OMG!!! My Crippled Husband is a Hot, Powerful CEO-Chapter 19 – Don’t Forget the First Rule, Joan

It was obvious that the old man was going to declare for them to get married the King’s way, but Joanna could not accept living the rest of her life with a man she felt nothing for except pity for the condition of his legs.

"Grandpa, I don’t like crowds. A small wedding has always been my dream."

"Lies," Logan countered, directly exposing her. Joanna must have forgotten, but he hadn’t. "You told me before that you were saving up for a big wedding."

"That was before my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Dreams change," Joanna shot back, the old man forced a smile.

If only she had known that Logan would be here and was indeed the younger brother of Alex, she would have prepared better. Grandpa was too smart not to know what was happening, making his declaration nonetheless.

"It’s true that the extended family will not accept a secret marriage. If you can’t sacrifice your preferences to marry the King’s way, then I’m afraid this marriage would not be accepted," he declared with a sad expression.

Before his first son, Mathias, was killed, he had made the promise to join Alex and Adelaide together when they were older.

It seemed to have happened by what he thought was fate, but judging from Logan’s words, this must be a marriage with great benefits and was not welcome.

Alex could not lose everything because of a flamboyant wedding. With the Bakers being on Grandpa’s sour side now, nothing would save them from his attack, and that would make Joanna happy. freewebnøvel.coɱ

"Grandpa, I would like to have a word with my wife, in private," Alex suddenly said. The old man beckoned to the guest room downstairs. "To save time, you can use that guest room."

Alex and Joanna left for the privacy of the guest room as Logan helped himself to more wine. Mia and Fiona did not know their stand, only wishing that the old man was not there.

His presence formed a cloud of protection over Joanna, who was pacing back and forth after wheeling Alex into the guest room. He was blunt with his words.

"Truth be told, I don’t want to marry you because I have someone else in mind I want to marry," Alex revealed. Joanna was shocked. Out of all the excuses, this was what he came up with.

"I thought Fiona was the woman you wanted to marry," she used the opportunity to ask, but Alex shook his head.

As hard as it was for him, he could not keep it from her anymore. "She was just a pawn, but I planned to reward her later."

Joanna could not believe she had fallen into a trap. Alex seemed to be up to something, was equally looking for a fake bride that day and decided to propose to his girlfriend, whom he had no intention of being with.

No wonder he easily accepted Joanna’s proposal. It was both scary but also relieving for Joanna that she was not going to be trapped in the marriage after, except for how the news would be broadcasted by the media if the divorce happens.

A sigh of relief escaped her. "If you have someone you have to marry, then can you tell me who she is and why you haven’t brought her?"

Alex’s expressions could not be defined. "I can’t say any more about her."

"Was it the woman in the photo frame?" Joanna asked. The question caused Alex to turn moody.

"Enough questions. I will compensate you after the six months contract is over, and I understand the media so you can relocate from here after. Trust me, even if you decide to never work again in your life, the compensation would be worth it."

Joanna was not surprised that he was trying to buy her with money. The only problem was, "I’m used to working for my money."

Alex scoffed, not believing her. "Don’t try to be difficult. You started it, and besides, your mom having a successful surgery does not mean there won’t be other health challenges."

His voice sounded threatening, and for a moment, he scared the life out of her. Before, she would have been surprised, but after knowing his identity, that was far-fetched.

The Kings have always been among the most dangerous and richest families in New York City. Joanna quickly recalled something and asked eagerly.

"Are you the one who paid for the surgery?"

It was not surprising that she guessed correctly. After his identity was revealed, he was indeed the only person who could have done so with so much authority. "Will you say yes if I admit it?"

Joanna felt like a fool, having told him she suspected someone else who was not him, but then again, something else was adding up.

"Are you also behind Dr. Colton’s transfer?"

Alex did not deny it. "Per our contract, isn’t it advisable for us to stay away from people of the opposite sex? You should be glad that I trust you enough to not have done worse."

Joanna’s heart dropped due to how he admitted it in addition to the subtle warning in his voice.

"Where did you transfer him to?"

"That is information his highly classified, but if you want to leverage on that to not agree to the King’s style wedding, I could make his life miserable, and also, I will demand that you pay up the money for the surgery right now. Oh, I forgot that you also have not secured your shares yet."

He knew they were going to have dinner together that night, and could not allow it to happen. Alex had to do what he had to do.

His expression was so neutral, even as he spoke the most painful things that she began to wonder if he was a demon.

Only if the clock could be reversed, she would have used other means and not proposed to him on impulse.

Well, six months was all it was, and there was already almost a week gone. "Alright, I will do it."

After the divorce, she could find Colton and apologize, though he lied by pretending to be the one who footed the bills, but what Alex said next got her mockingly amused.

"Don’t forget the first rule, Joan, never fall in love with me because I will never be able to return your love."

To fall for someone like Alex was a no-no for Joanna. "I mean no disrespect, Alex, but even if you weren’t in a wheelchair, you were never my type. You are too cold, secretive, and dangerous for my liking."

"Good," Alex smiled. He did not want any complications with this arrangement in the future, whereas Joanna had a request.

"But that ring. I want it back after the divorce."

The ring originally belonged to his family, as he just realized, which was the reason he unknowingly felt attracted to it in the first place.

"I will think about that."

They returned to the dining room, but Joanna was still lost in thought after all she just found out and wasn’t looking when she collided with one of the maids after settling Alex carefully by the dining table.

She lost her balance, but what happened next was a stun to everyone in the dining room.