Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 273: YOUR ENEMY IS VERY CLOSE
"We can postpone the meeting," Ranon said, as he watched Hazel braid Ashlyn’s long hair. She put a cute pink ribbon on when she tied it.
"No, I want to go now; I am fine." Hazel didn’t feel any discomfort anymore. It had been ten days since they kidnapped Arlo, and it meant there were ten days of delay to get things done. She couldn’t postpone it any longer.
According to the report she received, the Barlowes and the McKennas were not on good terms. The fallout between them was predictable. To be honest, the two families were not good for each other, as they didn’t know how to compromise.
In the past, the Lozens often acted as mediators to smooth things over between the two families when their goals and perspectives clashed.
Therefore, the fact that they were able to tolerate each other for this long was a significant achievement for them.
The street was not safe either, as the Barlowes continued to search for Ranon or the Lozens’ men. It was obvious that they were responsible for the job.
"Pretty!" Ashlyn looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"Of course, people say you are a copy of me; of course, you are pretty!" Hazel squeezed Ashlyn’s body and peppered her chubby cheeks with kisses as the little girl squalled in delight.
"Mama’s pretty too," she said.
"No, I am sexy."
"Sexy?" Ashlyn blinked her eyes. "What’s sexy?"
"Don’t teach her weird words." Ranon picked Ashlyn up. "It’s time to eat."
"No, bocolli. No bocolli for Ash." Ashlyn covered her mouth with her hands.
Yesterday, Renna cooked one for her, and she didn’t like it.
Hazel followed them out. Ashlyn had gotten used to sleeping in her bedroom alone now, but sometimes, Hazel missed having her bum on her face when she woke up.
After Ranon handed Ashlyn over to Peni, both of them left.
They wouldn’t come back for at least two days. Hazel informed Laurel about this plan, and of course, she took the opportunity to stay over, but she would come later.
Laurel wouldn’t give up a chance to spend her time alone with Ashlyn.
Aspen City was three cities away from Talbar City. So at least it would take them three hours to reach their destination.
This time, Ranon would drive alone with Hazel. The couple set off after lunch and arrived around evening.
They had informed Desgar and Arthur about their arrival, so when they stepped into the building, they were already waiting for them.
On their way here, Hazel had been trying to act normal, but the thought of meeting Aubrey and Arlo in this situation was still on the back of her mind, which gave her agitation.
Especially when Hazel saw her now. Aubrey was standing a few steps away from them with Bryer in her arms. The little boy hugged Aubrey’s neck. He looked curiously at Hazel and Ranon.
"Yes, and we have..."
Hazel tuned out Arthur’s explanation because Aubrey decided that it was time to walk over and approach them.
"Can I have a moment with you?" Aubrey asked, interrupting her father’s words. All of them looked at her with a frown. She should know better than to insert herself into this conversation.
"Aubrey, go back to your room."
For a moment, Hazel wanted to laugh because it reminded her of the past. When River and Arthur were discussing business, Aubrey would find a way to interrupt them, asking for their father’s attention.
At times, Arthur would entertain her, but other times, when it was a critical matter, he would say the same line, telling her to go back to her room.
How odd it was to still find a familiar thing in this unfamiliar environment.
"It’s okay, you can continue with your discussion; I will talk to her," Hazel said. She stepped away from them. Ranon brushed his hand against her when she walked past him.
Aubrey followed Hazel to one of the empty rooms on the second floor. She was still hugging Bryer.
"I will call someone to get him." Hazel nodded to Bryer. She felt uncomfortable having a murderous thought around a child, especially this one around Ashlyn’s age.
"It’s okay, he will not interrupt. He doesn’t like to be with a stranger." Aubrey’s voice softened when she talked about her son.
Hazel didn’t know how to feel about this. This was the baby that pushed Aubrey to kill River for Arlo so she could win him over, but things had turned out like this... Hazel didn’t think Aubrey cared about Arlo that much anymore.
