Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 312: WHERE IS ASH?

"What? No. Why are you coming with us? Your car is over there!" Lucian protested. He pointed his finger at Arthur and Rye’s car.

Arthur and Rye were also confused about why River had entered Ranon’s car, so they approached her to explain that she was in the wrong vehicle.

"River, what are you doing here?" Arthur asked. He was about to open the car door, but Ranon, who was already sitting behind the wheel, locked it. "Ranon, open the door." Arthur frowned at him.

"She can unlock the door on her own," Ranon said lightly, leaving the decision to River. She could get out if she wanted to.

Arthur then shifted his attention to his daughter. The car’s window was only halfway down. "River, come on, you are in the wrong car."

River didn’t seem very sentimental when she met her father again, not like Arthur and Rye. "I will go with Ranon first. I need to make sure they hand over the boy to Logan."

It didn’t go unnoticed by Ranon when she called him by name easily, as if she had done it countless times before.

Hearing that, Arthur was upset. "You have nothing to do with them."

"The boy ran away with me. His help is very crucial, and I would not be here if it had not been for him." River exaggerated it a bit, though Archie’s help was indeed important.

"Ranon will make sure he returns to his family; you don’t need to worry about that."

Yet, River shook her head. "I want to be sure, or else I will not feel at ease." Hazel then rolled up her window. "See you in Aspen City later, Dad. I will go after I finish my business here."

River didn’t feel awkward at all to be in the same car as Ranon.

"Do you care so much about the boy?" Ranon glanced at Archie, who was still sleeping in the backseat. The young boy was deep in his sleep; he didn’t care about his surroundings, probably because he finally felt safe.

"Like I said, he helped me," River replied lightly, giving the same answer as she did to Arthur, as she played a sad song that she liked. She was glad that Ranon didn’t change the playlist.

Ranon watched the way River moved, the song selection, and also how she stretched her body.

Meanwhile, Lucian knocked from outside, because he couldn’t enter the car since Ranon locked it.

"Hey! Don’t forget about me! Hey!" Lucian didn’t want to drive with Arthur and Rye. More importantly, he would rather not leave Ranon alone with River.

He didn’t feel at ease with that woman and the way she interacted with Ranon.

Thankfully, Ranon unlocked the door and let him in, but Lucian had to sit in the backseat with the sleeping Archie.

"Why are you even coming with us? It’s not like we are going to kidnap the boy," Lucian protested.

However, River didn’t care; she focused on the road ahead of her. She fiddled with her fingers as she tried to calm herself.

She was going to meet with her daughter again. She wondered how big Ashlyn was. When she left her daughter, she was only a few months away from turning two, and soon, she would be turning three in a few months.

It had been almost a year since the last time she held her in her arms, and she missed her daughter... If she could still claim her as such.

Ranon noticed her gesture, but he said nothing. Instead, he slowed down the car. He didn’t usually drive the car this way, and it made River upset.

"Can you drive?" River asked with a frown. He was at the minimum speed, even though the highway was almost empty.

"Why?" Ranon asked nonchalantly. His eyes were still on the road.

"Can you drive faster? What speed is this?" River glared at him. She was not sure what kind of trick this man was playing. He was very cunning after all.

"No. This speed is fine." Lucian was traumatized by Ranon and Hazel’s driving; therefore, he didn’t want Ranon to drive faster than this. "It is better to be safe than sorry."

River glared at Lucian. He recoiled a bit because this woman was scary, even without knowing her reputation. You would recognize that she was not someone that you wanted to mess with.

"I lost my wife in a car accident," Ranon said, which made the situation turn very awkward, as if there was a heavy cloud hanging over their heads.

In the end, River couldn’t say anything else. She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw to hold back her anger. Crossing her arms, she rested her head against the window. She tried to sleep, but she couldn’t.

Outside, the sky had turned slightly darker as the sun set and left a beautiful hue of red, which fell on River’s face.

Ranon stole a glance at her, and when they had to stop at the stoplight, he would blatantly stare at her face.

In the backseat, Lucian became even more curious about Ranon’s reaction. He wondered what had happened with him. Why did Ranon stare at River in such a way?

Finally, the awkwardness in the car ended when they reached the apartment building. By this time, Archie had woken up, and when they got out of the car, he clung to River.

"I am going to buy something in the convenience store," Ranon said.

"Can that wait?" River asked impatiently. "What do you want to buy anyway?" She wanted to see her daughter, but why did Ranon seem as if he were intentionally delaying it? It pissed River off.

She couldn’t even keep her façade. Her whole body gave away her impatience and annoyance.

"No, I need this," Ranon said and then walked away toward the convenience store.

With that, River had no other choice but to follow him, because she couldn’t go up on her own. Ranon’s men would stop her, and Lucian wouldn’t allow her either.

"Only candies?!" River was speechless. "This is something that can’t wait?"

"I try to quit smoking, so I need this," Ranon replied. He flopped the candy into his mouth.

River took note that Ranon started smoking again, and currently, he was trying to quit. Usually, it was not that hard for him to quit smoking. He didn’t need that candy to keep his mouth busy...

"I want that chocolate," Archie suddenly said. He tugged River’s clothes and pointed at the chocolate on the rack.

River checked her money, but it was not enough. She had used all of the money that she stole from the guard, and it was not much.

Therefore, she went to Ranon and asked for money from him so casually.

"Seriously, you can’t ask for money that way, you know," Lucian complained. But his jaw dropped when he saw Ranon hand over his wallet to her, and River took it casually. She walked away with Archie. "Did she even know the password?"

However, River returned with a bag of candies, chocolates, and chips.

"Thank you," River said as she gave back the wallet to Ranon and then walked away with the happy Archie. He munched on his chocolate.

"She did know," Ranon replied to Lucian’s earlier question.

And when they finally arrived at the penthouse, the first thing that River looked for was Ashlyn in the living room. But she couldn’t find her, not even Renna. But there was a little food on the table, which meant Renna must have cooked dinner for them.

"Let’s eat first," Ranon said as he went to the kitchen and started eating casually. Of course, Lucian wouldn’t miss the opportunity to eat, and Archie was also already hungry.

River was hungry too, but she wanted to see her daughter more.

"I thought you had a daughter, Mr. Leighton. I don’t see her," River asked casually, as she sat down next to Ranon and helped Archie with his food.

"She is sleeping in her bedroom."

"Oh..." River glanced at the time. It was not Ashlyn’s sleeping time, but then a year had passed, and a lot of things must have changed.

Suddenly, River felt a sudden pang in her heart with the realization that she had missed a lot of Ashlyn’s milestones. She wondered how many words the little girl could speak now...

They ate in silence; only Lucian and Archie would occasionally speak while they were eating.

After that, they waited in the living room as Ranon called Logan to come over. He didn’t say that his son was here; he only told him to come to his place.

This was the first time they interacted with each other after what happened. Ranon had every intention to kill him after what he had done and caused the death of his wife.

However, when Ranon saw him, Logan had been living in misery as his guilt ate him alive, and death would be a mercy for him.

Once Ranon hung up the phone, he only saw Lucian and Archie in the living room, as both of them watched a cartoon with chips between them.

River was nowhere to be found, but Ranon knew where she was right now. He said nothing when he headed toward Ashlyn’s bedroom. He was right, though. River was standing in the middle of the room; she looked upset.

"What are you doing here?" Ranon asked. He closed the door behind him and leaned his back against it, trapping them both in the room.

"Where is Ash?"