Regina's eyes widened with the shift in the situation. What was going on with this child? She was just trying to help, but he responded like this. She didn't want to get dragged into this troublesome mess. "Hey, little boy, who are you calling mom? I haven't even given birth, let alone been pregnant."
The guests began to whisper to each other. Regina's ears caught snippets of their conversations. "It must be Miss Tan who trapped Mr. Jian into having a child!"
"No wonder she stooped so low. Regina Tan has high ambitions willing to do anything. She pretends to hate Young Master Jian, but ends up having a child with him and won't even acknowledge it, truly embarrassing!"
The negative responses from the people, accompanied by disdainful glances, made Regina feel uncomfortable.
Regina clenched her fists. "Damn it! What kind of situation is this? Shouldn't you be criticizing him for not acknowledging his child? Why am I the one being looked down upon here? I'm not crazy enough to sleep with my enemy!" Regina kept the image of a graceful woman in her mind. Even though she shouted the truth, would anyone believe her? As she struggled to keep from exploding, her rivals only added fuel to the fire, making Regina feel more intimidated.
Henry suddenly found himself in front of the distressed woman. "Looking at this child, he also resembles Miss Tan. I never thought you would trap me, taking advantage of me to have a child," Henry sneered, his gaze full of mockery.
"Who's the idiot who did such a stupid thing? Just looking at your face makes me sick. Even if you were the only man on earth, I wouldn't choose you!" Regina stared at him with hatred. "You better take care of your child. Don't take it out on him."
Regina pushed the child away from her and moved closer to Henry. She immediately stepped away.
Henry's fingers gripped the woman's arm tightly. "Trying to run away after causing a scene? You have to come with me!" Young Master Jian pulled Regina's hand and also instructed his assistant to take the child who claimed to be his son.
"Henry Miller Jian! Let me go! This has nothing to do with me. I don't even know where this child came from. Can't you investigate whether I ever slept with you or not?" Regina struggled to free herself from his grasp. His grip was so tight it felt like her arm would break any moment.
Henry said nothing, which infuriated Regina even more. The three of them sat in the back seat of the car. Kevin could feel the tense atmosphere. Suddenly, he reached out and held both of their hands. "Mom and Dad, are you going to leave me again? Why won't you acknowledge me? Did I do something wrong?" The boy started crying loudly.
Henry and Regina turned to the crying child. Henry held his ears with one hand. He glanced at Regina. "Hey, calm this kid down! I don't like noise!"
"You do it, I don't know how. You're the father of this child."
"You're a woman. Don't you have a motherly instinct to take care of a child?"
They argued. Regina felt annoyed; she finally tried to comfort the crying boy. "Quiet! Stop crying!" Regina said loudly, making the little boy cry even more.
Henry frowned. "Is that how you comfort a child? Even an idiot would do better than you."
"My mom always did it like this to me! If you think you're so smart, you do it, but you're even dumber than me," Regina said flatly, without expression.
"You!" Henry growled.
"Master and Miss, no need to quarrel! I'll do it." The assistant couldn't stand it anymore and offered to mediate.
"Do it quickly! If you fail, you'll know the consequences!" Henry threatened emphatically.
***
"He really stopped. Turns out his assistant is more reliable than the Master." Regina sneered again at Young Master Jian.
Henry smirked and retorted. "You're not even better than me, Miss Regina."
The argument between these two—Regina and Henry—was nothing new; they always argued even over trivial matters. His assistant looked at the two of them and then at the child who was eating ice cream with a messy face. "Is this child really the son of Mr. and Miss Young Tan?"
"Nonsense!" Both of them replied in unison.
"But, this child's face is a combination of both of you. Considering the age of the child, did you two ever date in high school?" the assistant asked.
Regina immediately denied without thinking, "Impossible. We were rivals; how could we have dated?"
Regina was even too busy competing with this man. It was impossible for her to be interested in a man whose mere presence irritated her.
Regina suddenly stood up. "Is everything settled? I have to go."
Once again, Henry stopped her, forcing her back into her seat. "Did I say you could leave? Our business is not finished yet!" Henry said firmly.
