Kiss Me Tonight And Forever

A City, in the Luo family's estate.

In the elegant hall, men and women dressed in expensive garb danced shoulder to shoulder, their bodies swaying to the music.

The pianist's slender fingers moved across the piano keys with grace and precision, captivating those who had the privilege of hearing her play.

A girl sat in her room, reading a book. She tried to focus but the music and chatter distracted her.

She had a feeling that the party would not die down any time soon, so she decided to leave the room to find a quiet place to read.

The girl pushed open the carved, red, wood door to sneak out to the back garden.

"Isn't she the illegitimate daughter of the Luo family? Why did she bother to show her face? Isn't she afraid of embarrassing her family?"

As soon as Christine Luo came out of the room, she heard a woman make snide remarks at her.

"Yes, yes!" She was surrounded by other women who were laughing with her. They looked upon Christine Luo with a hateful expression.

However, Christine Luo turned a deaf ear to them. After all, they were merely guests in her home.

She drew a breath and steeled her nerves. All she wanted to do was keep reading her book.

Christine Luo looked around the house. Her late mother had designed it. She had decorated it in her favorite furniture. How dare these people consider her illegitimate?

Stella, who these people were trying to curry favor with, was merely a mistress. When her mother passed away, Stella took over and used her power to get what she wanted.

Christine Luo pitied the other women. When her mother was still alive, these people were like dogs, following her every move.

Now that a new woman had taken her place, they bowed to her instead. How fickle was their loyalty!

"Tut, tut. Look at her, acting all high and mighty! Why, she's just as bad as her dead mother!"

That was the final straw. Christine Luo was willing to let it go, but they began to berate her mother. That crossed the line.

Some people needed to learn their place.

Slap! A loud slap suddenly sounded in the hall. The pianist's fingers froze on the keys, and the men and women who were putting their hands on their shoulders also stopped and looked in the direction of Christine Luo.

"Insulting me is one thing. However, if you speak ill of my mother, you are worse than scum."

She then withdrew her hand and glared at the woman. The woman she slapped stood stunned, touching her face.

With one last withering look, Christine Luo turned around and walked away. She found a small nook in the garden where she could enjoy her book, and she sat down to finally read in peace.

"Christine Luo, how dare you?! Do you think you can attract Mr. Darren's attention by doing that? That's ridiculous!"

Just as Christine settled in, she heard an irate voice scolding her. She rolled her eyes.

It was Amanda Luo. The mistress's daughter.

Christine pretended not to hear her and continued to turn the pages of her book.

"Humph! Wake up, Christine! You are nothing but a gnat in this household! If I had not pitied you, you would have been thrown out on the streets ages ago!"

Amanda Luo's mother, Stella, hated Christine to her very core. She thought that Christine was arrogant and deserved to be thrown out. Stella snatched the book out of Christine's hands.

Christine smirked. She wordlessly stood up from where she was sitting and began to walk away.

They were not worth her time.

"You bitch! Where do you think you're going?"

Amanda dug her nails into Christine's arm and dragged her backwards. A small trickle of blood dripped down from Christine's arm.

Frowning, Christine swatted Amanda's hand away and shoved her. She glanced at her bleeding arm and gingerly wiped off the blood.

Amanda stumbled backwards, aghast that Christine dared to fight back.

Stella witnessed what Christine had done and raced over to her. She poised her hand up high, preparing to strike.

However, the blow did not land.

"Let go of me, Christine! I will kick you out if you don't let me go this instant!"

Christine had stopped Stella by holding her arm. Her grip was so tight that Stella felt like her bones were being crushed.

Christine smiled.

"You come in here and act like you own the place when really, you don't belong here!

Your time will come. You will pay for all of the terrible things you have done! Foreign scum!

You are so arrogant. You can't see how despicable you truly are!"

Christine savored every word.

She had put up with their torment for the past ten years. She would be eighteen in a few months. It was time for her to fight back!

"Christine... You..."

All of a sudden, Christine loosened her grip of Stella. Failing to balance herself, Stella stumbled backwards. Amanda rushed over to try to help her mother. However, both of them were falling to the ground, their clothes stained with dirt. They began to curse at Christine and threaten her.

Christine simply shrugged her shoulders and walked away.

Back at the mansion, the party was still in full swing. Christine did not wish to encounter any more people and decided to stay at the estate's small guest house.

