Way Back Into Love (Essie)

"Of course not." Then Essie shrugged.

Hearing Wendy mention the past, Lucy felt unease sweep through her.

Back then, because she couldn't have another child, Bob's parents were against his marriage with her. They did everything possible to break it off. Even though Essie was quite young, she was bestowed with sensibility. She was a considerate child. In order to make the family accept her mother and her, she even agreed to change her last name. She also swore that no matter who she married, she would maintain the surname and make sure her kids would have it.

"Wendy!" When Lucy was about to speak, she was stopped by Bob. In a firm voice, he said, "About Essie's issue, I will deal it with Lucy. We will sort it out in Zac's parents' presence. But at present, we are here to talk about Finney."

He made it clear to everyone that he didn't want other people putting their nose in his daughter's business.

Wendy rolled her eyes at him and said, "I'm doing it for your sake."

Listening to her aunt's words, Essie sneered in her heart. She knew very well that people like her aunt cared about nothing but money. Human beings had no value at all! She held Zac's hand and said, "There is a beautiful garden here. Let's get a breath of fresh air, shall we?"

"Okay," Zac replied with a smile. It was indeed suffocating in here.

Antony also stood up. His condition seemed worse than Zac's. His mother-in-law was indeed a scary woman. "Finney, let's go with them."

Finney nodded, and the four of them left the room together.

In the garden, they sat around a round table, enjoying the fresh air. Essie took a deep breath and giggled all of a sudden. Seeing the look on other's face, she explained, "You rich people have your fun. And allow us poor people to have ours. We don't have money. But as long as we are happy, nothing else matters. Don't you think so?"

Holding her by the shoulder, Zac's eyes brimmed with tenderness. "It's my pleasure to marry a woman like you."

Antony looked at them with admiration and said, "Lovely! I love to see women who don't value money too much."

"Antony, but if every women became like me, then men like you who are tall, handsome, rich would lose their advantages." Essie was teasing him now.

"That's true," Antony smiled, with an indescribable shimmer on his face.

Finney sighed and said, "I am glad you are optimistic. However, you have to be mentally prepared for what is to come. Your wedding won't be so smooth." Essie smiled and patted on Zac's shoulder. "How many siblings do you have?"

"One twin brother," replied Zac.

"Twin brothers?" Hearing that, Essie was a little shocked. She wanted to know more so she probed, "Does your brother look exactly like you?" "Not really." Zac shrugged.

"Do you have any photos? If so, take them out so that I know if he is as handsome as you." Her curiosity was piqued. If little brother was such a cold and strong man, then she was curious to know how the elder brother might be.

Zac gently flicked her forehead. "Is this what you want to talk about?"

Essie coughed and pretended to be serious. She then said, "Since you have a brother, you could come here and take care of my family. Would it be too much if my family adopted you as their son-in-law?" "Okay." With a faint smile at the corners of his mouth, Zac continued, "But I don't think you can afford me."

Essie passed him a challenging look and said, "Why not? I will feed and take care of you."

"That's a good suggestion." Zac gave a thumbs up in approval.

"Okay, that's settled!" Then she turned to Finney and said, "Look, the problem has been solved."

Finney laughed and said, "It is not your place to make the decision. When you give birth to a baby, the two families will surely quarrel over the surname. If grandma and grandpa come to know that the baby is not titled with their family name, they are bound to be angry."

Anthony joined and said, "I have a solid solution to this dilemma. You could give birth to a few more kids. Half of them should be titled with your family name and the other half with his. That would sort it out!" Hearing that, Essie could not help but chuckle. They had no idea this marriage was temporary. She would divorce after the Spring Festival. She had to deal with her relatives first in case her parents would go back and her grandparents would keep on nagging her.

Zac's smile deepened. He put his thin lips close to her ear and caressed her soft hair. Slowly, he whispered, "Honey, I like this suggestion." "Really?" With a smile, she secretly pinched him on his arm, turned around and whispered in his ear, "I have something better to say."

"What? I am all ears." His fingers ran through her hair and continued to play with it.

"This will happen but only in an imaginary world!" Her voice was so low that only the two of them could hear.

He blinked and tucked her hair behind her ear. He was determined to turn this imagination into reality.

At the sight of them, Finney thought they were flirting with each other, so she covered her mouth to snicker.

On the other hand, Antony was sitting there in silence, his thick eyebrows frowning, as if something was bothering him. Essie noticed that his face had become dark when aunt Wendy criticized Zac. It seemed as if he was the one who had been criticized.

She wanted to ask Anthony why his mood was off, but decided against it.

Soon, they got back to the apartment.

Just when she was going to take a nap, her phone buzzed, taking away her peace. 'Who would call me at this hour?' she wondered.

Seeing the caller ID, she was surprised. It was Hanson!

They hadn't seen each after the encounter at Bella's show.

Although she often thought of that night and his confession, she wouldn't act on it. After all, he was someone else's now.

Even if she hated Sunny, she would never be the woman to spoil their marriage.

She went to the balcony, making sure no one was around.

"Hello, Hanson." She tried her best to sound calm, but her nervousness was evident.

"Essie, I wanted to know if you were free now. At the moment, I am downstairs. Would you like to come out and have a cup of coffee?"

She hesitated for a moment but in the end she said, "Okay."

She herself had no idea why she had agreed to it! After putting down the phone, she took a deep breath, walked to the mirror, combed her hair and applied a layer of transparent lip gloss.

When she was about to open the door, a voice spoke from behind. "Where are you going?" Zac demanded.

"I... I am going to the supermarket to buy some fruits." Essie was an awful liar. She always got caught. Presently, guilt was clawing through her. But somehow, she consoled herself saying Zac had no business in her matters.

"Do you want to me accompany you? You could use another pair of hands," Zac suggested, a teasing smile playing around his lips.

"No, thanks." She shook her head and hurried out.

Zac wasn't suspicious at all. Lazily, he slouched on the sofa, hoping to take a nap. But before he closed his eyes, his eyes fell on the purple leather bag. She had forgotten to take it. 'What a silly girl!' he though to himself.

Knowing she would feel like an idiot at the supermarket, he caught hold of the bag and rushed outside.

When he reached downstairs, he saw the slender figure not far away.

Just when he was about to call her, something stopped him. The presence of a man left him stunned. Words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

Hanson came out of the Lamborghini which was parked at the corner. His smile was as charming as the sunlight.

"Hanson, have you waited long?" She smiled sweetly.

"I would wait for years if it meant I could see your beautiful face." He opened the car door in a graceful manner.

Seeing her disappear inside the car, Zac couldn't help but clench his fists. Once the car was out of his sight, he turned around and brutally punched the old tree next to him. The green branches trembled. Sand and leaves began to shower on his shoulders. Even though he was hurt, he didn't feel any pain. In short, the scene that had unfolded before him left him numb.

Not far away, another pair of eyes witnessed this scene.

'Oh my God! Is my daughter cheating on Zac?'

Lucy put her hand on her forehead and almost fainted. She couldn't wait to discuss about this to her husband. 'We were so busy testing Zac that we didn't even think about our daughter!' she thought with disappointment.