My beloved wife

Aaron's words rendered everyone in shock, even Wendy.
Rita's eyes widened, staring at him directly as if daring him to say it again. "What did you say?" she snapped.
"The date went well," he replied, glancing at Wendy as he motioned to the woman right in front of her. "She's the one."
"Mr. Aaron–" Wendy was about to say something when Rita interrupted her, her face as red as a tomato. "What did you mean it
went well? Are you crazy? Are you kidding me, Aaron?"
Hearing Aaron's words of affirmation followed Rita's long string of profanity, her parents rushed over to alleviate the situation.
Jack was ecstatic as he gripped Rita by the shoulders. "That's fantastic. Mr. Aaron is a good man, Rita. You'd do well with him."
"All he is, is a jerk," she snapped, snorting.
"Don't say that!" Jack scolded. However, the other man was unaffected by her insults.
"It's settled then." Aaron clasped his hands, a wide grin appearing in his face.
"Since we only just met once, how can we get married..."
"Twice."
Aaron instantly corrected Rita. "If you include the last time we've met."
"Even then, we've only met twice. It's not as if you should propose on the spot." Rita was already firm with her decision to not
marry him. However, her father already had other plans. Jack, anxious, on what seemed to be the last chance he could regain
favor in the business sector, quickly turned to Aaron. "We will persuade our daughter," he promised.
Before Rita could say anything more on that, Jack dragged her away, waving good bye at Aaron.
Just as she got into the car, Rita scowled. "Don't expect me to marry that person!" she said.
"Rita, it's not that I'm forcing you, but you know the situation of our family right now. If the news of your marriage gets out, our
stock will definitely go up, and our family will be saved. If you can get the prime lots of the Leng family, then even better, right?"
"Father!" she interrupted. "I'm your daughter, not your goods that you can easily trade off."

"And that you are. I love you, but the Gu name is in danger. If we don't find a way out, our family would go bankrupt. Do you want
to watch it fall? Do you want to see us on the streets?" Jack took Rita's hands affectionately, his thumb doing circles around her
skin. "My dear daughter, please. I just want you to help me get through this crisis. Once the situation alleviates, then I won't stop
you if ever you decide to divorce him."
Staring at his old face, even Rita couldn't bear to refuse him. However, this request was just deeply uncomfortable for her to
follow through.
However, before she could even consider this, the Leng family had already extended their invitation to Rita to attend their
banquet.
It was great news for Jack, given that he was already eager to marry her off. For so long, the Gu family had not been able to
become one of the top richest families. However, things were already starting to turn around.
This was the third meeting of Rita and Aaron.
The banquet was held in an open-air dancing room at the top floor of the Center Hotel. The music fountain was shining at the
center of it all, reflecting the colorful lights that shone around it. Countless of people surrounded the place, talking and chatting of
the latest gossip.
Rita never appreciated such luxurious banquets, being very uncomfortable under the spotlight. She leaned against the glass
walls, holding a glass of champagne as she stared at Aaron talking humorously with another woman.
The woman had long black curly hair loosing on her shoulder. She had almond eyes, small red lips. She looked like a model. All
eyes were on her as they danced to the beat.
When they were finally finished, Aaron held the woman's hand as he led her out of the dancing floor, seeing Rita who was
already extremely bored at the banquet.
Rita had no idea that Aaron was approaching her till it was too late to walk away.
It was not until they got closer that Rita recognized the woman. She was Yvonne Jiang, a popular star, and also the younger
sister of her friend, Magee Jiang.
"Long time no see." Rita nodded, only to see that Yvonne Jiang did not return the greeting.

"I didn't expect that Rita would be here." Yvonne sneered. "I didn't expect that the Gu family would even be qualified for an
invitation."
Ever since their downfall, the Jiang family limited their contact with them gradually. Magee Jiang, being their main contact, had
gone abroad and hadn't returned in a long time. The Jiang family used this as an excuse to cut off their contacts totally. Given
that Yvonne Jiang was a rising star, Rita didn't want to associate herself with the lesser folks.
She only shrugged it off.
Yvonne, however, deepened her words. "I know now! Did you come here to find another eligible bachelor? If someone takes a
fancy on you, there might be a chance to save your family now."
Rita scoffed, "Don't be so imaginative, Yvonne."
Yvonne swayed her hips, leaning against Aaron. "Look at your words, Rita. I'm already with Mr. Aaron, screw all the other men."
Rita could only raise her eyebrow at him in response.
"Yvonne," Aaron started, releasing his hold and moving towards Rita. "She's actually my fiancee."
As soon as he said it, everyone craned their necks, wanting to get a better look at the man's prospective bride. Some of them
widened their eyes in surprise, some in jealousy, while others in contempt.
Panic flashed in Yvonne's eyes as she laughed awkwardly. "Are you kidding me?"