Temptation Of The CEO

The stars glinted as the moon hung low across the night, its light shadowing over the cities across the pavements. Wind blew over the streets, howling throughout the night.

As silence whistled across the streets, a shadow elongated across the sidewalk.

Around the corner, a woman in a light floral skirt ran across the streets, holding a band of papers close to her chest. As she rushed down the lighted area, her figure shrank and merged with the shadows.

She trembled, pausing at first as she panted out a few inaudible words.

Her face was frozen because of the chilly weather as her lips struggled to make out the words that she was about to say. "I–I will have the money... I'll save you...I'll save you...trust me."

Without another word, the woman stumbled across the large crowds. There were people pushing against each other, with their leather and designer bags out in display. It was the perfect scene.

Her eyes glinted with anticipation as she edged deeper into the forest of people. Without another word, she snatched the bag from a woman before racing deeper into the crowds.

She latched on the handle and ran. Soon, a cry erupted from the crowd as the woman she'd stolen from placed a hand on her mouth.

The woman was pale from fear as she reached out to grasp the handsome man beside her. "Please," she begged. "Help me catch the thief!"

Like the gentleman he was, he dropped all his plans to race after the thief. Melissa Ji ran as fast as she could. However, she was no match for the man. Soon, he finally caught up to her, purposely tripping her. She fell, letting out a surprised squeak.

"Shameless!"

Aaron Mu scowled, dropping to his feet as he grabbed the bag from the thief. Without another thought, he left her alone on the pavements.

The pain was unbearable as it spread across her body. It could render anyone down in seconds, but the list in her pocket became heavier at the thought of her losing this night's catch. She gasped for air, hands enclosing on the piece of paper.

Staggering upwards, she stumbled over to Aaron Mu, grabbing him by the sleeve. "Stop! That wallet! Give it back to me!"

Melissa Ji was willing to throw anything away–her life, her dignity, herself, as long as she could save her brother. She needed the money.

The vein on his forehead bulged as Aaron Mu glared at her. "Let me go." He snarled out like a bull ready to charge his opponent.

A strange coldness swept over Melissa Ji's body. It was not until then that she got a chance to size him up.

He had a handsome face with a very sophisticated jawline. The symmetry of his facial structure was magnificent, but his eyes seeped nothing but hatred. The look on his face would make everyone retreat.

"Please..."

Before she could say anything else, Melissa Ji was shoved back to the pavements.

He sneered, "Don't touch me, you thief!"

His words were like sharp blades cutting the insides of her heart. She wanted to say something to explain herself and her actions, but before she could, the woman entered the scene.

Her blood red lips pouted, leaning over Aaron Mu's shoulder.

"You don't have to humiliate her in public," she said smoothly. "It's a good thing you got it back. It was the bag you've given me, else I wouldn't be so worried about it."

At this moment, Melissa Ji could feel all eyes were on her. They were colored with disdain and hatred for the act that she'd committed. She avoided them all, trying so hard to be at peace with her own personal space.

After a long time, it began to drizzle. Soon, everyone seemed to forget the scene that had happened before them as they rushed over to the places they needed to be at. Her eyelashes trembled, and her body shook as the cool weather got even colder.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the water that drenched the pavements. She sniffled, tasting the bitterness of her lips.

As another thirty minutes passed, Melissa Ji finally got the courage to stand on her feet. Her white dress was drenched with the rain, and the bottoms of her skirts were covered with mud. It was as if she rose from Mother Earth herself.

The wind howled once more. Yet, she seemed unaffected by it all.

Hanging her head low, Melissa Ji took a deep breath before trudging across the sidewalks.

If it was possible, she'd never go back to that house over again, but she had no other choice.

She gently pushed the door open, eyes darkening in an instant.

As expected, the stench of alcohol wafted around Melissa Ji, hitting her like a bullet train.

There was a man standing in the living room with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. The moment he saw her entering, he immediately walked over towards her and grabbed the strands of her pitch black hair. "Didn't I tell you not to go out? You little bitch! Go work for me now instead of reading those shitty books! Why the hell did I marry that bitch? Now, I'm stuck with you two!"

Melissa bit her bottom lip, quivering under his gaze. She wanted him to leave her alone, wanted him to return to his drinks. However, luck wasn't on her side.

Bob Ji, her father, knocked an empty bottle to the ground. Its crash echoed across the living room as the glass shattered all over the tiles.

He shoved Melissa to the ground. Her knees scraped across the glass as she lost her balance. She was about to go back up when she was kicked to the ground by her own father. The glass slashed down her lower back. "You're weak, aren't you?" he roared. "Bitches! All you do is hook up like the slut your mother did."

