Chapter 3 Query

People began voicing their similar opinions and needless to say, they were vicious.

"Leila is so pathetic. She's nothing compared to Daisy!"

"I agree! She's disgusting. Daisy's too kind. I bet she's the only one who can put up with her."

"That's true! Does Leila ever feel ashamed of herself? Even I feel ashamed of her!"

Leila heard every single comment, which made her original haggard face turned while and she suddenly felt her body shaking as if she was going to fall any minute now.

Something flashed in Veron's eyes—pity. He wriggled himself free of Daisy's hand, lowering his head as if he was about to say something. However, Johnson suddenly came out of nowhere and slapped Leila across the face, which Leila fell down onto the ground!

"You have no shame! Get out of here!"

Noticing that Veron had let go of her hand, Daisy felt displeased. Yet when Daisy saw Johnson slap Leila, she became joyful. While Daisy was able to quickly cover up how she really felt—so she still looked warm and lovely on the outside.

Leila seemed to be stimulated by the slap. As she stood up, she let out a slow chuckle. When she spoke, her voice was raised. "Shame? Shame? Me? Have no shame? Or are you just heartless? Mom's been in the hospital for three days. Have you ever visited her? No, you haven't! Instead, you're here holding an engagement ceremony! I bet you're glad that my mother's in the hospital."

"You!"

Johnson was so angry that he raised his hand as if he was about to slap Leila again. However, someone stopped him.

"Is this how Mr. Song treats his own daughter?"

Someone had caught Leila, whose body was in a precarious condition. She looked up in surprise to see who it was. 'Is it really him? !'

Exhausted, Leila was weak and fragile. She hadn't had proper sleep in days, so she fainted instantly in the man's arms.

Holding her tightly, Max stared back at the shocked Johnson. His eyes were gleaming. He said, "I'm the man with her in the hotel. Do you think I shame your daughter?"

This hit Johnson like a brick to the head. Gathering himself, he hurriedly waved his hands and said rather defensively, "No, no, no, I..."

"Enough," Max said gently but firmly, looking Johnson in the eye. Then he leaned over to carry Leila in his arms. After that, Max turned his head slightly, looked at Johnson coldly and said, "Remember, she's my woman!"

And when he finished speaking, Max disappeared into the crowd with Leila in his arms. Everyone was staring at him.

After a pause, it seemed as if everyone regained their senses. They began discussing in shock, "Oh my god, did I see that right?" Wasn't that the CEO of the Mu Group?"

"Yeah, I thought I didn't see that right either but that was Max Mu! I guess he's back from abroad?"

"Oh, my God. My father's been trying to set a meeting with him but Mr. Max wouldn't see him. I can't believe he's here today!"

"By the way, did you hear what he said? He said that Miss Leila is his woman?"

With this, everyone started talking. "So Miss Leila was with Mr. Max that day? Oh my god! Miss Leila is so lucky!"

"Yes, I'd be the happiest girl in the world if I were her!"

Johnson lowered his head. His mind was racing. He had no idea Leila had a relationship with Max. Everyone knew that the Mu Group was the biggest company in the country and wanted to work with them. Mu Group had business in a lot of industries. Max Mu had been expanding business overseas for a long time. If it weren't for his father's bad health, he wouldn't have returned home so soon.

'I didn't know Leila had ties with Max. His admission puts Leila on another level. Maybe I could use this for my business?'

Meanwhile, Daisy was seething. She clenched her hands into fists so hard that her finger nails started to dig into her palms. She didn't even feel it sting as all she could feel now was hatred and anger.

'Damn it! How did that bitch get close to Max? I was too hasty! I thought I was finally able to get the man she wanted! Then, she could never change for the better! What a joke!

Huh! I don't care if you're with Max or not. Sooner or later, he's going to leave you. I'd like to see how you can still be smug then!' Daisy tried to keep calm.

Veron lowered his head so no one could see the look on his face.

The host was at a loss. He turned to Veron. Veron then raised his head, took Daisy's hand and said coldly, "Go on."

The engagement ceremony was still going on but everyone's mood had changed.

