Love Takes Time

Along the corridor of the hotel, two beautiful women were pushing and pulling at each other. Several cleaners passing by couldn't help but look at them.

"Astrid, I don't think this is a good idea!"

A beautiful woman in a light blue dress was hesitant about going into the room while a woman in a black shirt pushed her forward.

"What's the matter now? I think Veron is drunk. Would you rather another woman take care of him? Stop being silly! This is your chance! Grab it! Just take care of him for a whole night. Nothing else! I'm sure he will appreciate that. He'll probably talk to you tomorrow and confess to you or something," The women in black widened her eyes and snapped.

"But..."

Leila Song was still a little hesitant but Astrid Li had already pushed her into the room. "It's fine," she said. "Just take care of him!"

Astrid Li promptly slammed the door shut. She then turned, grabbed a baseball cap from her bag and placed it at the top of her head, a faint and evil smile playing at the corners of her mouth. She then took her phone out and sent a message. When everything was ready, she fixed her cap so that it covered her face and walked away.

Meanwhile, Leila Song was already inside the room, her heart beating fast. She turned the light on, trying to gather herself. She figured she was just going to take care of Veron and that was it-no more, no less.

After taking several breaths to calm herself down, she finally walked further inside the room.

A man lay on the bed-his white shirt tight around his body. He smelled heavily of alcohol which made Leila frown. She thought to herself, 'Why did Veron drink so much?'

Still, she had some strange feeling stirring up in her chest. She walked toward the bed, stood by it and lowered her head to examine his face closely.

When the man's face came to her view, she was taken aback. He was handsome and his cheeks were tinged with a red hue-probably from the alcohol. He had an evil and knowing look to his face. He was definitely the most handsome man Leila had seen and this man was definitely not Veron Lian. 'Did Astrid take me to the wrong room?'

Before she could react, she saw that the man in bed suddenly opened his eyes and stared at her with his deep, black eyes.

*****

The warm sunshine shone through the curtains. The woman curling up in the man's arms slightly opened her eyes.

Leila Song froze as she stared at his handsome face. Suddenly, all her memories came flooding back to her. She squealed as she grabbed the quilt tightly and moved backwards.

The man was taken aback by Leila's squeal and opened his eyes rather furiously. He rubbed his forehead and stared at Leila, watching the shift of expression on her face.

"What? Shame on you! I'm not letting you get away with this!"

Leila Song roared with resentment, her voice hoarse. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying too much the previous night.

Upon hearing this, the man paused and turned his head to squint at her. Without saying a word, he got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom.

"What are you doing? How arrogant!" Leila Song held the quilt so tightly that she couldn't even breathe.

As expected, he stopped, turned back and grabbed his checkbook and a pen. He swiftly scribbled something before tearing the check off and throwing it to Leila's direction. "Is that enough?"

Staring at the check, Leila sat up and pointed her finger at him. "What do you mean? Do you think l care about your money? Well, for your information, the last thing I need is money!"

Hearing that, the man looked back at her calmly. If one looked carefully, one could see the dark gleam in his eyes.

Leila suddenly realized that she'd caught a cold as the quilt was sliding down form her body. Flushing, she quickly grabbed it so she could cover herself again. "What are you looking at? Do you really think I'm going to let you get away with this?" she shouted at him.

The man, named Max Mu, then thought of something. He knew that he'd enjoyed his night with this woman regardless of how she was acting now. Although he couldn't remember clearly what happened last night, he could still recall that they'd made love to each other.

He then walked toward the bed, to which Leila responded by sitting back. He forcibly pulled her into his arms.

"Be my woman."

She could feel his hot breath on her neck. She turned her head and stretched out her arms to create some distance between them. "In your dreams! I don't care about your money!"

She couldn't push him away and she was afraid that he would do something to her. She then started to sob.

Max Mu froze. The way she was acting now only made her more irresistible. She wasn't as beautiful as he'd thought she was but she had delicate features that he loved. Her sexy collarbone only aroused Max further. He then lowered his head to cover her mouth with his.

