Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 298: BARGAINING

"How long has he been like this?" Laurel asked Cam as she turned off the video.

There, Hazel was smiling beautifully, as Ranon stared at his new wife. Hazel was in the early stage of pregnancy. It was less than three years ago, and now they wouldn’t see her smile again.

Laurel pressed her lips. She was grieving, too.

Even though Laurel and Hazel wouldn’t admit it, they were like sisters to each other. Hazel had supported Laurel through the worst moment of her life, and she would do the same for Ranon in his time of need.

"I am not sure. When I started being in charge, Mr. Leighton had already trashed the place." Cam felt extremely guilty, too, because he was the last person who was with Mrs. Leighton. He was the only person who survived aside from Ashlyn, while the others died.

He felt guilty because he was alive now, since his duty was to protect her.

"Help me get him to the bedroom."

"I think Mr. Leighton thrashed the bedrooms, too."

Laurel grimaced. She went to the guest bedrooms because she felt it was too personal if she entered Ranon and Hazel’s.

However, just like what Cam said. The four guest bedrooms were completely trashed. There were shards of shattered bottles and glasses there.

It seemed Ranon drank heavily and started to destroy everything he could see, including these rooms.

Yet, when Laurel went to the master bedroom, which was Ranon and Hazel’s, she found it untouched. Everything was still in its place.

The bed was a little bit crumpled from when Hazel sat there before she left. Her jacket was draped over the sofa.

Nothing had changed. It was as if time had not touched this area, and Hazel was still there, her faint perfume lingering.

Laurel took a deep breath; she felt her chest was heavy.

If she felt this way, she couldn’t imagine how Ranon was feeling right now. All of her anger disappeared. It was fortunate that Ashlyn was not here to see this mess or to witness her father’s inability to function.

"Help me bring him here," Laurel said with a heavy voice.

Ranon was a big man, and Cam had just recovered, so he asked someone else to help. Both of them took Ranon to his bedroom and laid him down.

He was completely wasted. He didn’t even stir, which made him vulnerable. If there was another traitor and they found Ranon in this state, then it would be their golden opportunity to finish him off, especially at a time like this.

They had still not managed to get Gayle Lennox, and they were in a tight battle against the McKennas and the Denvers.

Issabella Duncan was still within their grasp, and they would use her to lure her brother out. Their informant said there was tension between Axel Duncan and Deryl McKenna because the former had shot Olivia, and she was still in a coma.

Meanwhile, it was not like Ranon was unaware of the situation and how dangerous it was for him to completely black out, but from the look of it, he simply didn’t care.

Once Ranon had been laid down, Laurel called someone to clean up the place. She hid all of the alcohol, since she knew how bad it was to get out of an addiction when you were grieving.

You would think that being blacked out would help, but actually, it didn’t. It would only let you sink deeper...

It was the least Laurel could do for Ranon, for Hazel...

***

Ranon stretched out his arm to feel the side of the bed. He could sense Hazel’s scent, and for a second, he thought it was only a bad dream, and when he opened his eyes, he would find his wife lying there and sleeping soundly, snuggling next to him.

However, Ranon found an empty spot. It was cold, but her scent was there. She was close...

Opening his eyes, Ranon found himself in the bedroom that he had been dreading to enter, because everything was surreal. Every corner of this place held memories of her, and he couldn’t handle it.

The pillows, the jacket on the sofa, the wardrobe door that was slightly ajar... Everything was a trace of her.

The pain was overwhelming.

And then the torture began...

What if he had done it differently? He might have been able to prevent what happened, and he wouldn’t have lost his wife.

What if he was adamant not to help Logan, or he stayed with her instead of going to the Leighton family’s house to confront Daniel?

Ranon could have asked someone else to do the interrogation instead. He didn’t need to come personally.

What if he had made a different plan? Storming the Barlowes and the McKennas, killing them all, and killing Daniel in the end so that he wouldn’t put a hit on his head any longer.

What if...

