Chapter 233 - Future Brother-In-Law

That evening, Halia arrived at a fancy hotel dressed in a handsome black suit. Since Marissa invited her unexpectedly, she randomly grabbed a suit from Jackson's wardrobe and put it on. Of course, the suit was a little big, but she still looked quite good in it.

At first, Halia planned to reject the invite, but Roy told her that if she attended and apologized to Marissa, he would put her back on the case. So, she agreed in the end.

Halia buttoned up the suit jacket on her body and smiled. This was Jackson's suit and it made her feel warm and fuzzy. It was almost like Jackson was there hugging her and it made her blush like a schoolgirl.

Back during the early days, when they were still friends, Jackson had lent her his coats a few times. In fact, there was one stage when she had a few of them at her place. As Halia thought about this, she couldn't help but laugh. Maybe, at that time, she had already fallen for him without noticing it.

As she reminisced, her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a voice from behind, "You're here."

Halia turned around and came face-to-face with the familiar Marissa Qian.

However, the woman did not look as friendly as she did the day before.

"You're lucky that you showed up today," she said with slight arrogance. "I may have fainted yesterday, but I remember everything that happened. You sure had the guts to hit me. If I report you to the police, I wonder what they'd say," she threatened quietly as other guests walked past.

Halia smiled, "I'm sorry about what happened, but if I were you, I wouldn't mention anything to the police. I'm afraid you may be the one to suffer in the end."

Marissa frowned and looked at the legal assistant with confusion. "What are you trying to say?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"Well...I have a habit of recording all my meetings and..." 

Halia shook her phone in her hand, gesturing that she had recorded something.

Marissa's eyes opened wide as she realized what Halia was trying to say. There were rumors that she was a gold digger that cheated on her husband and acted promiscuously while he was still alive, but she never cared about those rumors because there was no proof. Besides, it kept her in the spotlight and made her sound popular amongst men. But, if word got out that she practically tried to r.a.p.e a man and got rejected, how embarrassing would that be? She quickly cleared her throat, "I can forgive you for what you did yesterday. After all, we're a.d.u.l.ts and it was all just a misunderstanding. But, you should definitely be held liable for giving off the wrong signals..."

Halia smiled and put away her phone, "I apologize for the misunderstanding."

"If you're truly sorry, then stay by my side tonight and be a good accompanying guest," Marissa instructed. "If you don't embarrass me, then I will consider forgiving you."

All the women at the event were bound to be jealous if they saw her with this young and handsome legal assistant, and all the men would want her even more.

At least...that's what Marissa thought.

Halia smiled and nodded her head. It didn't sound like a difficult task so she agreed.

As a result, Marissa quickly hooked her arm around Halia's arm and gestured for her to lead the way.

As soon as the two stepped into the ballroom where the event was held, everyone subconsciously looked their way.

"It's Marissa!"

"Who's the man that she brought?"

"Isn't she married?"

"Her husband died last year. The poor thing. She's still so young and beautiful. I guess it's time for her to move on."

"I heard she was having an affair with Emerson Wu."

"No, nothing happened between them. I heard he rejected her for another woman..."

"But, the guy she's with is pretty good-looking too. I've never seen him before..."

Marissa smiled proudly as she walked over to a group of women, "Ladies, let me introduce my partner for the night. This is Mars Wu."

All the girls squealed and stuck out their hands to greet the handsome young man.

"Your suit looks expensive. What do you do for a living, Mr. Wu?" one of the women asked as she grabbed onto Halia's arm.

"Your skin is so smooth. What's your skincare routine?" another woman asked as she ran her finger across Halia's cheek.

"I like the smell of your cologne. What is it?" a third woman asked as she moved in closer and started sniffing around Halia's neck.

Halia looked at the group of desperate women. It was like they had never seen a man in their life.

Meanwhile, Marissa watched proudly as the women swamped around her guest. She had made the right choice to bring him. These women were going to be jealous of her for, at least, a few months.

But, they weren't the only ones that she wanted to make jealous.

At that moment, she spotted her true target for the night. A man that she tried so desperately to forget about, but couldn't help clinging to for the last 15 years.

"Emerson!" she called out as soon as she saw the man walk through the door.

Halia heard Marissa call out this familiar name and quickly froze.

Emerson Wu...

A man that had previously pursued her...

A man that was now her future brother-in-law...

What was he doing here?

If anyone was to recognize her, she was certain it would be him.

Halia quickly turned away and tried to hide her face from the man, but Marissa suddenly grabbed onto her arm and pulled her over towards him.

"Emerson, long time no see," Marissa said, trying to act casual. "Did you bring a partner tonight?"

Emerson shook his head and glanced at Halia as she looked down and pretended to blow her nose with a tissue.

"Is this your friend? Is he sick?" Emerson asked.

Marissa quickly glared at Halia and pulled the tissue away from her hands, "No, he's perfectly fine. He's healthy, strong, manly...and so handsome..."

Marissa sounded slightly awkward as she tried to make the man jealous.

But, Emerson nodded with disinterest. This wasn't the first time Marissa had tried to make him jealous. It had already been 15 years since this woman was obsessed with him. When was she going to get the hint that he wasn't interested? "Cool, well I'll see you around," he said before he turned to leave without looking at Halia in detail.

Halia quickly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Marissa couldn't let the man go just like that.

"Emerson, did you know that Mars has the same last name as you? I wonder if you are distant relatives?" she said.

Emerson heard this and turned back around with slight interest. His surname was very common in China, but it was always interesting to meet another Wu. So, he glanced curiously at the young man who still had his head down. But, as he did so, he noticed something suspicious about this person. Why did it feel like he was avoiding him? 

And his suit...

Emerson ran his eyes across the man's slightly big suit.

It looked expensive and custom-designed, but why didn't it fit him?

What a strange young man...

Emerson walked over to Halia and furrowed his brows.

He then hooked his hand under her chin and gently lifted her head to face his.

Halia stopped breathing as she looked into Emerson's eyes.

This was it, she was about to be exposed. She was certain of it.

Emerson's lips twitched a little with amus.e.m.e.nt, "Mars Wu..."

"You look familiar..."

"I think Marissa's right...we may be related..."