Chapter 12 Threat

Ashley didn't think that she was obliged to sacrifice her happiness for the sake of the Mu family.

These past few days, she had realized that her foster parents were the most selfish people she had ever met.

Perhaps if they hadn't drugged her in an attempt to use her to please Michael, they probably wouldn't have messed with him.

The Mu Group knew that they were strong, and took no effort in hiding that fact. Surely losing a stupid business would not be much of a problem for them, Ashley thought to herself.

"Hey, are you even listening to me? You need to be there at 3:00 pm this Saturday. Don't forget it. If you don't show up, I'm really going to get upset with you and teach you a lesson," Peggy warned, her voice brimming with anger. Only then did she just notice that Ashley was not paying attention at all to her.

"You'd better forget that stupid plan. I'm not going there," Ashley said, casting a cold glance at Peggy.

'They wanted to take advantage of my marriage. Well, that's not gonna happen, ' she thought. With a scoff, she stood up, and strode towards the door

"Ashley Mu! Stop!"

Peggy shouted after Ashley.

"We raised you up. Don't you think that you should do something in return? You must be on the date this Saturday and that's final!" Peggy said in an adamant tone.

In her head, however, she actually had some misgivings. 'What if Ashley doesn't go on that date? What if she messes this up again?

But she should have no say in this matter. She must go there, ' she thought.

Ashley had stopped in her tracks, her hand already on the door. She sneered inside.

'If they wanted to use me to marry a rich man just so that they can expand their business, maybe they should have adopted more girls.

That way, they could have taught them skills about how to seduce wealthy men, ' she scoffed.

With a quick turn, Ashley looked at Peggy square in the eyes, completely devoid of any emotion. She asked, "Can you promise that I will have nothing to do with the Mu family as long as I go on this date?"

Under Ashley's cold gaze, Peggy felt slightly afraid and intimidated. But as the girl made the deal, her fear vanished almost immediately. With a calm expression, she replied, "I promise. As long as you go there, you will have nothing to do with us from then on."

Ashley nodded in approval. Although she did not expect that Peggy would agree to her terms in a heartbeat, she managed not to look surprised.

"Deal. I will be there this Saturday. I hope you can keep your promise."

"Of course I will!" Peggy confirmed.

She disliked the way Ashley behaved. 'She is just an orphan, a nobody, but she acts as if she is from a noble family.

She was a homeless child who was deserted by her parents. If we hadn't adopted her and given her a comfortable life, she might have been leading a miserable life.

Once she gets married to the guy we arranged for her, she will be useless to us. Why would I break my promise?' she thought.

Little did Peggy know, however, that she was going to regret her decision later on.

"Hello, Ashley!" Lena greeted as Ashley came down the stairs. There was a cold aura surrounding her, making Lena a bit confused. Her eyes stayed glued on Ashley

as she stormed towards the door.

"It's too late to let her leave alone. I'm going to give her a ride," Raymond said to his fiancee the minute he saw Ashley step out of the house.

Without any hesitation, he headed straight for the door.

Lena watched as Raymond rushed out of the house. Clenching her fist tightly at her side, she gritted her teeth. There was a blazing look in her eyes as well. It was as if she looked like she wanted to tear Ashley into a million pieces.

As Raymond left the house, he jogged up to Ashley and reached for her hand, "Hey, do you want a ride?"

he offered with a smile.

Ashley shook his hand and replied petulantly, "No, thanks!"

"Ashley! It's difficult to call in a taxi here. And I don't think you'd want to walk all the way home. Let me drop you off at your place. I owe you. I just wanted to make up for my mistake," Raymond insisted in a soft tone.

"Don't act like this, Raymond. I told you this before- we are over. Besides, you have Lena. Please stop bugging me. Plus, you owe me nothing. Stop thinking that you have to do something for me,"

Ashley declined as she turned around and walked away.

Raymond stood there, staring at her retreating figure. He became more certain that he and Ashley would never get back together.

In fact, he had always known that Ashley hated being betrayed. And that was exactly what he did to her.

It was his own fault that he cheated on her, and that he still believed until now that Ashley was still in love with him...

He had naively believed that Ashley would give him another chance.

...

In the Mu family's residence.

"What did you say to Ashley, Mom? Why did she throw a fit like that?" Lena asked, her eyes shining with curiosity.

She had seen Ashley get angry before. But this was the first time that she had witnessed her flying into a rage that way.

"Nothing important. I arranged a match for her, and I asked her to be on a blind date this Saturday. I'm doing this to help you. I was afraid that she still covets Raymond. You should keep an eye on Raymond and don't give him any chance to meet Ashley in private. You can't let them get back together. You got it?" Peggy replied in an earnest tone.

"I know that, Mom. But you saw earlier how Raymond followed Ashley out without even thinking about my feelings," Lena responded with a frown. She hated it every single time she had to hear or say Ashley's name.

'I am a well-bred rich lady and I've got the most premium education. I am beautiful. I was elected as the School beauty and I had good grades at college.

Ashley is only really slightly prettier than me.

But she looks like a seductress. Anyone who is going to marry her will feel insecure and be scared of losing her, ' she mulled angrily.

"If you haven't won his heart yet, you should find a way to make him love you. As the old saying goes, the key to a man's heart is through his stomach. You can sometimes cook for him," Peggy suggested.

"Come on, Mom, are you kidding me? We have servants. I don't want to cook in the messy kitchen," Lena retorted with a look of repulsion on her face.

Born into an affluent family, she had led a comfortable life. Not once did she ever bother to earn money to support herself, let alone cook for others.

"I am not asking you to cook for him every day. Even if you want to do that, I will not go along with you. You even haven't made dinner for me. How could I bear to see my loving daughter suffer?"

Peggy took hold of Lena's hand and advised, "So you should start with Raymond's mother. It seems that his mother is quite fond of you. You can spend more time with her and slowly get her to like you even more."

Peggy gave her daughter several pieces of advice. Once Lena managed to marry Raymond, the Mu family and the Luo family would be in-laws. There was no doubt that Lena's parents could benefit from Lena and Raymond's marriage.

Ashley and Ellie had only taken a few days off. Today, they went back to the company.

Although they worked for the Luo Group, they were in different departments. The moment they entered the building, they went on their own separate ways into their own offices.

Ashley stepped into the office and found that a bunch of girls who had been gossiping were quick to stop speaking as soon as she went through the door. They gave her a quick glance before retreating to their own desks.