A Love Trap
Chapter 65 Pride Dripped From Lena's Voice

No matter what the senior staff had to say, Johnny refused to enter that office again.

'They are talking complete nonsense! And I don't want to take the risk of bothering Mr. Lu.

I just walked out of that scary office and I don't have courage to enter it again so soon!' thought Johnny.

...

Ashley held up the jade pendant and examined it. She had taken care of this pendant for more than ten years. But she hadn't expected to be told that this wasn't what she thought it was.

The fake one looked so similar to the original that she wouldn't have realized it if Peggy hadn't told her the truth.

And now Peggy had used the original one to threaten Ashley and wrangle what she wanted out of her.

Ashley somehow knew that the jade pendant was a crucial clue towards replaceing her real family. And to see that Peggy had the one thing that was bound to shed light on her family irritated her to no end.

She wanted to replace her real family and this jade pendant might be crucial.

...

"What happened to you? Why are you so absent-minded? And what's this? Why have you taken off your pendant? I told you to keep it on!" Ellie rattled off a series of curious, well-intentioned questions when she saw Ashley sitting on the sofa and gazing at the jade pendant absent-mindedly.

"Nothing has happened," Ashley said, putting the pendant back on and smiling at Ellie. "I was just checking if it would help me remember anything about the past." Ashley put away the jade pendant and smiled at Ellie.

She didn't want to tell Ellie what Peggy said to her that morning because she knew Ellie. And Ellie was the kind of girl who would lose sleep over anything that was troubling Ashley.

"Have you recollected anything from the past?"

Ashley shook her head. "No. It isn't easy. Moreover, I was just a little child at that time. Those might as well be things that I never can remember."

"Don't be disappointed. What if your memory returns one day? Maybe your family is also making every effort to look for you. So don't give up," Ellie comforted Ashley. Ashley nodded, trying to quell that sadness and disappointment in her heart. Ellie's words were like a balm to her sore heart, gradually relieving the constant pain.

"By the way," Ellie said, diverting the topic, "I found some shops on the Internet this morning. How about we go visit them tomorrow?"

"Lena isn't someone who will allow us to successfully rent a shop. Always a spanner in the works. And I really think we should stop spending our time doing something like this. It all looks to be in vain. We should rather go out and look for other jobs," Ashley said glumly. Ashley had practically grown up watching Lena and knew her well. Lena always got everything she wanted, by hook or by crook.

Now that she had tried to stop them, there was no way they would be able to rent a shop.

"Lena is an annoying little witch!" Ellie said acidly, hugging a bolster and launching herself across the sofa.

Ashley glanced over at Ellie. "Sorry, Ellie. I'm so sorry for troubling you." Lena had always targeted Ashley, looking to cause her trouble at every turn. And by getting involved in the matter, Ellie had placed herself in the line of fire, which, according to Ashley, she shouldn't have done.

Ellie smiled softly at Ashley and patted her head. "Don't talk like that. We're supposed to be best friends. And the next time you repeat that apology, I'm going to explode of anger," she added cheekily.

Mushily grinning at her best friend and rather moved, Ashley hugged Ellie and said, "Okay. I won't apologize." As she pulled away, Ashley paused, looking at Ellie. "You really are my best friend, Ellie," she said affectionately. "Of course!"

In the house of the Mu family, Lena was losing her temper. Learning about how Peggy had agreed to give the jade pendant back to Ashley had slightly unhinged her. She glared at her mother as she sat up on the sofa. "Mother, you know I love this pendant a lot. Why did you agree to give it back to Ashley?"

When Lena had been a little girl, she had taken a fancy to this jade pendant, almost loved it at first sight. She then asked Peggy and Spencer for help and grabbed the jade pendant from Ashley's neck.

Like all children, she gradually lost interest in it and it got lost in the numerous trinkets in her bedroom.

Terri had discovered the pendant buried underneath Lena's stuff when she was cleaning up her bedroom. Seeing that Lena wasn't at home, Terri had handed it to Peggy. Now, years later, she was unwilling to return it to Ashley even though she knew she didn't like it anymore.

Peggy turned reproachful eyes at Lena, silently berating her for her misplaced anger. "Why are you being so stubborn? It's just a little jade pendant. When you marry Raymond, the heir of the Luo Group, you can buy as many jade pendants as you want. Why do you want this one so much?"

These questions came despite Peggy's knowledge of Lena's behavior. She knew that Lena didn't like the pendant. If she had, she would have taken care of it and not left it unused and unloved. Besides, Lena liked to compare herself with Ashley and tell herself that she was superior. Peggy often ignored these things. She thought them as children's games and she never thought of scolding Lena.

According to her, Ashley was just a child adopted by the Mu family. And she had always felt that it was Ashley's honor that Lena liked to compare herself with her and demand for things that belonged to Ashley.

Lena's lips curled with disdain at Peggy's words. "I'd rather throw the pendant in the trash than give it back to Ashley!" she sneered.

"Which would you choose, Raymond or the pendant?" Peggy asked.

The sudden change of subject threw Lena for a second. "What do you mean?"

Peggy proceeded to enlighten Lena about the deal that she had made with Ashley.

"Really?" Lena said, looking at Peggy in amazement.

"It's true. After marrying the other guy, Ashley can't seduce Raymond anymore, which leaves you to be free to love Raymond all you like."

But Lena's line of thinking was taking a different track.

'Is Ashley going to marry a complete stranger?' she thought. 'If she marries Leo, Raymond will only belong to me. Moreover, I can taunt her for the rest of her life!'

Lena was ecstatic at the thought of Ashley marrying a complete stranger who was nowhere close to even being compared to Raymond in any aspect. And she felt, after all this, she would emerge the absolute winner soon. After this, she found she didn't care much about the jade pendant anymore.

"You're right, Mother," Lena said obediently, convinced.

"How are you getting along with Mrs. Luo?" Peggy asked.

"She likes me very much. I've been doing what you've been telling me. I visited her at her house, invited her to go shopping whenever my time permitted, and paid attention to her likes and dislikes so that we're on the same frequency," Lena said, pride dripping from her voice. Mrs. Luo was very happy with Lena and saw her as Raymond's wife, treating her well.

Satisfied with what Lena told her, Peggy said, "That's good. That's very good. There's a project for which we need the Luo family's help. You know that piece of land in the south of the city? So, the most important thing for you now is to maintain a close relationship with the Luos. Because when the time comes and we bid for that land, we might need the Luo family's help."

While the Mu family had its hands in the tourism industry, the Luos were a part of the real estate industry.

And while that piece of land in the south of the city wasn't suitable for building houses, it was a prime location in which to develop a tourist attraction. This was what the Mu family's interests came in.00000000