She crawled into the soft bed and recalled the times when she would snuggle up against her mother. Her eyes misted over.

If only her mother were still alive...

Suddenly, she heard the door open. She sat up with a start.

Then she saw a handsome man standing before her. His facial features were incredibly exquisite.

In fact, Christine had never seen anyone so beautiful.

His heavy-set eyes sparkled and his eyebrows were thick and bushy. He had a sharp, pointed nose and his lips were full.

Christine blinked, unable to speak.

The man looked at her and immediately, a disgusted expression came upon his face. He sneered.

Although the man was handsome, he appeared cold and detached. The indifferent aura he emitted distanced himself from others.

"Have you taken it all in?"

he asked, rolling his eyes.

What a shallow woman!

Christine was still speechless, enamored by him.

She, indeed, had never encountered anyone else as beautiful as him.

Christine studied every inch of his face, his body...

Pity he was too cold!

If he were more open, he'd be perfect.

"What's your name?" "Ch-Christine," she said, trying to hold back her heavy breathing.

She was still in shock with what was happening.

It was amazing!

"Cut the crap. Take off your clothes!" Darren Xi frowned, interrupting her thoughts.

Christine was taken aback.

Darren Xi's loud voice shook her to her core and she felt her heart rate rise up rapidly.

She had never been nervous before. Amanda and Stella were merely annoyances. However, this man made her palms sweat and her chest tighten.

This man intimidated her.

Darren Xi gave her a cold glare, appraising her.

Christine began to get annoyed.

This was her home. How dare he barge in on her and act like this?

"Who do you think you are? You ran into my room in the middle of the night. What makes you think you have the right to be here?"

Christine yelled.

"Oh? Really?" A strange smile appeared on Darren Xi's lips.

Christine didn't know what the hell was going on in the man's mind. She shivered slightly, thinking of what he might do next.

She remembered the murders she had heard about in the news the past few nights. Suddenly, she felt fear stab her heart.

'Why am I so unlucky?' she thought. She just wanted to be alone that night. Why did the universe hate her so?

Was this karma for going up against Amanda and Stella?

But they deserved that!

Why couldn't she fight back?

Christine was lost in her thoughts. She did not notice Darren Xi sneaking up towards her on the bed.

He pinched her delicate chin and raised it slightly, forcing her to look at him.

Christine's heart began to beat faster. A deep blush appeared on her cheeks.

"What are you doing here?"

It took all of Christine's energy to finish that sentence.

However, she couldn't tear her eyes away from his body.

"I'll tell you what I'm here for. I came here to make love to you."

With a sly smile, Darren tore off her nightclothes. Christine was taken by surprise.

"Ah! You, you, you..."

Christine was frightened. She stared at him with wide eyes.

"Amanda, stop acting! You're good, but it's time to stop!"

He kissed her forcefully.

'She tastes so good,' he thought.

This woman had used everything she could to marry into the Xi family, but maybe she wasn't as much of a bother as he thought.

This was Christine's first kiss. She did not know how to react!

However, she heard what the man had said clearly.

Amanda? He thought that she was Amanda! Did this mean that this man was the legendary young master of the Xi family? The CEO of the number one company in the world?

"Focus!" Dissatisfied with her absent-minded behavior, he bit her lips.

"Ouch... That hurts!" Christine felt helpless.

It seemed that Darren hadn't realize that he had gone to the wrong place!

"You... You've got the wrong person!" Out of breath, Christine tried to push the man away.

Although she hated Amanda,

she could not bring herself to steal Amanda's future husband.

She pushed him even harder.

"Oh?" With a faint smile in his face, Darren seized up the girl in his arms.

"You've really got the wrong person. I'm not Amanda!" Christine tried to bury her face in the quilt and cover her nakedness, but Darren stopped her.

Every fiber of his body longed for this woman. He let go of all his inhibitions.

He pinned her to the bed and kissed her neck. With a growl, he entered her. Christine gave a small yelp. Soon, the room was filled with the sound of passionate lovemaking.

Christine heard a knock on the door the next morning.

"Miss Christine, wake up! Mr. Nicholas is waiting for you in the study! If you don't go, he will scold you again!"

"Okay, Aunt Lucy! Tell him I'll be right there!" Christine was so tired. Her body felt sore, as if it had been ripped apart from the inside.

Suddenly, she remembered last night. She sat up with a start.

Christine buried her face in her hands. Slowly, she looked over to the side of the bed.