"What else do you want from me? If you want me to take care of this child, I refuse. You have a reliable assistant to handle the child; you both take care of him." Regina shouted loudly.
"Mom!" The little boy suddenly grabbed the edge of Regina's dress. Regina looked at him for a moment, his eyes brimming with tears.
Henry responded harshly. "Oh, so you want to shirk your responsibilities? The public already knows you're the one who gave birth to this child."
"Bastard! It's all because of your damned mouth accusing me!" For the first time, Regina couldn't hold back her cursing.
"You dare curse at me?" Henry's gaze was sharp.
"Enough!" The assistant of Henry Jian shouted loudly and suggested, "Master and Miss, why don't you live together and get married, then this matter will be settled."
"Married to this woman?" Henry turned to Regina with disdain. "I don't even lack a woman, why should I marry her?"
"Do you think I want to? Who's the cursed woman willing to be with a boring and cruel man like you?" Regina was just as adamant in her refusal.
Henry's assistant sighed. "You don't need to actually get married. There's a contract marriage with a time limit. Young Master Jian, you've had a good image lately, would you be willing to tarnish your reputation by neglecting this child and, Miss Tan, do you know what the public thinks?" The assistant explained the solution he proposed.
Regina and Henry fell silent and then looked at each other. It only took a few seconds before they both turned away again. The assistant sighed. "So, what's your decision?"
Regina strode into the vast grounds of the magnificent house, her expression a tumult of emotions. She turned around, but the car was already gone. "Was my decision the right one? I'll have to contact him again to reconsider." Entering the house, Regina was immediately met with a piercing gaze and a slap landing on her cheek. The blow was so forceful it sent her tumbling to the ground. She held her reddening cheek. "You disobedient child! All you ever do is cause trouble!" A middle-aged man glared at her with anger, while a glamorous woman beside him looked on with disdain. "I've raised you to be a perfect, elegant woman who could serve as a role model in this town, but all you do is tarnish the family's reputation by having illegitimate children and getting pregnant at such a young age!" "Papa, you've misunderstood. I don't have a child. That child is Henry Jian's--" "Yes, that child is yours and Henry Jian's. How could you engage with the descendants of our rival family like th
"No! I can't leave now! Do you see what you've done to my mother?" Regina struggled to free herself from the strong grasp of this handsome, muscular man. Henry shouted in anger, "You still consider that woman as your mother after what she did to you? Miss Regina, I truly don't understand you, accepting such inhumane treatment without a fuss." "Exactly, Mom, neither of them deserve to be considered family," Kevin chimed in, criticizing the Tan family. His innocent eyes showed concern as he looked at Regina. "You both know nothing! Let go, I have to make sure my mommy is alright!" Regina rebelled, trying to break free. Instead, Henry tightened his grip on Regina's hand. He glanced at the boy who resembled him. "Kevin, go inside first!" Kevin didn't say much and went inside. Henry pushed Regina into the car and locked the door. He firmly held onto the woman's shoulder as she glared at him with hatred. "Miss Regina, why are you so stubborn? I didn't grab that old lady's hand forceful
Henry and Regina turned towards the boy barging in. "Kevin, you can't just barge in like that!" Henry advised.Kevin stepped forward. "Dad, why didn't you discuss this with me? If I hadn't come down and overheard the servants' conversation, I wouldn't have known about this. Give me that contract, I need to remove the clause about divorce!"Henry withdrew the contract from his hand, holding it high out of reach of the boy standing less than 150 cm tall. "Children shouldn't meddle in these matters. Let the adults handle this.""Just because I'm a child, I don't have the right to voice my opinion? Why are adults always so selfish? What about me when you two split up? You never think about that, do you? It's all the same, I hate you both!" Kevin blurted out his emotions before storming off.Regina stared at his departure without blinking, her mind drifting to a little girl clutching a teddy bear. The child was in tears, screaming, "Mom and dad are selfish! Why can't I decide? Just because
