Taking a glimpse at Lionel, Jill hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke out, "I know you don't like
Cassandra, but she was selected by your father. It won't be easy for Ivy to replace her as your wife,
Lionel.
Maybe, we should talk to Ivy. If she agrees to carry the pregnancy to term and give you the baby, we
can pay her off with a huge sum of money. We can make the whole sum negotiable, so as to find a fair
deal for both sides." Lionel didn't even know how he felt about that decision. Ivy had been with him for
so many years, and he had promised her a lot of things. Right now, it seemed that the marriage he had
promised her wasn't going to come true.
To add to that, there was no way she could face the possibility of being stripped of the right of a mother.
It would be too cruel for her.
Carefully studying the hesitation on Lionel's face, Jill knew that it was hard for him to break up with Ivy,
in whom he had been emotionally invested for years.
But Jill persisted, regardless of his feelings. "How about, you let me do it on your behalf, if you feel too
bad about talking her into the deal?" she suggested.
Given the current state of things, the best person to carry out this task would be Jill.
However, she underestimated the resistance the pregnant girl would put up.
"This baby is mine. No one can take it away from me!" Ivy shouted.
To her, Jill must be kidding. She had been waiting for the day, when she would become a legal member
of the Tang family, for so many years. If she was just after the money only, she could have chosen a
sugar daddy, anyone wealthy enough to shower money on her. What she really wanted wasn't the
small pay-off that Jill was offering. It wasn't even mere love from Lionel that she wanted. The girl had
her eyes set on the capture of entire Tang Group.
As a common trend in the society, a woman could turn her life upside down by a good marriage. For
seven years of her relationship with Lionel, Ivy had painstakingly planned for her turning point. How
could she just give up for the paltry pay off that Jill was proposing?
Over the years, Ivy had come to know that Jill was a cunning woman and not someone to deal with
easily.
That emboldened the girl more. "Whether the baby will bear Luo or Tang as the surname, is yours to
decide," Ivy threatened. There was no way she was going to let Jill have the last word on this.
Inside, she told herself, 'I don't really care what the surname of the baby is. What I really care about is
getting legally married to Lionel!
Now this baby is my last chance and my bargain chip. I have to make full use of it.'
"I'm pregnant with your son's baby, Madam. The only thing I want is for him to be responsible and give
me a home. Given the complications I'm having with the pregnancy, I only want to live with him until the
baby is born. After that, if Tang family doesn't approve me as a daughter-in-law, I'll leave the baby to
your family, go overseas and never come back again!" Ivy declared her terms with her teary eyes.
It was difficult for Jill to tell whether the tears were genuine or she was just being melodramatic.
"All these years I have been with Lionel, believing we were meant to be a perfect couple. That was until
Cassandra Qin came in and ruined our relationship. Now I have realized that Lionel and I may be just
doomed to part our ways. The only thing I ask for now, is to have him take me in for the next few
difficult months of the pregnancy. Is it too much to ask just for a few months of him taking
responsibility?" Ivy challenged.
This was indeed her last chance. If she could just outwit Jill on this, she would be closer to pulling her
real clincher. As a woman herself, Jill could feel for Ivy and her choice to trade the baby only for a few
months of living with Lionel. With an open heart, Jill fell for the deal.
"Rest assured. We will treat the kid as part of the family! He is my first grandson! You can start
preparing yourself to move in. I will talk to his father about the arrangement once I find a chance."
After seeing Jill off, Ivy, while still in tears, smiled sarcastically.
'Women are the most fragile creatures in the world, but are also the most cruel ones in the meantime.
Sometimes, for a woman, it takes a heart of stone to obtain what she desires; while a woman with a
heart to love is bound to lose everything.
Dear Cassandra, finally we are able to battle face to face now.
I'm looking forward to that. How about you?' she thought to herself.
Meanwhile, in a grandiose hotel, festivity was heightened with drinking and dancing. Everyone was in a
sprite, enjoying the lively and cordial atmosphere. It was where the party was held.
Together, Cassandra and Cloris arrived for the party. The hotel shone bright in the dark night. The main
entrance was paved with a red carpet to complete the sparkle of the place.
The two beautiful sisters stole the show with a perfectly timed late arrival.
When they came through the door, they made heads turn, and elicited excited talks form every corner.
One was dressed in a dazzling milk white evening dress, and the other in a stunning deep blue gown.
Though each was different in her own right, both looked stunning.
Cassandra in particular was simply ethereal, drawing envious eyes from the women all over. They just
couldn't take their gazes away from her.
While revelers kept guessing and talking in low tones about the identities of the two ladies, Rufus
strode towards them.
In his navy blue business suit, he looked stunning as well, drawing even more envious gazes.
Gently, he extended his hand to Cassandra with a genial smile and signaled her for a dance.
With beautiful grace, Cassandra placed her palm into his, and put her other hand on his shoulder.
It was as beautiful as a picture. They were the most perfect couple of the night without a shadow of
doubt.
No one had noticed, that the other woman beside Cassandra, had her smile gradually frozen.