Before she could answer, a cough sounded from the other end of the hall. "What did you do to her?"

A man slowly came out from the shadows. He was stark pale, like a kid who was ready to die at any moment. In reality, he was.

Regardless of the pain, Melissa stood up quickly, striding towards him. "Mond, don't worry. I will raise money to treat you, of course. You have a bright future ahead."

She struggled to smile as her whole body was shaking from the aftereffects of the events she'd faced today.

Mond Ji frowned. "Where have you been?" he demanded. "Why are you so wet?"

Melissa couldn't explain to Mond Ji. In fact, she didn't even want to. In silence, she helped him walk over to the room in the corner of the house. Once everything was arranged, she swept the glass that dotted across the floor.

However, as she was about to leave, she heard a pair heels clicking towards the tiles.

Melissa froze, knowing fully well what was coming next.

As she craned her neck, the woman slapped her cheek.

Jill Huang roughly grabbed Melissa's delicate chin, casting a close look at her. "In the past two decades, we've helped you, and now you're going to repay us like this?" she snarled out. "Leave already! Stop being such a fucking burden."

Her face was flushed red. It almost seemed like she was the devil about to break out anytime soon.

Without another word, Jill Huang dug her sharp claw-like fingers deeper and deeper into the skin of Melissa's neck, as if she was trying to see how hard she could go before she could puncture her very skin.

Melissa's breath quickened, the pain bursting through her body. She gasped for air, grappling around Jill Huang's arms. "Let," she gasped. "Let me go!"

Mond Ji paled at his sister's screaming. He was a young frail boy, the one who was always being overlooked.

He gathered all his strength to push the door open and walked towards them, face darkening when he saw what Jill Huang was doing to his sister. "Mom," he said. "Don't do that to my sister! Please!"

Hearing the shrill scream, Jill Huang scowled deeper. She wrangled off Melissa's hand, pointing a polished finger at her supposed son. "You bastard!" she snarled. "Don't talk that bullshit with me. If it hadn't for you two burdens, we would've afforded food now. Look at your sister. Look at how beautiful she is. What use would that be if she's stuck here? She might as well be in the same profession as her mother was in!"

As soon as the words slipped pass her lips, Bob's face took on a ghastly expression. He stumbled upwards, waving a finger at all of them. "Shut up all of you!" he roared. "How dare you call my son a burden?"

Jill stomped over to him like a soldier prepared for war. "What's the matter? Have you forgotten all the days we've spent together?" She motioned to Mond. "You think this kid could give you a grandson? He can't even stand up! Listen, Bob, get a divorce. If you marry me, I'll give you a daughter, way better than that bastard! If..."

As she continued to drone, Melissa closed her eyes. She had enough of this nonsense. Without another word, she helped Mond back to his room. "I just got the report," she said softly. "The doctor said that they already have the bone marrow. Now, I'll just get the money and we can get on with it. I won't let you die, got it?"

Before he could even reply, she stalked out of the room.

'Sell myself?' she thought, chewing her bottom lip. 'As long as he could live...what's my dignity worth?'

Melissa strode out of the house, every step slowly torturing her.

The rain was falling down along the streets. Melissa leaned beside a bus stop to shelter herself from it.

Crowds of people went right and left. Somehow, they all became such a blur to her as if someone had just pressed fast forward over her life.

She hated it, hated feeling this way.

As Melissa was lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice two men approaching her from behind.

One of them hovered a cloth on Melissa's nose as silently as he could. Before she could register what was happening to her, she immediately fell unconscious.

The next thing she knew was when she opened her eyes. A chill went down her spine as she heard loud clanging noise from the backs. With knitted eyebrows, she slowly opened her eyes to see a pair gazing back at her.

As she struggled to turn away, she saw that her hands were tied around her back and her feet was tied around the legs of the chair. There was nothing else she could do.

The man with an ugly scar hovered over her, gripping her jaws with force. "Be good," he commanded. "I'll throw you out if you don't make good money."

'What the hell?'

All she remembered was going to the bus stop to avoid the rain. How the hell did she end up here?

The man shook her off. "What a silly girl! You think she'll be of good use to us, Jill?"

'Jill?'

Melissa's heart rippled with fear at the sound of her stepmother's name. "Don't be like that, Laurent. I tell you, she'll be good to you. Besides, this isn't the first time we've cooperated with each other. You can trust me."

Laurent growled. However, his strict expression finally eased up a little as he raised up a finger in warning. "She better be clean. The host is here today," he said. "You'll be fired if she isn't."

Jill simply smiled in reply, pulling her arms around the man's neck. She glanced at Melissa and snorted out.

