RISE OF EROS

Seeing the two headless men who used to be her subordinates, Candice felt nothing, not even disgust. Candice unlike Andrew's other wives had been forged in this cruel world since she was a child, so this was not the first time she had seen grotesque scenes like this.

"Get rid of the bodies," Candice said as she looked at Erick and walked out of the abandoned warehouse where they were accompanied by Vala and Castor. Once they were outside, Candice looked at Castor and said, "I appreciate your help."

"You don't need to have those formalities with me," Castor replied with a smile. In his mind, Candice was his sworn brother's wife and there was no need for formalities between them.

Castor, though he bore Andrew's guardian seal, he did not see him as a young master as Oliver and the others did, to him Andrew was still his brother, he only addressed him as "Young Master", for appearance's sake.

Candice misunderstood Castor believing it was the same situation as when Oliver told her that she was now his young lady, little could she know of the relationship between him and Andrew, but she said nothing.

However, Vala did approach him and thanked him again because he had saved her life, "Mr. Castor, I thank you too. Without you, I would not be here." Castor looked at the beautifully curved young lady and smiled saying, "Miss there is nothing to thank, it was us who did not assess the situation properly."

"Still, I want to thank you. You may say that we were given inadequate information, but it is a fact that we didn't even know about the army that Barcas and Duruma had, so thanks are in order," said Vala adamant.

Castor did not want to pursue the subject and simply nodded his head in acceptance of the acknowledgments. A short time later Erick emerged from the hold and the bodies of Barcas and Duruma were gone.

No one knew what he had done with them, but no one asked. Seeing that their work was done, the four of them left on their way to the Heavenly Palace, as Candice wanted to talk about the future with Andrew.

After an hour, they all arrived at the Heavenly Palace, where they were greeted by Oliver who had returned first. Quickly, they were taken to the office, where Andrew, his wives, and Marie were.

Gaston was also there, because when Oliver came back to tell him about the success of the mission, he knew that Candice would meet the one she decided would be her husband, so he wanted to be present at this meeting.

With the exception of Canna, all the trusted members of both Andrew and Candice were gathered. The atmosphere was a bit strange and silence flooded the office.

Andrew, not coping with the atmosphere, broke the ice by saying, "Well, this should be a happy occasion, but we seem to be going to war". Andrew's comment relaxed the atmosphere a bit and Candice began to speak.

"Andrew, I imagine you've already been told that I agree to be your wife, but we have a lot of things to discuss." Seeing how serious Candice was, Andrew had a little headache.

He knew that Candice was different from his other wives because she had a much larger business empire than his and things would not be as simple as it was with Carolina, Helena, and Aki who from the beginning belonged to the Heavenly Palace.

"I guess it's best to get out of this matter first. Speak your mind," Andrew said and Candice pouted a bit cutely as she complained with fake annoyance, "What, I only agreed to be your wife and you already treat me as if you were superior."

Andrew laughed at Candice's cute performance and Carolina, Helena, and Aki were the same. On the other hand, Candice's subordinates were stunned, as they had never seen their boss act this way.

Candice noticing the looks on her subordinates' faces, coughed hiding her embarrassment, and continued speaking, "Well, let's be serious. Would I like to hear your plans?". Andrew was silent for a few seconds and began to speak, "Honestly, I don't have anything planned. My goal was to conquer a beautiful woman and I've already achieved that."

Candice and her subordinates were stunned at the corny comment, while Carolina and the other wives covered their mouths to keep from laughing. Oliver for his part let out a sigh and shook his head, because, although Andrew seemed to be joking, he was serious.

"Mr. Andrew, I think we should be more serious," said Gaston trying to get the conversation back on track to the important topic Andrew smiling at him said, "Mr. Gaston, I'm not joking. Actually, that was my goal, but if you guys have something on your mind you can talk, don't hold back."

Andrew paused and added, "Also, you don't need to be formal with me, I don't like that strange hierarchy. You can call me young master in public, when it's us, you can use my name with no problem."

