Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Max Gaston’s masculine aura assaulted Mary. His raspy voice, which was now filled with desire, reverberated in her ears, “I’ll teach you!”
What happened next was not within Mary’s control. She was no match for Max Gaston.
—
Mary was carried back to her bed in a daze. Max’s masculine voice rang out beside her ear, “From now on, I’ll be responsible for loving you.”
Mary was so tired that she could not open her eyes. She did not know what exactly Max meant by ‘loving’ her.
Max looked at Mary who was sound asleep, his gaze gradually becoming deeper.
He walked over to the dressing table a few minutes later and picked up the box that had been left there. He opened the box and stared at its contents for a full minute. He was sure that the necklace that Mary wanted to give Sofia was similar to the one he had given Sandra.
There was something hidden within. That was why he had dared to use the necklace as bait to get Mary to take the initiative this once. He knew that Mary would voluntarily satisfy his request in order to deliver this necklace.
Once Mary had taken the initiative, he would not let her go so easily.
He was approaching 30 and had his desires too. He could ignore Sandra White in the past only because he had never liked her. Though he had no memory of the night five years ago, he was very clear about his desire for Mary when they interacted outside the villa the other night.
It was an impulse that he could not stop. It was the same tonight. He could not stop himself the moment it started.
He turned to look at Mary on the bed, then stared at the necklace in his hands. Ultimately, Mary still did not trust him and regarded him as an enemy. She made merry with him only to accomplish her motive. His eyes dulled once again.
—
It was late at night at the Liams’ residence, but Mr. Liam’s roar could still be heard. Mr. Liam threw an ashtray at John, which hit him before it fell onto the ground. Mrs. Liam, who had been standing at the side, worried for her son and ran forward to protect him. She shouted at Mr. Liam, “George Liam, what the f*ck are you doing? I’ll fight with you to the death if our son is hurt in any way!”
After she was done shouting at George, she asked John with concern, “John, does it hurt?”
“You spoil him too much,” George Liam grunted as he pointed at his wife.
John knitted his brows and said straightforwardly, “All I want is to be together with the person I love. This has nothing to do with Mom. You can sever your relations with me if you think that I am disgracing our family.”
“John, what are you saying? How can you talk about severing familial relations? You are at fault in this matter. Apologize to your father quickly,” Mrs. Liam coaxed, scared silly by what John had said.
How could she allow John to be cut off from the family? She only had one son.
John Liam was very determined when he said, “I will not participate in a transactional marriage.”
George Liam laughed in his anger, “You’re not going to use your marriage as a transaction? I don’t mind you marrying the woman you like, but at least find a woman who’s pure. You found yourself a woman who had a child before she’s even married. Would that have happened if she were any good?”
“I don’t agree with you on this too, John,” Mrs. Liam added. She shared Mr. Liam’s perspective on this matter, and said earnestly, “John, you are an exceptional man. You could get any girl you want. You cannot bring a woman with a child back to the Liams. We will become the laughing stock of Sheares in the future if you do that.”
“Do you all love your reputation more than you love me?” John asked, deeply disappointed.
He truly loved Mary Hanks.
Initially, he had wanted to tell his family about Mary after he had successfully wooed her. However, tonight, his father had asked him to get engaged to Tracy Polt. He told him clearly that he already had someone he loved and that she a child before marriage.
Mr. Liam exploded in fury because of that and threw the ashtray at John. “Would we have let you do anything you wanted if we did not love you?” Mr. Liam asked, his expression dark. “If you really don’t fancy that Polt girl, you can find some other proper girl to marry. Don’t even think about bringing a woman who doesn’t respect herself back here.”
“Mary was forced. That was an accident. She has always been innocent and pure in my heart,” John rebutted. His feelings for Mary had never changed over the years.
“Mary?” Mrs. Liam quizzed, “That Mary that you liked back then? That lass who was being raised by the Gastons?” She had gotten the gist of what John had said and was staring at him.
“That girl from the Gastons?” George Liam asked. Though he did not know which Mary they were referring to, he did recognize Mary Hanks from the Gaston family.
John Liam clenched his teeth. There were no longer any secrets now that the conversation had reached this point. He nodded and answered, “It’s her.”
—
Mary woke up in pain on Saturday morning. She had just raised her hand when something she touched immediately caused her to open her eyes in shock. “Max, why are you on my bed?”
Mary looked the man sleeping beside her and her expression changed a little.
Max had also just woken up and looked a different kind of sexy. He nonchalantly sat up and said, “I had intended to leave when we were done yesterday night— But you grabbed my arm and did not let me go.”
Max turned his head to look at Mary, who was lying on the bed. He sounded like he meant it. Mary stared at him as if she were looking at an alien. She asked, “How is that possible?”
