Accidentally Yours, Mr. Stranger-Chapter 84: Helplessness

At that moment, Dane and Celia had no idea about the rumors flaming outside. They only had each other in their eyes. More like Celia did, Dane was merely entertaining her.

"Dane, why didn’t you help me get out of the police station?" Celia pouted as if she had been greatly wronged. Her eyes reddened, and she sniffed softly, portraying herself as weak and having suffered a lot.

Having seen through her acts, Dane rolled his eyes to himself. ’This woman should have been an actress. The world would surely be enthralled by her performance. She’s in the wrong profession.’

"Celia, sweetheart, I had told your father that I wasn’t in the city when the incident happened. Didn’t I send one of my colleagues to help you?" Dane lied conveniently. Not only had he been in the city, but he had even plotted different ways to seduce Sienna. But Celia didn’t need to know that.

"Do you know what that woman did to me?" Before Dane, Celie didn’t use any crude or vulgar words, appearing prim and proper. She had to leave the best impression on him. "How could she do this to me? Aren’t we family? If Grand Uncle were alive, he’d be disheartened by what Sienna did."

Dane didn’t think so. After seeing how the Nelson family was attacking Sienna, Sienna’s grandfather would instead be proud of what she was doing. Knowing the old man, Dane had an inkling that he’d also join her and retaliate.

"Why didn’t you pick up my calls after that? I’ve been trying to reach you. I even looked for you at your firm."

"As I said, Celia, I wasn’t in San Francisco, and the place I was at had a really bad network connection."

Dane didn’t even have to crack his head to think of a lie. Celia was easily convinced by his words as if her brain had been kicked by a donkey.

"But don’t ignore me from now onwards, okay? I won’t be able to tolerate it."

Dane nodded, not saying anything.

They went silent when the waiter came to take their orders. After placing the order, they continued their conversation, with Celia doing most of the talking while Dane replied half-heartedly.

"Dane, do you know what’s happening in Sienna’s life?" Celia asked suddenly, startling Dane, and the man looked at her suspiciously.

’Did she find out something? Why is she staring at me with such a probing gaze? Does she know about the will?

Dane rejected the possibility of her knowing about the will as quickly as it had sprang in his mind. Knowing Celia, she wouldn’t have remained mum all this time. The woman had a loose mouth. She’d have asked him the moment he had picked her up at her house.

"I’m not quite sure, Celia. I haven’t contacted her in quite some time." Again, a lie slipped from his mouth.

Celia nodded, contented with his reply.

"By the way, do you know why Grandma wants to meet me today?" Dane asked, caressing her knuckles.

"No. Grandma didn’t say anything about it. She only said she wanted to meet you and discuss something important."

Dane hummed, trying to think of why Celia’s grandmother wanted to meet him. But even after trying for a long time, he couldn’t think of anything.

"How is the company doing? I heard that the Lawrence Group pulled back their investments." Dane wanted to know the status of the company. If Nelson Industries couldn’t sustain the attack and was in trouble, he had to break up with Celia immediately. However, if they could make a comeback somehow, he had to modify his plans a little.

"Grandma and Dad handled it. The company is stable right now," Celia said, without hiding anything from him. She was utterly unguarded against him.

Dane quirked a brow in surprise. Since the Nelson Industries could sustain the Lawrence Group’s attack, it meant the company still had some footing and backing. Perhaps, there was something he didn’t know.

Dane had been with Celia for quite some time and had met her family. Like Celia, her parents were quite easy to read. Although her father was shrewd, it wasn’t to the extent that he could trick him. The man was all bark with little to no action.

It was Celia’s grandmother who had impressed him. The woman wasn’t as simple as she looked. Her calculative eyes hid a lot of stories and Dane was damn sure that the woman wasn’t easy to handle. Perhaps, even Sienna would find it difficult to handle her. It was one of the many reasons why he still entertained Celia.

"That’s good, then. Thankfully, Grandma and Uncle resolved everything quickly." Dane’s tone didn’t give away anything, and Celia didn’t doubt him even once. She kept sipping her cocktail as she looked around the restaurant.

"The place is nice," she said, appreciating the laid back ambiance. It wasn’t as tacky as the other restaurants. Instead, it was meticulously designed and looked elegant, considering it wasn’t meant for luxury dining.

