Way Back Into Love (Essie)

The woman looked pale as she coughed a little, trying to push him away. But she was too weak for him to even budge. "Yes, I do. But I can just dance for you. How about dancing?" Zac waved his slender index finger and said, "I'm not interested. I only accept French kisses today."

Taking a deep breath, Essie tried to escape. But the harder she fought, she was pressed down and unable to move. She was like a helpless lamb, unable to resist the wolf.

Even at her weakest, she wanted him to know that she was forced to do this.

After a long while, the lack of oxygen made her head start to spin. She nearly fainted from suffocation.

When he let go of her, she collapsed in his arms.

He narrowed his eyes at her. He wouldn't force her. He was willing to wait until she was willing to give herself to him.

After watching the film, they went back to their room.

As they were lounging on the bed, Zac casually mentioned that he would go back to his family's house tomorrow.

Essie sneered at this. "Wow, Mrs. Vicki is full of energy these days! She is such a hardworking old hag to force you to marry her granddaughter."

Zac took her into his arms to comfort her. "Don't worry too much. I'll take care of it."

"No." Essie waved him off. "I have to face it myself this time." The ice guy on the side was the one who did the wrong thing. If Valery and her family insisted on Zac abandoning her, he would be charged. But Essie was different. Valery's family was forcing Zac to marry her by painting her as the victim. Essie had to protect her own interests. Even if her enemies were her elders, it didn't change the fact that they were making her life difficult.

Zac, meanwhile, continued to sift his fingers through her hair, petting her comfortably. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, so stop worrying about me!" she said. "I'm glad to have you by my side, which is why I have to protect you."

With a small sigh, Zac said softly, "I'm so lucky to marry a woman like you."

The next day, Mrs. Vicki and Elizabeth arrived at the house. They didn't take Valery with them because she was too emotionally unstable for anything.

Albert, Mrs. Mary, Zac and Essie were waiting in the living room.

Albert invited Mrs. Vicki to sit on the most respectful seat with him, showing great respect to her.

Mary and Elizabeth sat on the left, while Zac and Essie on the right.

After taking a sip of tea, Mrs. Vicki said, "Since everyone is here, I won't beat around the bush. I'm here to talk about your plans with Valery."

Albert waved his hand and sighed, "They have their own minds now. There's no need for us parents to get involved in their affairs. We don't like butting into their businesses." And just like that, Albert had shot down Mrs. Vicki's attempts to twist their arms according to her whims. She could ask his son about it, if she wanted. But to rope him into their affairs? Albert knew better than to be led into that trap. The corners of Mrs. Vicki's mouth twitched. Of course, she understood what Albert meant. He was giving the responsibility to Zac.

Zac noticed that his father did a great job at passing the ball on to him. He just needed to shoot his shot. "I have already told Aunt Elizabeth my plans about this matter. I will raise the child. And I believe that Valery can still find a better husband," he spoke.

Mrs. Vicki frowned. "How can a woman who has given birth find a better man? The only man she needs is you." If her granddaughter had still been a virgin, she could have better marriage prospects from the heirs of other good families. But now that she had been refused and left with a child, only poor, useless boys would take her as a wife.

"As you know, I'm already married. I can't marry her," Zac replied, his tone left no room for any complaints.

"You can get a divorce so you can get married again. Your wife is not pregnant anyways, you can divorce her with no worries. Now that you have a child with Valery, it's the perfect time for both of you to begin your own family. Only a complete family could make your future child happy. Think about it," Mrs. Vicki said.

"So what do you want us to do?" Mary asked.

"We hope that your son divorces Essie as soon as possible and marries Valery. If they really love each other, she can continue to stay by the side of Zac. Valery is very generous and won't interfere their affairs. She just wants her child to be accepted and have a complete family," Vicki said slowly, but made no mistake about her aggressive tone. She had decades of experience sharpening her teeth to make sure each word sliced her enemies to shred.

"Well, it might be a good idea. This way, not only Valery and her baby are accepted, but also Zac and Essie can be together. That sounds like a win for everybody," Mary spoke loud, as she happened to hold the same view.

"Yes, you're right. We're reasonable people. Yesterday, I had a talk with Valery and she agreed that she would get along well with Essie. She'll treat her like family," Elizabeth cut in. She put on a fake smile. As long as her daughter took the highest position, she didn't care for the welfare of the little bitch.

Looking at their hideous faces, Essie sneered and said, "Marriage is not a game. It's not a deal, either."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her. "I'm sorry, but I don't think your opinion matters here."

