Chapter 10 There Is No Such Thing As Free Lunch

"You, stop talking nonsense! How could that be possible?"

"Why would it be impossible? You refused to admit it before. Now that I've found out, you want to take our child with you and run away?"

Celia sank her head in shame as she heard Carlos. Now who was the drama queen here?

And she couldn't refute him!

"Even if you're not pregnant, I won't give up so easily. I'll simply try harder."

Ah! This freak!

Celia was ashamed and angry. She instantly hung up the phone without any reply.

On the other end of the line, Carlos was surprised at the beep of a busy tone from the phone.

In less than a day the girl was no longer afraid of him?

"Boss, Miss Celia went to the First Hospital."

Boris had received a phone call reporting Celia's whereabouts.

Still holding his phone in his hand, Carlos curled his lips into a grimace.

This news was hardly surprising.

However, when Boris saw the smile on his young boss' face, he thought that the smile was tinged with bitter cold.

"Get First News on the line."

"Boss, are you going to announce the investment into the Mo Consortium?"

"No, it's now an acquisition."

At this, Boris was stunned. He remembered that they had only just reached an agreement. It had now been... changed?

After hanging up the phone, Celia dialed Ron's number.

Looking at the series of numbers instead of Ron's name on the screen, she realized that Carlos had not only changed her speed dial list, but he had actually deleted Ron's number from her mobile phone.

Swoosh--

She drew in a shuddering breath and tried her best to calm down.

Finally, she pressed the dial button.

She didn't anticipate that she would wait for a longer time this time.

"Celia, what's up?"

A familiar male voice sounded over the line, which stunned Celia as she limply held her mobile phone for a moment.

In a voice as gentle as usual, she noted that his tone did not change, but she also felt a twinge of disappointment.

Was it because he didn't anxiously ask her where she had been?

Or...

Was it because he hadn't called her at all?

"Celia, I have something that requires my attention right now. If you're okay..."

The male voice on the phone drew her back to the present.

"I watched the news about you and... How did the meeting go with the Gu Consortium?"

Upon hearing her words, Ron silently brooded for a long time.

Celia asked anxiously, "Ron?"

"It didn't really go well."

A strong sense of frustration colored his words.

Celia's heart missed a beat.

"How could that be? Didn't they say that the Gu Consortium had agreed to cooperate with the Mo Consortium?"

Carlos Gu had promised her. Was he toying with her!

Ron paused again, his tone becoming edged with sarcasm.

"Cooperate? Do you know what kind of cooperation they are offering?"

"Isn't it a capital investment?"

Ron's sharp tone of voice made her even more anxious.

"Investment? Carlos would never be that kind. It's an acquisition!"

At that moment, Celia wanted to swear at the bastard.

Liar! A fibster!

If the Mo Consortium was up for a purchase, they wouldn't have been hat in hand, groveling for help!

More than a dozen companies in the city had offered to purchase Ron's company, but he had rejected them all.

If acquired, the company might have weathered the financial storm, but it would no longer have been the original Mo Consortium.

This result was the last and the worst plan.

Celia's anger boiled in her like a pressure pot, but her voice remained as gentle as usual.

"Ron, there is something I have to do. I have to go."

On the other end of the line, Ron listened to the beeping sound of the line disconnecting, and his thin lips pursed bitterly.

Celia hung up the phone and angrily cursed the man.

The most vicious words she knew popped up in her mind one after another. Her deft fingers quickly danced on the screen, and the word "pervert" appeared in front of her eyes.

While walking towards the elevator, she called Carlos in anger.

"You are a deceiver, Carlos!"

As soon as the line was connected, she stormed at him.

The man on the other side of the line remained as calm and unflappable as always, when compared to Celia.

"Liar? What do you mean?"

"We had an agreement that as long as I marry you, you will help the Mo Consortium! So what happened now? A purchase! It's not an investment! It's a purchase!"

Celia shouted angrily into the phone. She was worked up and irritated, and she couldn't care less that she was still in the hospital.

"Don't you think a buy-out is also a form of help?"

"You!

What's more, do you still remember what you've promised me? With that little offer, what are you expecting in return? There is no such thing as a free lunch!"

Carlos's voice was becoming colder and colder than ever.

Celia's face had been consumed by anger earlier. After hearing Carlos' words, she finally understood what he meant.

Standing in front of the elevator, she bit hard into her lip, drawing blood as she tightened her grip on her mobile phone.

After a long while, she finally spoke, and her tone was laced with compromise and regret.

"So what can I do to change your mind?"

"Our arrangement will now be a three-year marriage. You must move into the manor and live with me. I won't force you about sex, basically. Oh, don't worry. The rest remains unchanged. I promise you that I will keep our deal a secret from the outside world."

On the other end of the phone, Carlos had been putting more efforts into the bargaining chip, but he spoke in a calm tone. The chained beast in Celia's heart could not help but rage.

"But I am emphasizing one last thing!"

"Which is?"

"Don't do anything beyond a conversation with any other men! Especially Ron!"

Before Celia could spit out any objections, the man's cold voice sounded again.

"If you agree to all of these conditions, I'll give you 200 million dollars as the seed capital. But if you break any of them, your family, Ron, and the Mo Consortium will all die miserably!"

Carlos spoke the last sentence harshly, almost stopping Celia's heart.

A one year agreement had changed into a three-year sentence, and Celia would have to live with such a strange character.

She couldn't imagine how dark and desperate it would be over the next three years.

Based on Carlos's terms, they would become a real couple!

In other words, the moment she stepped into his house, both the Mo Clan and Ron would have nothing to do with her. She would need to push them all out of her life.

What else could she do? Celia didn't know what she should do.

"Unwilling? If you are reluctant, you don't have to force yourself to do things for others!"

Maybe because of her long silence, the man's deep voice rang out over the phone again.

"No! I agree!"

Finally, as the elevator door opened, she responded.

Her low voice was filled with great determination.

She wouldn't let this profiteer overcome her!

"Okay! See you at the gates of the Civil Affairs Bureau on Monday!"

Celia hung up the phone and entered the elevator before the man had even finished his words.

It was not until the elevator door had completely closed that a figure slowly walked out from around the corner behind the elevator section.

She took out her phone and dialed a familiar number. Then an old voice sounded.

"My lady, it's me, Wendi..."