Midnight Bride The CEO’s Temptation

Crystal tried to grab the phone so that she could delete the photo, but Serenity pulled it away and stuffed it in her bra so that it was safe.

Crystal glared at her friend and said, "You are such a bitch!"

"I am not!" Serenity laughed and said, "I am looking out for your best interests. You'll see!"

Suddenly, a gentle hand fell on Crystal's shoulder, and she was so startled that she jumped a half-inch off the ground and squealed. She turned around, and when she saw who had touched her, her face turned red from anger. "Jessica!" she hissed. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her side. "What the fuck are you doing here?!?!?"

Jessica smiled sweetly and asked, "Have you had lunch yet?"

Crystal smirked and said, "I know you don't care about my eating habits, so let's skip the pleasantries. Why are you here? Does this have something to do with the Henry Group's stocks?"

Jessica's mouth twitched, and Crystal chuckled. She didn't know why Jessica thought she could succeed where Todd had failed..

There was nothing but cruelty in Crystal's Stepmother's eyes, but she remained composed, graceful, and ladylike. "Crystal," she said. "I know that you are reluctant to go easy on your father. That's understandable. But aren't you afraid of the family's company falling into the hands of strangers? If that happened, we would be ruined, and our legacy would be forgotten."

"You shouldn't worry so much." Crystal laughed and said, "Look at the lines around your eyes. Your worries are causing you to age prematurely, and no amount of Botox will be able to fix the damage you will do to your face if you can't get your nose out of your husband's business."

Jessica's lower lip trembled, and she touched the corner of her eye. "I didn't come here to fight with you," she said. "Your Dad had a heart attack last night. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance, and he is still in the intensive care unit. Your cruelty is killing him. If you still have a conscience, you should show him mercy."

"Should I show him mercy?" Crystal sneered.

"That's rich! Where was he on the days that preceded my mother's suicide? He was gone and never showed mercy to my mother,"

"Your parents were separated," Jessica argued. "And they had been for a decade. Todd had no idea that your mother was depressed! He was busy taking care of the business that time,"

"She was depressed because of what you and my father did to her!" Crystal shouted. All around them, people were beginning to stare, but it was as if the two women were in a world of their own, and they paid the gawking students no mind. "Look at me!"

Jessica glared at Crystal. "What?"

Crystal: "You don't matter, and nothing you could say will have any effect on the way I do business. So I suggest you shouldn't touch your finger on the fire, it will get burnt,"

In a voice that was barely audible, Jessica said, "You are a spoiled brat!" And then she slapped Crystal hard across the face, so hard that her vision blurred, and there was a ringing in her ears.

Crystal lifted her head and gave Jessica a look so dirty that it caused the older woman to recoil. Crystal touched the spot where she had been struck, and then she said, "I will make you pay for that, but not just you. My father will also pay, as will the Henry Group, and when it comes to assigning blame for the devastation that I will cause, Todd will know why I did what ! will have done. Just wait and see."

"You think you're smart!" Jessica roared - or tried to roar. Her words had lost any power that they might have had. She was like a balloon that had lost its air, and the fire had gone out of her eyes.

"I am smart," Crystal replied. "Plus, I know how dumb you are. I know you promised Todd an heir, even though you are past the age of fertility." She smirked. "That was dumb. "Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. That's what you are."

"Shut up!" Jessica screamed. Tears were running down her face, and her making was smeared. Crystal had broken her and made her ugly.

Jessica tried to slap Crystal again, but this time she caught her arm. "You've lost all power over me," she said casually. "Not that you ever had any real power over me. Now, though, everyone can see what a loser you are. And have always been. You've never been anything more than an old man's mistress."

Crystal was about to walk away, but what Jessica said next made her blood run cold, and her face turned white. She turned around slowly, looked her stepmother in the eyes, and said, "What did you just say?"

Jessica wiped the tears from her eyes, smiled, and in a level tone of voice, said, "If you can't let bygones be bygones and treat your father with a little decency, I will take your mother's ashes, and I will take your Grandfather's ashes, and I will flush them down the toilet. Now, what do you think about that? Not so smart now, are you?"

Crystal gasped. "How dare you?!?!?"

Jessica: "You've driven me to it."

Crystal stared at Jessica. She wanted to pick up a rock and smash her stepmother's head in.

"I do not give in to threats," she said evenly. "I retaliate. So, if I were you, I'd watch my mouth."

Suddenly, Crystal felt Serenity's hand on her arm. "Let's get going," her friend said. "Class is about to begin again."

Crystal nodded and allowed herself to be led back in the direction of the school.

As they went up the steps, they heard Joyce shout, "I may be past the age of fertility, but your mother couldn't be pregnant her whole life!"

Crystal ignored the woman's comments, but later they haunted her. After all, if her mother couldn't be pregnant, then she wasn't her biological mother. But if that was the case, why did they look so much alike?