"Well, You... I... I agree. You go take a shower."

Max Mu didn't stop until she mumbled and laughed softly. Then he went to the bathroom.

As soon as he entered the bathroom, she immediately wiped her mouth. She was just tricking him. Once she had the chance, she would call the police so they could arrest this bastard!

She quickly got dressed. However, she realized that the sex marks on her arms would then be exposed so she grabbed his coat and put it on. As she left, she made sure she didn't make any sound.

When Max Mu came out of the bathroom, he couldn't find the woman anymore. And his coat was gone.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He ran a towel through his hair as he walked toward the table where his phone was.

"Hello, Mr. Mu. I'm downstairs right now but reporters are swarming the place. They don't seem to be here for you so I don't really know what's going on."

Upon hearing this, he was unable to move. He then glanced toward the bed as he realized something. In a low voice, he said, "I don't know yet either. Don't come up. If you see them interviewing a woman, bring her up first."

The person on the other end of the line was slightly stunned when he heard this. However, he just immediately agreed.

Meanwhile, Leila was extremely embarrassed. She was wearing a man's coat and acting rather strangely as she walked in the hotel. It was easy to tell what was going on so others couldn't help but stare at her.

When she walked to the exit of the hotel, she was shocked by the number of reporters. She quickly turned around to go back but was immediately spotted by an eagle-eyed reporter who then screamed, "She's here! She's here!"

With that, reporters swarmed her.

"Miss Song, why are you leaving this hotel alone?"

"Why are you wearing a man's jacket? Were you here last night?"

Leila Song was confused and she didn't know what to respond to any of them. She had nowhere to go as she was completely surrounded.

"Excuse me!"

At this moment, a group of security guards suddenly came over to drive away the group of reporters. Leila immediately breathed a sigh of relief when a strange man in a black suit appeared in front of her.

"Miss, please come with me,"

the man said in a low voice. It was obvious that he was making an effort to be discreet. The reporters were already being contained by hotel security but they were persistent as all reporters were.

"Who are you?"

Leila glared at him. She tried to head for the back door of the hotel. The strange man in the black suit was just about to catch up when he received another call which made him stop.

Leila was successfully able to escape. She immediately hailed a cab, ignoring the weird look the driver had on his face. She lowered her head as she told him where to go.

The driver was a bit taken aback when he heard where they were headed. It was a villa district. He couldn't believe this woman was going there.

The car hummed along the road. Leila sat in the backseat, her mind restless. She didn't even realize they'd already arrived and she had to be told by the driver to get off.

The villa district was massive. She walked along the path. When she saw the small door, she pushed it open upon realizing it was unlocked. No one was there. She snuck up to her room on the second floor.

She took a shower and changed into a new set of clothes. She made sure to wear something with long sleeves. When she opened the door, she saw Sophia Yuan, her father's second wife, just about to knock.

She asked coldly, "What's up?"

Sophia Yuan was in her mid-thirties. She looked rather young especially for her age.

"Oh, Leila, you're finally back. I saw someone go up the second floor. I thought I saw it wrong but it really is you!" Sophia Yuan said anxiously, frowning. Leila then pressed, sounding impatient, "What's up?"

Although an unkind attitude should no be used towards elders, Leila couldn't be kind to Sophia for Leila had been holding resentment in her heart long enough, and if Sophia kept talking, Leila couldn't promise that she would not lose her temper.

"It's just... Just now, when your mother was watching the news, she saw that you slept with a man in a room. Then she accidentally fell down the stairs and now she's in the hospital."

"What do you say ?" Leila suddenly widened her eyes and looked at Sophia in disbelief. There seemed to a string broken in her head, which was humming now.

"Yeah. Go to the hospital quickly. Maybe, you can see her..." Sophia was saying and then she quickly covered her mouth with her hands, looking at Melissa apologetically.

Leila tried to pull back her thoughts. She shot Sophia a furious glare before heading downstairs.

