Chapter 151 - In-born Monster

"Where did you go?"

Devon's breath hitched, hiding her hand behind her as she sported a smile. She lifted the glass in her other hand and shrugged.

"Got you water?" she answered, walking towards the bedside table to put the glass of water on it. "Why are you awake?"

"I always wake up when you're not with me."

"Ohh..." Devon nodded as she perched on the edge of the bed. "Then, shall we sleep again?"

She patted the soft surface of the mattress, eyes on him. Normally, she would go to him, but keeping her distance right now, so he wouldn't notice anything amiss.. She couldn't just recklessly tell him about Quentin being Julian, his brother.

"If you don't feel like sleeping, I will rest first." Devon cleared her throat while she climbed onto the bed and went under the blanket. Lying on her side, eyes closed, pretending to sleep.

Devon soon felt another weight on the side of her bed. Lewis sat down on the edge where she was facing, but she kept her eyes closed.

"Something is wrong, Dev." Lewis voiced out under his breath, gazing at her. He caressed the red mark on her cheek with his thumb.

"What happened?" he inquired, but nothing. "I know you're not sleeping. Can you talk to me?"

"No — nothing," she answered with her eyes closed. "I'm really sleepy. Let's just sleep."

His lips parted, but only a sigh came out. He knew he couldn't force her to talk if she didn't want to, but this simply increased his concerns. 

"I feel like I need to force you to tell me, but at the same time, I knew you wouldn't." Lewis let out another sigh, scratching his temple with his index. "I don't know where to stand on this."

Lewis smacked his lips, taking a deep breath, and exhaled it sharply. He slapped his thigh and stood up, walking away to give her some space.

When she heard the door open and closed, Devon opened her eyes. They softened, biting her bottom lip to suppress the urge to cry out of fear.

'He said he will kill Lu if I stand on his way again,' Devon muttered internally, thinking of Julian's warnings. 

Meeting that person brought all the trauma she had tried to forget. It was silly how hard she tried to move on, and how they easily returned with a snap of a finger. 

Just how much did the gods hate her for letting them meet again in this lifetime? She didn't want this; she wanted nothing to do with him anymore. 

Devon just wanted to live this life without those worries from her previous life. How could that happen if, right when she was starting to figure out her life, Quentin would show up in the body of Lewis's brother?

"Quentin," she whispered, gripping the blanket tightly. "I will slay you myself this time."

Little did Devon know, Lewis didn't actually come out. He just opened and closed the door, leaning on the side of the door, arms crossed.

'Quentin, again,' he thought as a shallow breath slipped past his lips. 'Just who is this Quentin you keep talking about, Dev?'

*******

Meanwhile, in Julian's room in the main residence...

Julian swirled the wine in his glass, idling on the balcony while gazing at the landscape around the vast mansion. The corner of his lips curled up into a smirk as his eyes drooped menacingly.

"Who would have thought?" he mumbled, along with a low and sinister chuckle. "After so long, you will suddenly show up to me?"

The fear and hatred in her eyes that looked at her as if he was some sort of monster hovered over his head. She always looked at him with those deep emotions in her eyes.

If Devon didn't react that strongly to him, he would investigate first. Even though he had felt the familiarity of her aura, Julian couldn't just assume things after growing up in this world.

"She is always easy to read." Another wave of chuckle slipped past his lips once again. "Ahh... how easy."

"Lin Devon... that's her name. I wonder if she had already met Quentin in this world?" he murmured, thinking that he had already met Quentin De Luca. The man who wore the face of the emperor.

The thought of Devon meeting Quentin De Luca made Julian chuckled. She was probably as terrified as when she recognized him; he thought. As his chuckle prolonged, his eyes glinted menacingly.

"Lewis and Quentin..." he whispered, licking his lips. The former was the man who had it all. Wealth, fame, influence, and that irked him to the core.

He was an emperor in his previous life who also had it all — even his beautiful sister. But this life surely screwed him over, as he had to live a harsh childhood with abusive parents, which forced him to run away. 

Running away didn't make things better as he had to stay out in the streets, begging for money or stealing for survival. Julian had lived in those dark times for a long time until he stumbled upon Marshall.

The old man wasn't just any ordinary man with a heart of gold. If anything, Marshall had an iron heart. The only reason Marshall adopted the courageous child who asked him to adopt him with burning eyes was that Julian's tenacity amused him, and an accident traumatized Marshall's grandson.

