Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 128: MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RIVER

Who would have thought Ranon would go this far only because of a bruise? But then, Hazel remembered Ema’s warning about how Ranon could be overbearing.

Well, she could be overbearing too, so it was fair enough for her. They could drive each other crazy for the rest of their one-year contract marriage.

Hazel ate her fruit and thought about it.

It was actually quite impressive for Ranon to be able to mess with Arlo in the field that he was an expert of.

"What if he knows it’s you?"

"He will not."

"You are very arrogant."

"I will call that confident." Ranon put another piece of mango into her mouth to stop her from talking and enjoy her meal.

They were on the beach, away from the crowd. If there was one thing that Ranon and Hazel were similar in, it was their love for privacy.

The moon shone brightly in the sky.

"Ugh, I have to have my hair cut." Hazel sulked because she had to wash her hair today. Her scalp felt a little bit itchy because she had been postponing it.

River didn’t have these curls or long hair that needed extra care. Because of her line of work, she needed to be practical; thus, it was an extra effort to take care of this type of hair.

Especially with this pregnancy and how easily she was sweating.

Yes, it looked cute; she liked it too, but she couldn’t deal with her hair in the meantime.

***

"Can we talk?" James ambushed Laurel in the kitchen. He had been waiting for her to come out of the guest room in the middle of the night when she thought he had already fallen asleep.

Laurel was startled, but her expression showed no emotion. She needed to fill her jar with water; it was a habit that James knew so well.

"There is nothing to talk about," Laurel replied; she only needed to wait until tomorrow, and everything would be over.

Laurel had gotten all her ducks in a row. She stayed in this house until the end because she knew it would be the last time she was here.

The total of twelve years was the time that she wasted on this family. Her dedication, love, and affection were nothing to them when they couldn’t even be decent enough to give her the respect that she deserved.

If they wanted Amelia to be part of their life, they should have said it to her face. She wouldn’t beg to stay. Her pride wouldn’t allow that.

But instead, they humiliated her by taking her for a fool.

"How long are you planning to be like this? You ignore this family." James stood up and approached Laurel. "Do you even know that Carl is not at home? What kind of mother are you not to know about your son’s whereabouts?"

The audacity of this man...

Laurel turned around and faced him. The look on her face startled James. "I am not his mother. Both of you have made it clear about that."

"Are you still sulking because of that?" James shook his head as if Laurel was overreacting. He didn’t see anything serious about it. "Laurel, you are playing a mind game with a teenager. You should be a bigger person."

"A week ago, you made it clear he was not my son; but now he is my son when it is convenient for you."

James looked ashamed; his voice softened. "Don’t you worry about where he is?"

"He is your son; why don’t you worry about his whereabouts?" Laurel stepped aside, but James blocked her way. "He is in Amelia’s house." It was an easy guess.

"Laurel, you throw this misunderstanding out of proportion. You should be a better mother for him. You know how Amelia is."

"Why don’t you be a better father figure for him since he is biologically yours?" Laurel glared at him. "Move."

James didn’t budge. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what was in her mind or how to deal with Laurel. She had never acted out like this before.

"Laurel, if you keep doing this, don’t blame me if I look for someone else." James was desperate; he only wanted her back. It was chaotic at home.

However, his threat only made Laurel chuckle. "You have looked for someone else even before I did this to you."

James was shocked by what Laurel said, but she used this opportunity to slip away from him.

"What did you mean by that?" James looked panicked as he caught up with Laurel before she entered her bedroom and shut him out. "Tell me, what did you mean by that?"

"You know exactly what I meant." James grabbed her hand, but she swatted his attempt and glared viciously at him. "Don’t you dare touch me with your filthy hand."

"You misunderstood the situation."

Laurel raised both of her hands to stop him from giving her more bullshit than she needed. "You have my blessing, James. I am not angry. I am disappointed because I thought you could do better than this."

Blood drained from his face. He opened his mouth to argue, but then no word could make sense enough to justify Laurel’s accusation.

The question here was: did Laurel know with whom he was having an affair? How long did she know? What else had she learned?

James should have rejoiced at this moment since he had promised Amelia that they would be family again, but he had been dragging his feet.

The thought of divorcing Laurel and being unable to see her again didn’t sit well with him.

And now, when Laurel learned about his infidelity, he wanted to beg her to talk to him. He would rather she be angry and scream to his face than this coldness. She looked nonchalant, and somehow... it scared him.

"Laurel..."

"You have talked enough, James, and I am done."

***

Olivia knew it was not right. She was well aware that she was playing with fire again. But the thought of what Marcus had to go through all this time played with her heart.

She knew about Valerie and how hard Marcus raised her.

’I want to leave the crowd, but it’s not easy...’

That was what Marcus said to her. The crowd that he had been with since his teenage age was a big part of his life.

’I don’t know what I am without them...’

Marcus felt the crowd was his entire identity, even though he knew it brought nothing but bad influence for him; he couldn’t let it go.

’You have been assaulted. Your assaulter was part of the crowd; how could you still reconsider staying?’ And Marcus didn’t have the answer for it.

For some reason, Olivia felt she could understand that. She knew Marcus was not good for her and they were toxic for each other, but somehow, she couldn’t let him go.

It was a vicious circle they were in.

"For you," Marcus said as he handed Olivia wildflowers when she opened the door.

He visited her with her permission. This would be the first time they met again after their last conversation.

"Thank you." Laurel stepped aside and let him in.

She did it again...

What a fool.

***

"No, stop... I am tired," Hazel was panting heavily; she was sweating. She felt like she didn’t have the energy left to even lift a finger. She pushed Ranon’s face away from her when he kissed her neck. "No... you are going to kill me..."

Ranon chuckled against her skin, and it brought a smile to her lips too.

"I thought you liked it since you were the one who initiated it."

"You seduced me."

"Said someone who always sleeps naked."

Ranon cuddled with her for a while, kissing her cheeks, the tip of her nose, and her eyes, until she snored softly.

Once Hazel was out and her breathing was even, he got off the bed and went to the bathroom. He wetted a towel to help her clean the mess while Hazel was unaware of it.

From the look of it, she had embodied her life as Hazel, since it was unacceptable to put her guard down completely like this.

Even when she was with Arlo, no matter how tired River was after their sexy moment, she would always be alerted.

Or probably because the sex was better this time...

And when Ranon was wiping her body, he saw the movement in Hazel’s stomach. It was very subtle, and Hazel frowned because of it.

"Sleep, baby. Your mommy is tired." Ranon caressed her stomach until their baby stopped moving. It looked so cute and fascinating to witness it.

Earlier, he helped Hazel to wash her hair because he didn’t want her to cut it off, so he compromised with her.

Three times a week, Ranon would help her wash her hair during and after the pregnancy until their contract finished.

Hazel thought it was crazy, but in the end, she agreed. Ranon really liked her hair, and Hazel thought this man had his own fetish.

Once Ranon tucked Hazel in, he picked up his phone and called one of his men. He sent him a text earlier about the information that he asked him to gather.

"River has gone missing for around four months," the man reported. "There are a few rumors about the reason for her disappearance..."

The man started to talk about all the information that he had gotten.

"There is an indication that the Barlowe family has an underhanded deal with another organization."

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