"So why did you bother him in the first place? I just can't believe that he was just acting on impulse or that he hadn't been informed of what we might have done before." Paul was gripped by a fit of anger. He could have lived a comfortable and carefree life abroad. Now he was forced to come back to China to face a boatload of troubles.

  "I'm not a fool. It wasn't me. I was in no mood to provoke him face to face. It was just that Mary wanted to be his wife and made a real mess."

  How could their family have broken up if Mary hadn't clung to her silly and hopeless infatuation for Edward? She even ignored all the other guys who wanted her. So, extravagant and fruitless hope was a real bitch in life.

  "What's wrong with her, always making so much trouble? Twenty years ago she prevented you from marrying Leo. Now, she's the main problem. Everything crushing us now is her fault." Paul hadn't seen Mary since her childhood and he had lots of memories of her as a mischievous kid. Mary never made a good impression on him. Apparently he was a good judge of character.

  "Forget about it. What's done is done. There's nothing to be done about it. Our next move should be the main concern. If you hadn't been such a fool as to blurt out everything while you were being recorded, we wouldn't be in such dire straits. We should be playing offense, not defense, "

  Yakira sighed. Without evidence, they couldn't be accused or charged even if their enemies had known the facts. Paul had told them everything in detail, which was bad, because cops were more likely to investigate further, and the results might lead to them. When that happened, they would be doomed and there would be no way out.

  "Nonsense. What would you do if you were hung over a pond with ferocious crocodiles swimming in it? Could you stay calm? Come on, I like living." He had always been smart and bold. Nothing could scare him, except dozens of those beasts opening their wide mouths and waiting for him to fall. The prospect of him being torn apart and his body parts being chewed and swallowed by those nasty animals sent chill to his balls. Otherwise, he would never have given in and told them everything.

  "What? Crocodiles?" Hearing his words, Yakira couldn't help taking a deep breath. The images in her mind's eye made her hair stand on end.

  "Yeah. Now we understand each other, right?" Paul sneered. He had thought his cousin was afraid of nothi

  Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.

  To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.

  "As long as I'm alive, I'm still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."

  She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.

  Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.

  ew it to him. She felt disgusted by her cousin's greed.

  "Please, don't lie to my face. I'm not a kid. Did you just say that the wife of Ouyang Foreign Trade's president is out of money? I don't buy it. By the way, how much do you have on this card? I hope that you're not as mean as Brian, " said Paul, smiling and wielding the card aggressively. He blurted out his recent meeting with Brian before he knew it.

  "What? Did you talk to Brian and ask for money?" asked Yakira in a fury. She grabbed him by the collar and looked at him, her eyes blazing with anger.

  "Don't make a scene. A half mil means nothing to your family or Brian. You can spare the cash for me. Am I right? Cousin?" Paul giggled. Paul removed her hand from his collar, and arranged it calmly, which further angered Yakira. She clenched her teeth, and tried hard to refrain herself from hitting him in the face.

  "All right. You can have the money. But what did you tell him?" said Yakira hysterically. She glowered at him and finally knew why Brian became meaner to her after she was discharged from the police station. Paul was a bastard who dared to make troubles for her.

  "I told him nothing but the very truth. By the way, he doesn't look like your son, haha. He's so nice and kind." Paul was bold enough to get Yakira so riled up and shoot contemptuous glances at her. As far as he was concerned, Yakira was as evil as himself, being no better.

  "Fuck off, " said Yakira indignantly, pointing to the car door and asking him to get out of the car. A woman, no natter how evil she had become, would never show her dark sides to her kids.