After sending Holy back home, Zac felt like he needed to explain himself a little bit more about what
happened at the ball that day. He was sure that Essie was convinced with Holy's words and would
punish him mercilessly, or maybe even get him sentenced to death.
He would die even more severely and miserably than a convict in the Guantanamo Bay Detention
Camp.
"That night at the ball, Leila and I only attended as friends. There's nothing more to that," Zac said
defensively.
Essie contemptuously sneered deep inside.
'Friend?
I think you mean your girlfriend!' she thought aggressively.
"There's no need for you to explain. I don't care about those things. I'm just here to accomplish a goal,"
she responded with a cold expression that was filled with an ominous hollowness.
"I know." On his face appeared a wry and wounded smile. Zac realized that Essie didn't care for him at
all. Her heart was set on Hanson. Essie was only by his side because he didn't want to let her go, and
forced her to back into his life.
"Anyway, I just don't want you to misunderstand me," he said with a voice seeping in through her skin
like an autumn wind.
'Misunderstand?'
Essie sat silently when a cold, mocking smile appeared on her face.
'Aren't you still in contact with Leila? Is it possible for you to simply let her go and forget her?
Even an eight-year-old child could tell that you are dating. What's the purpose of hiding your
relationship from me?
It would definitely make me feel at ease if you just decided to be honest and tell me that all I am is
simply Leila's substitute.
"Let's get over it. There's no reason for us to talk about it anymore," said Essie.
"If there's one thing I learned from what Holy mentioned was that a married person should avoid such
suspicious behaviors. I will be more observant towards these actions of mine in the future, and I hope
you can do the same," replied Zac seriously. In Essie's mind, his words were more like a warning than
it was out of devotion. He just wanted her to stay away from Hanson in the meantime.
"I will do what I have to. As for the other aspects, there's no need for you to force me to do anything
else," she said bluntly with a cold staring expression as she looked out the window. Essie thought that
his mere purpose was to bewitch her and make her loyal to his family, just like Valery was. Everything
that Valery had done in her life, she did for him without any shame or regret.
"All you have to remember is your own identity," he answered with a chilling voice that sent shivers
down her spine.
As of the moment, there was a thick fog blocking clarity between the two of them. They were both
unable to see each other's true intentions. Despite how much time they spent together, their shadows
remained a blur towards one another.
When the morning came, the Rong Mansion was unusually quiet.
Something had been caught up in Ivy's mind, so she released a heavy sigh and leaned back on the
sofa that early afternoon.
Daisy came over to sit next to her and placed her hand empathetically on her shoulder. "Is anything
wrong, Ivy? Didn't you have a good time at your birthday party?"
"I had fun... However..." Ivy pouted looking a little depressed.
"Is it me that you're angry with? Is it because I didn't show up to the party and didn't get to wear the
sister-track clothes?" Daisy asked, clearly concerned. Yesterday, the magazine Daisy worked for had
an outdoor shooting, but the photography assigned for the project had to ask for a temporary leave.
She wasn't able to attend Ivy's birthday party because she had to go and help out.
"No, it has nothing to do with you." She leaned over Daisy's shoulder, and murmured with a soft, low
voice, "What should I do, Daisy? Someone is trying to compete against me and wants to take Hanson
away from me."
Around the same time, Essie happened to be walking down the stairs. She was shocked to hear what
Ivy said and assumed that she found out about her relationship with Hanson. She was flustered and
broke a sweat from nervousness. She took a deep, long breath to calm herself down, and proceeded to
walk on slowly.
"Ivy, who is trying to steal Hanson away from you?" Essie asked endearingly, attempting to sound as
casual as she could.
Ivy raised her head from the couch to look at Essie. Ivy pouted so ferociously with her eyes glimmering
from her wet eyes. "It's Christina. She's also trying to go after Hanson and I spent my whole birthday
party watching her try to flatter him all night. Hanson even seemed to have a really good impression of
her and gave her his business card! Afterwards, they left together and I'm sure they got along well
when they were alone." After her rant, she jumped from the couch to stomp on her feet and screamed
at the top of her lungs.
When Essie heard this, she released a deep sigh of relief. As long as she was not suspecting her, she
was fine. Hanson was a charming man who spent his whole life admired by countless girls. It was
normal for a girl like Christine to have a crush on him too.
"Ivy, you need to understand that a wonderful man like Hanson will be chased after by girls all the time,
so don't take it to heart. Even if it isn't Christina, there will be other girls out there who will try to
compete for his love," Essie said, trying to be an elder sister figure to Ivy.
"I know." Ivy lowered her head and a deeply sullen aura was felt from her face. She slowly picked up
and said, "However, it's mainly because Christina is an excellent girl. She would be very difficult to
compete with because of her beauty and wit. If it were just an ordinary girl, this wouldn't bother me at
all."
Essie placed her hand on Ivy's shoulder to comfort and supportively said, "She's excellent, but you're
extraordinary. You're a lady of our very own Rong family. You come from a wealthy and noble family, so
no one could easily compare against you!"
Daisy eagerly nodded in agreement to show her support for Ivy. "Essie, you're totally right. The
daughters of the Qin family would never be able to compete with the daughters of the Rong family!"
When she heard this, Essie was left in a daze for a few moments. "She is a member of the Qin family?"
she asked to make sure.
"Yes," Daisy explained slowly. "Christina Qin is Ivy's senior schoolmate. She's the younger sister of
Leila."
"No wonder," Essie replied, while she raised her eyebrows in wonder. From that moment, her deep,
dark eyes began to glimmer with an abstract, indescribable expression. She thought that Sunny
seemed to have much stronger opponents now. Both Ivy and Christina's family background was far
more wealthy and powerful than Sunny's. They were also both clever enough not to be taken
advantage of and bullied by a menacing girl like Sunny. The three women sounded like they came from
a television drama. However, if they fought with each other so openly, Essie was unsure if Hanson
would be able to cope with such a situation.
Ivy was actually a really nice girl. Besides the fact that she would sometimes be so fickle and erratic,
her nature was simple, innocent and kind. A far better woman than Sunny would ever be. Essie thought
that it might actually be good for Hanson to be with a woman like her.
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