The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

"Let them deal with this by themselves."

Nathaniel and Thomas have spent a lot of time together, so he knew that Thomas did not get angry easily. Now that Thomas had blown up over Charlotte, it was clear that he wouldn't let it go so easily. Walter was still mulling over Thomas' words when he was surprised by Mango's voice.

His mind, which had been muddled by the alcohol, seemed to regain all of its' clarity. "Mango? What are you doing here?"

"What!? I think the real question is what would you have done if I hadn't come. Were you going to take advantage of my best friend in front of all these men? Furthermore, did you plan on sharing her with them? Walter, I've always thought that you were kind despite your reckless nature, but I never expected you to do something like this. Do you think you're above everyone else just because you're the heir of the powerful Song Family in Ocean City? Let me tell you something, I'll never forgive you for what happened today! Our friendship is over!"

Truth be told, Mango had never been this pissed off before.

In the past, she could tolerate Walter playing harmless jokes on her, but she absolutely would not forgive him for what he did to Charlotte today.

On the other hand, Walter was also astonished.

He seemed to have realized what he'd done when he looked at the people around him, who were all avoiding his gaze.

Then, Walter exploded in anger.

"What did you guys give me? What was in the alcohol?"

He wasn't this sort of person!

Previously, he would never done such a thing no matter how riled up he got.

However, he felt as if he was possessed just now, and all his actions were unlike himself.

Right now, his head throbbed painfully and his entire body ached. These were all the signs of being drunk, but Walter was a frequent patron of bars and clubs, so of course he knew his limits.

"Stop pretending, what's the point of doing that now? Previously, I never held it against you when you abandoned Charlotte in the cemetery, but you've crossed the line now. You can't just blame everything on alcohol, Walter!"

In fact, Mango was extremely disappointed in Walter.

It felt like her good friend had somehow turned into a complete stranger, which made her chest ache.

"No, it wasn't like that Mango, please listen to me..."

As Walter spoke, he reached out for Mango's hand but Nathaniel shoved him away from her.

"Go and clean your own mess up!"

After Nathaniel finished speaking, he wrapped his arm around Mango's shoulders and left.

"Mango, you have to believe me, I didn't mean it! Someone must have drugged me!"

When Walter saw Mango's disappointed and distressed expression, he suddenly panicked.

No!

He couldn't lose Mango!

Even if they couldn't become husband and wife, at least they could still be friends.

However, with Mango's current state, it looked like Walter was about to lose Mango as a friend!

Meanwhile, Mango's heart was in terrible pain.

Ever since she returned to Ocean City, she knew that Walter had helped her a great deal. However, how could she forgive him for doing this to Charlotte?

Without a moment's hesitation, she left the Evergrande Bay Club under Nathaniel's watchful eye.

When Walter wanted to follow them, Nathaniel coldly warned, "You'd better think very carefully about what Thomas just said. Mango and I are Charlotte's friends, but Thomas is different because he is her fiance. You'd better be prepared to suffer his wrath for humiliating his future wife like that!"

Nathaniel's words froze Walter in his tracks, but Mango was rather puzzled.

How could Thomas, who had obtained his degree with the Ye Family's help and was currently working for them, have the power to subdue someone like

Walter?

Nevertheless, Mango kept the question to herself as she followed Nathaniel out of the Evergrande Bay Club.

Meanwhile, the manager was scared stiff once he heard of what had transpired upstairs in the club.

"Mr. Ye, this..."

"Send the bill for damages directly to the Ye Family, I'll settle the payment. As for the rest, don't worry, Walter will not blame you for anything."

After Nathaniel finished his sentence, he immediately left with Mango.

At the time, Mango had completely lost any desire to shop or eat, so she hurriedly followed Nathaniel back home.

Meanwhile, Charlotte had locked herself inside her room once Thomas had taken her home and she would not open the door no matter what he said.

She covered her mouth to muffle her sobs as she sat on the floor with Thomas's jacket still around her shoulders. His scent still lingered on the jacket, but Charlotte felt that the connection between them had been severed.

It wasn't easy for her to fall in love with a man, but then this happened.

So, Charlotte cried. She wept for her own misfortune and for the love that died before it could bloom.

Outside the door, Thomas felt as if his heart was being tightly crushed as he listened to Charlotte crying.

"Charlotte, I know that I should have confessed my feelings earlier, but it's still not too late! I am in love with you, and I want to marry you. I swear, I will get justice for what happened today!.

Then, Charlotte cried even harder.

"I don't deserve you, Thomas. I'm tainted!"