"What... what do you mean... you..." Melissa struggled to stand up, but she found that the ropes had only dug deeper and deeper into her skin.

Facing her blaming gaze, Jill only scoffed, "Don't you want to save your brother? What's the big deal? You should be proud of yourself. Finally, you'll be able to earn money to save your brother. Don't worry. You'll eventually end up here anyway. I just helped you get into it."

Melissa turned beet red in anger, as she struggled to find the right words to express it. She hated Jill, despised her to the ends of the world.

Leaving her no time to reply, Jill strode forward and stuffed a large rag into her mouth, rendering her voiceless. She tied a chain around her neck like an animal and walked out.

Melissa blinked blearily, as if trying to register that this wasn't a dream.

"What the hell is going on?"

Melissa choked out. However, this time, no one was able to answer her.

Before she could cry, her gaze was fixed over the handsome man who had just entered from the door. As he tilted his head towards her, she widened her eyes.

This was the man who had humiliated her from the streets! Melissa whimpered. Maybe he could help, at least.

However, before she could call out for him, he strode forward, analyzing her every angle. "I like this gift very much," he said in a matter-of-fact way.

Hearing this, everyone was slack-jawed. For a moment, whispers erupted throughout the crowd as he accepted his gift.

"Is he really..."

"It's Aaron Mu!" "Isn't he supposed to marry someone from the Liao Family?"

Laurent's voice was drowned out by the sighs of the crowd, but he wasn't angry. Instead, the corners of his lips took form of a satisfied smile. With a glance at Jill, he tucked Melissa into Aaron's arms, taking off the handcuffs.

Melissa freed herself from the cloth stuffed in her mouth, inhaling the scent of fresh air. She quickly tugged her ragged clothes, pulling them downwards to hide her more vulnerable areas.

However, before she could run across the crowds, Aaron threw her around his shoulder and walked out.

She almost choked at the sudden movement. Then she thumped his back repeatedly, screaming, "Let go! Let go of me. Look, thank you and all, but put me down!"

He opened a small apartment nearby, snarling at her to silence. Without another word, he strolled right in and threw her onto the bed.

The cushions sank a little at her weight. She groaned, as her aching back finally got some rest. However, before she could get back up, Aaron pressed his own body against hers.

His scent wafted across her, and she couldn't help but scrunch her nose at the overwhelming perfume.

Her heart started to beat rapidly in her chest.

Aaron clutched Melissa's neck, pushing her deeper into the pillows. "Stealing, pretending, being sent to me as a gift," he snarled. "What do you want from me?"

"It's all a misunderstanding, please I just want money to help my brother."

"Money? Are you sure about that?"

Aaron sneered at her explanations, not believing her every word. One look at him sent shivers down her spine. She rushed to explain, "I really don't know you. I just stole the woman's purse, because... hmph!"

'She's just another woman who sold her body. All she needs is money anyway, one that I got plenty of, so why is she resisting?'

Aaron scowled, grinding against her.

Tears streamed down Melissa's face, as she finally gathered what's about to happen next. She reached out and dragged her fingers across Aaron's back. As she was about to say something, he interrupted her train of thoughts.

"One million, and you'll shut up."

Hearing the words slip out of his lips, she fell silent.

She needed the money, needed it badly to help her brother. What was the use of her dignity if her brother was dead?

Knowing that she had no other choice, Melissa closed her eyes and prepared for the worse. Tears wetted the pillow as she twisted and turned, giving more way for his body to do the works.

It was a whole night of lovemaking.

The room was filled with moans and sounds of slapping skin. Soon, their bodies entangled in the sheets as their own sweat embedded across the others.

It was already day when Melissa woke up.

Light streamed through the curtains, shadowing her skin in a delightful way.

The pain from last night's activities finally caught up on her, making her take a deep breath as she registered the events that had transpired last night.

Her body was decorated with bruises, embedding itself on her skin in an exquisite way.

Yesterday's events had jogged deep into her heart, as her eyes widened. She was anxious to stand up. However, just when she was about to do it, she found that her feet was tied to the post of the bed. She could only move her hands.

She kicked her foot so hard that it only smacked across the post of the bed, and the pain only reverberated around her ankles. Melissa winced, groaning out.

Suddenly, the door opened.

Aaron had arrived.

"You're awake." He slammed the door closed, glaring at her. "Don't bother. I'm just doing this to satisfy you."

She sobbed out. "I told you! I know you're rich, but you have no right to look down on me like that–"

Aaron slapped Melissa across the face, his sharp eyes fixed on her. "One million, and you tell me why you're here. Were you sent by the woman?"