Gaston, Erick, and Vala could not believe their ears. They never expected Andrew's character to be as they were seeing and resignedly kept silent looking at Candice, waiting for her to speak.

"I know you must know my business and you must have an idea of what I have, however, just because I become your wife, doesn't mean that now that belongs to you," Candice said adopting a serious expression.

She was about to continue when Andrew interrupted, "I think you are getting confused. Candice, I wanted you, not your business or money, you can do what you want with them."

"You really aren't interested in them?" asked Candice in surprise and Andrew replied, "Well I can't deny that a closer collaboration would be great, but you know who I am, so you should know that I don't intend to dabble in those businesses."

As if struck by lightning, Candice remembered that Andrew was a candidate for Eros god, so he was only interested in the sex and erotic industry, she relaxed and asked, "So, what cooperation do you want?"

"Well, at the moment I don't have anything, I think we can continue as we are, but in the near future I will open a new business that I want you to participate in," Andrew replied remembering the idea of the massage house.

"Can you give me details," asked Candice integrated, but Andrew replied, "That will be a conversation for another time." Candice immediately understood that it had something to do with his identity and it was not convenient to talk about it at that time, but Gaston saw it differently.

Andrew being perceptive, noticed the strange expression on him, Erick's, and Vala's faces, so he said, "Don't get me wrong. I know your loyalty to Candice, but you haven't earned mine yet. I'm sorry, but you're not qualified yet."

Although they felt left out and a little annoyed at those words, Andrew exuded a strange pressure that kept them from complaining. They didn't know what it was, but it felt dangerous.

"Well, I understand. Don't bully them," Candice interjected and Andrew stopped emitting his godlike aura. "All right. Now let's talk about your move," Andrew suddenly said and Candice along with her subordinates furrowed their brows.

"Moving?" asked Candice in confusion and Andrew said feigning annoyance, "Of course. A woman has to be with her husband," to which Candice replied, "I'm not leaving my company just to live with you."

At that moment the atmosphere became tense. Everyone present was at a loss, as they all thought they would be having a serious conversation and now they were in the middle of a couple's discussion, which seemed absurd to them.

Candice's subordinates could not believe what they were witnessing and Oliver placing a hand on Gaston's shoulder who seemed the most shocked told him in a low voice, "Get used to it."

Gaston was at first worried about this meeting, but now he was calm as he had dazzled a bit of Andrew's personality and felt comfortable as he seemed a more approachable person than he thought.

Seeing that Candice and Andrew were getting nowhere, Helena stood up and clapping her hands together said, "Well, let them argue amongst themselves. We're of no use here."

She then urged everyone to leave, leaving Candice and Andrew alone in the office. Once they were alone, Andrew got up from his seat and sat down next to Candice, making her nervous.

Andrew boldly picked Candice up and sat her on his lap and even though she struggled a bit, she still allowed Andrew to hold her. Being so close to each other and in such an intimate position, Candice was red as a beet and didn't dare move.

"Candice, you really won't move to the Heavenly Palace?" asked Andrew lovingly, as he stroked her hand and Candice said resolutely, "I can't give up my business."

"I'm not asking you to do that. You can go on as usual, but you can work during the day and come back at night," Andrew continued to press. Candice was silent for a few seconds as if thinking about the proposal.

She really wasn't against it, she was just scared to make a big change. Candice might be a great businesswoman and had a lot of experience, but in love, she was a complete novice and that was what was holding her back.

Andrew understood that, but he wouldn't give in either. He pampered her for a while and soon after stole her lips with a tender kiss that the girl reciprocated, but still wouldn't accept and said, "Tell me about your plans and I'll consider it."

Seeing that he had gained ground, Andrew began to tell her about his plans. He told her how he planned to build the world's largest erotic empire, his skills, about Fluffy, and even his massage house plan.

Listening to everything Andrew told her, Candice couldn't help but get a little excited. She knew that Andrew's dreams seemed unattainable, but for some reason, she felt no doubt that he could achieve them and after some strong persuasion from Andrew she accepted the proposal he had made earlier.