“What? Keep an eye on him until we get there!” Henry snapped, ending the call abruptly.“What’s wrong? Did something happen to the boy?” Regina’s expression remained stoic, but her voice was laced with concern.“He suddenly got off at the side of the road and just stood there. My men asked him to come with them, but he refused,” Henry explained as thoroughly as possible. “He insists we pick him up ourselves. That kid, with his infuriatingly stubborn and selfish nature.”“You’re one to talk. You two are like carbon copies of each other,” Regina jibed.“I’m not selfish and stubborn like that. He must have gotten that from you. Just listen to yourself,” Henry retorted.“He’s obviously your son. He inherited it from you. Besides, his last name is Jian, not Tan.”“Hey, I couldn’t have had a child by myself. You’re the one who gave birth to him!”“Maybe it was another woman. You’re lucky I’m helping you pretend.”They bickered back and forth. The driver up front tried to block out the noise
“No. I don’t want to. Why don’t we start by just calling each other by our names,” Regina firmly refused his unwelcome suggestion.Henry’s gaze sharpened. “We’re supposed to be a loving couple. If we don’t use affectionate terms, who will believe us? Regina, it’s not like you’ve never dated and used endearing terms before, right?”Regina touched her neck, prompting Henry to sneer. “Seriously, you’ve never dated anyone? Has no one ever called you ‘darling’? Am I going to be the first?”“Stop mocking me. I’m not like you, throwing around pet names to every girl you sleep with. Don’t lump me in with them!” Regina snapped, standing up from the sofa, eager to end this. “Are we done here? I’m leaving.”Henry quickly hugged her from behind. Regina stiffened at the unexpected contact. He whispered in a lower, more intimate tone that tickled her sensitive ear. “Then call me ‘husband.’ You’ll be the first to do so.”Henry’s voice was soft and seductive, like a magnet for women. Regina shrugged
Regina and Henry arrived at Civil Affairs Bureau,, greeted by a flurry of questions that caught their ears. The spotlight of cameras and microphones was on them. "Have you come to register your marriage?" "Is it true that you've actually been married since you were young? Why didn't you register your marriage sooner?" "Why are you hiding your relationship?" Regina and Henry didn't have time to think of a good reason to answer. However, there was one question that caught Regina's attention: "Madam, was the dress you wore designed by Madame Jian? Did your mother-in-law make it specially?" Regina was taken aback, unable to stop thinking. Questions swirled in her head. Additionally, she recalled what Madam Jian had said in an interview. Henry responded to the noisy reporters, "Sorry, we will hold a press conference later. Right now, we have to go in and register our marriage." Henry grasped Regina's hand tightly. They broke through the crowd of enthusiastic reporters. "We can finall
"You can go now! This will be proof of our relationship," Henry insisted, pulling away and creating distance between them. "You can open the door now."Regina looked at the man who showed no sign of remorse. She wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat. It was unclear why this chaotic feeling of anger surged within her."Do you have something to say to me?" Henry asked, glancing at Regina, who remained motionless.Regina stayed silent, stepping out of the car with a simmering rage. She made sure to slam the door shut with force. As she glanced at the car window, seeing Henry's annoyed expression brought a slight sense of satisfaction.With her gaze fixed ahead, Regina walked, aware of her employees watching her. It seemed Henry had succeeded in stirring gossip about her. The memory of the kiss everyone was talking about distracted her, even as she struggled to focus on reviewing documents in her office.The thought consumed her, and without realizing it, Regina touch
"The woman pulled Henry away from Regina's body. Regina could see the woman, who from her facial expression appeared to be at least 40 years old. "Henry, come with me!"The woman grabbed Henry's hand forcefully."I can't leave my wife; we'll talk another time." Henry brushed off the woman's hand. The woman grabbed it again and frowned, looking annoyed, "I won't let you go this time."Regina could see the obsession in the woman's eyes. Unconsciously, she wrapped her arm possessively around Henry's arm. "Sorry, auntie.I can't allow my husband to talk with another woman alone. Could you please not disturb my husband?"Henry quickly responded to Regina's action, naturally playing his part. His hand again brushed off the other woman's hand for the second time and embraced Regina so intimately. "My beloved wife, I won't do anything you dislike." His voice was so tender and full of love.Anyone who saw would feel that Henry loved his wife so much. It was rare for a Henry Jian to be so gentle