They arrived at the hospital together. At the hospital gate, there were a lot of reporters. They were able to squeeze into the hospital with the security guard's assistance.

Leila hurried to the door of the operating room. Seeing that the light was still on, she uneasily paced back and forth the corridor.

"Leila, is it true? Did you sleep with that man?" Sophia asked tentatively.

"Sister, is Auntie okay?"

Suddenly, Daisy Song, a beautiful woman, rushed in. Something came to Leila at once. Melissa looked at Sophia and Daisy angrily as she spoke, "My mother never watches the news. Why would she be reading the news on her phone? It was you, wasn't it? I knew it!"

"Sister, how could you say something like that to my mother? She's also worried about Auntie," Daisy said in a gentle voice. Leila, however, wasn't buying any of it. She could see the evil gleam in Daisy's eyes.

Before Leila could say anything, Sophia suddenly drew nearer toward Melissa and whispered to her ear, "Actually, it was I who pushed your mother downstairs."

"You!" Leila was so furious that she slapped Sophia square in the face and this made Sophia be on the ground. Then Sophia let out a wail.

'What a jerk!' Leila was about to go in for another slap when someone grabbed her wrist to stop her and there was a loud slap hit her in the face.

"You're embarrassing me! You slept with a man at a hotel and you just hit your elder! How dare you!"

Johnson Song, Leila's father was visibly furious. He had raised his hand, ready to slap Leila on the face again when Daisy Song stopped him. "Father, she didn't mean to do it. She was just worried about Auntie."

Seeing his younger daughter being so considerate, Johnson Song calmed down a bit but he was still obviously angry with Leila.

"My elder? Huh... I only have one mother and her name's Lillian Lin! Who is this woman anyway? She's not my mother and she'll never be my mother no matter what you say or do!"

Leila yelled. Blood was dripping from her mouth as she'd been slapped. She looked at them mockingly, her face daunting. "Wow! What a good show! You trapped me! That was an amazing show you put on, Sophia."

If she still didn't know what was going on, she'd be made into a fool. Yet Astrid... Are you with them? Did you trick me into going to that room so my image and reputation would be ruined?'

"Leila, what are you talking about? I know you're just worried about your mother. I'm not mad at you for losing your temper and slapping me," Sophia said in a gentle tone. This only made Leila feel sick to her stomach.

At that moment, the door of the operation room flew open. Leila rushed forward to catch the doctor and asked anxiously, "How's my mother doing?"

The doctor took off his mask, sighing. "The patient's brain is seriously injured. I'm so sorry to say this but she's in a coma. And I'm afraid she would be in a vegetative state."

A vegetative state...

Sophia and Daisy looked at each other with a flicker of disappointment in their eyes. 'She didn't die!'

Leila was shocked. She wanted to go in but the nurses stopped her. They said they couldn't visit the patient until 24 hours had passed.

"Well, in this case, you'd better stay here to keep an eye on your mother!"

Johnson snort and left without any hesitation.

"Then...I guess this means... we're leaving. Leila, don't worry about it. At least your mother is still alive, right?"

After saying this, Sophia couldn't help but give two chuckles. Then Sophia and Daisy left the hospital, leaving Leila staring blankly at the door alone.

In just a night, she'd lost two of the most precious things in her life. What was called heaven and hell was nothing more than this...

In the following days, Leila was taking care of her mother in the hospital. She didn't care what rumors were saying about her. After all, she was not the only daughter of the Song family. That man perhaps wished that she and her mother would never show up!

She'd called Astrid and was really disappointed at the fact that her best friend stabbed her in the back like that. Leila had nothing to lose now.

"Did you hear that? The daughter of the Song family is engaged to the son of the Lian family!"

"The daughter of the Song family? Is that the one who's inside?"

"Of course not. That's the Leila Song. I'm talking about Daisy Song. Daisy's the one who's engaged. After all, she's much easier to get along with than Leila."

"Oh, I remember her. Daisy was here the other day. Yeah, Daisy's lovely, not like Leila, who just seems aloof. Does someone owe her money?"

