Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 327: THE FINAL DECISION

However, Ranon’s statement was enough to shut Rafael up, and he could only watch them walk away toward their car.

When River turned around, Ashlyn’s head poked from her shoulder, and she was sticking her tongue out at Rafael. She made a face at him. The little girl seemed to understand that her parents were not happy with this man.

"Damn, even that little girl is annoying just like her father." Rafael chuckled, then shook his head as he watched the car drive away. Now he was alone, standing in the graveyard.

It was still a mystery for him about why and how River got close to Ranon Leighton. As far as he knew, River had never had a direct interaction with the Leighton family, let alone been so close to that man, as if she had known him for years.

It didn’t help that River ran to Ranon Leighton instead of her father when she ran away from him. It was Ranon Leighton that she contacted, not anyone else.

The smile on Rafael’s lips vanished. His expression looked very grim as he pulled out his phone and called someone else.

"Yes, arrange my meeting with him."

***

River had a few loose ends in Talbar City before she could close this Chapter of her life. It was not easy for her to come to this decision, but she knew what she wanted, and going back to how things used to be was not something she wanted for her future...

Therefore, she needed to do this sooner rather than later. After all, there was no point in prolonging this matter; it would only drag her feet.

River and Ranon also decided to bring their daughter along, since Ashlyn had been in a bad temper whenever they left her for a long time.

Inside the car, River changed her melancholic song to a happy one that Ashlyn liked. She sang along with the song, subtly trying to encourage Ashlyn to speak, but the little girl still refused to make a sound.

"Please, say something, baby." River hugged Ashlyn tighter; she was sitting in the backseat with her, while Ranon was driving. "Why don’t you want to say something? Was I dreaming when I heard your voice?"

River had told Ranon about her dreams a month ago, when she thought Ashlyn was talking to her.

"Why don’t you want to talk to me?" River nuzzled Ashlyn’s cheek with hers while her daughter was playing with the stuffed bunnies that she bought. "Say something, please..."

Ashlyn blinked her eyes. She stared at River, but instead of saying something, she kissed River’s cheeks.

"Well, that’s nice too, but I want to hear your voice." River kissed her back, but Ashlyn was still mute.

In the end, River sang at the top of her lungs to the song.

"I thought this was a happy song, but why do you sing it as if it is a sad song?" Ranon commented. He looked at River and Ashlyn through the rearview mirror.

"Because I am heartbroken, my child doesn’t want to talk to me." And River sang again, howling to be precise.

Thankfully, the drive between the graveyard and the house where all of the Lozen’s men gathered was not too far.

Once they arrived and the song was turned off, River stopped singing, and all of them got out of the car.

At the door, Rye had been waiting for them. He looked at River with a frown because she was holding Ashlyn intimately, and the little girl looked very comfortable with her.

The fact that River was so close with Ranon Leighton and his daughter still confused Rye. He wanted to ask River about this, but the timing was not right.

"It is great to see you," Rye said to River when she entered the house.

"I am happy to see you too, Uncle." River saw Bryer with Biel. "How is he?" River felt bad for Bryer because he had to lose his mother at such a young age.

Ever since she saw how Hazel’s death had affected Ashlyn, Bryer had a soft spot in her heart. She wished the reality could be different for him, but it was impossible now.

"He still asks for his mother, but he is fine. He has been sleeping with Biel because he can’t sleep alone."

Aubrey always slept with him; that’s why Bryer used to have someone when he was sleeping.

"Have you eaten? Biel has cooked the food that you like," Rye said.

"Thank you, Uncle."

River then talked to Biel for a while and introduced Ashlyn to Bryer. The two of them were staring at each other, but neither of them was talking.

Bryer was a shy child, and currently, Ashlyn was not speaking.

And after a few sweet talks, they finally went to the dining room and had their lunch together. The conversation was only at a surface level; the main discussion was not something they could talk over food.

Therefore, once they were done, River and Rye went to the study so they could discuss the matter at hand.

Ranon didn’t come with them because this matter didn’t concern him. But of course, he knew the main topic they would talk about. River had run this matter with him, and he agreed with her decision.

"Are you sure about this?" Rye looked a little bit devastated when he learned what River was going to do to the rest of the Lozens’ men.

"Yes, I am sure," River replied firmly. She had thought about it, and she knew what she wanted. "I am going to dismiss them all."

"They will not be happy with this decision," Rye said. "They had been following your father for a long time, and they had a high hope for you to run the family. This is a great opportunity for you to seize the chance. Now that the Barlowes and the McKennas have gone, we can come back stronger."

That sounded promising, but that was not what River wanted.

"No." River shook her head. "The thought of continuing this makes me tired, Uncle." River sat down, leaned her back against the sofa, and stared at the ceiling. "I have been living that life for my entire life, and I am tired. I don’t think I want to be the head of the family and continue the business. No. I don’t want it."

There was a pause before Rye responded. "You refuse to lead the family because you want to start a family with Ranon Leighton?"

River tilted her head. She didn’t immediately answer, as if she was trying to find the right word to say, but in the end, she asked in a small voice.

"Is that a wrong thing to do? I want a family of my own, a normal one."

Her life had been filled with nothing but death, orders, and dangers; therefore, right now, a peaceful and boring routine as a housewife felt like a luxury for her.

However, Rye didn’t see it that way.

"You will be bored out of your mind, River. You are not born to be a housewife and wait for your husband to come home while taking care of the child that is not even yours." Rye shook his head. "You don’t even know him. How could you decide to be with Ranon Leighton after you met him for a few months?"

She knew it would raise a question, but she had no other way to explain how she was so certain about it.

"Why not? I know what I want, and I want this."

"No, you don’t know." Rye was still in denial; he was disappointed with River’s decision. "Are you afraid of death now? Because you just returned from it? I don’t remember raising you that way."

"You didn’t raise me to be afraid of death, yes, but you have never been dead before, Uncle; you have never gone through that, so your version of death is not valid for me," River replied. "This is my final decision, Uncle. I am not going to change it. I tell you about this first because I respect you as much as I respect my father."

"You make a wrong decision, River," Rye said regretfully. "You will regret it one day."

River smiled softly. "I don’t think I will."

She missed a few months of Ashlyn’s life, and she regretted it. It was something that she couldn’t make up, but then she still had a few years ahead of her.

"River, answer me truthfully. Are you serious with him? Ranon Leighton? Are you going to throw it away for him?"

"I don’t throw anything away, Uncle. This is life. People come and go. There is always an expiration date for everything, even for someone’s life, and this is the expiration date for my life as River Lozen."

Rye stared at River. It was hard to believe that the fierce woman that he knew, someone with a dangerous look on her face who would kill her enemy without even batting an eye, had this gentle look on her face.

"I hope you make the right decision," Rye finally said. "But you have to be the one who breaks the news to the others."

"Of course." River had prepared herself for this because it would be the hardest part. "About Bryer..." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"I will take care of the child," Rye said.

River would not be surprised if Rye raised Bryer the way he raised her, since he still wanted to live up to the Lozen’s name.