MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

The restaurant owner took Nathan's black credit card, turned around, and told the waiters to invite all customers to leave politely. It wasn't a surprise, of course, that some of the customers were dissatisfied. A man in a black suit complained to his wife, saying, "Money is not everything. I'm enjoying my dinner..."

A man from the next table asked him, "How much did they give you to leave?"

"A million dollars," the man in the suit replied.

"Me too," the other man said. "What the fuck! Who is that man? If he is paying each table a million dollars to leave, it will cost him over ten million dollars to clear the place out -plus, he is paying for our meals!"

At this time, the waiter walked over to Nathan's table. He looked at Joyce and Carlos and said, "Excuse me, Sir and Madam, Mr. Davis has booked the whole restaurant. I'm sorry, but I will have to ask you both to leave."

Joyce frowned when she heard this, and just as she was about to start arguing, she noticed the two bodyguards that had followed the waiter. They were standing behind him, tall and strong, with their arms folded across their chests. Joyce thought about how embarrassing it would be to have the guards drag them out, kicking and screaming, and she knew it was pointless to argue. So, instead, she smiled and said, "Everyone else has received compensation. Where is mine?"

Nathan laughed and said, "To be eligible for compensation, you need to be human. In my opinion, you are sub-human, so forget about it!"

Carlos glared at Nathan and said, "Mr. Davis, watch your mouth."

Nathan: "You're not qualified to teach me how to talk. I want to thank you for one thing, though."

Thank me? Thank me for what? - Carlos stared at Nathan doubtfully as the man cuddled up to Crystal and kissed her on her forehead. 

Nathan: "Thank you for breaking up with Crystal. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to woo such a priceless treasure."

Carlos suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe. He clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides, and his fingernails turned white. He felt as if a heavy rock had been placed on his chest, and he could not remove it.

Carlos was and had always been unwilling to admit his feelings for Crystal. He had thought and hoped that the love he felt for her would eventually fade. After all, love never lasts forever. So, he had tried to treat Crystal like a sister, and he was trying to love Joyce, not for who she was, but for the benefits that came from being with her. Only now did he realize his mistake. Crystal really was a priceless treasure, and he'd blown his chance with her. A priceless treasure, these three words echoed in his mind.

Carlos stood up and pulled Joyce out of her seat. "Let's go," he said. "I can tell when I'm not wanted."

Once Carlos and Joyce were gone, Crystal pulled away from Nathan. She gave him a dirty look and said, "That was a waste of money. You didn't have to do that."

"Why? Does your heart ache?" Nathan asked.

"I've already lost my heart, so that's not possible," Crystal replied. However, her heart did ache not because of Carlos but because of the three years of her youth that she had lost. And though Nathan didn't know why her heart ached, he saw through her lie easily.

Instead of saying something to comfort or tease Crystal, Nathan looked deeply into her eyes. On the outside, he looked calm and collected, but he was doing the Jitter-bug on the inside.

Crystal: "The money... Can I pay you back when I am able?"

"No," Nathan replied. "There is no need. You can't afford it anyway." Although Nathan was speaking the truth, his playful attitude and arrogant tone pierced Crystal' heart like an ice pick.

Of course, I can't afford it! - Crystal thought scornfully. But whose fault is that? If her mother hadn't given her inheritance to Nathan, Joyce would not be able to look down her nose at her, and she would not have had to endure the inborn superiority of the man in front of her.

The restaurant owner returned and gave the black card back to Nathan. Even though these cards came with exorbitant fees, they were in high demand because they allowed their carriers to enjoy this kind of first-class service globally.

Black cards were not publicly issued, nor could they be applied for. The banks would take the initiative to select a few people from among the platinum card users and invite them to join the program. Furthermore, one would not get a black card just because they were rich. Typically, they were reserved for dignitaries, billionaires, and celebrities.

Black cards used the real name initial system. On Nathan's card, though, it said "ES" on the lower-left corner, which was not the abbreviation for his name. Instead, it was that of Crystal's Mother, Elsa Smith - and when Crystal saw that, she was furious. Unfortunately, though, she couldn't do anything. Her mother had left everything to Nathan, so he was within his rights to use her Mother's money in whatever way he wanted.

Crystal still didn't understand why her mother had left everything to Nathan. Unfortunately, it was not the right time for her to take action against him, not if she didn't want to wake a sleeping dog. After all, even if Crystal discovered the truth, she couldn't do anything about it. At the moment, the only thing that she could do was to try to live with this man as tranquility as possible.

Once the waiter was gone, Crystal grabbed the black card and said, "How dare you swipe this card as if it were your own! How do you sleep at night?"

"Quite peacefully," Nathan replied. He leaned back on the chair, took a slight sip of his red wine, and asked, "Is it important who the card belongs to?"

When Crystal heard that, her fingers trembled, and she became so angry that her eyelashes shook. She had not expected him to admit his sins so readily. But why would I expect anything different from him? Asked herself -  Is it because he saved me yesterday, and he didn't take advantage of me, even though I was drugged? Is it because of what happened in the supermarket? Or is it because he said that I was a priceless treasure?

Crystal quickly hid her disappointment and

put the card lightly on the table. She pushed it forward and said, "Of course, it is not important. I was just surprised when you paid everyone to leave. It must be nice to have so much of someone else's money."

Nathan didn't understand why Crystal was so sensitive about the credit card, and he thought that she was acting like a hedgehog.