complain about many things, but the influence of alcohol probably prompted her to vent.

"You know he's a bad person and still dared come with him?" Jeffery asked.

Melinda was aware of Edison's ill intentions, which was why she didn't want to come. But then, what could she do if he forced her with a threat of raping her? What could she do if the only way to save herself was to obey him?

Melinda knew Edison wouldn't keep his promise of letting her go if she did what he asked, but she still went for it, silently hoping he would.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't.

"He forced me to come. I didn't want to come either." Melinda sniffed.

Jeffery took a deep breath as he realized questioning a drunken woman would be pointless. Then, he led Melinda to his car and immediately took a tissue to wipe her tears. But then, Melinda wouldn't stop crying.

So, Jeffery raised his eyebrow. "Why are you crying again?"

Melinda sniffed and tugged her hand on the hem of his polo shirt. Then, she said, "I'm hungry… Let's eat dinner. It's my treat." Melinda's tummy was rumbling for real. If it had a mouth, it would scold her for not being considerate enough not to eat anything but alcohol all day.

Jeffery softly chuckled, "You're drunk and still remember to eat dinner?"

Melinda rubbed her tummy and pouted her lips, saying, "Well, I'm hungry. I can't do anything about that."

Jeffery showed her a faint smile and asked her what she wanted to eat. Melinda told him that she wanted to eat pizza, but she fell asleep in the car on the way to the pizza store. Amused, Jeffery shook his head, and a smile slipped his mouth. Then, he decided to take her back to his neighborhood, the Royal Garden. When they arrived, he carried the drunk woman in his arms, but she suddenly threw up at him when he was about to enter the house.

Fueling his patience, Jeffery took a deep breath to calm his nerves and put Melinda at the side to clean her mess. It took him half an hour to finish cleaning, and then he changed his smelly clothes to new ones. After that, he sat on the same sofa where Melinda was and started smoking.

Melinda sat up and apologetically looked at Jeffery. She woke up because of her uncomfortable dress and found out Jeff was cleaning her grime on the floor. She was in her right mind now, and she could see that Jeffery was displeased. "I'm sorry about that… My mind is clear now. Please don't be mad at me."

Melinda's face was still as bright as a tomato because of the effect of the wine on her skin. Her dress and hair were a bit wet, making her look disorganized and messy. Still, it made her more attractive.

Jeffery then gulped down his saliva. How could he get mad at her if she could take his breath away with a simple puppy look on her face? Sighing, Jeffery lifted Melinda and placed her on his lap. She was still wearing a guilty expression on her face.

"Are you still hungry?" Jeffery calmly asked, to which Melinda timidly nodded. Because of that, Jeffery started to make a call to make an order.

Melinda's eyes lit up when she heard the call but seeing her happy expression made Jeffery feel something. So, he gently massaged her leg using his hand.

Melinda felt a weird sensation, so she pushed Jeffery through his chest, "Don't…." she warned.

"Make me happy, and I'll feed you," Jeffery casually replied with an intense gaze.

Melinda felt so wrong, but she didn't resist anymore. She likes Jeffery's warmth on her skin.

Thrilled, Jeffery grabbed Melinda's waist and pinned her down on the sofa, panting hard as he started kissing her earlobe down to her neck. Inwardly pleased, Melinda could only moan his name out loud as she felt the hot sensation engulfing her whole body.

Jeffery started undressing Melinda hurriedly and kissed her deeply. Their tongues were playing, and the moment Jeffery's mouth sucked out Melinda's nipples, she immediately felt wet between her legs.

"Jeff… Fuck!" she moaned, which Jeffery ignored. Instead, he faintly smiled and left marks on her breast. Melinda could see the lust in Jeffery's eyes, and she found it fucking hot.

"You like this so much, huh?" Jeffery smirked and continued playing with her nipples— teasing her a little.

"Keep doing that... Ohh!" Melinda screamed in pleasure, and her eyes were disoriented. Jeffery's mouth— took her to heaven.

But then, Jeffery wasn't done yet. Once he had enough with her breast, his fingertips started to play with her clitoris. As he did that, Melinda almost lost all her marbles. Now, she couldn't help but raise her voice while calling his name and didn't care if anyone would hear them. She just focused on the pleasure Jeffery could give her and started to want more from him.

Shortly after, the two started to run out of breath, but no one wanted to stop. Elevating the night's peak, even more, Jeffery positioned himself in front of Melinda while wearing a big smile. He was teasing Melinda's entrance with his manhood, making her crazy even more.

