Way Back Into Love (Essie)

Never!

Thanks to his so-called mediocrity, she didn't feel any pressure whenever she was with him. She was able to get along with him, joke with him, and even argue with him. It was also because of his "mediocrity" that she felt like they were from the same world, and that she was able to put her trust in him.

There had been a lot of ups and downs in her life. She had gone from a girl with a well-known and rich family to a girl with a small house in the middle of nowhere. And to be honest, she preferred the latter one It was said that jade was the apple of the eyes of people from wealthy families, but the truth was, people from wealthy families all had two faces: one was ugly, while the other was gorgeous and fake. What was the difference between Zac and those people?

"I'll only do what I need to, and I'll act how I should. Nothing more." Essie's voice was cold and distant, and there was a trace of bitterness in it. She fixed her eyes outside the window, refusing to even look at Zac.

Zac didn't like seeing such an expression on her face, and he didn't want her to treat him as a mere passer-by. He grabbed her shoulders, turned her over, and forced her to face him. "I never lied about anything but my identity to you. To be honest, I didn't feel like I had to hide my personality from you or play any games with you. I tried to be myself and let you see who I was. Nothing has to change between us. Without the Rong family, I am still the same homeless guy with nothing to offer who has been raised by you, and you are still my queen," he said.

"Does that make it okay?" Essie sneered.

"From now on, you're in charge of our finances. I'll just leave some pocket money for myself for drinking, and other than that I'll just be like a pauper." Zac gently touched the tip of her nose, his eyes full of love. Essie sighed lightly. Although she was still a little uncomfortable and resentful, she decided to let it go.

If she quarreled with him, and gave him the silent treatment, Valery would feel very happy, and she didn't want that.

She needed to show off how happy and sweet they were and make Valery even angrier.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

It was Mary.

"I have something to tell you." She looked extremely serious.

Zac frowned slightly. "Have a seat, Mommy."

After Mary sat down on the sofa, Zac took a seat opposite her with his arm around Essie.

"What do you want to say?" he asked in a low voice.

"We have been friends with Valery's family for generations, and almost everyone in the upper class circle knows that Valery is pregnant. If you suddenly announce your marriage to another woman, how will Valery be able to show her face to everyone?" Mary paused. "So, what I'm saying is, the registration of your marriage cannot be announced to the public."

An angry look flashed across Zac's eyes. The moment Valery found that she was pregnant, she immediately started to spread the news all over the city, even telling random passers-by about it to share her "good news". She deserved to be disgraced.

"I can keep it a secret until the baby is born, but I will only do it under two conditions, and you have to promise me that you will follow them." Zac was absolutely expressionless. It was as if the person sitting opposite to him was not his own mother, but a business partner.

This came as a total surprise to Essie.

"What are your conditions?" asked Mary.

"First of all, Essie and I have registered our marriage, and she is my legitimate wife, so everyone in our family and Valery's family has to respect her. Second, I will not be marrying Valery, so please get rid of that idea in her and her family's heads," Zac said in a firm tone, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Zac!" Mary said with an exasperated expression. She thought, 'This boy won't listen to his mother now that he's all grown up.'

"You have to know that there are rules of our family. Even if you have registered your marriage, she cannot become an official daughter-in-law of our family unless she has gotten the approval of all the members of the family."

"As long as my wife wants to be with me, all she needs is my approval. I don't care about what anyone else has to say," Zac said firmly. Zac knew that his mother had been drawn in by Valery's sugar-coated words. More than that, he also knew that Elizabeth was his mother's best friend, and if Mary thought that there was a chance that Valery would be her daughter-in-law, then she would definitely take Valery's side. He had to be ruthless so that there would be no room for fantasies in their head, or else he and Essie would face endless trouble.

With her head down, Essie stole a glance at him from beneath her thick eyelashes.

One of the clearest memories Essie had of her father was how submissive he was to her grandmother. Whenever her grandmother ordered him to do something, he would follow her without saying a word. And even when her grandmother was insulting her mother, he never dared to stand up to his mother and just watched his wife get bullied.

Essie's stepfather was much smarter than her biological father. He simply took both Essie and her mother away from their hometown and lived with them from place to place for three years, wiping away every last bit of grievance his parents had, and only leaving them to hope that their son would come back one day.

It seemed to Essie that a man who wouldn't stand up for his wife in front of his mother was doomed to fail in marriage. That was the reason why she didn't want to accept Hanson's love anymore. He was just like her biological father.

Ice guy, on the other hand, didn't even change his cold attitude in front of his mother.

Essie didn't know whether she should feel happy or worried.

The expression on Mary's face shifted. 'Others?' she thought. Did he consider his own mother as 'others'?

In a feudal society, daughters-in-law had to accept whatever her in-laws wanted. It had been many years since Mary married into her husband's family, but she still didn't dare to disobey the orders of Zac's grandmother. She tried her absolute best to please her mother-in-law.

