CEO's Attractive Bride: You've Become My Favourite

Suddenly, Maria Xue's phone rang, breaking the early morning silence.

She turned over in the bed without opening her eyes. Thanks to her hangover, she didn't want to bother about the noisy phone, but it rang incessantly until she couldn't ignore it anymore.

Opening her bleary eyes, she sat up in a trance. She reached for her phone and grabbed it.

Yawning lazily, she slid the screen of her phone with her finger. Immediately, a woman's voice came through. "Maria Xue! Where the hell are you now? Your sister's wedding is about to begin. Aren't you planning to show up?"

"Wedding?" The news sobered her, but she felt like her head was about to explode because of the pain in her temples. "No, Aunt Chelsea. I had something urgent to deal with last night and stayed up late. I just woke up. I'll get dressed and be there right away," she said hurriedly.

Maria Xue hung up the phone and rubbed her throbbing forehead.

She didn't want to be yelled at by that hateful woman anymore. Before she died, her mother had asked her to go back to that family and tried her best to let her father recognize her as his daughter. Otherwise, she would never have endured this awful woman.

Dropping her hand on the quilt, she exhaled deeply.

The August sun was so bright that it flooded the room with light, which aggravated her pitiful condition.

'Wait a minute!' she suddenly thought to herself.

She noticed the French window. Her house was only about forty square meters and the two bedrooms were tiny. How could there be a French window?

She muttered to herself, "Where the heck am I?"

She only got silence in response. It was so quiet that she could even hear the birds flying outside.

She was thinking about how she got drunk at the bar last night when she realized that she was stark naked. She was so stunned that she toppled off the bed and fell on to the floor.

'Oh my God!

Why am I naked? Why am I in an unknown room? What happened last night?

Did I drink too much last night and come to this hotel room with a stranger?'

She had guarded her chastity for twenty-seven years. Did she lose it in one night with some stranger? Just like that? She had made a promise to herself to give her virginity to the man she loved only when they got married.

She ran a hand through her hair in frustration and cursed aloud, "Maria Xue, you are such a fool! You can't drink but you went to a bar. Now what? What should I do?"

No one answered, which meant that there was going to be no divine intervention for her predicament.

Feeling lost and confused, she remained seated on the floor.

'Forget it. Anyway, I have lost my virginity. There's no use in regretting now.' Right now the most important thing for her was to attend her half-sister Mandy Xue's wedding. Mandy's mother, Chelsea, would give her another earful if she didn't make it to the venue on time.

It was said that the groom-to-be was the son of a media tycoon. He was a well-known guy, who was good at spending and making money. He could trade in stocks worth millions in a second. Mandy Xue must have been blessed in her previous life to be marrying into a prestigious family where she could be comfortable and happy all her life.

In comparison to Mandy's bright and glowing future, Maria's life was rather bleak. Not only was she the daughter of a mistress, but she was also abandoned by her father. In the past ten years, she had tried every means possible to win her father's heart. She really wanted to be recognize by her father, but all her attempts were rejected by Chelsea.

Snapping out of her reverie, Maria Xue got up from the floor. Grabbing her clothes from the floor, she dashed to the bathroom. She couldn't waste any more time. In addition to makeup, she also had to buy a set of clothes.

She figured that since she was in a hotel, there would be a designer store from which she could pick up a dress for the wedding.

Dabbing on some makeup, she rushed out of the bathroom in fifteen minutes. As she scanned the room one last time to ensure she had not forgotten anything, her eyes fell on a sheet of paper and three one-hundred-dollar bills on the bedside table.

The note said, "Thank you for your company last night. Here is the service fee."

Service fee?

Naturally, the flippant attitude of the stranger made her angry. The night she spent with him was not transactional! How dare he throw money at her to get rid of her!

There was another thing bothering her too. Was she only worth three hundred dollars? Even if she didn't come from an affluent background, she still had dignity. Three hundred dollars was an embarrassing amount to be paid for a night.

Damn it! If she remembered who the man was, she would definitely find him and throw the money on his face. She would humiliate him the way he humiliated her.