The sunshine crept through the curtains. Lying on the comfortable bed, the girl frowned and muttered to herself. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling above her—her eyes blank. And she didn’t say any word.

After a while, she came back to her senses. She stood up and

looked around the room. Everything seemed unfamiliar. The last thing she could recall was talking to Veron in the hotel when her father slapped her in the face. He'd said that she had no shame. She vaguely recalled someone catching her when she had fainted.

A face came to her mind all of a sudden. She was startled. It was him!

At this time, the door was pushed open. The faint sound of footsteps could be heard. Then the eyes of Leila were filled with astonishment. And she spoke immediately, "It's you!"

Max's mouth twitched and he raised his eyebrows. He walked toward the bed and looked at her. "Surprised?" he asked.

This person...

Leila gripped the quilt tightly and said warily, "Who are you? Where am I?"

Max gazed at Leila, whose pale face still suggested that she was good-looking. Besides, her vigilance aroused a faint interest in him. He bent down and raised her small chin with his hand. "Max. My name is Max Mu and this is my home."

Max Mu! Leila's eyes widened in disbelief. She even had forgotten to resist when he reached down to lift her chin.

Max enjoyed seeing her like this. He gently touched her face and said, "I bet you're thinking of the Mu family."

At this moment, Leila's face grew paler. Her mind was racing and she unconsciously ignored the fact that he was touching her face.

"Are you surprised? I did say that you are my woman. You can't run away from me now."

Leila felt his hot breath on her face. She gathered herself and pushed him away. Biting her lip, she said, "Dream on! I belong to no one except myself!"

Max smiled when he heard her lovely answer, then he stretched out his arms so he could pull her closer to him. He said casually, "Then you have to give this a second thought. If you leave right now, you have nowhere to go. If you stay with me, you can get everything back and you and your mother will have a nicer life. I don't think you'd prefer that Sophia fools the Song family, right?"

Max had checked Leila's background. If he wanted to get a woman, he would use both hard and soft tactics. Thus, Max was confident that Leila would not refuse him.

Max's suspicion was right. The Song Group was nothing but a small company when her mother insisted on marrying Johnson. Her grandparents had no choice but to hand over their company to Johnson. Not long after their grandparents passed away, he managed to merge the two companies thus making a bigger and better one. During this process, he got Leila's mothers shares by some means. Since then, he has been ignoring Leila and her mother. That was when he brought Sophia and his daughter in the house. Leila hated them but her mother was too nice to do anything. Now Leila was being framed by Sophia and her daughter and her mother was in the hospital. How could Leila not be angry?!

Gone were her delusions about Veron. Sophia and Daisy were vicious. How could Leila just let them take over the Song family like that? She needed to get back her mother's shares. She couldn't just let them get the money!

The intense hatred in her eyes gradually subsided. Leila looked up at him and said in a clear voice, "All right, I promise you!"

"Great..."

Max then stroked her cheek with his hand, gazing at her lovingly. Leila turned her head stiffly when Max suddenly grabbed her by the neck. He bent down and whispered to her ear, "Remember, you're mine. You better forget about that man from now on."

Leila couldn't help but shiver at the tone of his voice. She couldn't even look at him. She swallowed and stammered, "I... I... Okay..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Max let go of her. She breathed a sigh of relief. Even though they'd already spent the night together, she still wasn't used to being so near to a strange man. She figured she was going to use her mother as her motivation. She had nothing else to lose and she was going to do whatever it took to make them pay! Even if that meant selling herself to the devil.

"Get up and eat something. You'd better keep yourself healthy. I won't be back for a while."

After finishing speaking, Max turned and left the room. He'd spent too much time on her anyway. He needed to get back to work.

Leila took a deep breath. She slowly stood up and walked toward the closet where all sorts of clothes were hanging. She frowned and thought to herself, "Why did Max seem so sure that I would agree to this?"

Leila calmed herself down as she decided to not think about it anymore. After taking a shower, she went to the hall downstairs. Tables full of food were lined up and Leila just had eaten little these days, but she still didn't have an appetite. She ate a little casually as she planned to go to the hospital to visit her mother. Before she left, she asked a servant, "Where's Max?"