Still, being a Qin wasn't all that rainbow and butterflies. It was clear to Julian that his position in this family was simply to become Lewis' pet. Since Lewis couldn't talk or showed any emotions during the early stages of their lives, Marshall just thrust a random kid to play with him.

Rich people.

Even when Lewis recovered, Julian had to stay behind Lewis' shadows. No amount of hard work and excellent results would ever please Marshall, but he would naturally praise Lewis — although the latter would rather not hear it.

Even though Lewis never asked to be praised for his hard work or never treated his brothers as inferior or different, that irked Julian the more. In his eyes, Lewis' indifference was way worse than having an arrogant young master who hated his adoptive brothers.

"Power, prestige, and wealth..." Julian uttered as he closed his eyes, stretching his neck in a circular motion. "... those things are for me." 

He had stayed in Lewis' shadows for far too long. Julian had taken an oath to take everything from this family and get what he wanted. 

Power.

Wealth.

Prestige.

He would get it all and redeem his status. After doing so, he would destroy the De Luca. His reasons? Because Quentin De Luca stole his face and life, that was 'meant' for him. 

Julian had already a meticulous plan. Devon couldn't mess things up for him once again.

"That wench," he hissed, recalling how Devon sold her country to their rival country. If she didn't scheme with the enemy, he would have won the war, and not the other way around.

"But she won't talk for now... she doesn't want another lover's head served to her on a silver platter." He smirked, gazing outside while feeling the night breeze.

No one knew that in this residence, they had sheltered an in-born monster whose greed wouldn't be easily quenched.

******

The next day, Devon had managed to pretend everything was alright. She and Lewis joined the breakfast, as per Marshall's request, last night before the two of them leave.

"Ahh! What a good day! My angel joining me for breakfast is just what I want in this life~!" As usual, Marshall was hyper, as he radiated brighter than the sun while gazing at Devon.

Devon chuckled and smiled at Marshall. "Grandpa, we will always visit."

"Yes! If you don't, I will be the one who will be visiting you!" he huffed and instinctively glared at Lewis, who was sitting beside her.

"Grandpa, Ge's schedule is already packed," Dion mumbled while stabbing the potato on his plate. "Sis is just polite and kind. You shouldn't take advantage of the angel."

"What are you mumbling about there, you punk?!" 

"Ahhh... so early and Big Brother Dion is already fanning Grandpa's blood pressure!" Suddenly, a voice from the entrance of the dining room came in. 

Devon instinctively turned her head in the voice's direction. Her eyes narrowed, seeing a man with disheveled hair and a sleeping eye mask over his head, clad with a bathrobe, revealing his chest saunter inside the dining hall.

"Kai, you punk! What the hell — what do you think you're doing parading your disgraceful state in front of my granddaughter?" Marshall immediately snarled upon seeing his grandson. "I didn't even know you're here!" 

"Good morning too, Gramps!" Kai just grinned languidly and took a seat.

Devon pursed her lips and shifted her eyes to Marshall. She heard him grumble, "these punks wouldn't let me have time with my angel in peace..." under his breath.

Hearing how Marshall could be so brash in his words but didn't actually mind the presence of his grandsons made her realize the old man loved them. He just had his own ways of showing his affection.

"Kai, you shouldn't agitate grandpa like that." Another voice came in a second later, catching Devon's attention. Unlike Kai, who had no regard for how he looked, the person who came in was already in his neat business suit.

"Good morning, Grandpa." Rio, the fourth young master of the Qin Family, bowed before setting his eyes on Devon. He smiled as soon as he locked his gaze with Devon.

"It's good to finally meet you, sister," he greeted politely, walking to his rightful seat to join the breakfast. "Good morning, Ge."

"The pleasure is mine." Devon smiled and instinctively glanced at Lewis. The latter had been oddly silent since this morning, and she completely understood why.

"Good morning." Another second later, Devon stiffened upon hearing another voice join the breakfast. Her eyes slowly veered to the man entering the dining hall.

'Quentin.' Her eyes sharpened as they glinted, while Julian only glanced at her briefly.

Unbeknownst to her, even though Lewis was quiet, he had been observing. He definitely noticed how her eyes sharpened with murderous intent as soon as Julian came in.