MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

Dinner was about halfway through, and it seemed that the evening would pass without incident. The falling snow had put everyone in a jovial mood, and everyone was exchanging stories about winters from their childhood. And for the moment, all was forgotten, and there was only this moment. Even Clark seemed to have forgotten his bag of toys.

But then Nathan's brow furrowed, and he turned to Crystal. "Why didn't you answer my phone call from earlier?" His tone was cold. "And why didn't you eat the medicine soup that was prepared for you? Do you think that you can get away from me? That is nuts, by the way. By now, you should know that I am not that easy to get rid of!" As he spoke, he reached forward and began to manhandle Crystal's breasts.

Crystal was aghast. She shoved his hands away, and then she looked around the table. Thankfully, everyone was paying attention to the snow. No one had seen what had just transpired between them. "What is your problem?" she hissed. "Have you no decency?"

"None at all," he replied. "I want to have a baby. Until you are pregnant, nothing else matters. By the way, have you seen the cradle that I bought?"

Crystal glared at him. "I'm not even pregnant. Why did you buy a cradle?" 

"Don't worry." Nathan chuckled. "It will come in handy, and sooner rather than later. You'll see!"

Crystal's ire began to rise, and her cheeks turned red. "Nathan, did you forget that I'm married to someone else."

"You could divorce him just as easily as you married him," Nathan argued. "Then we could get married! We were happy once, weren't we? So, why can't we be happy again?"

Crystal shook her head sadly and said, "No. It's not going to happen. We cannot go back. And besides, I was never happy with you. I was your prisoner!"

"At the very least, you should divorce Eric!" Nathan shouted. "You don't love him either!"

"Eric's not going to let me divorce him," Crystal replied. "He is nearly as possessive as you are!"

Nathan lit a cigarette. He took a long drag and blew it into her face. Then, while their faces were close, he whispered into her ear: "What do you want from me."

"I want you to let me go," she replied.

Nathan's pupils dilated. "You know that I can't do that."

Crystal felt like she was about to explode, but Clark grabbed her hand, and she had to force herself to calm down and force herself to smile. "What is it, little guy?"

Clark smiled and said, "Aunt Crystal, it's snowing outside."

Crystal was stupefied.

"Shall we go and see the snow?" he asked.

Crystal could not help but smile. His innocent excitement had served as the perfect antidote to her anger, and his insertion into the situation had forced Nathan to back off.

Nathan looked at Crystal with Clark. He saw that she was good with the boy, and he was more determined than ever to have a child with her, to serve as a mediator between them.

Crystal scratched Clark's nose and said, "Little thing, you haven't even finished your meal yet. If you do not eat it up, you will get hungry later."

Clark turned to Nancy and said, "Please, Mom... Please! Please! Please! 

"Sure." Nancy shrugged. "I can make you a pizza later. It's not a big deal."

Crystal gave Nancy a skeptical look. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Nancy nodded. "This is the first time he has seen snow. Of course, he is excited. Would you like to go out and play?"

"Pizza and Snow!" Clark clapped his hands. "Come on, Auntie! I love pizza, and I love snow!"

Nancy smiled at Crystal and said, "By the way, I made you something delicious to celebrate the fact that you're not related to Paul."

Nathan looked startled. He raised his eyebrows. "Are the results in?" he asked.

"They are," Nancy replied. "And Crystal and Paul are not related. We can celebrate later, though. For now, let's go play with Clark in the snow!"

It only took a few moments for everyone to get dressed, so it was still snowing when they got outside. Wolf had been sleeping in the doghouse, and when he heard the door open, he jumped to his feet and ran over to greet them. When he got to Clark, he started jumping around and wagging his tail like crazy.

Clark gently tugged at the dog's tail, and he began to shout, "Clark rides Wolf! Clark rides Wolf! Clark rides Wolf!"

"Are you going to ride him again?" Crystal asked. "He's a dog, not a horse..."

"Clark is so little that Wolf is a horse to him!" Nancy explained, and she helped her son mount the dog.

Clark squealed with glee as the dog carried him about the yard.

"Be careful!" Nancy shouted. "Hold on tight, and don't fall."

"He's quite the dog!" Crystal exclaimed. 

Nathan laughed. "Dogs are intelligent animals. Crystal, I'm surprised that you didn't know that..."

"Nathan, you are such an asshole sometimes." Having said that, she crouched down, formed a snowball, and threw it at Nathan. Unfortunately, it missed, and the one that he threw back at her did not.

"Nancy!" Crystal shouted for backup. "You've got to help me!"

Nancy clumsily formed a snowball and handed it to Crystal. She threw it at Nathan, but because it had not been packed well enough, it split apart into a million pieces. Noah was better at making snowballs, though, and he handed Crystal one that was the size and weight of a hardball. "Don't aim for his head," he whispered. "It's an ice ball!"

Crystal felt its weight, and after a second, she said, "It's too heavy. You throw it!"

Noah nodded, took aim, and threw the ice ball at Nathan with all of his strength. Nathan turned and ducked at just the wrong moment, and it hit him in the back of the head, forcing him face first into the snow.

The minute he hit the ground, everyone started laughing. "Are you going to surrender?" Crystal asked.

"Never!" Nathan snarled. He had an angry expression on his face, but everyone could tell that he was having fun. Suddenly, Vic came around the corner. He had two snowballs, and he gave them both to Nathan. Both snowballs missed their targets, though, and they all erupted into fits of laughter. Even Nathan and Vic were laughing.

Crystal had not been so relaxed for a long time. She lay back in the snow, looked up at the sky, and thought - This will be my first Christmas with Nathan.. She remembered previous Christmases with Carlos, and she marveled at how much had changed since then.