She had dressed up carefully, thinking this would be the most enchanting moment of her entire life. But
Rufus didn't even honor her with a simple glance. To make it worse, he had all his attention on
Cassandra.
'Cassandra! A married woman! How could she win the affection of Rufus!'
The picturesque scene in the eyes of everyone else, was a terrible, heartbreaking experience to Cloris.
With the background music on, Cassandra and Rufus took to the dance floor gracefully. You'd think
think they were professional dancers.
His eyes radiated with the balanced lighting in the room, giving her an even more elegant sparkles, but
she was shy to look back.
Lowering his head to enjoy the beauty, he whispered into her ear, "You are so captivating that I can't
even move my eyes off from you."
That compliment made her face blush. It was not the first time she heard his praise, and it was not the
second, but she would never acquire the skill of remaining calm under such a circumstance.
This was noticed by Cloris, who was closely watching the two. Jealousy engulfed her like a raging fire.
Out of the blue, a neat young man reached his hand to her and invited her for a dance, "Miss Qin, may
I have the honor to dance with you?"
Cloris looked at the man for a few seconds. It was obviously a familiar face, but the name seemed to
escape her.
After a moment of racking her brains, the name hit her. It was Arthur Zhuang, the head of Dawn Star
Group. Of course, his presence at the party was to be expected.
Suppressing her burning anger, she faked an innocent smile out and placed her slender hand on his.
Following behind him, she moved onto the dance floor.
Under Arthur's lead, maybe he was deliberate or maybe not - Cloris noticed they constantly got close to
the pair of Cassandra and Rufus.
Though she couldn't hear what Cassandra and Rufus were talking about because of their soft voices
and the noisy background, she could tell that Cassandra was really enjoying it, as indicated by the big
grin on her face. Like a dagger, that grin pierced right through Cloris's heart. Urgently, she had to do
something.
"Mr. Zhuang, are you not with your wife today?"
Cloris asked this question deliberately, intending to get straight to the burning issue on her mind.
"Hmm, I am not married,"
the young man replied politely, not taking offence at the private question.
Feigning a sorry tone, she apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were married. I was thinking that
your wife might have failed to attend for one reason or another, like my brother-in-law, who couldn't
make it here."
Being a successful business man, he acutely sensed something wrong in her statement, just as she
had expected.
"Brother-in-law? Your sister is married?" he asked in doubt.
Winking with her innocent big eyes, she feigned naivety like a little girl, and said, "Right, they have
been married for years. After my sister's graduation, she came to the Tang Group to work straight, as
part of the family."
Arthur was smart enough to understand who Cloris was referring to.
The husband must be Lionel, the other son of Horace.
The elder son of Horace who appeared from no where had already been a hot issue and raised many
discussions in this circle.
Now it seemed that there was something even more interesting between Rufus and Cassandra.
Thinking of that, a playful smile crept on Arthur's face.
After the song ended, Cassandra muttered, "I… I have to go to the washroom."
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and walked briskly away as if escaping from
Rufus.
An involuntary smile formed on Rufus's face. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Cloris was
also following Cassandra into the washroom.
His eyebrows creased with suspicion, and he signaled to Victor with a wink.
Cassandra was too shy to be under the intent gaze of Rufus, and she kept worrying that there were
something wrong with her make-up, lipstick, or mascara.
Women always wanted to present their perfect selves to their men. And Cassandra was no different.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she could see clearly that she was blushed all over the face.
Abruptly, another figure appeared in the mirror. It was Cloris.
With a lovely and innocent smile, she slowly walked towards Cassandra, and asked, "Cassandra, are
you here to fix your make-up again?"
With a doting smile, Cassandra reached her hand to help Cloris tidy up her hair and answered, "Yeah.
It's an exciting party, isn't it? I just saw Mr. Zhuang invite you for a dance."
Now, Cloris blushed as well. In excitement, she shared with Cassandra, "Mr. Zhuang is a real
gentleman. He even mentioned that he appreciated your talents. We also talked about college life, and
I was surprised to find out that he actually graduated from the college I'm studying at!"
Amused by the cute red face of her younger sister, Cassandra couldn't help teasing her, "Then he
surely should take care of his dear junior. Ask him to show you around to meet more people. He must
know more people than I do."
With a meaningful laugh, she whispered into Cloris's ear, "Mr. Zhuang is an outstanding man as well. If
you have any feeling for him, I will help you!"
At that Cloris felt a tinge of embarrassment. Blushing again, she avoided looking back into Cassandra's
eyes.
When she lowered her head to dodge Cassandra's gaze, there was also a sign of derision flashing
across her eyes.
What Arthur had told her was more than that. And what she had revealed to Arthur was also much
more than what she had told Cassandra.
'Cassandra, why are you blessed with all the good things? Why must men always ignore me, only to
fall for you?' Cloris accused in her heart.
While Cassandra was concentrating on applying her make-up, Cloris surreptitiously took out something
from her purse. It was a small pair of scissors.
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