Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 336: MARRY ME

Finally, they arrived at the destination. It was close to sunset, as the sky started to turn red in color. The calming sound of the wave that hit the cliff was in the background when River walked out of the car.

She was shocked to realize where she was right now.

"Here?"

River frowned deeply because, out of all the places that she thought she might have encountered Ranon in the past, this one had never crossed her mind.

Currently, River was at the beach house. This was the same beach house where she had trained when she was little and a teenager, also the place where Arthur kidnapped her when she was Hazel.

"How?" River looked around her. "Ranon doesn’t have dementia, right?" She didn’t think they had met before, especially not here.

However, her train of thought was interrupted when she saw Ashlyn running toward her. The little girl looked adorable in her floral dress. Her hair was braided, but there were tears in her eyes.

"Oh, baby. I miss you." River picked Ashlyn up and hugged her. She could feel how heavy her daughter was now.

Ashlyn was no longer so little that River could hold her for hours. The next year, she would start to go to school. How time flew by...

River missed her daughter when she was only a baby and talked a lot with her, but now Ashlyn still refused to speak, and every time River remembered the reason for it, she felt so bad. She felt as if she were the worst mother...

Meanwhile, from afar, Ranon walked toward them with a bright smile on his lips. He walked along the shoreline. He was wearing a white sweater and jeans. He looked comfy and younger than his age.

"Finally, you are here," Ranon said when he was right in front of River. He kissed her forehead and then his daughter’s forehead too.

"Yes, after so many dramas, finally, I am here," River said sullenly.

After the robbery at the convenience store, she had to stay for a while to give her statement. She would have stayed longer if Ranon hadn’t used his connections to let her go, which was not something difficult for him, knowing what he had done before.

"An unexpected thing happened on my way here." River nuzzled Ashlyn’s cheek, but then she realized that it was almost the same as how her life was. There were so many unexpected things that happened.

The longings and hurdles that she had to go through to be with her family again. Looking back, River would choose to go through that all over again if, eventually, she could be with her daughter and this man.

Ranon stared at her dotingly, and River noticed there were a few scratches on his hand.

"I bet Ashlyn gave you a hard time." River grinned as she nodded at the back of his hand.

"She is feisty," Ranon said softly. He caressed Ashlyn’s head gently. Ashlyn was upset because she couldn’t be with her mother, and being near a large body of water made her anxious. She couldn’t sleep well last night.

However, her therapist suggested this.

"She is feisty just like you." Ranon kissed the tip of River’s nose and then pressed his forehead against hers as he spoke softly. "I don’t know how to do it. I don’t think this will surprise you, but I want to do it right. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Ranon took a step back; with the background of the sunset, he slowly went down on his knee. He took something out of his pocket while saying the words.

"Marry me, River."

"The words should be, ’Will you marry me,’ right?" River grinned from ear to ear.

River blinked her eyes rapidly, as her tears blurred her vision. Ranon was right; it didn’t surprise her since she knew he would ask her at the end of this trip.

However, she didn’t need a surprise to feel happy, because right at this moment, it was one of the happiest moments in her life.

There were only the three of them on the shoreline of the beach, with the calming sound of the waves in the background and the bright red sky above them, where the sunset looked even more beautiful when it disappeared behind the horizon, leaving a red hue.

River had seen sunsets from this beach house countless times during her stay here, but she didn’t realize it could be this wonderful. It felt as if she was seeing the world for the first time.

"You are going to marry me," Ranon said with certainty.

His confidence made River laugh. "You know me so well," she said as she put Ashlyn’s down and stretched out her hand so Ranon could put the ring on her finger. "Is there a tracker again this time?"

Ranon chuckled. "Yeah. So, I will know you will not try to run away from me."

"I love that," River said with delight. "I should put one on your ring, too."

"Done."

Tears streamed down her face. She wiped them roughly as Ranon put the ring on her finger. He stood up and hugged her tightly.

"Ugh. I have no idea why I am crying." River kept wiping her face. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

There were mixed feelings that she felt: relief, disbelief, sadness, happiness, and everything at once came to her mind. She didn’t know how to regulate all of these emotions.

"It’s okay; just cry." Ranon kissed both of her cheeks before he kissed her lips gently.

"I love you, Ranon," River whispered softly against his lips, and she could feel Ranon smiling.

"I know, and I love you more than anything."

The sky had turned slightly dark, and the lights from the city in the distance looked so beautiful, as if they were happy for the two of them as well.

Never in her life did River feel this kind of happiness. She felt whole. She felt complete, and this man filled the void in her life.

But then, both of them stopped kissing each other when they felt someone tug on their shirts.

Ashlyn pursed her lips when, finally, Ranon and River paid attention to her. She felt neglected because they enjoyed each other too much.

"We don’t forget about you, Love." Ranon picked Ashlyn up, and both of them kissed her cheeks.

River showed the ring to her. "What do you think? Do you think this is beautiful?"

Ashlyn blinked her eyes at the ring. She shook her head, then pointed her finger at River and spoke softly.

"Beautiful."

For a second, both River and Ranon went silent; they couldn’t believe what they heard. Ashlyn talked?

"What, baby? Say it again, please... What did you say?" River took Ashlyn from Ranon’s arms and asked her to speak again. "Say it again, please."

Ashlyn looked at River, seemingly confused by her request, but then she spoke again. "Beautiful." This time, she put both of her hands against River’s cheeks, as if to make sure that her mother listened to her well this time. "Beautiful."

And River cried again. She hugged Ashlyn tightly.

Ugh. She cried a lot.

***

Ranon brought two wine glasses when he entered the room. It was close to midnight, and they had put Ashlyn to sleep.

Because she missed her mother, Ashlyn only wanted to be with River.

Having heard their daughter speak again for the first time after more than a year, River was literally beaming. She felt exultant, as if there was nothing that could dampen her mood, not even Laurel’s sharp comment.

When Ranon entered their bedroom, River was talking to Laurel through a video call, where she showed off her ring.

"What? Jealous?" River wriggled her brows. She didn’t have anyone to share this joy; therefore, she called everyone that she could think of to talk about this, including Renna and Lyle, and also Rye and Biel.

"Huft. In your dream. That ring doesn’t look expensive, though," Laurel said nonchalantly, but River rolled her eyes dramatically; such childish provocation wouldn’t get to her.

"Gotta go; bye!" River waved her hand when she saw Ranon approach her with the wine.

"Did you do something about Rafael?" That was the first question that Ranon gave to River.

He just got a phone call, and Ares had confirmed that Mr. Hugo wouldn’t pull his investment. News that would give Ranon more time with his family, as he didn’t need to exert extra effort in the office.

River shook her head, but she grinned. She was indeed behind that, but Ranon didn’t want to dwell on it. He would thank her in a different way tonight.

"So, tell me how this place can be the place where we met for the first time." River had been very curious about this.

After the fall of the Lozens, River had to sell a few of her family’s properties, and someone bought this place. Only now did she learn it was Ranon who bought this place.

"I am sure this is the second time we have met in this place after the kidnapping incident."

Ranon shook his head. "No." He took her to the other room. It was the room that River occupied when she stayed here.

On top of the drawer, she saw a picture in a small frame, which she recognized immediately. It was a picture of her when she was five years old, taken on the beach.

"Look closely at the back." Ranon hugged her from behind.

River did, and then she saw it. Very small, she saw a little boy around her age, playing on the sand a little bit far from her...