Half an hour later, a Bugatti Veyron zoomed into the gate of the hotel like the wind. The man in the black suit standing at the entrance recognized the car at first sight.

Nobody else but Hogan Yang, the fashion supremo of Beautiful Girl, could drive a sports car worth about twenty million.

The man stepped forward and carefully opened the door for Hogan Yang.

Hogan Yang wasn't himself right now. His eyes lacked luster as he was lost in thought. He got out of the car and tossed the keys toward his assistant. "Go park the car first. I have something to ask you later," he ordered curtly.

The assistant readily got into the car. Even if it was just for a few seconds, he was very excited to get behind the wheel of this posh car. After all, he would be driving a limited edition sports car.

The moment Hogan Yang entered the hotel, all eyes in the hall were on him, especially the women. When he put on his stylish sunglasses, the women nearly fainted.

No wonder he was able to attract women. He was handsome and had a superb physique. Even though nobody could see his muscles or his toned abs under his clothes, he had a strong aura. As a rich, eligible bachelor, he was the ideal life partner for any woman.

However, Hogan Yang didn't have any feelings for the women in this hall tonight. Instead, his mind was on the woman he had spent the whole night with.

He already had a girlfriend as beautiful as a goddess. However, he was more interested in the woman he had slept with last night.

He was certain that last night was her first time with a man.

He shook his head hard and reprimanded himself for thinking of her nonstop. She was just a stranger in a bar but a little more familiar than other women on the street.

After all, they had slept together last night. It was impossible for him to be detached from her.

Having parked the car, Hogan Yang's assistant walked to the central garden of the hotel where a grand wedding was underway. He spotted Hogan Yang chatting with his business partners in the crowd.

Walking up to his boss, he said softly, "Mr. Yang, I'm back."

Hogan Yang was just networking with these people. There was nothing particularly important to discuss with them. He was simply listening to their banter absent-mindedly while he waited for his assistant to rejoin him.

Now that his assistant had arrived, Hogan Yang left the crowd skillfully. After taking his assistant to the side, Hogan Yang asked, "Well, do you think..."

Austin Yu, Hogan Yang's assistant, saw his boss hesitating for the first time. He asked curiously, "Mr. Yang, what do you want to ask me? If you have any questions, you can ask me freely. It's no problem."

When did his boss become so shy and uncertain? He had an outgoing, bold, and confident personality, so why was he fumbling now?

Pushing aside the complex emotions in his head, Hogan Yang blurted out, "I mean, how much would you pay a woman after a one-night stand?"

Austin Yu couldn't believe his ears.

His boss had a one-night stand with some woman last night and he used money to get rid of her.

Of course, it was a good idea to pay the woman in order to safeguard his future. But why did his boss care so much about the money?

Did he want a relationship with that woman?

His boss had the gorgeous Sally. He shouldn't be with any other woman!

"Mr. Yang, if you want to maintain a good relationship with that woman, you will have to be more generous. If you don't want a relationship with her, you don't have to care about the amount of money," advised Austin Yu.

But deep down, he was interested in knowing how much his rich boss would pay for a one-night stand.

There was a flicker of surprise in Hogan Yang's dark eyes. What his assistant was implying was that he had a crush on her and wanted to continue seeing her.

Austin Yu was watching the expression on Hogan Yang's face keenly. Something had melted his boss's hard exterior. He did not look as cold as he normally did. What exactly happened last night? The suspense was killing Austin Yu.

He asked, "How much did you give her, Mr. Yang?"

Hogan Yang, who was lost in his musings, heard the voice and replied mechanically, "Three hundred dollars."

Suddenly, he realized what he had done. Why did he tell Austin Yu?

'Damn it! How could I admit to doing something so shameful?' he thought, feeling annoyed at his lack of discretion.

Three hundred! Even an ordinary person wouldn't give only three hundred for a night with a woman!

Austin Yu was shocked by his boss's answer. He had never thought that Hogan, who came from a rich family, would give a woman such a meager sum.

The women Yu Austin had dealt with in the past for his boss were usually paid at least three million to start with. Although it was only one night, this woman was worth at least thirty thousand!

It was impossible!

