Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 311: HOW DO YOU KNOW HER?

River realized her mistake too late. She watched the way Ranon narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hm. Do you call me?" River asked in a small voice.

Her whole body stiffened when Ranon walked inside. He crossed the room to approach her. His expression was still difficult to read. Archie had fallen asleep, so it was only the two of them.

River was unsure what to do. The urge to hug him and kiss him, to bury herself in his arms, was getting stronger the closer he got.

And when Ranon was standing in front of her, she could sense his scent, which brought back all the memories. She breathed raggedly as tears welled up in her eyes.

But she was afraid of his rejection. Would he deny her? Should she take it slowly? If she made a wrong move, considering Ranon’s personality, it would be harder for her to regain his favor.

"Hazel. Do you know her?" Ranon asked. His voice was very low, cold even. He was so close, River had to crane her neck.

River was taller than Hazel, but even so, in this position, she still had to crane her neck to look Ranon in the eyes.

"Yes," River replied. Her voice was barely a whisper.

"How do you know her?"

"I..." River tried to think of a way to answer the question, but she was too exhausted. Her mind went blank when Ranon touched her cheek. He ran his fingers over the small cut at the corner of her lips.

His touch... was gentle.

"How do you know her?" Ranon repeated the question.

River flinched slightly when Ranon touched the small cut around her neck. He brushed his thumb against it.

This action confused River. Did he know? Why did he touch her like this?

"You have not yet answered my question." Ranon leaned over and whispered into her ear. "How much do you know her?"

"More than anyone..." River replied.

There was silence that befell between them. River could feel Ranon’s hand, which was slightly trembling, on her cheek. He held his breath when she rested her forehead on his shoulder. She really wanted to hug him.

They were so close...

Probably, it would be alright to hug him.

Maybe, Ranon knew...

He knew... right?

This situation was confusing. In a way, this would be the first time for the two of them to meet in person, but the tension between them couldn’t be mistaken. The sexual frustration, the longing, and the attraction were too strong for them to deny it.

However, before anything could be confirmed, Lucian called out to both of them from the door.

"Ranon, we... oh!" Lucian was dumbstruck to see the two of them. They were so close that it left him with a whole imagination of what would happen if he didn’t come to interrupt. "I... What are you two doing? I mean... yeah. Everyone is waiting. Bye."

And after that, he closed the door, but he frowned to himself. Why was he flustered? He should have grabbed Ranon away from that woman. She was an assassin; she could do something bad to him.

But why were they in that position?

Yet, before Lucian could enter the room again, as he was about to open the door, it was yanked open from inside. Ranon walked out, followed by River.

Lucian almost jumped out of his skin because of how shocked he was, especially when he saw the look in Ranon’s eyes at him, as if he had committed the biggest crimes in history.

"What? What have I done wrong?" Lucian furrowed his brows deeply. He saw River walk out of the room as well, but she gave him a dirty look. "What?" He took a step back, afraid this woman would stab him.

He didn’t know her, but from what he heard, her reputation was scary.

***

Aubrey bit on her fingernails. She had prepared a suitcase for her and Bryer. She didn’t bring many things, since she didn’t have anything valuable with her.

"I need to leave... I need to leave..." Aubrey kept talking to herself before she broke down crying. She knew that she had to leave, but the thing was, she didn’t know where to go.

She had no one or nowhere she could go to and stay. Not to mention Arlo was still out there. She was afraid he would take revenge on her. Nowhere was safe for her at this point.

However, if she stayed, and River found her, she was sure that her sister would kill her.

She was still alive!

Aubrey knew this information from Rye when she chatted with him about her father’s whereabouts because she couldn’t contact Arthur.

Aubrey knew River to a certain level, and it was safe to say that River was holding a grudge.

She doubted if she could ask for protection from her father, since he had been very disappointed in her for all the wrong decisions Aubrey had made that landed them in this situation, even though Arthur didn’t say it out loud.

"Mama..." Bryer came with his car toys and gave one to her. "Play with me... Play with me..." He sat down in front of Aubrey and stared at his mother with his bright eyes.

For a brief moment, she could see Arlo’s features in him, which always reminded Aubrey that he was still part of Arlo.

However, she loved her son so much that she couldn’t bring herself to hate or despise him.

She had never imagined that she would feel this strongly. When she saw her own mother, she didn’t think she would be able to be a good mother. She wasn’t fond of children either.

But her son was different.

While Bryer was part of Arlo, he was also part of her. He was the only one who belonged to her. A tiny soul who would look at her with so much adoration. Someone who relied on her without judging her mistakes.

Aubrey knew Arthur blamed her for River’s death and the downfall of their family. Her father no longer looked at her the same way.

However, Bryer would always look at her with so much love.

"Play with me..." Bryer shook Aubrey’s arm when she didn’t move the toy car.

"Do you like to live here, Bryer?"

"Hm. I like Uncle Rye, and I like Grandpa. I like big brothers here..." Bryer moved the car toys, but then he lifted his head and looked at his mother. "But I love you more!"

Bryer smiled brightly, but his expression crumpled when he saw his mother crying.

"Mama, don’t cry..." Bryer put away his car toy and went to hug Aubrey. "Don’t cry. Are you hurt?"

Bryer kissed her cheek, her shoulder, and her hands.

"Which one is hurt? I will blow the pain away..." He repeated what Aubrey said to him whenever he fell and hurt himself.

***

River was so pissed at Ranon at this moment. It was very obvious that he didn’t want to take her to the apartment so that she could see Ashlyn.

She could understand that she was currently an outsider. And with her reputation, there was no way Ranon would let her meet with his daughter.

But River thought... he knew?

Why did he touch her like that if he didn’t have any inclination? Why did he talk to her gently and whisper to her?

Did he develop some kind of new personality after Hazel died? Did he have another woman?

The thought made River boil in anger and jealousy. It had not been a year, and he had already looked for a stepmother for Ashlyn?

River was sure Ema would use this opportunity to get closer to Ranon again. Did she succeed? River shivered with the thought that Ema would be the stepmother for Ashlyn. No. She couldn’t accept that!

"River," Rye called her name. He kicked her leg under the table. "We will leave now."

"Hm? Where?"

"What are you thinking? Don’t you listen?" Rye looked confused. "We are going to leave for Aspen City. We will discuss this matter with our people. Now that you have returned, your presence will boost their morale."

They had discussed their next move against Arlo Barlowe and Gayle Lennox, who were still out there. It was rather difficult to get them, since they had been very passive.

River also told them about what happened to her. She was in a coma for years under Rafael Scar’s care.

Arthur was furious when he learned that it was Rafael who had tricked them all with River’s false death and the fact that he had been keeping her all this time.

The grudge against the Barlowes was a personal matter. While Ranon would assist them, he didn’t get involved much.

River also learned that Olivia didn’t survive the gunshot. She died after she was in a coma for a few weeks, and it was Lyle who helped them to destroy his own family. But he disappeared once he had known his mother’s whereabouts and killed his father.

"Let’s go." Rye tugged River’s arm because she had been brooding. "We need to arrive before midnight." The sun had already set when they stepped out of the house.

However, when they were outside, River saw Lucian put the sleeping Archie in the backseat. They would take him and give him back to Logan later.

And before River could think clearly, she rushed toward Ranon’s car and pushed Lucian away from the shotgun seat as she sat there.

"Hey!" Lucian protested.

"Sit on the back," River said sternly. "I am going with you."