And the torture continued.

There were a thousand what-ifs that Ranon could think of, and each of them only worsened his guilt and let him sink deeper into a dark place.

Ranon got up. He was overwhelmed. His senses told him that Hazel was still here with him. If he waited a little bit longer, she would surprise him.

She was always full of surprises. She was capable of doing the thing that he thought she wouldn’t be able to.

She would come back...

Ranon only needed to wait a little bit longer...

But what if...

And the torture began...

***

"Where is he?" Laurel asked Alen as she entered the penthouse and couldn’t find Ranon anywhere, while Alen was standing there awkwardly.

"Mr. Leighton asked to get your key. He doesn’t want you to come here again."

Laurel raised her brows defiantly and crossed her arms. "He doesn’t want me to see Ashlyn again? He forbids me from coming over again?"

Alen had been Laurel’s personal bodyguard for some time, so he knew her well enough that she wouldn’t hand over the key.

"No, that’s not what Mr. Leighton meant. He only forbids you to come to the penthouse. You are free to see Ashlyn," Alen immediately explained.

Ashlyn and Renna lived two floors below. Ranon had given Peni a pension with a handsome amount of money so she would resign, because he didn’t want someone else around his daughter.

At least he still cared for her, even though it had been a month since he saw Ashlyn. The poor little girl was confused because she couldn’t find her mother, and now her father was not around either.

Laurel really wanted to kick Ranon in the butt.

"Where is he?" Laurel ignored his request.

"I don’t know, but I think he went there..." Alen grimaced when Laurel was fuming mad.

"Again?!"

***

Ranon was sitting on the hood of his car. He was smoking and drinking. His shirt was crumpled, and his hair was unkempt because of the wind.

Ranon needed to have his hair cut, but he refused to do it because Hazel was the one who did it last time.

He stared at the river before him. It was so placid, but people said the undercurrent of this river was quite turbulent. After all, this was the biggest river in Aspen City.

"You shouldn’t be here alone; the McKennas’ people are everywhere."

Dalton received a call from Laurel, who informed him that Ranon had driven to Aspen again. If Ranon was in town and didn’t come to see Desgar and Arthur to discuss their plan, then he was definitely there for another reason: he would be here.

On the other hand, Ranon didn’t even startle when Dalton suddenly spoke and came to approach him.

"Your sister is worried about you," Dalton said as he tried to take the bottle from Ranon’s hand, but Ranon glared at him, which stopped his attempt to take it away. "We have information from the McKennas."

Only then did Ranon deign to give him a glance, prompting Dalton to speak.

"Olivia passed away an hour ago. The shot was aimed at her head; it is a miracle she was still able to hold this long."

Ranon glanced away again; the news didn’t interest him.

"Why do you keep coming back here? What are you looking for?" Dalton asked again after a long silence, since his news didn’t get Ranon’s attention.

There was no reply.

Dalton tried hard to think of something else, but then Ranon spoke.

"If I wait a little bit longer, she will come."

From the sound of it, Ranon was talking to himself rather than to Dalton. He was deep in his mind.

"She will not come, Ranon. She has gone. It has been a month." Dalton felt bad for him.

Ranon was barely holding it together. A week after Hazel’s death, he started coming to the company, trying to juggle between his business responsibilities and his quest for revenge. However, during that time, he felt at a loss. He had lost his anchor, the one person who kept him grounded.

Daniel and Logan were still alive. Ranon had not yet touched them, but Dalton wouldn’t be surprised if Ranon dealt with them once his matter with the McKennas ended.

After another two hours, Dalton finally managed to make Ranon leave. He was going to drive Ranon back to Talbar City.

On his way, he remembered something that Laurel told him.

"Laurel told me to remind you that next week is Ashlyn’s birthday."

Ranon knew. He didn’t need a reminder...

He was currently on the phone, staring at the red dot; it was moving because the rings were in his pocket, and every time he saw the dot, he would think she was nearby. She was close...