Austin Yu shook his head repeatedly, unable to digest what he had heard.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that Hogan Yang was joking. With a playful smile, he teased, "Mr. Yang, don't joke with me. How can you only give a woman just three hundred dollars? Tell me, is it thirty thousand or three hundred thousand?"

Hogan Yang rubbed his temples. As expected, this matter was not being taken seriously. He sighed and confirmed in a serious voice, "Yes, it's three hundred dollars. The checkbook was used up and only three hundred dollars were left in my wallet. You know what? Just forget it! Anyway, I won't meet that woman anymore. That's it."

She would have already left his home by now.

Austin Yu tried hard to hold back his laughter and keep a serious face.

But he was howling with laughter inside. It was really funny to think that Hogan paid a paltry amount to get rid of a woman. Wasn't Hogan worried that the woman would spread the news and cause unnecessary trouble for him?

For the first time in his life, Hogan regretted his decision when he saw Austin's apprehensive expression. Shoving the remorse aside, Hogan went back to being the tough, stoic boss that he was. "I asked you to pick up Sally this morning. Why haven't I seen her since I've arrived?"

Austin was busy parking Hogan's car moments ago and then his boss joked with him about the money. So he was unable to keep track of Sally's whereabouts for some time.

"When I went to pick her up, she told me that she had to meet someone important, so she would come here after that. Then I was waiting for you, Mr. Yang," he explained.

'Who is this important person?' Hogan wondered.

He sighed inwardly. Admittedly, today's wedding was not particularly important and it didn't matter if Sally couldn't arrive at the beginning of the wedding ceremony. She had her own business to take care of and he respected her.

For now, Hogan just wanted Austin to leave him alone.

Thinking of a way to get rid of him, Hogan ordered, "All right, go out and wait for Sally. Otherwise, she will get lost when she comes and might disturb the ceremony."

Austin sprung to action as soon as his boss gave him instructions.

But he knew that Hogan didn't give him this task because he was worried about Sally. He was certain it was because of the embarrassing secret that he had accidentally revealed.

Austin stopped smiling at this thought, which made Hogan feel better.

At the same time, Maria was rushing to the same venue by taxi. She could have reached earlier, but when she found out that the place at which she stayed last night was that man's home, she left a small gift for him. Then she had to buy some clothes and that delayed her further.

She strode into the central garden in a hurry as she couldn't be late. Thankfully, the wedding hadn't begun yet.

Standing at the entrance of the garden, she scanned the crowd, looking for her father. As the father of the bride and the host, he would surely be entertaining the guests.

When Maria couldn't locate her father, it made her anxious. As she looked around, her old illness returned making her uncomfortable. With so many people present, her head started throbbing and she began to feel dizzy.

All of a sudden, the glass of champagne that was in Hogan's hand was knocked down rudely and the drink spilled all over his suit.

Hogan stared at his limited edition, custom-made suit, now soaked in champagne. He was aghast.

Raising his head, he yelled, "Hey, do you know how much my suit is worth? You..."

His anger vanished when he saw that the clumsy woman was none other than Maria.

He was astounded. It was the same woman who had sex with him last night! What was she doing here?

Was she irked by the three hundred dollars that he left for her? Did she come here to ask him for more money?

Hogan's eyes darkened, but he figured out that couldn't be the case. Henry Zhao's invitation was in his office, so she couldn't have seen it.

Maria's face turned pale when she saw Hogan's stained clothes.

She apologized hurriedly, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it. I'll pay for your suit. Take my number and call me. I'll compensate you."

She was going to compensate him?

Could she afford to pay for this expensive suit? Looking at her dress, which seemed to be worth a mere thousand dollars, he thought it was highly unlikely.

'It doesn't look like the one she wore last night. Is it a new one? Did she buy it with the money I left for her or with her own money?'

Hogan rebuked himself for letting his mind wander unnecessarily.

Whose money she used to buy the dress was irrelevant. It had nothing to do with him.

Hogan stared at Maria and said, "You can't afford to buy my suit."

When her mother passed away and her father abandoned her, she swore to herself that she would not owe anyone money. She ruined this man's suit so she was determined to compensate him.

