I cried out in pain, but he didn’t notice.

“Gaia, don’t worry. I’ll take you to the hospital right away!” he insisted.

I could only grit my teeth and tend to my burn.

After I cleaned up the mess, I opened my phone to find Gaia’s latest post appearing on my feed, captioned: [Little clumsy me. Only Mr. Wallace can protect me from harm. He’s my superhero!]

Caesar, who rarely bothered to reply to my calls, astonished me by liking and commenting right away: [Don’t worry, princess. Rest up, and there’ll be a little cake as a reward tomorrow!]

I liked his post in return, then promptly blocked and deleted him.

But just as I hit confirm, my phone buzzed with a call from Gaia’s number, only to be met by Caesar’s furious voice on the other end.

“Zelia, why did you block me? Do you really think I want to contact you?” His voice dripped with annoyance.

“Listen, there’s something important I need you to do right now. Head to the convenience store and grab a few packs of extra-long, 100% cotton sanitary pads. Then, swing by the pharmacy for some painkillers. You’ve got ten minutes to make it here!”

I let out a weary sigh.

Once I completed this final task, I’d be free from any debts to the Wallace family.