n

n

nChristina gave her a knowing smile as if she had already seen through her intentions. 𝚍ｏ𝚟𝚕.ｏｒｇ

n“The same thing you came here to do. But unfortunately you are too late now.”

nSarah’s expressions shifted slightly at the mention of her motives but she felt that Christina was only fishing for information and didn’t actually know anything.

n“What do you mean?” Sarah tried to look genuinely puzzled and her acting skills weren’t bad enough that Christina would notice her attempt at deception.

nBut Christina’s answer made all her hopes come crashing down like a meteor from outer space.

n“I mean that Zach and I are already engaged. So your little attempt to seduce him is going to end in failure.”

nChristina on the other hand smirked like a teenage girl who had managed to snag the school hunk. Seeing that her words had caused Sarah agony, Christina didn’t stop and continued to push salt into her wounds.

n“Elizabeth family entered into an alliance with Zach through our engagement so you can put aside any thoughts you or your family were having towards him.”

nSarah burned with righteous anger as she thought of how all her plans had gone to the gutter just because she had been a few minutes late. She had been planning to apologize to Zach for their previous faults and wanted to enter an alliance based on interests of both the families by using the capital of the Macrae family and the infrastructure of the Luther family as the bargaining chips. She was sure that the terms she had thought of had been good enough for Zach to agree to her proposal but Christina had ruined it all by shamelessly selling herself for the deal.

nCursing her luck, she stomped her feet in annoyance because she now had to come up with a different countermeasure to save her family from the incoming changes in the business world. Since whatever she proposed now wasn’t going to be as good as what Christina had done, there was nothing she could do but turn back for now and let things cook a little more.

n———-

nElizabeth family mansion

nGeorge listened to the report of her daughter who had gone off to discuss the possibility of an alliance with the Luther family after the release of their new product.

nHe had wanted to go in person but his daughter had persuaded him to let her go. The reason was that he and his son had already lost the goodwill of the Luther family after their actions regarding the Sosis family assets were revealed.

nGeorge hadn’t thought much of it at the time because he understood the importance of this alliance and had let her take the lead. But now he could only regret having sent her for the negotiation.

nHe wasn’t at all happy with the news that she had brought home. The fact that his business was saved by his daughter who had to sacrifice her happiness and her future to bring about such a result disgusted him. He couldn’t bring himself to feel good despite the fact that his daughter had saved the family legacy from being tarnished during his time.

nHis face didn’t hide this displeasure as he stared at his beautiful daughter with helplessness and guilt.

n“I should have thought of it beforehand. How can someone not covet my daughter after seeing her? I shouldn’t have let her go alone for this.” Those were the only thoughts going through George’s head at the moment.

nHe knew his daughter’s attractiveness very well considering the amount of wedding proposals he had to reject on daily basis on her behalf. Her standards for a husband had been very high from the beginning and George had been very thankful for that. This way he didn’t have to expend much effort because his daughter knew how to protect herself from profit seekers and those who purely lusted after her body.

nThis kind of situation had not even registered in his mind where his daughter would agree to a political marriage just to secure a good business deal for the family.

nUnder all the stress, he had forgotten how his daughter acted when it came to business matters.

nShe became as emotionless as a doll and measured everything in terms of profit and loss just like a good businesswoman.

nThat very attitude had led to this situation where he had to see his daughter smiling happily after having sold herself off for the profit of the family.

nChristina on the other hand was feeling quite smug at having grasped this opportunity before everyone else. She wasn’t like her father who kept thinking that she had ruined her life.

nHer thinking was quite the opposite in fact. She had already been planning a political marriage for the benefit of the family but a suitable candidate hadn’t appeared so far. But when she met Zach, who was not only good looking but far more qualified than anyone she could ever hope to meet, she agreed to his proposal on the spot.

nTo her, it was a good deal but for her father who had to witness such a thing within his life, it was nothing short of the depiction of his failure as a parent.

n— — — — — — — — — — — — —

nStriking a deal with one of the most prominent families for financial support of his project was always one of the goals that Zach wanted to achieve through this product showcase but the fact that he had agreed to give this opportunity to the Elizabeth family could only be attributed to the quick wit, enhanced intellect and the decision making ability of Christina who came to him on behalf of the Elizabeth family.

nShe checked all the boxes for an accomplished business ally but just a joke got him engaged to her. Even though Christina was quite pretty, Zach wasn’t someone who would be attracted by just the inherent beauty alone. The major reason behind the fact that he had continued the joke that Christina had somehow misconstrued into a marriage proposal was the he system prompt that notified her regarding the mysterious energy inside her.

nWith increased attention towards him, he needed to get stronger faster and Christina was the closest solution to that.

nAfter the deal was done and dusted, Zach didn’t wait around outside anymore and went back to the mansion where he asked the servants to serve him tea.

nLuna tried to act cute and cuddled with him on the couch and Zach indulged her as much as she wanted.

nHe knew she must be feeling a sense of loss from what had happened earlier. He wanted to reassure her that her position wouldn’t change in his heart. She still was the first woman who came into his life.

nSatisfied with the caresses of her loving master, Luna obediently sat beside him as Zach sipped on his tea while munching on a biscuit.

nIt wasn’t long before the exhausted Diana and exceptionally cheerful Bruce entered the dining room as well.

n“So? Did you catch a big one?”

nIt was Bruce who asked in anticipation of the answer. Since he already knew most of Zach’s plans, he had an idea as to what Zach had wanted to do during the showcase.

n“Mmm…a really big one.” Zach played along as he responded to his question with a smirk.

n“Which one is it? Stop trying to be mysterious.”

n“Elizabeth family” Zach replied with a helpless expression.

nAs he had expected, Bruce’s expression fell at the mention of the family name after all they had been the ones to stab him in the back after the Sosis family incident.

n“Why them?” Bruce asked with visible annoyance on his face.

n“Because I am going to marry Christina, the Elizabeth family heir, very soon. This way we can forget about them hiding an ulterior motive and we can receive financial support from the greatest business family of the city.”

nZach’s reasoning was sound and the logic irrefutable yet it left a bad taste in Bruce’s mouth. Still, it didn’t take very long for him to accept Zach’s decision as it was the most profitable approach for the Luther family for the time being as it involved almost risk free benefits.

nDiana on the other hand didn’t seem to care much about the new alliance as she congratulated Zach on his engagement with a smile on her face before taking her leave with measured steps.

nTo Zach she looked to be quite tired after the events of day as her steps wobbled every time her feet touched the ground as if there was no strength in her legs.

nHe could only pity her condition since she had to stand for quite a while during the product showcase.

n…

nAs soon as Diana entered her room she slammed the door with enough force to pull the door off completely from its hinges.

nHer face was already red from all the anger she had been holding inside. All that angst burst out as soon as she was alone in her room. She hadn’t wanted to reveal this side of her in front of the object of her affection.

n“I was supposed to be the first. How can master agree to marry someone else before me?” She thought as her insides boiled in anger.

nUnable to contain the tsunami brewing inside her, she viciously kicked the only chair in front of her dressing table which sent it reeling along the ground before striking the wall with a loud thud.

nBreathing heavily she sat on her bed in exasperation as she thought of the logic behind Zach’s actions.

nIn the end she could only deduce that Zach had taken the most appropriate steps to protect the Luther family from their enemies.

n