Slowly, Jeffery started to enter Melinda. At first, he wanted to tease her more but seeing her tears from the pleasure he caused and her sweet voice moaning his name made him forget that. Instead, he just went crazy and started pumping his manhood in and out, harder and faster. He thrust at a pace just enough for Melinda to cry and plead for more. That's right. He wants Melinda to call for him– in bed.

Melinda kept moaning in pleasure until she felt something building up inside her. She's coming. "Jeff! I'm coming. Oh, god!"

After almost a split second, Melinda's lips parted, and her eyes rolled back in pleasure. They both cum together. She ignored the sticky wet feeling between her legs and let Jeffery take out all his juices.

"I want you to beg for more," Jeffery whispered, catching his breath and panting hard.

Melinda ignored him because her throat went dry, and she couldn't speak. She felt so weak when she orgasmed that her whole body trembled. She wanted to complain, but the pleasure he gave her was ineffable. Exhausted, she succumbed to sleep not long after.

Melinda woke up with pain all over her body. But then, she ignored those and checked her phone first. There, she found a text message from her mother, asking why she hadn't come home yet. Nervous, Melinda replied and said she hung out with her friends last night and slept over in their house.

After that, she scrolled down and saw her message to Jeffery. Melinda frowned when she saw no reply from him. She then looked at the man beside her, who was smoking as he was staring at her intently.

"Why did you not reply to my message?" she asked.

"Why would I?" Jeffery was busy all day yesterday, so that might be the reason why he didn't reply. Or perhaps, he just didn't bother to reply. To him, responding to something about a mere dinner was a waste of time.

"Because I sent you a message? I mean, isn't it already given to reply to the person who texted you once you received it as an act of politeness?" Melinda said seriously and aggressively as she stared intently at Jeffery with her big, round eyes. However, even if Melinda wanted to show that she was sulking and was acting mad through her innocent eyes, she only looked like a whimpering puppy in Jeffery's eyes.

"It's not a big deal, so I won't." Jeffery firmly refuted.

With that, Melinda bit her lower lip. It was apparent that she would lose in this fight, but she didn't want to back down. "You should," she persisted as she pouted her lips and lowered her gaze. Sadness swarmed in her heart.

"Do you treat me like how you treat everybody?" Jeffery asked in a stern tone.

Melinda obediently shook her head, "No way. I only treat you this way."

Jeffery couldn't help but pinch her soft, reddish cheeks and flicked Melinda's forehead. They just met two days ago; yesterday was the second time they met. How could they've gone to bed within that short period? Jeffery was noncommittal with Melinda's answer but still wrapped his arms around her body, "Do you like me?" he whispered as he buried his head in her neck.

"Yes, of course." Melinda directly answered with no hints of hesitation evident in her voice. "If I don't like you, do you think I will stay by your side?"

If anything, she would rather go with him than end up in Edison's bed last night. Melinda never wished to see that person's face. If she could only erase everything about Edison in her head and forget everything that happened yesterday, she would certainly do so.

Jeffery moved his body to snatch a cigarette from the bedside table and started to smoke. He wasn't so sure whether he would believe Melinda or ignore her feelings whatsoever. He admitted he saw Melinda's message around four sharp in the afternoon yesterday, where she asked him if he had free time so she could treat him to dinner. Uninterested, Jeffery ignored that. "What do you want from me, then?"

"I told you I wanted to invite you to dinner."

Jeffery didn't understand why Melinda wanted to invite him to dinner, so he stared at her, wondering. Melinda's answer was visible in her eyes, but she hesitated to tell him. She thought Jeffery would no way sit still if he found out that she had resold all of the clothes he had bought for her.

"I…" Melinda's hands felt cold all of a sudden. "I mean…"

Then, she stopped midway when someone suddenly barged in from the door. Her eyes grew expansive as she watched another woman calmly walk inside the room, disinterested in them. It turned out Jeffery's secretary brought them take-out food from a famous pizza store in the city.

The pizza appeared very delicious, and the smell of it made her tummy rumble, rendering Melinda speechless for a second.

After a few minutes of overcoming her shock, Melinda stood up butt-naked and went to pick up a slice of pizza. It was a ham and mushroom pizza she had wanted to eat for a while.

Melinda was about to eat it; however, she stopped because Jeffery's stares were poking her conscience. It's as if he was mad that she didn't offer him any pizza at all!