Leila had heard the nurses gossiping about her. She was pale and her hands were clenched into fists. Was she going to lose her lover too?

No! She needed to figure it out!

Meanwhile, at the hotel, Daisy was admiring herself as she stood in front of the mirror. She was wearing a lovely pair of earrings matched with a pink, strapless dress. Her hair was pinned up in a crown at the top of her head. She looked like a princess in a fairy tale.

"Do you think that little bitch will really come?"

Standing behind Daisy, Sophia seemed to be a little worried. She too was all dressed up this day.

"Of course she will. She has been in love with Veron for years. How could she not come?"

Daisy said slowly and calmly, with a sneer on the corner of her mouth. "I want to see what she's going to do to turn it around."

Femme fatale, nothing more than this...

The JH hotel was filled with celebrities since the marriage between the Lian family and the Song family was big news in B City. While they all knew that this marriage wasn't completely planned, it was still something to be celebrated. They'd substituted Daisy for Leila probably because of the incident at the hotel. The Lian family had requested for the exchange and the Song family was going to comply no matter what. After all, it was going to benefit both of them. It didn't matter if it was Leila or Daisy as long as it was the daughter of the Song family.

When the time came, the host warmed up the audience. A man in a black tuxedo appeared with Daisy who just looked gorgeous in her princess-like attire.

The audience clapped and whistled in appreciation. The man was extraordinarily handsome. He was smiling faintly while looking at Daisy, who looked demure by his side.

Who wouldn't call them the golden couple on seeing them? Now they'd completely forgotten about Leila who was just known for being a troublemaker of the Song family, though they had praised her before.

"Oh my God! Mr. Lian and Miss Song is so good together! They're the best couple I've seen. I'm so jealous!"

The host was still marveling at the engagement. Upon noticing that Daisy had lowered her head in shyness, he cleared his throat and said to Veron, "Mr. Lian, would you mind telling us a bit about your love with Miss Song?"

Lowering her head, Daisy thought, 'Leila, you've lost. Now what? Everything you have is now mine. Oh how the mighty have fallen!'

Veron then lovingly gazed at Daisy and held her hands tightly. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "I still remember when I met Daisy for the first time. She was still little then and was so timid. She often kept to herself. Wow! Isn't that sweet ? I thought she was unique and someone to be treasured. No one can compare to her..."

"Really? Are you sure?"

Flash! The voice came from out of nowhere. Everyone turned to look where the voice had come from.

Daisy grinned at this, then her eyes brimmed with tears. After that, Daisy looked up to see Leila walking toward them.

"Veron, do you really love her?"

Leila was dressed plainly and she looked quite tired as she'd been taking care of her mother in the hospital for the past few days. She looked nowhere near as beautiful as Daisy did. Everyone knew then that she was here to stop the engagement.

"Look! Isn't that Leila Song? Is she here to cause trouble again?"

"She slept with another man which was so embarrassing for the Song family! I heard that her mother was hospitalized because of her. Yet she's here now about to ruin her own sister's engagement. How disgusting!"

"I can't stand her! Why doesn't the Song family just kick her out?"

The guests were now whispering among each other. The crowd was buzzing and they were all glaring at Leila with disgust.

"Leila, can we talk about this later?" Leila had always been a lovely and cheerful girl. But now, she looked nowhere near the girl she used to be. Something gleamed in Veron's eyes. He couldn't say a word after all.

"No need. You just need to tell me if you really love her or not. Once I have your answer, I'll leave immediately and you can have your engagement ceremony continue." Leila raised her voice. Her eyes were filled with tears and there was a hint of desperation in it.

"Sister, I know you have feelings for Veron too. If you really love him, I can... I can just step back. You can have him," Daisy said, her voice choking. This effectively gained the people's empathy. These people thought Daisy was the perfect girl with the purest heart.

People began voicing their similar opinions and needless to say, they were vicious.

"Leila is so pathetic. She's nothing compared to Daisy!"

"I agree! She's disgusting. Daisy's too kind. I bet she's the only one who can put up with her."

