「Ten minutes ago.」
Mia Grant was pacing anxiously around the room.
'How on earth can I subtly let Silas Grant know that I'm being held prisoner by Kian Keller?'
She sat on the rug before the floor-to-ceiling window, racking her brain, completely oblivious to the sound of the doorknob turning behind her.
Someone had entered.
By the time she snapped out of it, Kian Keller was already standing before her.
His tall figure loomed over her like a thundercloud about to burst, his presence suffocating.
Mia Grant jumped, her pupils constricting. "Ethan?"
The man lowered his gaze, his eyes bottomless pits of black.
He looked like a deity's statue in a temple, gazing down with lowered eyes at a devout believer prostrated at its feet.
Mia Grant hastily explained, "Oh, I was just about to fall asleep, but my stomach felt upset, so I got up to..."
She snuck a glance at the numerical value above his head.
'Thank goodness, it hasn't fluctuated.'
Kian Keller calmly extended a hand toward her. "Get up. The floor is cold."
Mia Grant quickly took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.
"Weren't you with a guest? How are you back so soon? Have they left?"
"Mm."
'What?' Mia Grant was going frantic. 'No way, Silas. You just left... just like that? Without a single suspicion?'
'So much for brotherly affection.'
'This is exhausting.' Mia Grant forced a smile. 'Damn it! I never should have counted on any of these male leads.'
'Forget it. I'll just sleep on it and figure something out tomorrow.'
She turned to leave without a second thought, but a voice from behind stopped her in her tracks. "Aren't you curious who it was?"
Mia Grant turned back, her expression the picture of innocence.
"Was it someone from your company?"
"It was Silas Grant."
Mia Grant was perfectly calm. 'Of course I knew that!' But she had to play along, putting on a surprised expression. "My brother found me?"
"No."
His gaze drifted to a spot downstairs. Kian Keller took a step forward and asked her, "Do you want to?"
"What?"
"Go back with him."
"I..." She faltered, realizing it was a trap.
Before she could finish, the man suddenly gripped her shoulders and pinned her against the window.
Her white nightdress wrinkled under the pressure, its disheveled hem clinging to his dark suit pants. Black and white tangled wantonly in the daylight.
Kian Keller wrapped his arms around her from behind. One hand caged her waist while the other reached down, grasping her wrist and stroking it gently, feeling the smoothness of her skin beneath his fingertips.
He rested his chin on her slender shoulder, his gaze raking over her cheek, inch by inch, like a blade scraping bone.
Mia Grant was like a startled fawn. Her eyes darted about frantically, inadvertently glancing out the window.
Kian Keller had specially hired a feng shui master to design this estate. From this high vantage point, one could look out over the back and see the entire sprawling garden, its layout as intricate as a ritual array.
The million-dollar podocarpus pine in the garden, with its unique shape, was especially eye-catching.
She remembered the last time she was here, Kian Keller had angered her so much that she'd threatened to chop down his precious treasure—the tree.
At that moment, however, Mia Grant had no time for a closer look. There was a figure moving in the front yard; from this distance, she could at least tell it was human.
It was—
Silas Grant!
He was just bending down to get into his car when, as if sensing her presence, he turned and looked up.
Even though she knew he couldn't possibly see her from so far away, Mia Grant's body reacted instinctively, freezing her in place.
Her lips parted as if to cry out, but the feeling of hot, ragged breathing by her ear made her stop dead.
They were so close that not even a flicker of a reaction could escape Kian Keller's eyes.
Mia Grant pretended she hadn't seen anything, casually averting her gaze.
But Kian Keller wouldn't give her the chance. He gripped her chin, forcing her to turn her head and look at Silas Grant again.
"Do you see him?"
"..." She didn't dare to make a sound.
Kian Keller showed no sign of anger. As if worried she couldn't see clearly, he even pointed him out in a steady voice.
"Look, Mia. He's looking at you, too."
The hot, intimate whisper made her ear burn, and she flinched—a purely subconscious, physical reaction.
Kian Keller's eyes instantly darkened. Before she could speak, he kissed her earlobe.
Feeling her body tremble in his arms, he murmured, "Should we call him back?"
"Or perhaps I could open the window, let him see..."
"N-no, don't!" Mia Grant's survival instinct kicked into high gear. "I don't want to go back! I don't want to leave with my brother!"
"Ethan... I just want to stay with you."
The car downstairs drove away, and Mia Grant was released and put back on the bed.
When she saw Kian Keller get into bed and lie down beside her, Mia Grant thought he was going to continue "interrogating" her. Her body tensed instantly as he pulled her into his arms.
As if exhausted, Kian Keller closed his eyes and stated in a cool voice, "Silas Grant said the Grant Family is holding a funeral for you the day after tomorrow."
"Huh?"
'If I remember correctly, I've been dead for two months, right?'
'And the Grant Family is only just now holding my funeral?'
'They must really hate me...'
"Silas Grant invited me."
"Huh??"
'Why is he telling me this? Don't tell me he's testing me again.'
"You're going with me."
His tone brooked no argument.
"Huh???"
Mia Grant's pupils trembled in shock.
'Dude, are you okay? Does he hear himself? Is that something a sane person would say?'
'Going to my own funeral?'
'Who?'
She pointed at herself. "Me?"
"Yes."
Hearing his response, Mia Grant fell silent.
She asked the system, "Is he crazy?"
_I have reminded you before, Host. His illness is quite severe._
"He's not being sarcastic, is he? Logically speaking, shouldn't he be keeping me locked up?"
_He genuinely intends to take you. Perhaps he's had a pang of conscience and wants to let you see yourself one last time._
"Wow, what a saint."
"But do you actually believe that?"
_It's a perfectly reasonable explanation._
"..."
"If I say I don't want to go, will he get angry?"
_Uncertain. Do not attempt to guess the thoughts of a madman._
_Therefore, Host, you should just agree. After all, a life experience like attending one's own funeral isn't something most people get to try, you know._
"..."
"Thanks. I wasn't exactly dying to have that experience."
「On Saturday morning」, Mia Grant rose bright and early and began to get ready.
She sat drowsily before the vanity mirror, letting the stylist have their way with her.
"Mr. Keller said he wants you to have heavy makeup. Do you have a preferred style?"
Mia Grant replied, "Whatever. Just make it so no one can recognize me."
"..."
Mia Grant guessed Kian Keller's plan. 'Heavy eye makeup plus a face mask... who would be able to recognize me then?'
"So, what kind of event are you attending with Mr. Keller? A private party?"
"A party for the dead?" Mia Grant thought for a moment, then hummed. "Yeah, it's definitely a dead one."
The stylist couldn't help but wonder where on earth the girl was from. 'Why does she talk so strangely?'
"Do you like any of these gowns?"
"Aren't these a little... inappropriate for the occasion?" Mia Grant stared at the flashy haute couture gowns, suddenly wide awake.
The stylist asked what the problem was.
Mia Grant stroked her chin. "Hmm... these don't exactly scream 'funeral attire.' They look more like what you'd wear to a rave... on someone's grave."
'Her own grave, at that.'