"Do you want some, Jeff?" Melinda looked down at the plate in her hand and decided to hand it over to Jeff. "Here…"

Although she was craving to taste the pizza already, she didn't dare to eat yet because Jeffery didn't say anything. She was afraid she might offend him in any way and also, and Melinda couldn't comprehend whether Jeffery was unhappy about something or not. He was just looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Go ahead. I'm good."

With Jeffery's permission, Melinda happily took a bite of the pizza. Its sauce was Mexican-flavored, which she had always loved because of the spiciness it possessed. But then, Melinda didn't dare eat much. Though she loved the spice, her stomach was utterly sensitive to it. Ironic, wasn't it? Before eating it whole, Melinda picked out all the mushrooms and broccoli and set them aside. She doesn't like them, not even a bit.

Melinda fanned herself using her hand as she felt the kick of spice the pizza had. Still, she continued eating. Hungry, Melinda ate as if she hadn't eaten anything for the past years. Well, what could she do? She loved pizzas so much that she couldn't even stop herself from getting another slice.

Seeing her struggling expression, Jeffery voluntarily opened a bottle of milk and handed it to her. Then, he raised his eyebrow and asked her gently, "Too spicy?"

Melinda innocently glanced at him as she nodded her head in agreement. She was a naive young girl who was as pure as white and wasn't experienced in bed nor sophisticated in everything. She was a simple yet attractive woman, slightly making Jeffery afraid she would become a dangerous woman later on.

Unlike other provocative and bold girls, Melinda was lowkey and behaved. It was good and, at the same time, bad. Jeffery thought that while those attributes made her adorable, they also could put her in a difficult situation in the future where she could be easily taken advantage of.

Melinda felt Jeffery thought she was too filthy because of the sauce around her mouth and how she ate, so she instantly explained, "Don't worry, I'll take a bath later."

"Don't be silly," Jeffery gently smiled and took a tissue to wipe the chili oil in the corner of her mouth. "You can take your time."

Jeffery didn't usually eat spicy foods, thinking it was too bland. But then, he was afraid that Melinda would feel bad if he didn't eat even a slice, so he took a few bites then the rest were finished alone by Melinda.

It was unbelievable. Melinda was a petite woman. She was short, and her body was slim, but she ate a lot. Her tummy had been so stuffed that she had to stay in the bathroom for an hour just to flush all the food out of her body.

When she got out, Jeffery immediately went inside the bathroom to shower while Melinda went back to bed to sleep. She didn't want to move anymore and wanted to have a nice sleep. Once Jeffery got out of the bathroom, Melinda moved a little to give him space. She patted the bed, inviting him to join her. The two people were both tired, so they fell asleep right away.

When the following day came, Melinda had classes, so Jeffery decided to send her to school after breakfast. Once they arrived at the university, Melinda instantly got out of the car and was ready to walk away when she remembered something. She stepped back and knocked on the window, which immediately slid down. "If I ever sent you a message, please reply." Jeffery didn't answer, so Melinda waited for his response.

She looked so pitiful, and Jeffery didn't know if she was actually silly or just acting like a fool. They only slept a few times, so he couldn't understand why she kept behaving like they were together.

To satisfy Melinda, Jeffery deliberately answered with his low-pitched voice, "I will if I'm free."

Melinda wanted to speak more, but the man had already closed back the window and driven away. She stared blankly at his car, eating all the dust he had left behind. When her senses came back, Melinda immediately went to her class before she got late.

While she sat down and took out her textbooks, a student came to wreck her morning. It was Edison. He was about to take the chair next to Melinda, but she grabbed it and glared at Edison, "You can't take this seat."

Melinda didn't want Edison near her or meet him again, but Edison overpowered her and snatched the chair back from her before he tauntingly sat at it. "You don't own this university. I can sit whenever I want; you hear that?"

Melinda wanted to refute, but she noticed that everyone's attention in the room was now directed at them. Embarrassed, she bit her lower lip and looked down, avoiding the people's gazes. Edison didn't belong in the foreign language department in the first place, but because of Melinda, he chose to take classes here constantly.

Melinda never felt good when people's eyes were following her every move. It made her nervous, so she chose to stay silent and let Edison run his mouth. Melinda exhaled a sigh of relief when the professor came in, making everyone focus on their world. But not Edison.

He stroked his chin as if examining Melinda, then asked her, "Yesterday, you called Mr. Jeffery 'Jeff'. Why did you call his name so intimately?"

Both the Yorks and the Sterlings have known each other for quite some time. They've actually had a history of getting along quite well with one another.

Because of that, Edison was no stranger to Jeffery. Though the latter was a few years older than him, his brother, Andrew York, was good friends with Jeffery.

