The Enchanted Night

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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

Jean Wen sacrificed herself for family interests. Before her husband divorced her, she made every effort to please him.

"You are inexperienced in bed," he said coldly.

"You! Give that land to my family, or I won't agree to divorce," Jean replied furiously.

"Fine. It is exactly what I am thinking about," he sneered.

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.