Master of his heart (Max and Brielle) novel Chapter 1177

The year both my dad and 001 disappeared, I was only nineteen.

One evening at the base, I came across a face that looked just like 001's—it was Jaired.

Jaired had no idea 001 had died. He was simply confused about why his brother had stopped contacting him. Thrown into the team, he found his days endlessly dull.

And then, he saw Irene.

But when Irene looked at him, her emotions burst out in a mix of tears and laughter. She joyfully asked how he could still be alive.

Jaired and Irene weren't close. He had only seen her a few times while pretending to be 001 to infiltrate the base.

One of those times was the night she became the leader.

He wasn't interested in her, despite her beauty.

That night, while pretending to be 001, the old leader mentioned picking a few guys for the lovely lady, and she had agreed, even drinking some special concoction.

So when she knelt before him, begging, Jaired was shocked. He thought she was delirious from the potion and mistook him for one of the chosen men.

Of course, he left. She wasn't his type. The men she wanted were right outside, weren't they?

That night, Irene learned there were two 001s. And the one who rejected her wasn't the one she yearned for, marking the second time she cried. The first was the night she was rejected.

In her life, she had only cried for 001.

She cast aside her leader's cold and stoic demeanor, frantically questioning Jaired.

Jaired couldn't argue. He couldn't repay the debt he owed. A simple apology was never going to be enough.

He truly became her Jaired, watching as she became increasingly merciless, yet he saw in her a despair so profound it bordered on madness.

"Jaired, isn't this what you like? Watching others in pain, watching them tear themselves apart?"

This was Jaired's dark secret, the side of him he hated to confront. His rise in the team was fueled by his ruthlessness, the thrill he found in others' torment. But as a Riddle, such emotions were disgraceful, so he had to mask them, pretending to be normal.

Normal people fall in love, so he displayed affection for Alivia, even genuinely feeling swayed by her at times. Of course, he liked her, but more so, he liked seeing her in distress, plotting against others. He relished witnessing such vile displays. Thus, when Alivia fell from grace, her allure for him vanished with her desperation.

"Jaired, you're to replace 001, always by my side. You're the one who grew up with me, you owe me and him, a debt you'll never fully repay."

This became Irene's regular proclamation, always delivered with a smile.