Maria insisted, "Tell me how much it is. I'll buy it for you tomorrow."

Hogan replied reluctantly, "Three hundred and sixty thousand."

For a moment, Maria thought she didn't hear him correctly.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

'Is he kidding?

Three hundred and sixty thousand?!

I can buy a thirty-square-meter house or a decent cake shop or an ice cream shop, ' she thought incredulously.

Hogan could guess what was going on in her mind, judging by her astonished expression. Interrupted her thoughts, he said, "I'm not kidding, nor am I trying to scare you. My suit is worth three hundred and sixty thousand. Now it's ruined because of the champagne."

Maria was so scared that she bowed low to apologize. She cried, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I'll definitely pay you back three hundred and sixty thousand, but I only have one hundred thousand right now. I..."

Before she could finish her sentence, someone came up behind her and grabbed her arm. "Maria, why are you here? Dad is sick. Come with me," bellowed the man.

She had suffered so many blows today that her breath became more rapid.

How could her father be sick? He was fine when she spoke to him yesterday. He had insisted that she should come to the wedding. How could he fall ill so soon?

She didn't dare to dwell on it too much until she saw him because she was afraid that her father would die suddenly just like her mother. She didn't want to become an orphan.

Maria followed the man closely until she arrived at the lounge prepared for the bride.

When she spotted her father resting on the sofa, she rushed to him. She was nervous and scared. "Dad, Ethan said you were sick. Please, tell me you are fine," she pleaded.

When Chelsea Lu saw the wretched girl, all her pent-up anger burst forth. Ignoring her husband's condition, she went over to Maria and slapped her hard.

"You ungrateful bastard! I told you to come here earlier, but you didn't listen to me. Do you know that you are the cause for your father's illness? If something happens to him, you will have hell to pay," she snarled.

Although Maria hoped to reunite with the Xue family, she was not going to let anybody call her a bastard, least of all Chelsea Lu. Grimacing inwardly due to the dull pain in her face, Maria retorted, "I'm not a bastard! I'm my mother's precious daughter. I will tolerate anything, but I won't stand you humiliating me and my mother like this."

Chelsea Lu didn't expect her to lash out like this. After all, she had not resisted when she was kicked out of the house years ago. But today in order to protect her bitchy mother, her claws were out. But Maria's attempt was futile. It didn't change the fact that her mother was a home-breaker.

Chelsea Lu was already furious, but when she was reminded of the fact that Yilia Xiao had seduced her husband, her anger rose to another level. "Why shouldn't I humiliate your mother? Your mother was the third wheel in my marriage. She destroyed my family and gave birth to a bastard like you. I should have killed you when you were born."

Davis Xue knew that his eldest daughter was the only one who could pull him out of his current dilemma. He clutched his chest and pretended to have heart pain. Standing up, he said weakly, "Stop quarreling, you two! Right now we need to focus on solving the problem."

Seeing that he was about to collapse, Maria stopped fighting with Chelsea Lu and rushed over to her father. She helped him sit down and asked worriedly, "Dad, what's wrong with you? Is it serious?"

With a sad look on his face, Davis Xue held Maria's arm and begged, "My daughter, promise me one thing. Your sister ran away. We don't have a bride now. Will you marry Henry Zhao instead of her?"

Maria blinked at his unreal request.

Her father wanted her to marry that media tycoon, Henry Zhao?

Henry Zhao was rich, good-looking, and smart. Why did Mandy run away from a man like that? Did she run away because she was not satisfied with the wedding?

"Dad, when did Mandy escape? Did she run away from home without telling you?" Maria asked in confusion.

Davis Xue glanced at his wife and realized he had to tell Maria the truth. Sighing, he replied, "Yesterday afternoon, when we were not at home, Mandy packed her luggage and ran away. She also took all the jewelry at home. I think she is going to cash it out."

Maria was bewildered. She pondered why Davis Xue called her yesterday.

She had assumed that her father asked her to attend the wedding because he was willing to introduce her as his daughter and take her back to the Xue family. She didn't expect it to be a ploy.

This whole thing was not a sudden development. He had long planned to ask her to take the place of Mandy today without even considering her happiness.

