Chapter １２

Brent didn't ask for a bride price, but questioned, "Cheney, if you want to marry Krista, why did you go out with Zaniyah before? Do you know what kind of harm your behavior will bring to Zaniyah?"

"There are many women who go out with me in public. Everyone says that I am made in heaven with them. Do I want to marry them?"

"However, our families were already said to get married. And we already held a press conference."

"Isn't Krista also a daughter in your family? Or is it that if she was not your real daughter, she would be treated differently? Don't you always boast that you treat your two daughters equally?"

"Krista can't. Her mother doesn't approve of the marriage." He said. 

I smiled calmly and crossed my legs. "In this era, advocating freedom of marriage, if no one stops it, this marriage can not be established. As for the bride price, I advise you to consider it clearly. After all, only you know what the Brennan group is doing now. Sometimes, dying may not even save an enterprise."

"Cheney, Krista is only my stepdaughter after all. If I answer this matter, I am afraid that my wife will say that I don't respect her and my second daughter. Therefore, your request makes me feel a little embarrassed."

I raised my eyebrows. "The Brennan Group's profits have been having a negative growth for three consecutive years. If your board members know about this matter, do you think there will be more crises within the Brennan Group? Mr. Brent, you should consider it well. If you exchange Krista for the peace of the Brennan Group for several years, is it worth it or not?"

After a long time, Brent looked up and asked, "What dowry is Cheney going to give me to help me save the Brennan group?"

"The Fischer Group has just won the project of the Dragon Bridge, and I don't mind taking a share with you. Once the Dragon Bridge is completed, what kind of profits and honors will be brought to you and the Brennan Group for that, as well as subsequent benefits? I don't need to say, Mr. Brent, you also know that very well."

Brent is not a fool, he naturally knows how to weigh the pros and cons.

Zaniyah's POV

My father told me to give up Cheney and choose a better husband, and I was almost furious.

After hanging up on the phone, I called Krista directly. "Bitch, did I already tell you to stay away from Cheney? And you still want to marry him? You..."

"It's not a discussion," Krista interrupted. "It's what you want."

I thundered, "Shut up, Cheney is mine, and it's not your turn to covet it."

"Oh, Zaniyah, do you dare to go to a reporter and say I stole your fiance?"

"Of course I dare."

"Then just go. I hope those powerful reporters will pick it up. When did the Fischer family say that they wanted you to be married to their heir?"

I gritted my teeth. "I'm my dad's daughter. You're a drag. The Fischer family and the Brennan family are going to be one family. Of course, they are serious with what they say."

"What do you mean they are serious? I clearly remember that in order to win the favor of the world, your father said in front of the media that he will treat his two daughters equally in the future."

For the first time, I hated my father and why he married Delia.

Thinking of Delia, I said proudly, "Krista, listen to me. If you don't let go of Cheney, I will be rude to Delia."

"If anything happens to my mother at your house, and it will be known to the public, do you think it will be more disadvantageous to me or your family?"

I'm not afraid of her words."Don't threaten me. If the media knows that you stole your sister's boyfriend, who do you think will be unlucky?" I answered her. 

"Zaniyah, if you are looking for a man, just rely on our own skills. If you dare to say in public that I robbed your boyfriend, then you just go. I am not without the evidence that you also stole my ex-boyfriend. Everyone comes and goes, no one can think better. If I go down, we go down together."

"You... you're fucking crazy. I won't let you get away with it." After saying the last word, Krista hung up the phone directly.

Krista's pov

At noon, I called back while holding my mobile phone, I sat on the balcony, and looked at the dozens of missed calls on my mobile phone.

Soon the phone was connected, and my mother's voice welcomed me. "Krista, listen to your mother..." She was in a hurry.

"Mom, please stop and just listen to me first." The other end of the phone quieted down.

I heaved out a sigh, "Will you please leave the Brennan family?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Mom, I don't like seeing you live with other men. I don't like Brent, I don't like Zaniyah, and I don't like the way you are now. Will you leave Brent?"

"Your father is gone," My mother's voice is very calm. "I have lived with him for more than twenty years, but before he left, he didn't even leave me a word."

"Yes, you have lived with him for more than 20 years. After the accident, you have been accusing him. Haven't you thought about it? Maybe my dad is innocent. How bitter he was in his heart, have you understood that?"

"He did something wrong, Krista. Don't speak out for him any more. The kind and good father in your eyes is not as above board as you think. What did he leave us after he left? Scoring and humiliating."

"I know exactly what my dad is. You must leave the Brennan family. Let me ask you, between me and Brent, just choose one. Will you come with me or stay with Brent and abandon me?"

"Why do you want to go? I really don't understand. Your Uncle Brent and Zaniyah are treating you well. Why do you have to let me choose?"

"They treat me well?" I close my eyes, and tears fall down.

Every day I live with the Brennan family, I feel so jittery. Brent, my stepfather and mother's partner now, has been coveting me, and I am afraid each day. I'm afraid I'll wake up one day and find myself defiled by that disgusting man.

In the past, all my forbearance was for my mother.

But now... I know my father died unjustly, and I can't bear it any longer.

"What do you mean they treat me well? Brent is a hypocrite and a bad man. You are over fifty years old but can’t you tell whether the person next to your bed is good or bad? Also, Zaniyah, she's a bitch. She used to steal my boyfriend, but what did you say? You let me let go of those who don't love me, and fulfill those who love me. Mom, I'm a little curious now. How did you say such eccentric words back in those days?"

"Enough, say no more. No matter what you think, they are all my benefactors. In this life, as long as your Uncle Brent doesn't open your mouth and kick me out, I won't leave him again."

I sighed, closed my eyes and nodded. "Good, good, mom, it may be a wise move to abandon me. Then I... I wish you happiness in the future."

I am very hurt deep inside my heart, because my father was not worth it, and I feel unworthy of those scars and grievances I have suffered in the past.

The more I think about it, the more I feel betrayed. I simply encircle my arms around the edge of the balcony and bury my face and cry.

Because she was wearing headphones, she didn't hear the sound behind her.

Cheney's POV

I just simply stood at the door, listened to her sad crying and looked at her desolate back. I couldn’t help it, my heart inexplicably felt a trace of distress.

I stepped forward, gently pushed open the balcony door, leaned aside, and quietly accompanied her. After half an hour, she looked up and looked at me in surprise. "When did you... when did you come back?"

I answered, "When you got here crying, not too long. Did something happen? What are you crying about?"

"Your ex-fiancee picked on me, come on.”

"Zaniyah made you cry? Do you think I will believe it?"

"Zaniyah can't, but my mother can," She sighed and sat down on the sofa. "Zaniyah said that if I insist on marrying you, she won't let my mother have a good life after that."

"So, what are you going to do? You don’t want to marry me anymore?"

She gave me an oblique look. "You probably wish I would back out. I am telling you, you'd better stop dreaming."

"Aren't you afraid that after you marry me your mother will suffer?"

"If Zaniyah just scares my mother, I won't do anything. My mother has lived with the Brennan family for six years, but she still hasn't seen their true personalities. I will let her see the truth in the family. No matter what, I will be her last resort. But if Zaniyah really dares to do something with her, then I will also shake out the things between her and my ex-boyfriend. Unfortunately, it really won't be anyone, and she won't have the courage to do so."