Hearing those sarcastic words being aimed at her, Talia turned in the direction of the voice.

Her hand which was just inches away from Reuben's chest paused in the air which he had not yet noticed.

"Kitten, you are back!" Reuben smiled at the figure who was just a few steps away from where they were standing.

He tried to move towards her but Talia's hand was still tightly coiled around his forearm which in turn restricted his movements.

He glared at her and then looked at her hand which stubbornly stayed in the same place with no intention of letting go.

He wanted to throw her hand away but to do that he would have to touch her therefore he was stuck in a dilemma regarding what his next move should be.

Lina could see the conflicted look on his face and she rolled her eyes.

'Looks like I'll have to rescue my precious Ruby from the literal clutches of this nasty woman.' She chuckled as she stepped towards him.

Her feet stopped when she was next to him and she stared at Talia from head to toe and then looked at her hand which was still holding Reuben.

"I am a possessive woman, Miss Zheng and you are touching what is MINE!" Saying so, she caught hold of Talia's hand with a firm grip and flung it away.

Reuben gazed at his feisty kitten who had bared her claws to defend him and a warmth spread through his heart.

"Miss Yang, I know that you are the host of this party but that does not give you the right to interfere in our matters!" Talia held her hand which was pushed away and glared at Lina.

Lina could only raise her brows when she heard the choice of words that Talia had used.

"Our?" She uttered and then alternated her sights between Talia and Reuben.

"Care explaining why there is an 'our'?" She pointed at them and stood with her arms crossed over her chest.

Reuben panicked when he saw the challenging look she had given him.

"When there is already an 'our' right here!" She then pointed between herself and Reuben.

For a split second, even he was confused about what she was trying to say but the mischievous wink she had sent his way cleared all the confusion.

'Oh…! So she wants to trick Talia into thinking that we are still together?' A look of understanding flashed on his face before he nodded his head.

"There is only one 'our', Kitten and that is US." He declared in a loud enough voice that even a couple of people standing a few feet away from them had heard it loud and clear.

Seeing the Emperor so openly declare something shocking about his negligent love life brought their attention to the three people who were in a confrontational pose here in the corner.

Reuben had done that on purpose to make sure that any other woman who had her sights on him may throw that idea right out of the window.

'I give him an inch and he takes the entire yard?' Lina was not so amused with his underhanded tactic.

She glared at him and pursed her lips to show his displeasure with his sudden stunt.

Reuben chuckled when he saw her pouting face and pulled her close to his body.

"I am going to say this one so listen closely. You and I will never happen. I hope you stop thinking about impossible things and focus more on your career. It needs you more." He spoke in a ruthless manner to get his point across her thick skull.

The person to whom these words were directed to, stood frozen in the exact same spot as she watched the two figures dressed in dark grey clothes walking away from her.

Talia stared at their backs and clenched her fists so hard that she broke a nail.

She did not have time to care about the pain because her mind was replaying the moment before Reuben had stomped on her heart.

He had effortlessly pulled Lina to his side and stood close to her.

One hand in his pant's pocket and the other hand wrapped tight around Lina's thin waist while her palm was resting on his chest.

The same place that Talia had intended to touch was being touched by someone else and not her.

She was willing to bear this pain as well but what shattered a part of her heart was when Reuben who was known to keep all women at a distance had made the first move himself.

She could only watch how after he had pulled Lina close, he planted a chaste kiss on the crown of her head.

A kiss so pure yet so unique was proof of the level of comfort he had with her.

'I have known you for 25 years and not once have you even held my hand willingly but now you do so much for this woman who dropped out of nowhere?' Her eyes turned red as she watched them greet a group of people on the other side of the room.

Talia wanted to see who it was but her sight was blocked by the two women who had appeared before her.

"I don't have time for your nonsense, Jeanette. Find Valerie if you want to mess with her. Now scram!" She snarled at them and tried to find Reuben in the crowd.

Seeing her anxious face, Jeanette and the woman next to her smirked.

"We have something valuable that you can use against that woman who came between you and Master Reuben." Jeanette Liang whispered and then pointed to the woman beside her.

Talia's interest was sparked and she stared at the other woman and sneered when she recognized who it was.

"Aren't you her cousin?" She glanced in Lina's direction and then at the new woman's face.

------------

When Reuben led Lina away from Talia, as though a sea had parted, the crowd moved away to give them the way.

"Is this one of the perks of being Emperor?" She chuckled and glanced at his stoic face.

'I just kissed her! I just kissed her!' The chant that had been playing on his mind was broken when he heard her voice.

He looked down at her face and gave her a curt nod.

"Must be lonely to be pushed away by so many people." Her words surprised him because everyone just saw the glamor that his title brought.

"You really are weird, my kitten." He patted her head and led her towards the table where he found her cousins sitting together.

On the way, a few of his business partners came to greet him and Lina so they paused a couple of times before they finally reached the table.

Wayne, Wade and Stacy all had their eyes stuck on the arm which was still around their Nana's waist.

'I'm glad he did not say anything to Lina about the past!' Wayne was the only one pleased with the turn of events.

Seeing them together only meant that Reuben had decided to keep the past in the past.

"Are you done parading my sister around like arm candy?" He was still pissed to see that they were standing so close together.

Lina choked the chuckle that had burst out when she saw their vicious glares.

"Don't scare my kitten!" Reuben glared back at them.

"Kitten?" Three different voices yet all in the same incredulous tone were heard.

This time Lina and Reuben both chuckled and nodded their heads.

"When did you get so close that you have nicknames for each other?" Stacy pointed at them and asked with a smirk on her face.

She knew that Lina liked beautiful people but she was not someone who would randomly attach herself to a man just because he was good looking.

'Something must have happened between them to get them close in such a short time.' She speculated and her theory was completely correct.

That night in the hotel they spent together had acted as a catalyst for their friendship to deepen so quickly.

But this was not known to them so they just waited for some valid answers from these two giggling idiots.

"Yes. I am his kitten and he is my Ruby." She giggled once again as she introduced their nicknames.

The three cousins burst into peals of laughter when they heard what she had just called the infamous Emperor Ming.

"Ruby?" Wayne clutched his stomach and rested his head on Stacy's shoulder as he laughed to no end.

"Stop laughing this instant if you don't want me to punch your teeth in!" Reuben snarled at his best friends.

However this time his threats had no effect on them and the credit to this feat belonged to Lina.

When she felt the glare he had directed at her brothers, she turned around and glared right back at him.

"Got a problem with that, Ruby?" She stressed on his name and raised her brows.

Reuben raised his hands in defeat and shook his head indicating that he had absolutely no problem with the name she had given him.

"Ruby? I did not know that Reuben had such fetishes?" A sarcastic voice diverted their attention towards it.

Seeing the man walking closer to them, the men scowled while the women both had pleasant and smiling faces.

"Senior Huo!" Lina beamed at the newcomer and walked towards him.

She easily got out of Reuben's arms because he had loosened his hold over her waist and in doing so he lost the chance to be close to her.

Feeling the emptiness in his arms, Reuben glared at the man who was responsible for it.

'Louis Huo!' He narrowed his eyes and glared at this old business rival of his.