Chapter 3 A Painful Choice

As a lady from the upper class, it should have been a piece of cake for her to attend such a dinner party. However, in the case of Madeline who went abroad alone at the age of sixteen, it wasn't an easy task. She was very nervous.

It was the first time that she had worn such a beautiful and elegant dress. Through its soft fabric and intricate details, it was obvious that it cost a lot. She liked it very much, but it was a little revealing.

"This is my first daughter, Madeline."

Emilee held her hand to introduce her to the man that was in front of them. She gently patted her daughter and smiled, "This is Uncle Li."

Emilee was being kind to her like a real mother.

"Uncle Li," she called out softly.

The uncle looked very young that his grey hair didn't match his face at all.

"I didn't know you had another daughter. I'm very sorry that I'm not well-informed." He glanced at Madeline before he returned his attention to her mother.

Emilee replied with a smile, "She was studying abroad and just came back yesterday."

The man gave her a once-over. He was downright checking her out and he didn't even bother to hide it.

The party was lively yet elegant. Delicious western food was served, and it was graced with a dance that was performed by dazzling men and women from the elite class.

"Miss Luo, would you like to dance with me?"

"Sorry, I can't dance."

"That was such a bad excuse!"

"I really can't dance, I'm sorry."

Madeline bowed quickly and retreated to the far end of the hall.

She heaved a sigh of relief when no one tried to approach her.

Did she look that good tonight? Why did those men keep on accosting her?

"Are you proud of yourself?" A familiar voice came from behind and just as she had expected, Helen appeared in front of her.

"What do you mean?" she asked and furrowed her brows in confusion.

"You've become the center of attention of this party," Helen answered with contempt.

Madeline shook her head and replied, "I don't like it."

"Is that your attempt of pretending to be aloof?" she snorted at her.

"I didn't want to come here today, and you know that." Madeline fired back.

Helen came closer and whispered in her ear disdainfully, "Don't be so cocky. I'm telling you, even if your surname is Luo, you will always be lower than me. I am the real Miss Luo."

With that, she left the premises without waiting for a response.

Madeline followed Helen's retreating figure with her eyes and sighed heavily.

When she lowered her head, she noticed the love bite that occupied a spot on her chest area.

In an instant, that one enchanting night flashed through her mind.

The feeling of that man's strong and firm grip against her body and their exchanges of gasps penetrated and lingered in her heart.

At the Li Group building.

The ringing of the phone echoed through the office.

He raised his head upon the disturbance as he grabbed the phone to answer it.

"Hey… Oh, Ethel… What? You're in Paris? Then what about that night? I see… It's alright, bye!"

The call was long dropped but he seemed to be in his deep thought. The words were still ringing in his ears.

If it wasn't her, then who was it?

His girlfriend abroad just called him to tell him that she had some business in Paris that night. That meant she didn't go to their supposed meeting.

Bryan, who had always been calm and collected, was disheartened by it.

Mary put an aphrodisiac in his drink that night. After that, a woman came, and they made love crazily but that was only because he thought that was his girlfriend.

Who was she?

What did the blood on the bed sheet mean?

He stretched his hand and took out a pendant from his drawer. Bryan wasn't sure why he kept that thing when he found it on the bed the next day.

It was just a simple pendant. A blue-colored dolphin. Judging from its design, it must be one of a pair. He looked closer at it and found a name carved on it.

Written in cursive letters was Maddie.

Bryan was pulled out of his thought when Kent Wu, his secretary, called, "Boss, Mr. Blake brought another woman to the hotel!"

"I want you to keep an eye on him."

He could only sigh in frustration. His cousin was causing too much trouble.

It turned out that Uncle Li, whom Emilee introduced to Madeline at the party, was the richest man in Spring City. His name was Yosef Li, chairman of the Li Group. It was one of the top ten enterprises in the country.

Her sister Helen was engaged to his grandson, Blake Li.

It was undoubtedly a marriage of convenience between families. She was surprised to find out that Yosef was already in his seventies as it wasn't obvious.

Auntie Nia came up to her secretly and told her that Blake was a notorious playboy in the city.

At that information, she couldn't help but pity her sister who was engaged to him.

Emilee agreed to her plea to meet Rory the next day. When she was about to leave, something uncalled for happened.

They found out that Helen slept with someone last night.

The news was like a bolt from the blue for Emilee. She was so furious that she beat Helen until she couldn't take any more of her hitting.

Madeline didn't want to get involved but it would be too awkward to suddenly disappear like that.

Once everything was calm, she decided that that was the cue for her to go. When she was about to step out, Emilee said something that made her feel like she was doused with cold water.

"What? You want me to marry Blake?" she asked in disbelief. "No, I will never do that."

Madeline waved her hand and refused the idea immediately.

Emilee withdrew her demanding voice and decided to speak calmly. "You have no idea why we decided to engage your sister to Blake. Did you really think that your father has gone on a business trip?"

Madeline gasped at the new information and waited for her to continue what she was saying.

"The Luo Group is involved in a lawsuit and your father went abroad to avoid that. Only Yosef can save your father and our company. Do you want to see your father in prison and the Luo Group fall apart?"

Upon the new knowledge, her feet faltered that she almost fell on her knees.

"How could this be?" she muttered under her breath.

"Once the Li family finds out that your sister is no longer pure, everything will be over…"

Tears appeared at the corners of Emilee's eyes.

"Still, I won't engage myself in this kind of marriage. And you can't change my mind!" Madeline shook her head as tears streamed down her face.

She didn't want to marry out of convenience. She wanted to marry the man that she loved.

Even if she couldn't marry him, she wouldn't marry anyone else.

"Do you really wish to ignore your father and the Luo Group when you know you can do something about it?" asked Emilee.

"My father abandoned me, and the Luo Group doesn't belong to me. Why do I have to make this sacrifice? I'd rather leave without money than marry anyone else."

When Emilee saw the determined look on her face, she decided to use her hidden card. "Rory is directly related to this matter," she began. "He has been taken into custody. You can ignore everything else, but can you withstand seeing your savior spend the rest of his life in prison? Think about it."

"You've planned this, haven't you? Why do you have to put me in this situation?"

Everything became crystal clear to Madeline now. She was the one who was going to be sacrificed for this marriage to work. What the Li family wanted was a daughter of the Luo family.

So that was why there was a meeting between them at the party.

She finally realized the value that she had in this family. However, she wasn't sure if that was something that she should be happy about.

Emilee stepped out to give her privacy. She was left alone in the room―no, scratch that. She was alone in this world.

Madeline sobbed at the thought. That was the moment that she felt as if the world had turned its back on her.

She had been so excited to return home, thinking that this would be the start of a new life. It turned out that this would just be another hell.

What was she supposed to do now?

Maybe she should just leave and let her father handle everything. After all, it was his fault the Luo Group was now suffering a losing battle, right? Then what about her savior? She didn't have the heart to just let his life fall into ruins.