Her son's words humiliated her as a mother-in-law.

But Mary was smart enough to know that putting more pressure on her son would only make things worse. It was just like hitting a ball-the more strength she used, the harder it would bounce back. She knew that the most effective way to deal with her son was to treat him as gently as she could.

"All right. We'll talk about this after Valery gives birth to the baby. I'll ask the servants to clean the guest room for Essie so she can sleep there later."

"Mommy, do you want us to sleep in separate rooms?" Lying idly on the bed, Zac raised his eyebrows in dissatisfaction. This was such a good chance for him to sleep with Essie, and now his mother was making a move to separate them?

"Valery is carrying my grandson, after all. You should at least be considerate of how she and Elizabeth feel, right? Besides, your Aunt Elizabeth has always regarded you as her own son. She has loved you very much since you were a child. And you have to keep a low profile anyway, so you can't go too far."

"I've already told them about my marriage. I have every reason to be in the same bed as my wife," Zac snorted.

Essie, on the other hand, actually agreed with the idea of sleeping in separate rooms. Sleeping with the big bad wolf made her feel insecure every time. "I think your mother's words make a lot of sense. We have to keep a low profile, so I will stay in the guest room for now." With that, Essie stood up, about to run away. But then, Zac wrapped his iron arm around her slim waist, pulled her to him, and she fell onto his lap in surprise.

"Mommy, I can't sleep if she's not with me. If you don't think it's appropriate, then we'll go back to my apartment tonight," he threatened.

Mary's face darkened. Her son had no sense of filial duty at all. It was like he had completely forgotten his mother now that he had a wife!

"You are a grown-up. Do whatever you want!" She poked Zac's forehead and walked out of the room gloomily.

"Icy guy, are you always so aggressive towards your mother?"

With a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, Zac pulled Essie into his arms and said, "We have to show our affection in front of my parents so my mother knows that it is impossible to separate us. Otherwise, my mother would make a big fuss about it and do everything to get me to marry who she has in mind."

Was he right? Or would what he did just make Mary hate Essie's guts more? There were a lot of conflicts that usually arose between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. One of them was due to the strong sense of loss that the mother-in-law would get from feeling like her son, who she raised for many years, had been taken away by another woman. Because of this, she would naturally be dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law and try to find something wrong with her.

Anyway, she wasn't his real wife. She was just acting. Ice guy was the director and scriptwriter, and Essie just had to do as he said.

Lunch was another intense battle.

Zac's third uncle Allen and aunt Marci had come back.

Uncle Allen was in charge of the travel group of the family business now. He had two sons and one daughter. His eldest son was studying in Britain, and his daughter, Ivy, was still in high school. His other son, who was the child of his lover, was only eight years old and was currently busy playing games on the sofa as if nobody else was around. Meanwhile, after she got divorced, Aunt Marci took her daughter, Daisy, back to their house.

"Aunt Marci." Essie greeted Marci at once as she had seen her before.

"How dare you call her aunt?" Daisy said, glaring at Essie.

Marci smiled and said, "She's a friend of Zac. Why shouldn't she call me aunt?"

The moment Ivy saw Essie, her eyes lit up and she screamed excitedly, "You are the beautiful designer on the show Beauty on Runway! I am such a big fan! I like your designs very much. They are all so beautiful. My birthday is coming up. Can you design an evening dress for me?"

"Sure! It would be my honor," Essie said with a smile.

Daisy pouted and said, "Zac, you are already going to have one wife and one concubine. Where does that leave Leila? She came back from America before she could even finish her studies because of you." Daisy was a young photographer who had just returned from France after finishing her studies there. She had a good relationship with Leila, so she had to speak up for her.

"Daisy, don't talk nonsense," Marci said, shooting her a warning glance.

"Our family isn't compatible with Leila's family, so how can Zac be with her? It doesn't matter how great they were together. It's all in the past," Ivy sighed.

'I'm afraid it is not in the past!'

Essie muttered in her heart. They were childhood friends. The relationship between the two of them was much stronger and deeper than the ocean. How could they be torn apart so easily? They were simply caught in a dilemma now, and once the situation was fixed, Essie would have to step aside.

But none of that mattered to Essie. Everything was clear in her mind, and she was well-prepared for what would happen. The moment he said the word, Essie would leave and disappear from his world forever. Allen and his wife were determined to just watch everything play out. It was none of their business anyway. They were not supportive of the fact that his nephew had brought an outsider woman into their home, but all they wanted was to be onlookers and wait and see what would happen. However, they knew that it was going to be a good show.

The main dining room was astonishingly big, and the dining table was pretty huge. Albert sat at the head of the table, Mary was seated on his left side, and Zac on his right. Essie was just about to take a seat next to Zac when she heard Mary's gentle voice calling out to her. "Essie, sit next to me. Let's have a chat." The smile on her face looked very gentle and kind, but Essie knew very well that what she actually wanted was for Essie to make room for Valery next to Zac.