Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 264: GOOD MATCH FOR EACH OTHER

Hazel went to the hospital where Rye was admitted, while Ranon went to check the factory with Ares and Dalton.

With Nolu gone and Yara still recuperating, Elric became Hazel’s main bodyguard. The other seven bodyguards still accompanied her, but they generally kept their distance from her.

"How is he?" Hazel asked Arthur, who was sitting on a chair next to Rye’s bed.

"Still alive," Arthur replied. He looked exhausted. There was a graze wound on his cheek. It must be a rough night for them.

"Tell me what happened?" Hazel got a chair to sit on the other side of Rye’s bed. The man was still sedated, so it would be a while before he came around, and Hazel needed to get as many details as possible.

She hated to be a sitting duck.

"What else to say? They came in full force." Arthur rubbed his face roughly and then slouched in his chair.

"Do you recognize the people?"

"The Denvers, without a doubt. I saw some men that I recognized." Arthur pulled down his hands and then looked at Hazel. "It’s all on the media now," he said with irritation. He was not used to working under the spotlight; this was not how he carried out missions.

"Things have changed." Hazel crossed her arms. "We need to change the game as well. We will not play by their rules."

Arthur stared at Hazel for a long moment before he chuckled. "And you said you were not River."

In a time of peace, Hazel could easily pretend to be someone else. However, during critical moments like this, her true self would inevitably emerge to the surface.

And the more Arthur talked to her, the more he felt as if he was talking to his daughter. They had gone through countless discussions like this one in the past.

Hazel wouldn’t be able to keep her pretense if she wanted to speak about strategy.

"I assume you will receive the results of our test soon. By that time, you will have your answer." Hazel felt completely unconcerned. There was not a chance she could possibly be related to Arthur, regardless of how many tests were conducted.

"I know." Arthur seemed to know the result of the test even before he received it, but his gut feeling told him otherwise. How could Hazel look so much like River while she was not?

Probably his mind was playing tricks on him.

***

"Close it down," Ranon said after Ares outlined the estimated timeline for the renovations needed before the factory could resume operations in business.

"Do you want to close it down?" Ares raised his brows. It did make sense to close it down, though; this factory only gave them little profit after being set on fire twice.

"The contract with the Barlowes will be terminated," Ranon said.

"Are you sure? We are going to pay a hefty amount of compensation."

"No, they are the ones who will terminate the contract."

Ares furrowed his brows. "How are you going to do that?"

"We are going to sue them."

"On what ground?" Most of the time, Ares couldn’t comprehend what was going on in Ranon’s mind.

"They are responsible for the electricity; the cause of the fire is the short circuit from their job."

"But it’s an arson."

"No, it’s not."

Ares wanted to argue, but then he understood what Ranon was trying to do. It was an arson because someone said so, as he was the only witness. But then you could change the circumstance if you made an adjustment here and there.

After that, Ranon called Hazel, who had finished her discussion with Arthur. They exchanged information as well as what they were going to do next.

"Does he always discuss everything with his wife?" Dalton asked Ares as they watched Ranon smile when he was listening to whatever his wife was saying.

"Yeah," Ares replied, feeling unsure.

"This woman is different from the previous one." Dalton knew about Ema, but not as much as Ares and Lucian did. "I think this one suits him better."

Ares didn’t want to admit it, but Dalton was right. Hazel was a great help to them, as she handled the other problems. It would be too much for Ranon to take on all the problems on his own while having a target on his back.

"He looks happier, too," Dalton noticed. "You know how he used to look back then. He used to look like this." Dalton made a frowning face and then laughed, while Ares furrowed his brows. "Well, good for him to find the one."

***

"You know what you are doing," Elric said.

It wasn’t a question, but a statement. This made Hazel unsure how to respond. She just hung up the call with Ranon.

"Yes...?" Hazel looked at him. "Of course, I know. I will not play with this kind of thing."

Elric raised both of his arms. "I meant it as a compliment. Don’t take it wrong."

They met several times, but this time they would interact with each other a lot more, since Elric was assigned to be with her.

"Don’t worry, I know what you are thinking. You are not the first person who got that impression of me," Hazel chuckled, as both of them walked to the lobby where the car had been waiting for them. "So, tell me more about Ranon."

Elric sighed. "I have told you everything, and I have just worked for a few days for you."

"Maybe there is something that you forgot." Hazel shrugged her shoulders.

She had been hunting Elric down with questions about Ranon. She wanted to know more about him. At first, Elric thought it was sweet and cute for her to want to know more about her husband’s past.

But now, it didn’t sound cute anymore. She looked almost obsessed.

"What is wrong with obsessing over my husband?" Hazel replied offhandedly.

Both of them entered the car. Because of what had happened previously, Ranon took measures to make sure two people stayed in the car and waited, just in case the enemy tried to do the same trick again.

"That’s a good thing, I guess." Elric was unsure.

Hazel laughed when she heard that. "Don’t worry, Ranon has a worse obsession about me, too. We are a good match for each other."

Elric didn’t know how to respond to that, but it sounded very... toxic.

***

"He sued us?" Arlo was on the phone with his lawyer when he learned about the lawsuit from Ranon for the burned factory. "Is he crazy?"

Arlo closed his eyes. He was upset beyond words. He talked some more before he hung up the call, and his mood worsened.

This was what Jack meant when he said that he was not mentally stable enough to handle the dark side of their business. Therefore, he trained Michael to take over.

.

Not to mention, Michael was not only willing to learn, but he was also going to be on a mission, too.

Arlo was upset with that.

When he was steaming mad with the news, someone knocked on the door, and he heard Bryer’s voice. The boy was able to walk now, but his words were still incomprehensible.

"Fuck, where is Aubrey?" Arlo stood up and then limped toward the door. He hated his limp. It became more visible when he was tired, and by this time, he had not yet slept well for a few days.

Not only because he had a lot to take care of, but also because his heart was heavy even when he was sleeping. He was restless.

Arlo opened the door and found the little boy grinning at him.

"Dada... up." Bryer raised both of his arms, while Arlo only stared at him. He didn’t have any particular feelings toward his own son.

Because every time he saw him, he saw a living, breathing mistake that he had made.

If only he hadn’t done what he had done, would things be different?

"Where is your mother?" Arlo bent down and picked Bryer up in his arms as he walked toward his nursery room.

Inside, he found Aubrey was sleeping inside the playpen; she looked exhausted. At the corner of her lips, Arlo saw a small cut. It must be because his mother slapped her again.

His mother had been very harsh on her. Arlo had asked Becca to tone it down, but it seemed she didn’t listen.

When Arlo entered the room, Aubrey was jolted awake. She immediately looked around to find Bryer until her eyes fell on Arlo and her son.

"Oh, I must have fallen asleep..." Aubrey rubbed her face. She stood up and took Bryer from Arlo’s arms.

"Pack your things and Bryer’s; we are going to leave."

"Where?" Aubrey was surprised, especially when Arlo wanted to take Bryer too. He had been very absent as a father since the beginning.

"We are going to live in my house."

***

Hazel just returned, and she was taking a bath when she heard someone open the door to the bathroom, and she watched Ashlyn waddle inside.

"I am taking a shower. Go and play with Renna," Hazel said as she washed her hair.

However, Ashlyn laughed and then walked toward her, getting herself wet.

"No, Ashlyn." But it was too late. "Ugh, now I have to bathe you, too."

Hazel couldn’t be angry with her when Ashlyn kissed her cheek as she lifted her daughter. Ashlyn was very affectionate as a child.

"Bubble... bubble..." Ashlyn touched Hazel’s hair and played with the bubbles.