Crumpled clothes lay on the floor and there were a couple drops of blood staining the sheets.

"Miss Christine, Mr. Nicholas insists you come now! He says that he has something very important to discuss with you!" Lucy Li knocked on the door again.

Christine scratched her head. "I know!"

She groaned as she got up, feeling sore all over.

Then she walked over to the bathroom to freshen up and when she finished, she went to the closet to pick out one of her mother's old dresses. She was fixing her hair when she heard Lucy Li knock on her door yet again.

"Miss Christine, Mr. Nicholas is waiting for you in the study!" Lucy Li shouted, exasperated with how long Christine was taking to get ready. When Christine finally came out, her face softened.

"It took you long enough, Miss Christine," she chastised lovingly. "Oh, Aunt Lucy. I'm sorry. I'm here now, aren't I?" Christine placed an arm around the woman and gave her an affectionate squeeze.

"Oh, you! When you meet Mr. Nicholas later, just hear him out, okay?" Lucy said.

Christine gave her a small smile.

"Don't worry! I know what I should do!"

In just a few days, Christine would be a full-fledged adult. She would never need to take orders from anyone ever again. She could finally stand on her own two feet.

Everything her mother owned would finally be passed on to her.

When her mother passed away, she had made Christine her sole inheritor. However, since Christine was still a child, her father was entrusted with guarding Christine's mother's fortune. Her father... It seemed that he had forgotten about her mother so quickly. He had been spending her money like there was no tomorrow.

Just a few weeks after the funeral, he already brought another woman home with him.

He did not seem to care about Christine. No matter how much Amanda or Stella tormented her, he turned a blind eye. At times, he would even pretend that she did not exist.

Christine had long stopped yearning for her father's affection. She resigned herself to the fact that he might never pay attention to her and as time passed, her mother's absence felt more like a dull throb rather than a sharp pain.

Alas! Christine sighed helplessly. Why was life such a mess?

"Come on in. Why are you dallying outside? How long must you make me wait?"

Nicholas Luo's voice cut through her thoughts and brought Christine back to the present.

"Go on! Go inside!" Lucy opened the door and beckoned for her to enter.

The woman let out a deep sigh. She cared so much for Christine and she only wished she could do more for her.

Christine straightened her spine and breathed deeply. She pushed the wooden door of Nicholas Luo's study and walked inside.

Then she approached her father tentatively.

Nicholas Luo stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. He blinked once. Twice. Finally, he spoke. "Why are you wearing your mother's clothes?"

Christine said nothing.

Nicholas shook his head.

"Well, you are just as stubborn as she was. I'll give you that. Oh, that woman!"

His eyes seemed to glisten.

Christine was surprised. What happened to him?

Did he miss her mother?

A bitter feeling surged up in her heart.

It would make sense that Nicholas Luo missed his late wife. Once upon a time, she was the love of his life.

Nicholas Luo seemed to shake himself out of his funk. He gestured for Christine to take a seat in front of him.

Christine gulped and walked forwards. She hadn't sat in her father's study since her mother's passing.

"Did you get into a fight with Stella and Amanda yesterday?" Nicholas Luo asked, leaning into his chair. He did not seem angry, just genuinely curious.

Christine raised an eyebrow. Something about him seemed different today.

Christine stayed silent.

Even though she wanted to speak, she could not seem to find the words. No matter what Nicholas said to her, she didn't know how to talk to him.

Nicholas cleared his throat.

After a moment of silence, Nicholas spoke again. "I'm sorry, Christine. Are you upset with me?"

Christine's heart skipped a beat. This was their first genuine conversation since her mother's passing.

What happened to him? Was there something wrong with her father?

"I'm not angry," Christine said quietly.

"Well, that's good... That's... Good." Nicholas's face lit up.

Christine just stared at him.

Her father continued to speak,

"As you know, Christine, you'll be an adult in a few days. Girls at your age are already being married off. You should already start! If it's too late, all the good men will be taken away by others!"

Ah. There it was. This was why her father had called her over.

Lowering her head, Christine smiled bitterly. 'Why did I get my hopes up?'

He didn't really care about her.

"I will be eighteen years old in a few days, but Amanda is almost twenty-one years old! Why aren't you pressuring her to get married? I'm not in a hurry!"

After saying that, Christine stood up. She was about to walk out of the door when her father's angry voice boomed behind her.

"Sit down!"