At least Aubrey genuinely loved her son.
"What do you want to talk about?" Hazel thought of another way to kill her and justify her actions to make Bryer an orphan. After all, she was not going to spare Arlo either.
However, no matter how she tried to find the right words to justify it, she still felt awful. Damn it, she grew soft.
"First of all, I want to thank you. If it’s not for you, my child and I will still be trapped with the Barlowes."
It was a surprise. Aubrey had never thanked anyone, and she would blame everyone. But this woman in front of her had lowered her ego and said those things to her.
If it had been in the past, her teeth must have been hurt from thanking someone.
But life seemed to have its way of humbling her.
"Also, I apologize for the way I acted in the past. Our few interactions were not pleasant at all."
Hazel was not used to such sentimental statements, nor to Aubrey’s newfound sentimentality. She preferred Aubrey’s arrogant self because she found her easier to handle.
"Get straight to the point. What do you want? I didn’t come here to hear your confession."
Aubrey pressed her lips. It seemed so hard for her to get the words out. "I heard you are going to kill me. Is there a way for you to change that?" She didn’t want to go to the Raven family.
Arthur sent her there because Hazel would exact River’s vengeance. If she could convince her...
Unfortunately, convincing someone like Hazel was not Aubrey’s forte.
"No, there is no way. If you have a way to bring River back, I will reconsider that."
Hazel eyed Bryer. He clutched his mother tightly as he sucked his thumb.
"The only reason why I didn’t kill you back then and now is because of your son. I am a mother myself. I won’t kill you—at least not in front of your son—so don’t get the wrong idea that you’ll be spared after what you did to River."
"What is River to you anyway? Why do you have to take revenge on her behalf?" Aubrey turned her body slightly, as if to cover for her son.
Hazel felt so tired; was it because of her illness the other day? "It doesn’t matter what River is to me; killing someone just because you want to steal their man is never okay, no matter how you try to justify it."
Hazel walked over; her expression was unreadable, and Aubrey felt a great sense of danger.
***
"You look so desperate to know who the person is who ordered the hit on you," Arlo snickered, but then he coughed up blood, and his breathing was labored after he had taken a lot of beatings.
His left fingers were twisted at different angles, which made it look so painful. Blood spilled on the floor, and the room was rather humid.
Inside the room, there were only the two of them. Ranon didn’t want Desgar or Arthur to interfere, as he took this matter personally.
Meanwhile, Arlo was no longer tied up, but even so, his chance to escape was close to zero. He was only being fed enough to keep him alive.
His lips were chapped. Within ten days of his capture, Arlo Barlowe had changed so much that he was unrecognizable. His eyes filled with murderous intent as he watched Ranon approach him.
"Who is it?" Ranon crouched down, grabbed Arlo by his hair, and then slammed his face against the wall. He broke two of his teeth.
Arlo slurred his train of curses, as he couldn’t talk properly. Ranon broke not only his teeth but also his nose. Blood kept oozing out from his nostrils.
"Who is it?" Ranon asked again; he didn’t even change his expression or his tone of voice. He glanced down at Arlo’s leg, which still bore the wound from when Hazel had stabbed him the other day.
Arlo was still undergoing treatment for that, and now he limped whenever he was too tired to walk.
Well, Ranon could fix that for him. He could forget to walk at all.
This time, Ranon rose to his feet and stomped on Arlo’s leg with such force that you could hear a loud cracking sound from it. It was followed by Arlo’s scream of agony.
At this point, Ranon didn’t seem to care to hear his answer. He asked the question fully knowing that Arlo wouldn’t respond to anything and would use that as an excuse to torment him.
"Fuck you... Fuck you, Ranon! If it’s not me, someone will get to you and kill you eventually!" Arlo wailed. He felt nothing but pain, and he couldn’t move his left leg. "You will never survive this, Ranon! You don’t know who your enemy is."
Ranon stood there, staring at him as though he were boring entertainment.
"You don’t know that your enemy is very close."