An offended look flashed across Zac' eyes. When he was about to speak, he saw another glance from Essie.

Essie continued, "You were talking about my husband and my marriage. Of course, I have a say on the matter. And now you are blaming me? Why would you, an outsider, have the right to speak here?" "How dare you?!" Elizabeth was speechless from the embarrassment. Mary helped her out. "Essie, please don't interrupt when the elders are talking," she scolded her.

After taking a sip of tea, Albert said slowly, "The kids are the ones who can make decisions. Even if they don't ask, it's useless for us outsiders to overrun them with our decisions." He paused to share a look with Essie before he continued, "Since you are Zac's wife and our daughter-in-law, this matter will affect your happiness forever. If you have anything to say, just say it directly. You don't need to be cautious with your words."

It was the perfect time for Essie to say her piece. His husband was in a passive position, while she was in the dominant position. It was only natural for her to protect her marriage.

He deliberately said the word "daughter-in-law" loud and clearly, making his stand clear, surely enough to sting the right people.

Essie nodded and said, "If you force two people who don't love each other together, they will only make each other miserable. Their child will see that his parents fight and quarrel every day. It's not a healthy environment for anyone to grow up in. Of course, if you don't consider the marriage but covet the good position for certain benefits, then it would be a different case."

Caught off guard, Elizabeth and Vicki exchanged glances with each other.

Elizabeth quickly came back to her senses and shook her head. "You don't have a child now. You won't understand the heart of a mother. If Valery couldn't be with Zac, she would have no time to see her child, who will be in Zac's custody. How painful and sad she would be? The pain of separating a mother from her child is just unimaginable. It would kill her. The child would need both his parents. They don't need to have feelings for each other. They just need to be there for their child. When Valery was a child, she and her brother didn't see their father often. They would wait for him at the balcony every night. They always asked me when their father would come back, but I couldn't tell them. I could only cry when I saw the disappointment in their eyes."

As she said her piece, Elizabeth had been looking at Zac. She needed to appeal to his emotions knowing he already cared about the baby. It was time for her to play her cards right. "Zac, do you want your child to suffer like this in the future? Do you want him to wonder why he couldn't see his father or mother? You may not have a deep feeling for Valery now, but when you two start to take care of your baby together, you'll develop it. Trust me!"

Zac remained expressionless and cold. Meanwhile, the hatred and resentment that had been buried in the bottom of Essie's heart for fifteen years had been stirred up, surging like hot lave rapidly bubbling up the surface.

"Mrs. Elizabeth, why couldn't your kids see their father when they were children?"

Elizabeth was stupefied by Essie's question. She swallowed hard. In a low voice, she replied, "Their father is very busy. There were too many social engagements for him to attend to."

"Really?" Raising her eyebrows again, Essie said ironically, "Was he really so busy at work? Or was it because he had another family then? His wife and children were also waiting for him to come back home." She took out her phone and continued, "The Internet is a wonderful thing, Mrs. Elizabeth. You can search everything on it. I did some research on you, Mrs. Elizabeth, yesterday, and I found a lot of interesting things about you." She then began to read an article on her phone, "A mistress broke Cinderella's marriage. Trying to make troubles. What a wonderful show!"

Luce's marriage with Baron was hailed as the modern Cinderella story by everyone at Dragon City at the time. Everyone rejoiced and envied their love story.

The news of their marriage's demise shocked everyone. All kinds of gossip flew around, wondering what went wrong.

As they listened to Essie read the article out loud, Elizabeth, Mrs. Vicki and Mary were shocked and turned pale at the same time. It was like tearing the masks off an entertainer on stage. Beside them, Albert took a sip of tea slowly, enjoying every bit of the show his daughter-in-law had prepared.

Zac winked at him. 'Do you think I have better taste in choosing a wife compared to you?'

'Talk to me when you have a son,' Albert thought in reply, lifting one thick eyebrow at his son.

A smile played at the corners of Zac's mouth. 'Sooner or later, I'll take it over with you.'

'You better hurry up then, son,' said Albert inwardly with an answering wink of his own.

Zac turned his head around. He wasn't the problem. His wife didn't want them yet and he couldn't force her to change her mind for him.

"These are all things of the past. We're talking about your business now," replied Elizabeth in embarrassment.

"It was really a long time ago. You described that in a tearful voice just now. But look at what you did back then." Essie fired back, her face looking at Elizabeth expectantly.