It was common knowledge that Jeffery was a cold and unapproachable person. Only a few weren't afraid of him, and Edison definitely wasn't one of them. He had seen how terrifying Jeffery could be, so he didn't dare to mess with him. So when Melinda mentioned Jeffery's name, he had no choice but to step back.

Melinda noticed Edison's sudden change of expression and took a hint of what it meant. Nonetheless, she didn't want to tell anyone that Jeffery was his soon-to-be stepbrother.

So, she stuck out her tongue to tease him, saying, "I don't want to tell you."

Edison scowled as he realized something, narrowing his eyes at her to ask, "You didn't go home last night, did you?" He said it upon noticing Melinda was wearing the same dress she had worn the day before.

Curious, he leaned out to ruffle her long, free hair to see if it confirmed his suspicion. Melinda, however, swatted his hand away angrily and refused to let him touch her.

"I will tell Jeff about it if you bully me again."

Melinda didn't know how close Edison was to Jeffery, but she suspected that he was terrified of him.

Assuming she was right, Melinda straightened her posture and felt more assured. Then, she lifted her chin confidently, not showing any signs of fear.

A mixture of anger and embarrassment filled Edison's chest as he talked to her. "Why are you acting like you're still a high school student? You've made it to college, but you're still a snitch."

Though ridiculed, Melinda ignored Edison and stopped talking. Uninterested in his remarks, she began paying close attention to the class and pretended he didn't exist. Edison was terrified of Jeffery, so he didn't dare to go too far.

At the end of class, just as Melinda left the room, Edison approached her and asked for her phone number. Melinda, however, paid no attention to him. Because of that, Edison felt a little embarrassed. So, he stood in the hall and blocked Melinda from passing.

His pupils constricted, and a menacing expression crossed his face. "Melinda, are you acting tough now, thinking Jeffery has your back? Well, he might be a big shot, but let me burst your bubbles for a sec. A man like him doesn't have time to deal with your concerns because he's so busy with everything else. So, be a good girl now and give me your number. Otherwise, I'll fuck you right now. I don't care if Jeff will come and teach me a lesson; it won't change the fact that I already slept with you."

"No!" Melinda reacted like a furious bunny. She sent him a piercing look and yelled, "You can't do that! I'm not going to get pregnant, and I'm not going to have a baby with you."

Melinda's response left Edison speechless. 'What baby? What pregnancy?' he thought to himself.

"Who said I was going to get you pregnant?"

Clearly, Edison was not in a friendly mood. Seeing her face redden, he threatened her even more harshly. "But if you don't give me your number, I'll get you pregnant now."

Edison solidly positioned his long, lean frame in front of her. Then, he clicked the Add Contact button on his phone and handed it to her.

He arched his eyebrows and threateningly said, "Quickly, give me your number."

Melinda huffed at his command, clearly defiant.

However, Edison drew forward and said, "You don't want to give me your number, but you are okay with starting a family? You've only recently started college, Melinda. It's probably not a good idea to show up to class with a bump, right? Well..."

"You're making no sense, so shut up! Stop threatening me!" Melinda viciously bit his arm.

Edison grimaced in apparent pain. As soon as he let go, Melinda bolted to the opposite end of the hall. She ran so fast that Edison was left speechless. Even though she was attractive, Edison realized how challenging she could be.

After successfully escaping Edison, Melinda left the school premise and headed home. Thanks to her enormous savings, she was no longer forced to ride the bus in a crowded aisle. She decided to take a taxi instead.

As soon as she arrived at her house, Melinda was a little taken aback to find her mother at home.

"Why did you stay at home today, mom? Don't you have anything to do?" she greeted her.

Melinda's mother, Serena Green, worked as a law company partner. In her spare time, she was either with her lover, John Sterling, or at work. She hardly ever came home, let alone cooked.

"I haven't been too busy recently, so I'm checking in on you."

Serena wore a simple dress made of cotton and linen. It appeared that she had just finished cooking, as she was still wearing her apron. There were already salad, lasagna, and mushroom soup on the table. So, it seemed like Serena took her time to prepare each one of them.

"Put your bag down and wash your hands. Join me for dinner, okay?" she told Melinda.

There was a striking resemblance between Melinda and Serena. However, Melinda was gentler and sweeter than her mother, who resembled a gardenia. Just like a peach, she was incredibly likable.

As Serena served Melinda the soup, she asked, "Your aunt told me that you didn't return home last night, Mindy. Where did you go, and why didn't you tell me?"