"That's true! Does Leila ever feel ashamed of herself? Even I feel ashamed of her!"

Leila heard every single comment, which made her original haggard face turned while and she suddenly felt her body shaking as if she was going to fall any minute now.

Something flashed in Veron's eyes-pity. He wriggled himself free of Daisy's hand, lowering his head as if he was about to say something. However, Johnson suddenly came out of nowhere and slapped Leila across the face, which Leila fell down onto the ground!

"You have no shame! Get out of here!"

Noticing that Veron had let go of her hand, Daisy felt displeased. Yet when Daisy saw Johnson slap Leila, she became joyful. While Daisy was able to quickly cover up how she really felt-so she still looked warm and lovely on the outside.

Leila seemed to be stimulated by the slap. As she stood up, she let out a slow chuckle. When she spoke, her voice was raised. "Shame? Shame? Me? Have no shame? Or are you just heartless? Mom's been in the hospital for three days. Have you ever visited her? No, you haven't! Instead, you're here holding an engagement ceremony! I bet you're glad that my mother's in the hospital."

"You!"

Johnson was so angry that he raised his hand as if he was about to slap Leila again. However, someone stopped him.

"Is this how Mr. Song treats his own daughter?"

Someone had caught Leila, whose body was in a precarious condition. She looked up in surprise to see who it was. 'Is it really him? !'

Exhausted, Leila was weak and fragile. She hadn't had proper sleep in days, so she fainted instantly in the man's arms.

Holding her tightly, Max stared back at the shocked Johnson. His eyes were gleaming. He said, "I'm the man with her in the hotel. Do you think I shame your daughter?"

This hit Johnson like a brick to the head. Gathering himself, he hurriedly waved his hands and said rather defensively, "No, no, no, I..."

"Enough," Max said gently but firmly, looking Johnson in the eye. Then he leaned over to carry Leila in his arms. After that, Max turned his head slightly, looked at Johnson coldly and said, "Remember, she's my woman!"

And when he finished speaking, Max disappeared into the crowd with Leila in his arms. Everyone was staring at him.

After a pause, it seemed as if everyone regained their senses. They began discussing in shock, "Oh my god, did I see that right?" Wasn't that the CEO of the Mu Group?"

"Yeah, I thought I didn't see that right either but that was Max Mu! I guess he's back from abroad?"

"Oh, my God. My father's been trying to set a meeting with him but Mr. Max wouldn't see him. I can't believe he's here today!"

"By the way, did you hear what he said? He said that Miss Leila is his woman?"

With this, everyone started talking. "So Miss Leila was with Mr. Max that day? Oh my god! Miss Leila is so lucky!"

"Yes, I'd be the happiest girl in the world if I were her!"

Johnson lowered his head. His mind was racing. He had no idea Leila had a relationship with Max. Everyone knew that the Mu Group was the biggest company in the country and wanted to work with them. Mu Group had business in a lot of industries. Max Mu had been expanding business overseas for a long time. If it weren't for his father's bad health, he wouldn't have returned home so soon.

'I didn't know Leila had ties with Max. His admission puts Leila on another level. Maybe I could use this for my business?'

Meanwhile, Daisy was seething. She clenched her hands into fists so hard that her finger nails started to dig into her palms. She didn't even feel it sting as all she could feel now was hatred and anger.

'Damn it! How did that bitch get close to Max? I was too hasty! I thought I was finally able to get the man she wanted! Then, she could never change for the better! What a joke!

Huh! I don't care if you're with Max or not. Sooner or later, he's going to leave you. I'd like to see how you can still be smug then!' Daisy tried to keep calm.

Veron lowered his head so no one could see the look on his face.

The host was at a loss. He turned to Veron. Veron then raised his head, took Daisy's hand and said coldly, "Go on."

The engagement ceremony was still going on but everyone's mood had changed.

The sunshine crept through the curtains. Lying on the comfortable bed, the girl frowned and muttered to herself. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling above her-her eyes blank. And she didn't say any word.