Dane agreed with her on that. He had been to the restaurant a few times and had liked the service and the food. Moreover, he had noticed that the people who dined here were usually rich, although not as rich as Sienna or Celia, but still rich.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Celia asked, returning her focus to him.

"I may have to go to Seattle. I have a meeting with a client," Dane lied again. He had made up his mind to hound Sienna. There was no other way. He couldn’t contact her and wasn’t allowed to visit her in the company. The last remaining straw was to look for her at the Lawrence Estate.

"Oh, may I come with you? We could take it as a mini-vacation."

"Celia..." Before Dane could reply, his phone started ringing, blocking his words. He flashed her an apologetic smile.

Dane frowned when he saw his assistant calling him. Usually, he wouldn’t bother him on weekends. Why is he calling me? Did something happen?

Dane’s heart skipped a beat in apprehension, and he answered the call immediately.

"Mr. Ledger, there are rumors about Miss Nelson and you."

"What?" Dane almost jumped to his feet, but forced himself to remain still. Yet, he couldn’t prevent himself from being baffled.

"Yes, Mr. Ledger. What do you want me to do?"

"Let me take a look."

Dane ended the call and looked at the news about Celia and himself spreading like fire. Celia had been in the headlines quite a few times recently. Since they were both respectable and distinguished people, the news had been forwarded many times.

Dane’s hands trembled, and he almost threw his phone away. How did things come to this? How did they know?

Dane had been as discreet as possible. Every time he met Celia, he had ensured that no one noticed it. Moreover, he always looked for places that had excellent privacy. He even opted for private booths in restaurants to prevent any mishap from happening. Who knew he’d falter this time?

Dane stared at the pictures and realized they were taken after they had entered the restaurant. But how did this happen? How did I not realize someone was taking our photographs?

Dane felt frustrated. He wanted to charge over and demand answers from the restaurant staff. But what would they answer? The restaurant was a public place. Anyone could have photographed him.

Celia’s brows furrowed when he saw Dane’s increasingly dark expression. ’What happened to him suddenly? Is there a problem? Why does he look disturbed all of a sudden?’

Unable to curb her curiosity, she asked, "Dane, is everything alright?"

"Yeah? Yeah, don’t worry." Dane masked his expression with a smile. He dithered, not knowing if he should reveal the matter to her. It wouldn’t make any difference. She’d find out soon.

But what perturbed him was one of the news lines that said marriage between the two was in talks.

’Fuck! How did I not know about it? What do I do now?’ Dane was in a fix. He could neither come forward to refute the rumors, for that would anger the Nelson family, nor could he accept it to be the truth. Doing so would end all his paths to Sienna.

Dane felt his mind explode, and he wanted to shout to blow his steam. All his meticulous plans were crumbling one by one, and he didn’t know how to rectify them.

Suddenly, Celia’s phone rang as well, and Dane started to have a bad feeling about it.

"Dad," Celia chirped, smiling at Dane.

"I’m with Dane."

"What’s wrong?"

"Is it? We didn’t know."

Celia glanced at Dane, who was watching her, listening to her words silently.

"We’ll just accept that we are dating. Anyway, it’s not a lie. Why should we hide it?"

Dane clutched his fingers tightly, feeling the ground below him give way. ’No, no, no, no, this can’t be happening. I cannot allow this to happen.’

Celia spoke for a few more minutes before hanging up.

"Someone has captured our photos and uploaded them on social media," she said, her tone calm and slightly joyous.

"What did Uncle tell you?"

"He just wanted us to be careful. The paparazzi might follow us and look for answers."

"Celia, what..." Dane hesitated. He didn’t know how to raise the matter.

"Dane, let’s go public, shall we?" Celia raised the topic before he did, and Dane’s mind exploded. He pursed his lips thoughtfully, feeling his mind turn chaotic.

"Celia, I..."

"What’s wrong?" Celia frowned when she saw how sickly the man looked. "Why do you look so pale?"

Dane shook his head, swallowing his words. He picked up the glass of water and emptied more than half of it.

"I was just surprised by the turn of events. That’s it." He mustered a smile, which came out more like a grimace.

"Dad wants us to go back early. He wants to discuss this matter with you."

Dane nodded and took another sip of water. ’If I find out who spread the news about me, I’ll kill him.’

Meanwhile, the person who spread the news was enjoying her time in the club with her friends.