Midnight Bride The CEO's Temptation

As Noah slipped the ring on Nancy's finger, he suddenly froze, and his face turned white.

"What's the matter?" implored Nancy.

"You haven't said yes yet, and already I'm putting a ring on your finger," he muttered. "I'm sorry, that was presumptuous of me…"

Nancy could see the disdainful look in Paul's eyes, and it made her laugh. She thought - I did not realize that I held so much power over him. If I had known sooner, I might have done something with it... Oh, well. There's no time like the present!

With a giant grin on her face, Nancy touched Noah's hand and said, "You are so silly.

Of course, I will marry you."

"This is great!" Crystal exclaimed. "Now, the two of you can be in the wedding photos!"

There had been nothing to Nancy's first wedding. It was just a means to an end. She had told herself that if they loved each other, nothing else was important. She had lied to herself, though. Like every woman, she longed to have the wedding that she had dreamed about ever since she was a little girl. The worst part about not having that ceremony was that Paul could have afforded the grand to give it to her, but he refused to do it. It was not until much later that she figured out why he had been so cheap. It was because he had not loved her, and he had planned to drop her as soon as she dropped a child.

Since then, Nancy had given up on having the wedding of her dreams. Thus, she was ecstatic to be a part of this wedding, even if it was a hoax. She stood up quickly, but she forgot about her injury in her excitement, and Noah had to steady her with his hands.

Noah: "Are you this anxious to marry me?"

Nancy: "I'm excited to wear a wedding dress and to have you help me into it."

Noah hugged tightly, and the grin that appeared on his face was like that of a hungry Cheshire cat. "I can do that," he said.

His words made her swoon, and she bit her lower lip lustily. It was evident why Crystal had chosen Noah to be her partner. Not only was he ruggedly handsome, but he was also a real charmer. Nancy took his hand and said, "Alright, let's go."

Crystal had been about to change into her second wedding dress, so she followed them to the area that had been designated for changing. She had not made it far, though, when Eric grabbed her from behind. He pulled her into a warm embrace and said, "You are pretty. Kiss me."

"Crystal rolled her eyes and gently punched him in the face. It did not hurt, and as her hand returned to her side, he grabbed it and kissed it.

Meanwhile, Paul was beginning to feel like the fifth wheel. He could not believe that Nancy was willing to marry a complete stranger, and as he watched them together, he thought - She doesn't know anything about him! Suddenly, he found it hard to breathe, and it seemed like the world was closing in on him. For the first time in an exceptionally long time, he had a panic attack.

****

The fitting room door opened, and Nancy came out wearing a white wedding dress. Her skin was shining white, and the similarity between her and a porcelain doll made everyone in attention tremble uncontrollably.

Paul was aghast. He had never seen this side of this woman. While they were married, she dressed conservatively. She had the same hairstyle for several years. She was in her twenties, but she dressed like she was in her thirties. She acted like she was in her forties, and she had the world view of a woman in her fifties. Now, though, she shone like a brilliant diamond exuding radiant light. The dress made her look beautiful, but he hated it- hated what it represented.

Nancy loved the gown, though, and she did not care how upset it made her ex-husband. She let the look on Noah's face be the judge of her appearance.

Paul was giving Nancy dirty looks, but he was secretly in awe of her beauty.

Crystal quietly approached Nancy and whispered into her ear: "Good job. Paul is going to regret treating you the way that he did. That's for sure!"

"Even if he doesn't, I am still going to get married," Nancy said. Then "Remember not to mention other men in front of Noah, okay. After all, they are all in the past. I don't want Noah to get the wrong idea."

Crystal: "You haven't even married him yet, but you are worried about his opinion of you?

Does this mean something?" Nancy blushed and said, "Let's talk more later. First, we should get to the bridal shop."

****

By the time Noah arrived at the bridal shop, Nancy and Crystal had been there for almost an hour. They had begun to get worried, but their questions were all but forgotten when he appeared with a fresh bouquet of flowers for Nancy.

Noah kneeled in front of Nancy and said, "A ring is not enough. You should have flowers. It is only proper for a bride to have flowers."

Nancy smiled and said, "Thank you."

Eric was nearby. "Women love sweet words," he said.

"They certainly do," Nancy agreed. "Noah obviously knows what he is doing."

Noah laughed and said, "I studied this subject, especially for Nancy."

Nancy: "For me? Surely, you jest...

Noah: "For my future wife is what I mean, and here you are."

Nancy was taken aback by his sweet words, but then she remembered that this was supposed to be an act, and she frowned. She had begun to have feelings for Noah. She whispered into his ear: "Is this an act?"

Noah: "No way."

Crystal could overhear what they were saying from where they were standing, and something important occurred to her. She pulled Eric aside and said, "Don't forget your promise!"

Eric nodded, smiled, and kissed her on the cheek. "I won't forget," he said. "But I expect a bonus upfront. We understand each other, right?"

Crystal tried to push him away, but he would not budge. "Let me go," she whined. "I understand, and you know that you will get what you want eventually..."