Maria took a deep breath and shook her head desperately. "No! I can't make that promise. If I agree to marry that man, I will end up losing my happiness for the rest of my life."

Chelsea scowled at her statement.

"You can only think of your happiness. Can you think about our family? Do you know how much your father owes Henry Zhao? If there is no wedding today, not only will your father's company get dissolved, but he will also be sent to prison because he can't pay off his debts. Do you want your father to go to prison with his illness? Do you want him to die in prison?" she screeched.

Maria's face was ashen. She looked at her father again. Was the matter really so serious?

How much did he owe Henry Zhao? Why did he would he get bankrupt and end up in prison?

Maria was anxious and heartbroken. She looked at her father and shook her head. "Dad, tell me that it's not true. You don't owe so much money. You won't destroy my life just to protect your family. You won't be so cold-blooded and ruthless!" she cried.

Davis didn't think his daughter would have reservations about the wedding even after hearing what Chelsea said. As a last attempt, he held his chest and fell on the sofa, as if he was having a cardiac arrest.

Chelsea was well-aware that Davis was only pretending, so as to emotionally blackmail Maria.

She loved Mandy so much, but she ran away at a critical moment. If Maria was given time to contemplate, she would definitely run faster than Mandy.

Seizing the opportunity, she said to Maria, "Look at your father. Do you really want him to die in front of you? If you don't agree, our whole family will die with your father. How will you feel if you are responsible for the death of so many people?"

Was her father really going to die?

The scene of her mother's death flashed through Maria's mind again. She didn't want to lose the only person who was related by blood.

Left with no other choice, Maria nodded slowly. Even though she knew she was going to be part of a great deception, she would marry that man and sacrifice her happiness for the sake of her father.

A smile appeared on Chelsea's face. If this girl agreed to marry Henry, her husband's cosmetics company would not sink and she would also be able to get the money from Henry.

She sat beside her husband, held his big hand, and said excitedly, "Did you hear what your daughter said? She has agreed to take Mandy's place and marry Henry! Now take the medicine as soon as possible. You will be fine after that. Rest awhile, you will feel better."

Maria looked at Chelsea in disbelief, but she choose not to quarrel with her at this time.

After all, she had already promised her father that she would help him out. If she quarreled with Chelsea again, it would only aggravate her father's delicate condition.

Seeing that Davis was stable, Maria asked worriedly, "Henry was going to marry Mandy. When he sees me in a wedding dress in front of him, won't he cancel the wedding? Won't he send us to prison for fraud?"

Chelsea's face darkened at once. She taunted Maria, "It seems that you really want to send our family to prison! If it was so easy to be exposed, do you think we would use this way to solve your father's pressing problem? Although we don't know why Henry wants to marry Mandy, we are sure that he doesn't know what she looks like."

Davis was certain that Henry didn't know what Mandy looked like; that was why he called Maria and asked her to pretend to be Mandy.

Maria took a deep breath and decided to let it go. However, she did take advantage of this opportunity to negotiate with Chelsea. She said resolutely, "Since I have promised my father to get married, you have to promise me one thing. If you don't agree, I won't help you. Then I won't care whether he dies or not. Anyway, my father has abandoned me for a long time, so it won't make much of a difference to me."

Not only Chelsea, but this time even Davis wanted to slap her when he heard that. But he didn't want to be rash and lose his golden goose, so he decided to hear her out. If her request was not too much, he would agree. If she went too far, he would disown her once he got Henry's money.

Davis held Chelsea's hand to calm her down.

Then he turned to Maria and asked, "What do you want? Tell me. If I can, I will certainly help you."

Maria had always had just this one wish.

After two seconds of silence, she plucked up the courage and said, "I want you to recognize my mother as your wife. I want it on her tombstone. My mother's tombstone should be engraved with your name as her husband. Can you promise me that?"

Chelsea could tolerate anything, but not this.

She stood up. Her tone was firm and there was no room for negotiation. "That's impossible. I won't let that bitch marry into the Xue family. I'm the hostess of the Xue family."

Bitch?

Hearing the word again, Maria's patience had come to an end. No one could accept anybody maligning their mother's name, let alone Maria.

