Devil would never change his ways

The car speed was at a normal range as Axel had to regain his focus. Heaven's attitude threw him off; he still hadn't forgotten her pretentious remarks back in the old residence this morning, and now, this? There was no way Heaven would change overnight unless she was planning something.

"By the way, why are you in the mall? Aren't you in the old residence this morning?" asked Heaven, breaking the silence between them.

"I had to run an errand."

"Oh… is that so?" Heaven rocked her head. The mall wasn't that far from the old residence. Hence, having this fateful encounter wasn't surprising. Axel Zhu had the most flexible and free schedule among the Zhu siblings.

Axel cast her a side-eye. "And you?"

"I met a friend."

"A friend?" he sneered, keeping his eyes on the road. "Don't lie. You don't have a friend."

"Even if I am like this, I have one."

"You mean that woman? Hah. Sure."

Heaven turned her head, gazing at his side profile. The contempt and ridicule plastered on his face were clear; he wasn't even trying to conceal his disapproval of her, which was understandable. With his personality, it was even more surprising he was still talking to her, albeit with mockery in his voice.

"What's the problem with Paula?" Heaven pouted, peeling her eyes from him, ignoring all the sarcasm from the other person. "Paula had been my friend since high school. We went through a lot of ups and downs — she stuck with me like forever."

"Sure. Whatever makes you happy. Not that I care about you."

"Well." Heaven shrugged, unconsciously taking one bun from the paper bag to eat. "Where are we going, by the way? Is this the way home?"

Axel furrowed his brows and looked at her, only to catch the crack on the side of her lips. He already noticed it earlier but didn't have time to dwell on it. But now, he could see that her cheek was swelling.

"What happened to you?" he blurted out, making her brows rise.

"Hmm?" Heaven looked at him while chewing, blinking almost innocently. "Ah. This one? Your brother slapped me."

SCREEECH!!

Heaven popped her eyes open, bending over slightly as Axel suddenly pulled over. She looked at him, surprised, while Axel's eyes swirled with dismay.

"You're lying!" Axel growled, almost making her jump in surprise. "My brother will never do that!"

Heaven blinked, witnessing how his face slowly turn red in anger. "I'm… just joking."

"You!"

"Hehe. I guess it was a bad joke?" Heaven laughed awkwardly, taking another bite as the bread was so good her hand and mouth voluntarily moved on their own to feed her. "But someone did slap me."

"Tch."

"Don't worry, though. Everything is good now."

"Who said I was worried? If anything, I should thank whoever slapped you. You deserved it."

"Ouch." Heaven pouted while Axel fixed his position. "That's harsh, you know?"

"Harsh? You surely know how to get on people's nerves. Do you even know what's harsh means?" Axel sneered as he faced ahead. "Look at how you treat my nephew. That's harsh."

Heaven pressed her lips into a thin line, unable to refute his argument. Axel's disapproval of her originated in Heaven's treatment of Dominic and Sebastian. Although Axel didn't like her from the get-go, or rather, he disliked the fact his brother was marrying so suddenly. Axel was very close to Dominic, after all.

"That… I can't deny it." Heaven looked away, setting her eyes ahead, as the car was still not moving. "I am a bad mother and a terrible wife. That is why I can understand where you are coming from."

Hearing her remarks and admitting her wrongs caught Axel off guard. He looked at her, but the anger on his face remained.

"Hah. Knowing you are the worst piece of trash just makes it worse." He hissed. "Heaven Liu, you should leave my brother and nephew alone. Isn't that what you want? Whatever changed your mind, tell me. I'll help you get out of this family."

Heaven cast him a quick look, grasping the sincerity behind the repressed anger in his tone. The irony, she thought. Old Madam Zhu would almost kneel to her just for her to stay in the family. Axel Zhu, on the other hand, was willing to do anything to help her get out of the family.

This only showed the two types of people that surround the marriage. Neither Grandma Zhu nor Axel Zhu was wrong. They were simply compelled to do or say what they felt was right.

"Axel Zhu." Heaven held his burning gaze sincerely. "I'm sorry."

Two words.

It only took two words to catch Axel Zhu off guard, making his pupils dilate.

Two words, yet so powerful and heavy. Words that she had never said, even half-heartedly.

"I know I hurt Dom and Basti and nothing can justify my behavior in the past five years. However, I want to change too, brother-in-law. I might be late and this may not be easy for everyone, but I sincerely want to try to correct my wrongs," she continued quietly but clearly, not letting go of his gaze. "I won't blame you if you don't believe me, but what I can promise you is if this still didn't work well, I will leave them on my own."

Her eyes swirled with determination and sincerity. "I will give you my word, Axel Zhu. If my actions still hurt them, then I promise you. I won't show up in front of everyone ever again. You won't see even my shadow."

Silence befell the two of them while staring at each other. His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

"Do you have any idea of what you're talking about? Change? Hah!" Axel looked away, angrier than appeased by her sincere words. "If you wanted to change, you would've done so years ago. Don't say your promises so easily. You don't have any idea the damages those words would cause if the listener is someone else." — especially, if Sebastian heard all of this.

Slowly consumed with anger and dismay, Axel stepped on the accelerator recklessly. He drove as fast as he could, hoping to torment her with his speed. However, Heaven didn't react the way he wanted to. She kept her face ahead, holding on to the handle as tight as she could.

When Axel cast her a quick glance, he could see fear in her eyes. Her lips were drawn into a thin line as if fighting her fear, but trying her best not to complain as her way to show her determination. This, however, only angered him even more.

It was much better if she acted the way she used to be instead of Heaven speaking about change. It was akin to listening to the devil promising to be good, knowing the devil would never change his ways. And this was what made him more furious.