Chapter 11 The Slap

"You... can't you keep your mouth shut?" To some extent, James and Mason were in the same boat. When James could not overcome his temptation and married Susie last time, he only found out he was lied to after the marriage. At that time, Susie told him that he would inherit the Zheng family’s fortune if he was to marry her. Even though he found out about the truth after their marriage, he gave up on Sharon and their daughter after getting what he wanted. "Annie, I’ll kill you!" When Sophie saw what was happening, a triumphant smile grew on her face. With Susie on her side, there was nothing she was afraid of. After she taunted her, she threw herself at Annie. Meanwhile, Annie was just coldly watching the internal conflict between the three of them from the sidelines, not noticing Sophie who was running toward her. "Annie!" When Annie finally noticed Mason's gaze on her, the conflicted feelings made her even more disoriented. By the time she reacted, a stern gush of wind from a palm fanned toward her face. "You stupid girl!" When Annie closed her eyes to accept what was coming, her body suddenly fell to the side uncontrollably. A warm breath landed on her face and by the time she opened her eyes, a handsome face was less than an inch away from her. "What... what are you trying to do?" Annie instinctively covered her chest, not realizing that her pretty face was already burning hot. When Myles heard Annie’s question, he instinctively felt a pang of annoyance. ‘This woman… ‘She’s so stupid that it’s adorable. But I should still teach her a lesson…’ "Are you blind? Don’t you know that you’re supposed to dodge when someone is going to hit you? Won't you dodge when you see someone hitting you? Where did the old Annie go?" Before Annie could recover from the shock, Myles scolded her right in her face and then let her go. When Annie gathered her wits and looked at the man next to her, it was probably the first time that she thought that maybe he was not that bad a person after all. Sophie was taken aback and began throwing a tantrum. She was even more pissed off when she realized that Annie was rescued by the same handsome guy from last time. However, she was stopped by James as soon as she started to run amok. "Keep quiet." James smiled at Myles to thank him. At the same time, he was shocked and wondered why he would protect Annie. "Mr. Lane, I see that you’re good at disciplining your daughters. May I ask what’s this fight about?” Myles’s face was sullen and cool. A powerful and scary storm seemed to be forming behind his pair of beautiful black eyes. "Ah... Mr. Jennings, please forgive my daughters…” James said sheepishly. All the other guests who were enjoying the show suddenly became serious and the whole wedding scene fell silent for a while. Myles was the head of Jennings Enterprise. His company encompassed more than half of the business industry in City A despite his young age. In fact, he came from a family of unimaginable businesses. In other words, Myles practically owned City A and nobody dared to offend him. "Who do you think you are? Don't think that just because you’re Annie's new boyfriend that you can defend her. Why would anyone want a loose woman like her anyway?” As soon as James let go of Sophie's mouth, she fired nasty shots. James was not the only person stunned by her angry outbreak. In fact, everyone else who heard that statement felt nervous for him. ‘That’s Myles Jennings. The Myles Jennings that can shake the entire City A just by stomping on his feet. How could Sophie talk to him that way... I guess she doesn’t want her life anymore.’ Although the Lane family was rich, their wealth was only a tiny speck compared to Jennings Corporation. To get a better idea, Jennings Corp. could crush Lane’s Corp. in a matter of minutes. Myles narrowed his eyes and listened to the berating with a dignified aura. He himself could not explain what was going on. He found it cute when Annie was mad at him but Sophie’s pissed-off attitude only made him want to punch her in the face. Before he could take action, the tiny woman that he was shielding made her move. What she did surprised him a lot. Slap! With a slap, James was dumbfounded as he watched his two daughters. It seemed like they were two entirely new people that day. On the other hand, Annie shook her hand out after dishing out the slap, feeling much better as she did so. "You... How dare you hit me! I’m not afraid to fight you!" By the time Sophie realized what had happened, she had her hand over her mouth and tears brimming in her eyes. She never thought that Annie would ever dare to hit her! That was why by the time she reacted, she had completely lost her mind and charged toward Annie before she was stopped by Hugh. “Sophie!” Susie was so angry that she did not know how to react and pulled Sophie aside. Sophie did not know who Myles was. If she did, she would not dare to offend him. "Annie, Sophie’s your sister and this is her wedding. How can you..." James sighed. Even if Annie did not slap her, he thought that maybe he should punish her in front of everyone to show that he disciplined his daughters. However, she was still his beloved daughter. He could not bear to do it. Annie sneered and snapped a reasonable excuse, "She scolded my boyfriend. I just wanted to teach her a lesson as her older sister. Oh, it must’ve slipped my mind that it was a wedding. Carry on then. I’ll put this wreath over here, you don’t have to thank me." Annie pulled Myles by his sleeve and turned to leave. As she did so, she gave a last look at Mason. For the first time, she wondered how blind she was all that time. ‘Why should I miss a man like him?’ "Hold on." As he was being dragged out, Myles grabbed her small hand and turned to look at James who was stunned. "Mr. Lane, Jennings Corporation has decided to cancel the collaboration project with Lane Corp. You don’t need to ask me why. Also, Annie’s my girlfriend. So she doesn't need to explain herself for anything that she does!” Myles's somber voice not only stunned everyone present, but even Annie was shocked. She just cooked up an excuse just now, but... he defended her with such seriousness and haughtiness. ‘What is this feeling... It’s as if my heart belongs here now, and this feeling of contentment...’ On the other hand, her heart could not help but undulate when she realized she was chosen by someone outside of the Lane Family. Everyone in Lane Corp. had spent more than half a year to get the opportunity to work with Jennings Corp. but now… all the bridges they had built were all burnt down. "Uh... Mr. Jennings, Lane Corporation..." As soon as James said those words, Annie's heart sank. At that moment, all he cared about was his company. "You don’t have to say anything anymore. Control your family. If any of them tries to bully Annie, it won’t be long until Lane Corporation is taken over by Jennings Corp.!” Myles’s expression looked even colder. He could hardly imagine how Annie grew up in the household. "I..." James knew he had hit a wall. In fact, even Sophie who was slapped had reached a point where she could no longer bear it. ‘Jennings Corporation?! He’s the president of Jennings Corporation!’ The most unacceptable thing for her was that he admitted to being Annie’s boyfriend! "Hmph! Who’d believe that someone from Jennings Corporation would take a stand for that loose woman! No matter how long you wait, no one will ever love you back, Annie!” Sophie narrowed her eyes and a twisted smile grew on her face. Mason was her only bargaining chip in that game now. "Heh…" When Annie heard what she said, she had to hold in her laughter. Yes, she loved Mason, but he married another woman. Just by that fact alone, Sophie hurt her unbearably. However, even she had underestimated how far Myles would go to protect her. He turned toward Annie and went down on one knee in front of everyone. "Annie, will you marry me?"