MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

Nathan had his arms around Crystal's waist, but he didn't dare to touch her breasts. If he did, he didn't think he could control himself. He tried to think about the last thing she'd said, and then he asked her, "Don't you have a party to attend tonight?"

"I do," Crystal replied. "But I'm not interested in going. There is a bet on whether I will show up or not, and the amount of the bet has passed the half-million mark. It seems rather silly to me." She pushed him away and sat up. "I am definitely not worth that much money…

"Not worth that much money?!?!" Nathan exclaimed. "You are worth that and more. Much more!"

Crystal sighed, but before she could reply, there was a knock on the door. "What do you need?" Nathan asked, not unkindly. "We're naked in here, so please don't come in."

"I have fresh clothes for you," one of the servants replied. "I will leave them outside the door."

Nathan thanked the servant, and once he was confident that she was gone, he collected the clothes from the hallway. On top of the pile, there was a box of tampons. He handed these to Crystal along with the items that had been left for her, and they both got dressed.

As Crystal put on her socks, she received a text message. As she read it, Nathan said,

"You're popular. What now?"

"It's from Joyce," Crystal replied. "Here, let me read it to you. It says, 'I hope to see you at the party. I bet a lot of money that you'd be there."

Nathan sat beside Crystal so that he could follow the conversation.

Crystal: "I don't plan on going. Sorry." 

Joyce: "Are you sure? I have a video that might interest you. You are in it. There are two Tibetan Mastiffs in it as well. I had no idea that you liked dogs so much!"

Crystal knew immediately what Joyce was talking about, and she was filled with rage. She gripped her phone so tightly that Nathan thought she might break it. "How did Vannessa get the video?" Crystal muttered. She felt utterly helpless and hopeless, but she refused to let her enemies see her underbelly. "So what?" she typed. "The video is a fake."

Joyce: "I know that, and you know that, but when I show it to our classmates, they will assume that it's real."

Crystal bit her lower lip fiercely, but she didn't feel any pain. "What do you want?" she asked.

Joyce: "All that I want is for you to attend the party. Come alone. If you do that, I will keep the video to myself."

Crystal: "Fine. I will go."

****

The party was on a luxurious cruise ship, and when Crystal arrived, she immediately felt out of place. One of the reasons for this was that she had not followed the dress code. All of the other women were wearing evening dresses, but she was wearing a white t-shirt and light blue jeans. But, of course, she was not there to party. She was there because she had been given an ultimatum, and she didn't dare to go.

Onboard the ship, people were dancing, drinking, laughing, and having a good time. The place was alive with the chatter of people catching up with each other and reuniting, but all of that changed the instant Crystal stepped aboard. A silence descended, and all eyes turned in her direction.

Everyone was shocked. First of all, they hadn't expected her to show up. So, for her to show up in casual clothing was mind-boggling. For a while, nobody said anything, but then, as if on cue, everyone began to talk all at once. They wondered why she was dressed the way she was. Someone mentioned that her boyfriend was a gigolo. Another person brought up the egging incident that happened outside the hospital. As she approached the crowd, though, the talking stopped.

Judy was there, and she was as surprised as anyone to see Crystal. "We didn't expect you!" she exclaimed. "Didn't you say that you weren't coming? Are you alone, or did you bring your boyfriend?"

Crystal smiled and said, "He wishes that he could be here, but he works nights." 

Judy: "He is a good singer, but he'll never get anywhere by singing in bars."

"Everyone has different ambitions," Crystal replied absently. She looked around, but she didn't see Joyce.

The women all had dates, but their men were all secretly admiring Crystal. Even though Crystal was dressed casually and wasn't beautiful in a traditional way, something about her captured their attention and held it.

Cecelia had overheard their conversation, and she strolled over. She smirked as she turned to Judy. "How could her boyfriend be a bar singer?" she asked. "He's the boss of a big corporation." She turned to Crystal to see what she'd say. "Isn't that right?"

"Not really," Crystal replied. She knew that even if she told the truth, there was no way to make anyone believe anything that they didn't want to believe. Thus, in this situation, it was easier to lie. To her surprise, though, Cecelia didn't call her out on her lie. She must be setting a trap for me - thought Crystal - I will need to be more vigilant than ever!

"If you do not have a wealthy boyfriend, then where do you get all of your money?" Cecelia asked. "Even if you were an escort, you wouldn't have as much money as you do!" 

And there's the trap - thought Crystal.

Judy glared at Cecelia when she heard what she'd said. Then she touched Crystal's arm and said, "Be careful of Cecilia. She and her friends are thinking of ways to calculate you. Don't go off alone with them, okay? The more people that you are around, the safer you will be. Anyway, it was nice talking to you. I need to visit the little girl's room."

Crystal nodded and thanked Judy. She hadn't expected such frank advice.

A man called Crystal's name suddenly, and she turned around quickly. She smiled when she saw Carlos Foster's handsome face. He was wearing a black suit, and he had a champagne flute in each of his hands.

"Crystal Smith, as I live and breathe." Carlos smiled and offered her one of the glasses of champagne that he'd been carrying. Once she'd accepted it, he said, "Thank you for stopping the acquisition of the Henry Group."

"You don't have to thank me," Crystal replied. 

"I had personal reasons for doing what I did."