MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

When Nathan refused to get out of Crystal's way, she tried to push past him. As she did this, though, he leaned into her, and she was overwhelmed by his warm, familiar breath.

Crystal frowned and asked him, "What are you doing?" She hated the fact that when he approached her, she was always powerless to resist him.

Nathan glared at her. "How dare you enslave Mrs. Davis?" he hissed.

Crystal winced and took a few steps backward. "Wh-Wh-What do y-you mean?" she stammered.

Nathan: "How dare you force Helen to cook for you?!?!"

Crystal's face turned white, and she was too surprised to speak. Luckily, Helen was nearby, and she hurriedly explained: "I made too much food, and so I invited Miss Smith to have some."

Nathan nodded. Then he walked behind Helen and hugged her slender waist with one arm, just like how he had cuddled Crystal in the past. He propped his chin on Helen's shoulders, and in a gentle voice, he said, "Why do you still call her Miss Smith? She's going to marry your brother, so we should call her Mrs. Bush."

"I'm just not used to it yet," Helen admitted. She turned to Crystal and said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Bush. You don't mind, do you?" 

Crystal took a deep breath, shook her head, and said, "No worries. I don't mind."

Nathan held Helen's hands and asked her, "Did you hurt your hands?"

Helen: "No."

Nathan brought her hands to his chest and said, "Every part of your body is mine. You are not allowed to get hurt unless you have my permission."

Helen: "Hmm. I see."

The display of affection between Nathan and Helen was uncomfortable for Crystal to watch, so she tried once more to go back to her room. Unfortunately, he stopped her again. "You haven't thanked Helen," he said. "We call you, 'Mrs. Bush, but you don't even have the most basic etiquette?"

"It doesn't matter," Helen argued. "Mrs. Bush is my elder. It is not necessary."

Nathan snorted and said, "She is not a patch on you."

Crystal's face turned red from anger when she heard that. "I didn't even want the fucking toast!" she growled. "And if you do not like my etiquette, then quit provoking me. I am warning you; if you keep it up, I can be even more impolite. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going upstairs!"

Nathan laughed as Crystal stormed up to their room. He was only pretending to be HE, and it was more fun than he had imagined it would be. And it will all work out in the end - he reminded himself.

****

In Crystal and Nathan's bedroom - "No matter what you do to me," Crystal muttered. "I will not forgive you. Never!"

She went to her bed, picked up a pillow, and hit it hard against the bed. She did this repeatedly until she had vented all her rage, and, finally, she laid down. She closed her eyes and tried to put her troubles out of her mind. She had only been resting for a few minutes, though, before her phone rang.

Crystal sighed as she sat up and checked the Caller ID. It was her real estate agent. She accepted the call and said, "Hello?"

"Miss Smith," the agent said. "This is your real estate agent. The villa you've commissioned me to sell attracted a lot of buyers, but when people learn that it's your house, they don't call me back."

Crystal: "Why?"

The agent: "You can ask Mr. Davis for the details. After your discussion, if you still want to sell your house, feel free to call me again."

Crystal hung up the phone without saying goodbye, and she rushed to the study.

Nathan was sitting behind his desk as if he didn't have a care in the world. Crystal glared at him and said, "Why did you stop me from selling my villa?"

Nathan shrugged and said, "Do you need money?"

Crystal: "That's none of your business!" Nathan shrugged again and said nothing. 

Crystal took a deep breath and tried to soften her tone. "Listen," she said. "My friend's Father - Serenity's Father is sick. She needs money to pay for his medical expenses. Without it, he'll die…."

Nathan: "So? What is Serenity or her father to me?"

"So?!?!" Crystal exclaimed. "They mean something to me!!!" She didn't dare to look in his eyes for fear that he might discern the truth, that she was lying. "I want to sell the house and lend money to her!" Serenity's father was sick, but not to the extent that he needed her to sell the house. She just wanted to save some money for the life she planned to live after she left Nathan.

Nathan: "How much do you need?"

Crystal: "Five million."

Nathan was not stingy, but he wasn't stupid either. He knew that nobody would sell their house to lend 5 million dollars to a friend, even if it were a life and death situation. Nathan thought she must underestimate his IQ.

Crystal: "How about you lend the money to me? Or, if you prefer, I could sell you the house..."

Nathan was thinking - It seems that she is determined to marry Eric Bush. Obviously, she wants to sell the house and disassociate herself from me. For her, the house doesn't have any memories worth treasuring. That doesn't mean that I have to make this easy for her, though! "The house does not have any investment value," he said. And the reason why I won't allow you to sell it is that the true owner is not yet known."

Crystal: "Then lend me the money."

Nathan: "If you need money so badly, why don't you ask your fiancé?"

"Give me a break!" Crystal snapped. "Will you or won't you lend me the money?"

"I'm not a charity!" Nathan snapped back. "When will you pay it back?"

"I don't know," Crystal admitted. "Could you treat it as a gift to me?"

Nathan: "Why would I do that?"

Dorus: "I'm your ex-wife. As my ex-husband, you should pay me alimony."

Nathan laughed and said, "You're not my ex-wife. As I know, you are Nathan's ex-wife." 

Crystal was taken aback. "We're not back to that again, are we?" Suddenly, she wanted to smash his teeth into his face with her fist. Instead, her left eye twitched, and she said, "Fine. If I am your plaything, you should pay me for my labor."

Nathan smirked, and he said, "As my plaything, you should be servicing me and me alone, but who have you been performing for these past two days?"

Crystal: "Don't you have Helen? What do you want me for?"

Nathan: "It's not her that is asking me for money. And besides, she is pregnant! What am I going to do with that? Isn't her pregnancy the reason why you were brought to me?"