"Mr. Yang is willing to help, provided that you and Sunny would marry as soon as possible. Then, he
will invest in Bella. In any case, sooner is better than later, so it would be best for you go to the Civil
Affairs Bureau tomorrow..." Mrs. Xia had not finished presenting her suggestion when Hanson
interrupted her, "I have already told my father that I don't intend to marry Sunny, so stop trying to force
me."
"Hanson..." Jobson took a deep drag on his cigar and said slowly, "Bella has never encountered a crisis
of this scale before. Now's not the time for you to be so stubborn, not when it's a matter of the
company's survival. You have to prioritize your family and the company before your romance. Do you
know who's behind this whole debacle?"
"Who is it?" Hanson asked, eyebrows furrowed with apprehension.
"The Emperor Group. Its CEO is the second son of the Rong family. He is a very shrewd businessman,
and even US's most famous company, the Rock Group, entered into his pocket without the slightest
effort. The only way for us to win against them is by joining hands with the Yang family." Jobson's eyes
were full of sadness.
After some time, Hanson's body jerked in realization. "The CEO's name... is it Zac Rong?"
Jobson nodded.
Hanson's handsome face clouded over. It looked like Zac was after his blood all this time. So he
wanted to take Essie away from him? He'd have to kill him first!
He could lose Bella, but he could never lose Essie!
"I'll think about it," he said noncommittally and made his exit.
The next three days were the last recording for 'Beauty on Runway' and the finals show.
The live show was being broadcast in the Yang City Stadium.
With the arrival of the Entertainment King Jim, the whole gym went wild with excitement.
Of course, the first person he wanted to see as soon as he arrived at the stadium was Essie.
Without preliminaries, he asked, "What happened between you and Zac?" He squinted his charming
eyes and looked at her with an unreadable look.
"You should ask him that question," Essie said in an indifferent tone. She didn't want to have anything
to do with Zac anymore.
Jim coughed to clear his throat and said, "So you are having an affair with another man?"
She had gone shopping and had lunch with Hanson in public without any qualms, and paparazzi had
taken countless photos of them secretly. However, Zac put pressure on them so that no one dared to
spread anything.
However, as the son of a media boss, he was aware of everything.
Essie choked at the point-blank question. Although she was with Hanson at the time, she would not do
anything disloyal to Zac before the divorce was finalized. Unlike her, he had been intimate with his ex-
lover even as a married man. What was the big deal about her hanging out with her ex, then?
"That question, as well. I think you should ask him," she said lightly, even as her thoughts whirled.
Jim pursed his lips. If he had managed to get an answer from Zac, then he wouldn't have had to seek
her out to ask.
"I thought you two were great together." He sighed, a regretful look evident in his eyes.
A slight flicker registered in Essie's eyes at Jim's statement. She and Zac were never a perfect match;
she probably was only able to be with him because the divine matchmaker was drunk at the time. They
were wrong for each other, and it was time to correct things.
She had no idea that Zac was in the audience. Covered by his sunglasses, his eyes had never left her
since she stepped onstage.
His face looked passive, but his heart was pounding. He was sorely tempted to take her away as soon
as she went backstage and locked her up in the cage. Then, she would belong only to him until either
one of them died.
However, he resisted the impulse. He knew in his bones that she would come back to him.
Essie didn't care about the final results of the competition, but she ended up taking the top spot
anyway, as expected.
When she returned to the backstage with the trophy in her hands, Sunny walked up to her.
"It doesn't matter to me whether you're the grand champion. I only want one thing: to get Hanson
back."
Essie stared at Sunny in surprise. "But Hanson won't marry you."
Half-covering her mouth, Sunny giggled and said, "He will definitely marry me this time around, or else
Bella will be acquired by another company."
Her words were like a thunderclap in Essie's head. "What did you say?" A shiver ran down her spine,
and her voice trembled when she spoke.
"How could you not know such an important thing?" Sunny was surprised by Essie's ignorance. "The
Emperor Group is buying out Bella. Without my father's assistance, Bella would have no choice but to
surrender to the Emperor Group."
Essie felt a crushing pain in her chest, as if her internal organs were being twisted. No wonder Hanson
had looked exhausted in the past two weeks. He must have been extremely busy.
"Do you mean the Emperor Group of Dragon City?"
"Yes. You bumpkin have been to Dragon City. You know something about them, don't you?" Sunny
laughed scornfully.
Essie's hands balled up into fists, a burning anger churning within her chest.
It was Zac's doing!
He must be taking his revenge on Hanson and her!
That devil was definitely a bloodthirsty predator, through and through!
Outside of the stadium, Hanson pulled up on the driveway, and Essie quickly slipped into the vehicle.
She was oblivious to eyes watching her underneath a pair of sunglasses.
As Hanson's Maserati pulled away, Zac followed the disappearing vehicle with his dark, inscrutable
eyes and a ruthless smile on his lips.
Distraught, Essie sat in the car without a word.
Hanson gently patted her head and asked, "Where do you want to go to celebrate?" The corners of his
mouth turned up in a charming smile that erased the tiredness on his face.
"I'm a little tired. I just want to go home," she muttered in a low voice. Hanson may be acting like
nothing was wrong, but it was breaking her heart.
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