Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 307: RIVER

Today, River would be discharged, but she still couldn’t find a way to escape the hospital due to the very tight security around her. She was annoyed beyond words.

Rafael came with a bag full of clothes and a very sweet smile on his face. "We will go home now!" He said cheerfully.

"That’s not my home," River said sharply. She glanced at the bag; she was not interested at all in seeing what was inside.

"Technically, you don’t have a home anymore, but I am generous enough to open my door for you." Rafael nudged the bag toward her. "I bought all the clothes that you may like; try them on."

River took the bag. "Thanks."

"If you are happy enough to give me a kiss, I don’t mind it." Rafael then opened his arms widely. "Or a hug will be wonderful as well."

River rolled her eyes dramatically as she walked toward the bathroom to change her hospital gown. "In your dream."

"Oh, you don’t have any idea what I dream about you, River." Rafael grinned from ear to ear, which made River slam the door harder than necessary, but it didn’t dampen his mood; if anything, he cackled at her attitude.

Inside the bathroom, River crumpled the dress in her hand, imagining she was strangling Rafael. "Argh! Annoying!"

However, she couldn’t stay there for long. She would have to go out and return with Rafael to his house.

River was trying to remember Rafael’s house, but she didn’t have enough recollection, since she didn’t come frequently.

Unlike the McKennas’ or the Barlowe family’s houses, where she grew up with those families, River had no idea of the layout of the Scar family’s house.

"Calm down." River closed her eyes to calm herself. "You got this. You will find a way."

River undressed herself and put on the dress. She tied her long, black hair. Somehow, she missed the curls and how Ranon liked to play with her hair. He insisted on her not cutting it and even went to the extent of washing her hair.

She missed that moment badly.

Once River was done, she went out of the bathroom while Rafael was on the phone. He hung up when she walked in and beamed at the sight of her. He put down his phone and walked toward her, but he stopped when River gave him a warning look.

"You are beautiful."

Rafael had complimented her beauty countless times, even when River had not yet washed her hair for days.

"I know," River replied lightly, which made him laugh. "Let’s go?"

However, someone knocked on the door, and a man poked his head in to ask for Rafael’s attention. "Can you come here for a while, Mr. Scar? There is something important."

"For a minute, I will come back," he said to River.

"You don’t have to come back, if you ask me."

"Oh, I can’t make you miss me." Rafael winked playfully at River. No matter how harsh the words River said, they had never offended him, not even in the slightest. River wondered how thick his face was.

After that, Rafael walked out of the room, leaving River alone.

And once he left, River’s eyes fell on Rafael’s phone on the table. Without hesitation, River approached the phone and noticed that it needed a password. It was not a problem, though, because River knew it.

Rafael had opened his phone recklessly in front of her, and she had memorized it, thinking it would be useful, and she was right about that, though.

Her hands were slightly trembling. She didn’t remember Ranon’s phone number, but she remembered his office number.

And when she called, it was Valerie who picked up the phone. Even hearing her voice brought tears to River’s eyes. She felt like she was being choked.

"May I know who you are, Miss?" Valerie asked in her business-like tone.

River was flustered for a moment because she didn’t know what name she should give her. Who was she?

"Ha... River. Tell him that River wants to speak to him."

River could imagine how Valerie frowned when she asked her next question. "Do you have an appointment with Mr. Leighton?"

Valerie was not familiar with the name River.

"No. I don’t have."

"I am sorry, but you have to make an appointment first. I am afraid Mr. Leighton is not available at the moment. May I know where you are from?"

River cursed herself because she couldn’t think of a way to give the right answer. Her mind must have dulled because she didn’t use it for long.

But before she could find a way to get to Ranon, she heard the handle of the door rattling. The door was slightly ajar, so River could hear the end of the conversation between Rafael and his man.

And without a second thought, River immediately hung up the call. A second later, Rafael entered the room.

"Let’s go."

"Mhm." River nodded. She put the phone in her pocket. Rafael must have forgotten about it. She would try it again later.

***

"What is it?" Lucian asked when he walked with Ranon to enter his office. He saw Valerie hang up the phone with a frown. "Problem?"

"No," Valerie replied. "Only a strange phone call."

"Strange?" Lucian perched on Valerie’s desk. "What do you mean by strange?"

"Someone called Mr. Leighton, but she didn’t say where she was from."

From behind, Ares tugged his ear to enter the office, as if he were a child. "We have a meeting; it’s not a time for flirting." If Ares let him be, Lucian could perch on Valerie’s desk until he laid his eggs.

"Ah! Stop it!" Lucian pushed Ares away. "She said someone called Ranon."

"So many people call him. Who is it this time?" Ares asked casually. He was not interested at all.

"If I am not mistaken, her name is... River, but she didn’t tell me what company she was from when she suddenly hung up the phone," Valerie replied and immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere. "What is it?"

"Who? What’s her name?"

Lucian and Ares immediately tensed up. They stopped joking around while Ranon had his back against them. He stopped from entering his room, and his hand was on the handle of the door.

"River."

Ranon turned around and approached Valerie. His expression was very cold. "What did she say?"

"She... She asked for you, Mr. Leighton," Valerie replied, stuttering a little. She pressed her back against her leather chair, slightly afraid of the way Ranon looked at her. "Did you... wait for her phone call, Mr. Leighton?"

Valerie searched in her memories, trying to find something she had missed. Probably Ranon had instructed her something about someone named River, but she couldn’t find any.

"What else did she say?"

Valerie repeated her brief interaction with River. "That’s all; that’s what she said before she suddenly hung up the call."

Silence ensued; none of them said anything as they were deep in their own thoughts. Even Valerie didn’t dare to interrupt or ask any questions.

For Ares and Lucian, River was only the daughter of Arthur, someone who had gone missing and been assumed dead.

But for Ranon, that name meant something more.

"Where are you going?" Ares asked as he hastily followed when he saw Ranon go in the opposite direction from his office.

***

"He is..." River was shocked when she saw Archie. He was sitting under the bushes as if trying to hide himself.

"Oh, he is a new friend for Ariel. I just purchased him a few weeks ago." Rafael shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "He caused quite a ruckus for a few families. I will tell you the story later."

River touched her forehead. Of course, Archie’s disappearance was the start of all this. "Purchased him?"

"Someone kidnapped him, but his family didn’t want to pay the ransom, so they sold him on the black market to get something."

Rafael simplified the situation so much that it strayed from the truth.

"If I cut him open, I will get more benefit, but he is the same age as Ariel, and I think it’s a good thing for him to be her friend. Let’s see. If Ariel doesn’t like him, I will go with the original plan, but if she likes him, well... I can keep him."

Ariel was Rafael’s niece, and River knew how much he doted on her.

"He is not a toy," River growled at him angrily.

Rafael chuckled. "If you like him, I will give him to you." He then approached Archie. "What are you doing here?"

Archie lifted his head. "Playing hide and seek," he said in a small voice.

River couldn’t believe she had finally met Logan’s son under these circumstances.

After that, Rafael took River into his house. He had prepared a room for her next to his. "If you need me, I will be right beside you. I don’t mind if you want to move into my bed."

"Find another joke; this one will never land."

Once River was alone, the first thing she did was to check for any hidden cameras or tapping devices inside the room, especially in the bathroom. Of course, River wouldn’t be surprised if Rafael had done that to her.

But thankfully, Rafael was decent enough not to do that.

"Ranon is also decent," River murmured, contradicting herself, because Ranon did put tapping devices in her bedroom.

Later that night, River found a way to talk to Archie.

"Do you want to see your mother?"