Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 280: GAYLE MADE A MOVE

Ranon still kept himself busy in the study. He only came out to play with Ashlyn for a while before burying himself in his work again.

Hazel knew he did this so he could avoid the necessary thing he had to do. The confrontation with Daniel was unavoidable, but Ranon still tried to come to terms with the fact that his brother was the one who ordered the hit on him.

A few times, Hazel wanted to discuss this with Ranon because they used to talk about everything and plan their next move together.

However, this time, Hazel was hesitant. She didn’t want to bother him with his own thoughts, yet at the same time, they couldn’t delay this matter for too long.

Even so, Hazel didn’t know where to start. Handling emotional situations was not her forte.

"Are you two fighting?" Renna asked as she approached Hazel, who was sitting in the kitchen drinking her cucumber juice, while Peni played with Ashlyn in the living room.

"Hm? No." Hazel gulped down the remaining juice and put the empty glass in the sink.

"Mr. Leighton has been staying inside the study since yesterday, and you look so distraught." Renna approached Hazel again. "If you have a problem, you need to talk it out. It is better to talk about it sooner than later."

Hazel wanted to brush it off again, but then she changed her mind. "It’s not me who has a problem. It’s Ranon, but I don’t know how to approach him to open up with me." Hazel grimaced as she admitted it. "I don’t know what to say."

Renna was relieved when she heard there was no problem between Hazel and Ranon’s relationship, because she really cherished the two of them.

"You don’t need to say anything. You only need to be there for him." Renna patted Hazel’s head. "Both of you have been married for almost two years now; you have learned a thing or two about him. If there is someone who can make him feel comfortable, it will be you."

Renna knew that Ranon wasn’t close with his siblings. She didn’t know the details or extent of their relationship since Ranon barely spoke to Laurel when she came over unless it was necessary.

"Go and be with him. Did he say he didn’t want you to be there?" Hazel shook her head. "Good, unless he says otherwise, you can accompany him. He may not say anything, but he still needs the comfort of his wife. Go."

Hazel was hesitant; she was not sure whether Renna’s advice was a good one, but after some persuasion, Hazel thought there was no harm in trying. If Ranon told her to leave him alone, then she would do it.

With that, Hazel went to his study and sat down in front of him, since she didn’t know what to do or what to say. She wanted to bring up the confrontation with Daniel, but it sounded very callous and insensitive to Ranon’s feelings.

"Do you want to say something?" Ranon put away his laptop and gave all of his attention to Hazel. His wife had been staring at him for at least five minutes without saying anything.

"I am not sure what I have to say, but Renna says that it’s good to keep you company when you are upset, even though I don’t know what to say. I am worried about you."

Ranon chuckled. He waved his hand for Hazel to come over to him. "I am fine. I am sorry to make you worried."

Hazel sat down on his lap, her favorite spot.

"Do you want to talk about Daniel?" Ranon saw Hazel nod. "I will confront him, but not now. I am not ready." Ranon rested his head on her shoulder, and Hazel caressed his nape out of instinct.

"Everything will be alright; we will face it together."

"Hm. Thank you." Ranon was quiet for a long moment before he spoke again. "Daniel is the only person that I thought of as family."

"You have me and Ashlyn; we are your family now. And the people who care about you. Lucian and Ares, and also the people with Desgar."

Ranon chuckled. "You are right."

Hazel was glad that Ranon was receptive to her. However, before they could talk more about how to confront Daniel, they heard a commotion outside. It made the two of them leap to their feet and rush out of the room.

Their first instinct was that someone had managed to break the security. The worst possibility that could happen was that Gayle decided to attack them now.

However, when they were outside, it was actually Logan, who had barged in, looking for Hazel and Ranon.

"What’s the meaning of this, Logan?!" Hazel was frustrated as her heart settled back in. There was no harm to her baby.

"They took my son! They took Archie!"

"What?" Hazel was confused. "Who is Archie? You have a son?" She then remembered the conversation that she overheard the other night.

Meanwhile, Ranon knew Gayle had started to make his move.

***

"How are you feeling?" Michael asked Arlo when he opened his eyes. His brother had been in and out of consciousness for the past few days after his surgery. He suffered a few broken bones, and his fingernails were still bandaged because the nails had not yet covered the tender flesh.

"Awful," Arlo replied in a hoarse voice. He looked around him. He was in a hospital, and there was only his brother there. "How did you get me out of there?"

Arlo was sure he was going to die there. No amount of bargaining could convince Ranon to hand Arlo over to his family.

He lost his consciousness when Hazel left him alone in the room. He lost so much blood after all. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"You don’t need to think about that; you don’t need to worry. We will avenge what they have done to you. We will make them pay a hundred times worse than this." Michael reassured him.

"We? Are the McKennas involved in this, too?" He remembered Ranon telling him that the McKennas had washed their hands of this matter.

Michael scoffed when he heard that. "Fuck that family. I am going to kill every member of that family as well."

Arlo knew his family well enough to tell that they wouldn’t be able to get him out of Ranon’s claws without any help.

"Tell me everything."

"You need to rest."

"Tell me everything."

Arlo insisted. He wouldn’t be able to rest if his curiosity was not sated. In the end, Michael had no other choice but to tell him what actually happened.

The Barlowes’ strong point was their connections. Clients always came from them, and it was Jack who suggested joining forces with the Denvers, which, to some extent, also meant Alex Duncan.

Alex Duncan was quick to respond to that, and Laith Denver listened to her uncle. The Denvers were not as strong as before; however, their power should not be underestimated in the absence of the Lozens.

Not to mention, the Lozens’ decision to side with the Leightons reopened an old grudge between the two families.

"It’s the Lennoxes," Michael said.

Arlo had heard of that organization, but it was not significant enough to pique his interest or pose a threat to the Lozens at that time.

"You know what? Ranon Leighton used to work for the Lennoxes long before he became part of the Leighton family."

"Tell me everything."

***

"You have a son? And no one knows about it?" Hazel furrowed her brows. She looked at Logan intensely, which made her brother uncomfortable. "And you know about his son?" Hazel shifted his attention to Ranon.

"I do." Ranon didn’t have any intention to lie to her.

Meanwhile, Logan didn’t want to be interrogated about Archie. He wanted him to be saved.

"That’s not the point, Hazel!" Logan growled in frustration. He was pacing back and forth in the study, while Hazel was sitting on the sofa, and Ranon leaned against the table with his arms crossed.

"Tell us everything," Ranon said. He frowned because Logan just snapped at his wife.

Logan told them that Archie was playing soccer with his friends in the park near his house. He was used to playing there. But when night fell and Archie didn’t come home, his mother looked for him. She was told that every other kid had gone home.

They thought Archie had gone home as well, since he was used to coming alone, and it had never been a problem before.

"The next day, someone slipped this pic under their door. The CCTV cameras didn’t catch his face, because he was wearing a mask and a baseball cap."

Logan handed over the pic to Hazel.

It was a picture of Archie; they tied him up, and behind the picture, there was a handwritten letter. [Hazel Leighton.]

"Me?" Hazel handed over the picture to Ranon.

When Ranon read the letter behind it, his face darkened. Gayle wanted to play with him. He didn’t ask him directly.

"Please, Hazel. I don’t know what you guys are up to, or who you have offended, but my son doesn’t have anything to do with it."

"Calm down," Hazel said.

"How can I calm down!"

"Raise your voice to my wife once again, and I will kick you out." Ranon’s voice was sharp. He meant it.

Logan gritted his teeth, but he said nothing.

"How old is he?" Hazel saw the picture, and something was odd.

"Nine years old."

"You had him when you were fifteen?"