Born Into Villain's Family: I Have a 200% Rebate System

Then, without saying anything, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his own phone. He tapped the screen and opened his own chat with her.

Adriana waited, her heart thumping fast in her chest. But when Peter turned the phone toward her, her eyes widened.

There was no chat history.

The only messages on his phone were the old ones from many days ago. The recent conversation was completely missing.

"What…" Adriana whispered. She stared at his phone in shock.

Various thoughts appeared in her mind.

How could it be? She had proof of their chat on her own phone, but Peter's phone showed nothing.

Peter stayed silent for a while, staring at her phone again.

His jaw tightened, and then he spoke slowly.

"Yesterday, I gave my phone for repair. Maybe that is why there is no record. Something must have gone wrong."

Adriana gasped. "You… you gave your phone for repair?"

He nodded.

She stared at him with disbelief.

"But why would you even think of repairing your phone instead of buying a new one? You can afford it. Why not just replace it?"

For the first time, Peter chuckled softly, though his smile was bitter.

"It is not so easy. My phone has a lot of important files inside. I cannot just throw it away. I had no choice but to repair it. Actually, the phone fell into a fish tank by accident. My butler dropped it. That is why it needed repair."

Adriana's lips parted slightly.

Her head felt light from all the information.

A phone dropped in a fish tank? Repair on the same day she was trying to reach him?

It sounded strange, yet Peter spoke with such honesty that she did not know whether to doubt him or not.

She narrowed her eyes a little and said,

"But listen, I had a conversation with you that day. And Nexi also came to me. She asked for my designs. She said if I don't listen, then you would be in trouble. She even said she would make things difficult for you, and our relationship would be affected."

At these words, Peter's expression finally changed.

His eyes widened in shock, and then they hardened.

For a long moment, he looked at her without speaking.

The silence felt heavy, almost like a storm waiting to break.

Finally, Peter clenched his fists tightly. His knuckles turned white.

"Adriana," he said in a firm voice, "you do not need to listen to Nexi at all. Leave her to me. I will manage her."

Adriana blinked, surprised by his strong tone. She hesitated before whispering,

"But… will you be implicated? Will she hurt you if I don't give her what she wants?"

Peter gave a bitter laugh, shaking his head slightly. His eyes softened as he looked at her, though there was still pain in them.

"You don't understand. Nexi is my stepmother's daughter. But listen carefully, she is not related to me by blood. We do not share the same father or the same mother. She is completely separate. Still, since childhood, I treated her like family. I trusted her. I cared for her. I thought she was close to me."

Adriana's mouth dropped open slightly. She was stunned.

She had thought Nexi was his real sister all this time. The truth shook her even more.

Peter continued, his voice filled with disappointment.

"I never thought she would force you like this. I never thought she would try to take advantage of your designs. To me, she was always someone I wanted to protect, but it seems I was blind."

Adriana felt her chest ache.

She could hear the pain in his words, the disappointment that came from realizing someone he trusted had betrayed him.

She swallowed hard, then asked cautiously,

"Then why are you wearing this turtleneck? Nexi told me… she told me that if I didn't listen to her, you might suffer. She hinted you could be beaten, or worse. Is that true?"

Peter froze. For a second, his eyes flickered with an emotion she could not catch.

Then he quickly lowered his gaze and clenched his fists again.

"This shirt," he said slowly, "was a gift from Nexi. She gave it to me, and I thought… maybe she gave it with love. So I wore it."

Adriana's eyes widened. "Then why wouldn't you let me roll up your sleeves earlier? Why were you hiding it?"

Peter let out a low laugh.

His voice was low when he answered.

"Because… I was afraid you would see the sweat under my clothes. I did not want you to feel disgusted. It is just one of my insecurities."

Adriana blinked, stunned. Then slowly, a small smile formed on her lips.

She let out a soft chuckle and shook her head.

"Peter, I would never feel disgusted by you. Even if you were covered in sweat, I would not care."

But Peter only gave a bitter expression. His lips curved into a small, sad smile, but his eyes looked far away.

"You may say that, but I still worry. It is something inside me I cannot change so easily."

Adriana's heart softened. She wanted to reach out and hug him, to tell him she would stay by his side no matter what.

But she also knew he was sensitive, and she did not want to push him further into his insecurities.

So she took a deep breath and decided not to press the matter anymore.

Instead, her thoughts turned back to Nexi.

Anger bubbled in her chest as she remembered the way Nexi had smirked, the way she had threatened her.

Adriana clenched her fists tightly. She wanted to march up to Nexi and shout at her, to tell her she would never hand over her designs.

But Peter had already said he would deal with her. And Adriana trusted him.

So she let her anger cool and forced herself to relax.

Slowly, she smiled at Peter, her voice gentle.

"Alright then. I will believe you. I will leave Nexi to you. I won't give her anything. And I trust you to handle her."

Peter looked at her, his eyes softening with warmth.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "That is all I wanted. Don't let her words scare you. She cannot come between us unless we allow her to."

Adriana nodded, her heart finally beginning to feel lighter

Peter then suddenly leaned back in his seat, his eyes soft but his tone carrying a hint of cheer.

"Since you look so sad, I want to cheer you up," he said.

Adriana blinked and tilted her head.

"Cheer me up? And how do you plan to do that?" she asked, though in her heart she already guessed he only wanted to distract her from all the heavy things they had just talked about.

She knew him well enough to understand that sometimes he tried to protect her feelings by changing the subject.

Peter chuckled quietly, his voice carrying a warmth.

"I prepared a surprise," he said. "I want to show it to you."

Adriana widened her eyes on purpose and gasped.

"How can you prepare a surprise in such a short time? You only just saw that I was sad." She folded her arms, pretending to be suspicious.

Peter laughed again, shaking his head.

"No, Adriana. I planned this surprise long ago. I was only waiting for the right moment. I wanted to give it to you once I confirmed that you had even a little bit of feeling for me. And now that I know, I am going to give it to you."

Adriana froze, her cheeks burning red. She quickly snapped back,

"Who said I developed feelings for you?"

Peter looked at her with a teasing smile, his eyes sparkling.

"At least you have developed some trust. You even started to share things with me and ask for my advice. If you had no feelings for me at all, you would not have consulted me in the first place. That is enough proof for me."

However, in his heart, he thought,

'If Adriana didn't have any feelings for me, she wouldn't have hesitated so much let alone let Nexi threaten her!'

Adriana rolled her eyes dramatically and gave a small scoff. "You are dreaming."

Peter leaned closer, still smiling. "If this dream feels so real, then I want to live this reality as if it is a dream."

Adriana pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh, but she failed.

A small giggle escaped her, and soon she was laughing openly. She covered her mouth, shaking her head at his silly words.

Peter stopped speaking, his eyes fixed on her with vast gentleness and tenderness.

The sound of her laughter filled his chest with a strange kind of peace.

In his heart, though, a shadow remained.

If it were not for Nexi and her twisted methods, he might have praised her for her creativity. But the way she had threatened Adriana disgusted him.