Her mother got pregnant before marriage and raised Maria for 17 years all by herself. Maria knew how much her mother had suffered and done for her, so she would never allow anyone to humiliate or ridicule her amazing mother.

Biting her lip, Maria stood up. It was the first time that she had been so presumptuous in front of Davis and also the first time that she had slapped Chelsea. "If you dare to call my mother a bitch in front of me again, I promise to tear your mouth apart," she warned fiercely.

Ethan Xue had been treated like a rare treasure by Chelsea since he was born. Of course, he love his mother deeply. How could he not be angry and defend his mother when his father's illegitimate daughter slapped his mother in front of him?

Disregarding decorum, he grabbed Maria's hand and roared, "Maria, how dare you hit my mother? My mother is right. Your mother was a bitch and she wrecked our home! If your mother was not a mistress, where did you come from?"

Davis now had two more problems on his hand-his hot-headed son and his sharp-tongued wife. He roared at his wife in disappointment, "Chelsea Lu! Do you want to see the whole family break up? It's not a big deal. Why are you yelling at Maria? Yilia is dead. Can't you forget what happened in the past? With a little sympathy, Yilia's dying wish can be fulfilled. The dead are gone and any mistakes should be forgiven."

It was easy for him to say it, but it was not as easy for a woman to forgive her husband's infidelity.

Chelsea closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she had already compromised. She sat back on the sofa mutely.

Relived to see her calm, Davis held Maria's hand and comforted her kindly, "Don't be angry with your aunt Chelsea. She also feels wronged, that's why she quarrels with you. As your father, I will definitely agree to your request."

Hearing this, Maria felt peaceful.

She closed her eyes and said, "Come on, get someone to help me with makeup and change into my wedding dress."

Davis looked at Chelsea, who was afraid that Maria would change her mind, so she immediately called the make-up artist in.

At half-past eleven in the morning, the wedding march played.

Escorted by her father, Maria walked all the way from the lounge to the central garden and passed the arched door decorated with flowers. She reached the front of the crowd and glanced at the guests sitting on both sides of the path. Her vision became blurry and her headache returned with a vengeance.

She suddenly felt dizzy, as if she was going to faint at any time.

As her father, how could Davis not know anything about his daughter? He knew that his daughter would collapse in a crowd. But this was a wedding ceremony and he couldn't allow that to happen!

The Zhao family was very well-known and they would never accept such a humiliating thing.

Davis patted the back of Maria's hand and whispered in her ear, "It's okay. The wedding will be over soon. Maria, please hold on for a while."

Enduring the headache, Maria walked towards the bridegroom with the support of her father.

Hogan, who was seated on the VIP chair, clearly saw that the bride had changed. He knew how the original bride looked. What was more, this bride was the same woman who had sex with him. Yesterday, when she was drinking in the bar, she had made a fuss and proclaimed that she wanted to have a relationship. Then how did she fall in love with Henry now?

Did she skip the dating period and marry Henry directly?

While Hogan was confused, Davis brought Maria to Henry.

Although Henry hadn't met Mandy officially, he had secretly followed her for the last two years. How could he not recognize Mandy?

The woman brought to him by Davis was not Mandy.

Davis didn't notice the difference in Henry's expression. He winked at Maria and sat down on one side.

Henry sneered in his heart and his face turned ugly and ferocious.

When the emcee was about to start the wedding ceremony, he raised his hand to stop it.

Maria was not in the mood for any more drama. The room was spinning now. She didn't know how long she could hold on.

She asked weakly, "Why are you stopping the wedding?"

How dare she ask him that!

She had no right as an imposter.

Henry took out a stack of photos and threw them on Maria's face. "Why am I stopping the wedding? That's the reason. You are a fake! Do you think anyone can marry me?"

Not only Maria, but even the Xue family were shocked. None of them had expected Henry to have photos of Mandy. Was the wedding going to be canceled?

Maria staggered to pick up the photos from the floor. She couldn't even see them clearly. She was going to collapse any minute.

Hogan, who was sitting amid the noisy guests, rushed to Henry and held Maria in his arms.

Her face was pale and she looked terrible.