Eric sighed and let her go. "I am looking forward to the day when you belong to me completely," he said. "I can be patient, but know this: I will not wait forever. If need be, I will take what is mine."

"I know," Crystal whispered. "I am just not ready yet..."

I can bide my time now, but you are going to have a rude awakening once we are married - thought Eric - Once I have imprisoned you, things will change.

Chapter 227: It's Time To Take More Photos

Crystal took a step backward so that Eric could not reach her. She did not know why, but the thought of being intimate with him while Nathan was in the same country as they were in had her worried. She wished that Eric had not invited him to their wedding. Just the thought of his steely eyes on them as they said their vows had her in a panic.

Nathan seemed to pop up wherever Crystal went, and his ability to know where she would be next scared her. She had thought that by escaping to the island, she would be free of him and Eric, and then she would be fully autonomous. But things were right back to the way they had been at the Beverly villa, or nearly so.

Crystal took a deep breath. She hoped that after she married Eric, Nathan would give up, and things would settle down. She did not think it was probable, but it was not outside the realm of possibilities. Thus, she refused to give up hope, and she was determined to look for the good.

If not for Crystal's wedding, Nancy would not have found Noah. Instead, she watched as he picked her friend up and spun her around. They were both laughing like happy children, and their relationship seemed pregnant with possibilities.

Paul, on the other hand, was gloomy. He wanted to rage, but he knew that in this situation, he was impotent. He had divorced Nancy, and now he had no hold over her. Thus, if he tried to intervene, he would look like a fool. If that happened, he knew that she would lord it over him for the rest of his life.

The store's air was beginning to feel stuffy, and Paul was beginning to sweat, so he sprang to his feet and headed towards the exit.

When Eric saw Paul leaving, he said, "Hey! Where are you going?"

Paul: "Out for a smoke. What of it?"

Eric: "Again?"

Is he counting my cigarettes? - Paul wondered. It was true that he had been going out for one every few minutes - But how many cigarettes I have had is none of Eric's business! "I'm a grown man, and I'll smoke as many cigarettes as I please, thank you very much!"

As Paul walked away, Eric laughed. "What crawled up his ass?" he asked.

The clerk brought out some suits for Noah to choose from. He did not know which one to choose, though, so he asked Nancy for help, and she picked out one that was royal blue, which happened to be his favorite color.

Now that the suit had been chosen, Noah took it into the change room and began to undress. He had just taken off his shirt when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the text message. It said: "If you are sure that the woman you are with is Paul's ex-wife, then you need to close the deal as quickly as possible."

"She is, and I know," Noah replied impatiently. Then he turned off his phone and shoved it back into his pocket. He changed into the royal blue suit, and when he came out, everyone agreed that he looked very dashing.

Crystal smiled and said, "Clothes make a man just as a saddle makes a horse. Even your temperament has changed since you changed your clothes."

Nancy's cheeks turned red as she nodded her head. "You are really handsome." He had looked handsome in his casual clothes, but now he looked like a prince. She laughed and said, "Are you a prince in distress?"

Noah paused for a moment, and then he laughed along with her. "How did you know?" he asked.

"Just a guess." Nancy thought he was joking, and she was happy to play along. "So, when I marry you, I guess I will be a princess..." she said.

Noah: "You are indeed a princess in my eyes."

Crystal folded her arms and laughed. She wondered if marriage was contagious. She looked at the happy couple, and a pair of eyes like those of a black panther catching its prey suddenly came into her mind. She remembered that Nathan had asked her, "Are you over me?" The words were like invisible hands tugging at her heart, causing her inexplicable pain.

Crystal was lost in her thoughts, and when Nancy shouted for her to join them, she nearly jumped out of her skin. "What is it?" she snapped.

"It's time to take more photos!" Nancy exclaimed. "Get your head in the game!"

Crystal nodded and joined her friend. When Paul returned from having his smoke, he saw the two couples taking photos, and he frowned. Once again, he felt like the fifth wheel.

****

After the session was over, everyone retired to Paul's house, and a servant brought Clark downstairs as soon as they heard Nancy's voice. The boy was wailing and flopping about, and it took all of the servant's strength not to drop him."

Nancy rushed over, embraced her son, and asked what was wrong.

"Daddy said that you don't want me anymore!" Clark wailed. The little guy was so insecure that he cried whenever he heard that his Mommy did not want him.

Nancy was heartbroken. She picked him up and said, "Clark, honey, Mommy will never leave you." She rubbed his back as she carried him back upstairs, and she laid him down in bed.

Crystal was standing on the balcony when her phone rang, and she did not need to check the Caller ID to know that it was Nathan calling. So she pulled out her phone, and sure enough, the LED screen said: "Unknown Name Unknown Number."

He had gotten her number at the hospital, but she blocked his number the minute he started texting her. But he was resilient. Throughout the day, he'd been calling and texting her from various other numbers. "He must have a number generator App," she muttered. It was infuriating.

Finally, she accepted the call.. "Nathan, what do you want from me?" she demanded.