"Ma'am?" Morana's voice came from the door as Karen quickly jerked to her feet and walked to the bathroom to wash her face.

She came out after a while, and Morana bowed upon seeing her.

"Please come down, ma'am; your lunch is ready," she said as Karen nodded lightly, still dazed from Kryos's character, and followed her.

When she reached downstairs, the dining table was filled with special delicacies and an array of dishes. Her eyes lit up in excitement when she spotted her favorite—lobster rolls, Cobb salad, and fried chicken.

Morana smiled when she saw the expression on her face.

"Do you like it, Mrs. Castillo?" she asked as Karen nodded with a smile.

"Thanks so much, Morana. This is great, I love them," she muttered. She never had a chance to taste her favorite ever since her parents went missing. Even when Bella makes them, she doesn't give her any, so seeing her long-time favorite was a lot of joy.

"I'm glad you like them, Mrs. Castil..."

"I would prefer Mrs. Karen. By the way, come join me," she said as she sat on the dining seats while Morana bowed politely.

"Sincerely, I can't, ma'am. I wasn't paid for that," she replied as Karen raised her brows in confusion.

"Why? But I'm the one who asked you to," Karen claimed as she smiled.

"I admire your personality, Mrs. Karen. If it were Madam Selena, she wouldn't spare us, that "Morana blurted out unknowingly as Karen blinked.

"Madam Selena? This will be the second time I'm hearing about her. Who the heck is she?" Karen questioned, staring at her blankly as Morana gasped when she discovered what she just said. She gulped fearfully, not knowing where to start from.

"Uh... m S... h... e ...."

"Mrs. Karen, Master calls for you in his room when you are done eating," Jameson interrupted purposefully from behind her. Karen bit her lips with a racing heart as she faced him.

"He di... d?" she asked, shocked. What does he want from her?

"Yes, ma'am. One of the maids will take you to his room, and when you are done eating, you will be shown around the house for better references," Jameson said, glancing at Morana shortly, who bowed before rushing out quickly.

Karen sighed as she stared at the food. The truth was that she had already lost her appetite after hearing that, and she doesn't Want to waste the food, Staring at it, she could swear that it cost a lot to make.

"Can I go now?" she asked.

"Sure you can, but aren't you hungry? I would suggest you eat a bit more," Jameson replied as she forced a smile.

"Of course I will. I will come back to this later, but right now, I need to answer my husband," she said as Jameson nod in affirmation

"Okay then, I will have the maid cover them," he replied as a maid took her upstairs.

Morana immediately came out from the kitchen as she walked to him.

"Thanks so much for saving me. I didn't mean to call her name; I was just so overwhelmed by the young mistress's character," she apologized as Jameson sighed.

"I know that, Rana, but you still need to be careful not to mention that name around her or the master if you don't want to lose your job , We all know that she is so different from Selena. I'm also surprised by that. I just wish Master can treat her well. Selena really changed him into something else," Jameson muttered, his voice laced with concern as Morana nodded.

*** The Elwoods' Mansion ***

"Make sure Karen doesn't have a chance to meet the lawyer. She can't know her father entrusted all his wealth to her; that's going to ruin our plan," Bella said on a call as she hung up immediately. Samantha walked in with a frown on her face.

"What's wrong, baby?" Bella asked with a cool smile as she sipped from her herbal tea, with maids rushing around the sitting room trying to get everything sparkling clean, which appeared to be spotless.

"Everything is wrong, Mum! You promised to get me Kryos when Grandpa is gone, but instead, you allowed that bitch to get married to him. I can't take that, Mum! What if she steals my position in his heart, huh? It's been 7 hours that they got married, and I can't get over it. What if he has sex with her, huh? You know they are married. I'm going crazy, Mum! I want my Kryos!" she yelled crazily, stomping her foot on the floor as Bella sighed loudly.

"I can't believe you are angry over that, baby. Trust me, Kryos is yours. Besides, no guy would want to have sex with that filthy thing, okay? She is too ugly and lowly for him. He even hates her, so why would he do that with her?" she said with a light shrug as Samantha rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Mum. I still don't want Karen to be in his mansion! Do you know what that means to be in the same building with the billionaire devil, Mum? Gawd! She is going to get a better life than ever. It's going to be an earthly paradise for her, Mum. She is meant to suffer for getting her stupid mum to kill my dad and not the opposite!!!" she hissed loudly as she kicked the chairs beside her with a clenched fist.

"Samantha!" Bella gasped upon seeing that as she let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't worry, baby. Just be a little patient. Once I have taken over the wealth, you will have Kryos to yourself," she assured as Samantha blinked.

"How about Karen, huh? What are we going to do to the slut?" she asked disdainfully.

"We will just kill her!" she muttered coldly as Samantha smirked evilly.

"Exactly, Mum," she replied with a smile.

*** KRYOS MANSION ***

Karen walked into the billionaire's devil room after being directed by a maid.

She opened the door slowly to see the room was so dark as she blinked in shock.

How could someone be in such a dark room alone?

She walked in as she tried to turn on the light, but a voice stopped her.

"Strip and get yourself on the bed," he demanded authoritatively as Karen's heart stopped beating for a while when she heard what he said

"Strip?"

She immediately turned on the light, her eyes widening in shock when she saw him. He was half-naked in his tight, clingy pants around his waist. Her throat ran dry when her eyes went to his exposed chest; it looked so manly, built, and attractive.

He sat on the bed, his eyes looking so dead and expressionless as he stared at her. Her heart raced as she stared at him with short breath

What was he going to do to her? Have sex? No! She never planned on doing that soon, not even with him.

Her hands became sweaty as she gulped again, unable to breathe properly.

"I won't repeat it for the second time: get your clothes off that body and get on the bed. Stop pretending like you don't want it," he retorted as Karen raised her brows hurtfully

Why does he keep accusing her of something that has never occurred in her mind?

"I don't. I'm not ready for this, Kryos; you should understand me," she muttered slowly with a shaky voice as Kryos's gaze darkened.

"And who told you your opinions and feelings are to be considered here, huh?" he asked curtly as she remained silent, her heartbeat racing.

"This is rule number one from our parents: they want an heir for the family, and that's what we are going to be doing here—producing heirs for my company. Nothing attached to that, so don't get your hopes really high, because you should know you mean NOTHING to me. Now get on the bed, you pretending slut!" he said, his voice revealing how impatient he was, as Karen closed her eyes, clearly pained by his words. She sniffed tearfully as she opened her eyes; she hadn't done anything to him, so why does he keep finding faults in her?

"But..." she stopped when he shot her a deadly glare.

She reluctantly started walking to the bed, already in tears, but he cared less; his face was ruthless.

She couldn't believe she was doing this , No one told her that her virginity had to be involved in all this, and now she will be giving away her most precious thing in the world to a man who hates her for no reason.

Wasn't life unfair to her? Why can't she be like other ladies who give theirs away with full smiles, but hers? To a man who sees her as nothing more than a slut?

Is that what life has come to feed her now? Unhappiness even after escaping her stepmother's cruelty?

Was that what fate has come to gift her on her wedding?