After a while, she came back to her senses. She stood up and looked around the room. Everything seemed unfamiliar. The last thing she could recall was talking to Veron in the hotel when her father slapped her in the face. He'd said that she had no shame. She vaguely recalled someone catching her when she had fainted.

A face came to her mind all of a sudden. She was startled. It was him!

At this time, the door was pushed open. The faint sound of footsteps could be heard. Then the eyes of Leila were filled with astonishment. And she spoke immediately, "It's you!"

Max's mouth twitched and he raised his eyebrows. He walked toward the bed and looked at her. "Surprised?" he asked.

This person...

Leila gripped the quilt tightly and said warily, "Who are you? Where am I?"

Max gazed at Leila, whose pale face still suggested that she was good-looking. Besides, her vigilance aroused a faint interest in him. He bent down and raised her small chin with his hand. "Max. My name is Max Mu and this is my home."

Max Mu! Leila's eyes widened in disbelief. She even had forgotten to resist when he reached down to lift her chin.

Max enjoyed seeing her like this. He gently touched her face and said, "I bet you're thinking of the Mu family."

At this moment, Leila's face grew paler. Her mind was racing and she unconsciously ignored the fact that he was touching her face.

"Are you surprised? I did say that you are my woman. You can't run away from me now."

Leila felt his hot breath on her face. She gathered herself and pushed him away. Biting her lip, she said, "Dream on! I belong to no one except myself!"

Max smiled when he heard her lovely answer, then he stretched out his arms so he could pull her closer to him. He said casually, "Then you have to give this a second thought. If you leave right now, you have nowhere to go. If you stay with me, you can get everything back and you and your mother will have a nicer life. I don't think you'd prefer that Sophia fools the Song family, right?"

Max had checked Leila's background. If he wanted to get a woman, he would use both hard and soft tactics. Thus, Max was confident that Leila would not refuse him.

Max's suspicion was right. The Song Group was nothing but a small company when her mother insisted on marrying Johnson. Her grandparents had no choice but to hand over their company to Johnson. Not long after their grandparents passed away, he managed to merge the two companies thus making a bigger and better one. During this process, he got Leila's mothers shares by some means. Since then, he has been ignoring Leila and her mother. That was when he brought Sophia and his daughter in the house. Leila hated them but her mother was too nice to do anything. Now Leila was being framed by Sophia and her daughter and her mother was in the hospital. How could Leila not be angry?!

Gone were her delusions about Veron. Sophia and Daisy were vicious. How could Leila just let them take over the Song family like that? She needed to get back her mother's shares. She couldn't just let them get the money!

The intense hatred in her eyes gradually subsided. Leila looked up at him and said in a clear voice, "All right, I promise you!"

"Great..."

Max then stroked her cheek with his hand, gazing at her lovingly. Leila turned her head stiffly when Max suddenly grabbed her by the neck. He bent down and whispered to her ear, "Remember, you're mine. You better forget about that man from now on."

Leila couldn't help but shiver at the tone of his voice. She couldn't even look at him. She swallowed and stammered, "I... I... Okay..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Max let go of her. She breathed a sigh of relief. Even though they'd already spent the night together, she still wasn't used to being so near to a strange man. She figured she was going to use her mother as her motivation. She had nothing else to lose and she was going to do whatever it took to make them pay! Even if that meant selling herself to the devil.

"Get up and eat something. You'd better keep yourself healthy. I won't be back for a while."

After finishing speaking, Max turned and left the room. He'd spent too much time on her anyway. He needed to get back to work.

Leila took a deep breath. She slowly stood up and walked toward the closet where all sorts of clothes were hanging. She frowned and thought to herself, "Why did Max seem so sure that I would agree to this?"

Leila calmed herself down as she decided to not think about it anymore. After taking a shower, she went to the hall downstairs. Tables full of food were lined up and Leila just had eaten little these days, but she still didn't have an appetite. She ate a little casually as she planned to go to the hospital to visit her mother. Before she left, she asked a servant, "Where's Max?"