Max’s expression did not change as he replied, “I didn’t think it was possible too, but it was you who did not let me leave.”
“Go back to your room right now. Immediately,” Mary knitted her brows and tried to chase him away.
Max Gaston asked, “Do you not want me to get a set of clothes for you? I carried you to bed after I helped you wash up yesterday night, but I didn’t find you anything to wear.”
He had nearly failed to control himself when he was hugging her throughout the night.
Mary’s fair face turned beet red the as Max carried on speaking. She grunted, “Max Gaston, shut up.”
“Alright,” Max replied. He was afraid that she was going to kick him off the bed if he continued. He put on his clothes and went back to his room to wash up.
Mary flipped the blanket aside to look at her body. She was indeed not wearing anything except for the attention-grabbing kiss marks.
She closed her eyes and got off the bed, then she opened them again. Her legs had gone soft. She very slowly walked into the dressing room to put some clothes on, then went to the bathroom to wash up.
She looked at herself in the mirror and the image of Max hugging her yesterday night involuntarily surfaced in her mind . Max Gaston might look gentlemanly with his clothes on, but without, he was a full-fledged beast.
Mary knew that Max had only done that because she required a favor from him. She had no choice but to go through him to obtain evidence.
She walked out of the bathroom and noticed that the box was still on the dressing table. She went over to examine the necklace and only put it back into the box after she was sure that there were no problems with it.
Max did not bring Jason back to the Gastons as Mary was heading there to interview Sandra White today.
Mary also did not go back with Max. Instead, she headed to the Gastons’ with Priscilla and Andrew.
Andrew drove while Priscilla and Mary sat at the back. The two of them were in the middle of a conversation when Mary’s phone rang. Mary raised her brows when she saw the caller’s ID. She accepted the call with her slender finger and greeted without emotion, “Hello.”
“Mary Hanks, have you gone mad? You already have Max Gaston’s son but you are still hell-bent on destroying John?” Tracy Polt scolded from the other end of the line.
Mary did not know what all this was about. She had a mocking look in her eyes as she retorted, “Ms. Polt, are you talking about yourself? Did you call to curse at me without reason, all for a man? You are one who is mad.”
Mary was not going to let Tracy Polt do anything she wanted to her just because she was a client.
“I’m scolding you without reason? Mary Hanks, will you only stop after John severs his ties with the Liams?” Tracy asked.
Mary did not want to continue listening to Tracy’s madness. She immediately hung up. Beside her, Priscilla Johnson asked with concern, “Mary, is there a problem?”
“Everything’s fine,” Mary answered. She got distracted for a second, then instructed Andrew to take more photos of Sandra White later and to take make sure that they were good.
Andrew, however, had been thinking about how he was going to take Sandra’s photos from unflattering angles. He responded dejectedly after he heard Mary’s instructions. “Alright.”
At the Gastons’ residence, Sandra White was dolled up very nicely. Her long, curly hair draped in front of her shoulders, which made her look elegant and sexy. Sofia Garcia had also intentionally dressed well. She had discussed the matter with Sandra and was also going to answer a few questions later.
The two of them were just discussing how to embarrass Mary later when a maid reported that Max Gaston was back.
Sandra was elated. She stood up and was about to run out to receive him. However, Sofia grabbed her arm and said, “Don’t go. Wait for Max to come in by himself.”
Sandra hesitated for a moment, then smiled and nodded, “Alright.”
Max Gaston walked into the living room. Sandra White could not stop herself from going forward to hold his arm. She said with a gentle smile, “Max, what brings you back?”
Max dodged Sandra’s hands and walked toward Sofia who was seated at the sofa. There was a flash of disappointment in Sandra’s eyes, but she quickly replaced it with a smile and followed behind Max.
Sofia was unsatisfied with Max’s attitude toward Sandra. She knitted her brows and reprimanded, “Max, you must treat Sandra better.”
“Sofia, Max treats me very well,” Sandra interrupted with a smile. The gaze that she looked at Max with was filled with love.
Max glanced at her coldly, then took out an exquisite red felt box from his pocket. He put on a smile and said, “Mother, I bought you a necklace. Let me put it on for you.”
“Why did you buy me a necklace?” Sofia asked, very shocked.
Max answered flatly, “I got one for Sandra two days ago, so naturally, I had to get you one too.”
Sofia glanced at Max, a little annoyed, “It’s only right that you got Sandra a necklace, but you didn’t have to buy one for me.”
“It’s not like I have no money,” Max retorted. Max had been very casual about the conversation. He took out the necklace for Sofia to see. It was a design that she fancied. Max knew that Sofia would accept the necklace from the smile on her face..