“My mom is so weird. She’s so nice to Crystal. Shouldn’t she be nicer to me? We haven’t seen each other for years, so it’s fine if she’s estranged from me, but she treats my arch-enemy really well. Crystal’s an opportunistic b*tch. Even my mom can’t resist her charms. Gosh, she must be a seductress! She charms and manipulates the important people in my life, including my mom.”
As soon as Christopher asked me, I began to pour out my sorrows.
I babbled on, “I should be the one spending time with Mom as her daughter, be it shopping, getting a facial, having lunch, or joking around. Since when did I become a stranger to her? It’s fine if Mom didn’t defend me when I got bullied by Crystal, but she wanted me to apologize to her! Who is her daughter now? Me, or Crystal?”
Christopher listened with a serious expression on his face. He frowned as something crossed his mind. He fell into silence for a while before saying, “Don’t be angry. You haven’t seen each other for years, so it’s normal for a barrier to exist between you two. Your mom doesn’t like it when you meet my family. Thus, she’ll have her own opinions about it. Perhaps she’s behaving like this to get you to be nice to her and let go of the Lane family.”
“Really?” I thought Christopher had a point. “But why Crystal? She’s the bane of my life, and I can’t shake her off. Have I been cursed by her?”
“I met Mr. Goldstein this morning. He’s supportive of us, so you don’t have to worry about it,” Christopher said coolly.
“You’ve met my dad?!” I blinked.
“Yeah, we talked about business. Mr. Goldstein seems rather friendly as if anyone can get some goodies from him. But when it comes to business, he’s really shrewd. I was nearly ensnared by him,” Christopher said.
“What? You should be careful, then. Don’t be manipulated by him. Julia left the Lane family’s business to you, so you must guard it properly,” I replied hastily.
“Relax. Do you think I’ll be easily manipulated? Even though Mr. Goldstein is your father, I won’t sacrifice my business for my lover,” he said.
With a smile, Christopher gently brushed a finger against my nose. Still, there was a flash of worry in his eyes. Undoubtedly, what he had discussed with Mark was related to the latter’s illegal dealings that brought huge profits to him. Now that his business had expanded, he wanted Christopher to join him and grow the business further, instead of putting a stop to it.
As a soldier from the special forces, Christopher would not tolerate people who did such things under his watch. He had advised Mark against it. In return, Mark scowled and gave him an ultimatum.
“Christopher, you have two choices now. One, join us. Two, become our enemy. Whether you become our friend or foe, it’s up to you to decide. However, I must remind you that if you become our enemy, Yvonne will get hurt regardless of the outcome. You’d better think this through,” Mark threatened.
This issue bothered Christopher, and he still had not made his decision. Mark was right. If he became an enemy of Mark and something bad happened to him, Yvonne would be devastated. Similarly, if something horrible occurred to Isabelle and Mark, she would be upset, too, as they were the parents she always longed for.
Christopher was stymied. The challenge he faced had transformed into an unalterable situation. He wanted to come up with a win-win solution so that Yvonne would not be caught in between, but his effort was in vain.
