Heart under Siege
Chapter 2

"Yan Yan, getting married is a lifetime decision. I will not let you marry him." Zhuang Zijin knew why Lin Xinyan wanted to do that.

Lin Xinyan put down the food on the cabinet beside the bed and said, "I'm not marrying an outsider anyway. Isn't he your friend's son?"

"She passed away many years ago. I don't know her son at all. You should marry the man you really like, even if it means to break the promise. You should not use as marriage as your bargaining chip. I would rather stay here for the rest of my life."

The one she likes?

Even if she meets one, she would not be worthy of that.

It wasn't important to her who she would be marrying. What really mattered was taking back everything they took away from her mother.

Zhuang Zijin didn't manage to convince Lin Xinyan to change her mind. They went back to the home country the very next day.

Lin Guoan didn't let them in the family home of the Lins because he disliked them. Instead, he had them lived in a rent house. When the day came, Lin Xinyan would have to go to the Lins.

Lin Xinyan never wanted to go there because her mother would need to face the woman who destroyed her marriage. Therefore, they would rather stay here.

It was quiet.

Zhuang Zijin was still worried, and she said, "Yan Yan, the opportunity would not come to you if this is a good marriage arrangement. Not even if Madam Zong and I were close.

Lin Xinyan didn't really want to talk about it so she tried to change the topic by saying, "Mom, just eat your food."

Zhuang Zijin sighed; she knew that Lin Xinyan didn't want to continue the topic. Lin Xinyan had suffered with her all these years and now she even had to sacrifice her marriage.

Although Lin Xinyan was holding the chopsticks, her appetite was spoiled due to morning sickness.

"Are you alright?" Zhuang Zijin was concerned about her.

Lin Xin Yan didn't want to worry her so she lied saying that it was jetlag.

She put down the chopsticks and entered her room.

After closing the door, she leaned on it. Although she had never been pregnant before, she had seen the symptoms when Zhuang Zijin was pregnant. Her mother was sickened with the smell of food and lost al her appetite.

And now, she had the same symptom.

It had been over one month since that night; her period had been late by more than 10 days.

She didn't want to think of the humiliation she endured that night. If it was not for her mother and her brother's sake, she would not have sold herself.

She started trembling......

"You are six weeks pregnant."

Even after leaving the hospital, those words from the doctor kept repeating in her mind.

That was the result from Lin Xinyan checkup at the hospital without Zhuang Zijin's knowledge. She was worried and did not know whether she should keep the baby or have an abortion.

She could not help but caress her tummy. Although it was both an accident and a humiliation, she was somehow unwilling to have her baby removed.

It brought her both the joy and the excitement of being a first-time mother.

She sat quietly for a long, long while.

When she reached home, she hid the ultrasonography report before opening the door.

However, Lin Guoan was also there. Her expression turned grim immediately.

Why was he here?

From the look on Lin Guoan's face, he was not in a good mood because he had been waiting for her for some time. He then said without emotion, "Change your clothes."

Lin Xinyan asked "Why?"

"Since you are going to marry into the Zhong family, you and the Young Master Zhishen are going to meet. Are you going to meet him looking like this? Do you want to embarrass me again?"

What was the feeling that came with pain?

She thought she would be numb after selling herself and losing her brother.

Yet the heartless words from Lin Guoan still caused her pain.

He had never cared for her since he sent her and her mother to a poor western country.

Where would she get money from?

If she had the money, her brother would not need to die because of a delay in treatment.

She clenched her fists.

Lin Guoan seemed to have noticed that. His looked a little awkward and said, “Let's go, the Zong family should be there already. Don't make them wait for too long."

"Yan Yan......" Zhuang Zijin was worried and still tried to convince Lin Xinyan. She had lost her son and now she just wanted to take good care of her daughter. Wealth was not important anymore.

She would not want her daughter to go near the Lins nor the Zong family.

As everything in rich families could be complicated. What more, they did not know the character of the young master yet.

Her mother was worried.

"Mom." Lin Xinyan gave her the comforting look to give her a sense of relief.

"Hurry up." The man was afraid that Lin Xinyan would change her mind and he urged her hurriedly, grabbing her by the arm.

Lin Guoan did not like her and in return Lin Xinyan had no affection for her father as well.

Their bond as a family had completely vanished in this eight years of separation.

Unwilling to bring Lin Xinyan to meet the Zong family with her poor appearance, Lin Guoan brought her to a boutique and bought her some decent clothes.

Once they got inside the store, a shop assistant welcomed them. Lin Guoan pushed Lin Xinyan forward and said, "Recommend some clothes for her."

The shop assistant glanced at her and estimated her size as she said, "Please come with me."

The shop assistant then brought her a light blue dress and said, "Please try this on in the fitting room."

Lin Xinyan took the dress and walked to the direction she pointed.

"Hao, must you marry the Lins?" The woman's voice was laced with grief.

Lin Xinyan turned her head towards the room next door when she heard voices coming from it. She peeked through the gap and saw a woman circling her arms around a man's neck, and said shyly, "Don't marry another woman, alright?"

Zong Jinghao looked at the woman with the slightest interest. He had no control in this matter. This was a marriage arranged by his mother and he could not turn his back on it.

And yet when he thought of that very night, he felt that he could not bear to disappoint her. "Was it very painful on that night?"

About a month ago, he had gone abroad to a developing country for a project. He was bitten by a poisonous snake and would have died if he did not go to bed with a woman as that was the only way out.

It was Bai Zhuwei who gave herself to him as an antidote.

And he knew how out of control he was at that time.

It had been said that it could be painful for a woman doing it the first time but he never showed her any mercy. Now that he thought about it, it must have been rather painful for her?

Yet she endured the pain quietly. All she did was trembling in his arms.

He knew Bai Zhuwei was interested in him from the beginning but he never gave her a chance.

One of the reasons was he had no affection for her and there was an arranged marriage made by his mother.

Yet she had always stood by him quietly. After that incident, he felt it was only right for him to give her a place she deserved.

Even until now, he could remember that striking crimson on the sheet.

Lying on his chest, Bai Zhuwei hummed softly.

She had always been in love with Zong Jinghao. She found a way to stay by his side as his secretary. She could not let him replace out that she was no longer a virgin as she knew how seriously a man would take a woman's virginity. And so, she paid a local a handsome amount of money to send a virgin to take her place that night.

And when the girl left, she entered the room and made it look like it was her all along.

"If you like the clothes from this store, you can buy more." Zong Jinghao said lovingly as he patted the top of her head.

"That room is reserved only for VIPs. Turn right for your room." The shop assistant reminded Lin Xinyan.

In all luxury boutiques, every fitting room was an individual space. For the VIPS, these fitting rooms were even more extravagant. There was a space inside for fitting and the section outside was a lounge for accompanying guests to rest.

"Oh." Lin Xinyan walked towards the room on the right.

As she changed in the fitting room, she thought about the couple. If she had not heard wrongly, she had overheard them talking about The Lins.

Perhaps the man was-