"Uncle Song, what does she mean by 'tainted'?"

Then, Rita suddenly appeared in front of him and she couldn't help but ask Thomas when she heard Charlotte's words.

On the other hand, Thomas was shocked for a moment before he started to panic at the sight of Rita. God knows how much she had heard.

"When did you get here? Where are your grandparents? Where's your brother?"

"Grandma and grandpa were tired, so they went to take a nap. Zion told me that he went out to get something to eat, and that he'll be back soon. Uncle Song, are you fighting with Auntie Blu? I heard her crying and saying that she was tainted, but what does mean? Wouldn't a shower take care of that?"

Sweet, innocent Rita blinked her eyes at Thomas as she spoke.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was stumped.

A shower?

Could a shower rid her of the stain on her body?

The imprints of what Walter and the other men did still lingered on her body. Her entire body had been violated, so how could she just wash it all off? However, Charlotte couldn't say anything in front of Rita, so she bit her lip and replied, "Just go, Thomas. Take Rita away from here, I'd like to be alone."

Then, Thomas's eyes narrowed upon hearing Charlotte's words, but he couldn't say anything in front of Rita.

Just as Thomas was about to lead Rita away, Zion returned.

"Uncle Song? Rita? What's wrong?"

Thomas breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Zion and said, "Zion, please watch Rita for me. I need to go and run some errands."

"All right."

Zion didn't know what Thomas was going to do, but he didn't question further because Thomas usually ran errands for Nathaniel. Then, he immediately shoved the food that he had just bought into Rita's hand and said, "You little glutton, let's go and eat this."

"Ooh, you're the best, big brother."

Rita laughed joyfully, but she leaned over to Zion and whispered, "I think Uncle Song and Auntie Blu are arguing. I heard her crying and saying that she was tainted, but what does that mean?"

Hence, Zion was slightly perplexed.

Auntie Blu was crying?

That tough woman actually cried?

Did hell freeze over or something?

To be frank, Zion didn't know what Rita meant either, but he replied softly as she looked up at him with curious eyes. "Let's not get involved with adult matters. I'm sure mommy and daddy will handle it once they get home. Oh yes, mommy's birthday is around the corner, so let's make gift for her."

"Oh, you bought it already?"

Rita's eyes immediately lit up.

Then, Zion said with a triumphant smile, "Of course, don't you know how amazing I am?"

"Wow Zion, you're incredible!"

After all, Rita was just a child, so she immediately forgot about Charlotte's troubles and happily walked inside her room with Zion.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel and Mango only saw Thomas leave when they returned.

"Thomas, where are you going? Where's Charlotte?"

Truth be told, Mango was afraid that Thomas would really go and fight Walter.

After all that had happened, Charlotte was already very upset. If Thomas went and fought with Walter over her, Mango reckoned that Charlotte would never want to show her face to anyone ever again. Then, Thomas paused for a moment and looked at the both of them before saying, "She's very sad right now, and she won't let me anywhere near her as she's locked herself inside her room. I know that any woman would be upset if this happened to them. Despite her tough exterior, Charlotte is actually trying to conceal her weaknesses and insecurities. Hence, I hope that you can console her, Mrs. Ye." Mango nodded at Thomas before she asked, "What do you plan on doing with Charlotte? Will you hate her for what happened today?"

"She didn't do anything wrong at all. Could a woman like her fight off all those brutish men? Furthermore, I don't think that Charlotte would seek out Walter for no reason. I'm sure that there must be something I'm not aware of, or that Walter threatened Charlotte and forced her to meet him. I admit that it's extremely upsetting to have the woman I love being violated by other men, but I want to spend the rest of my life with her. If I give up now, how could I ever think about proposing to her?"

Thomas's eyes were brimming with tears.

He was almost two meters tall, but right now he just looked like a small, wounded child.

Hence, Mango was extremely moved.

As the saying went, tough times would show your true intentions, and Mango was completely reassured of Thomas's sincerity towards Charlotte.

On the other hand, Nathaniel knew Thomas well and he knew that his assistant wasn't someone who could fall in love easily. Thus, Thomas would not easily give up once he found his true love.

Hence, Nathaniel was happy to see how sincere Thomas was towards Charlotte, and he muttered, "No matter what happens, you need to remember that I've got your back. Even if the Ye Family doesn't back you up, I'm not only your boss, but also your brother!"

Then, Thomas bit his lip and raised his head to stop his tears from flowing down.

"Thank you both so much. I need to go now, there are some things I need to settle." After Thomas said that, he turned around and left.