Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 328: WHY I DON’T HAVE ANY?

"What do you mean by that? Where should we go?" Paxton was the first person to voice his objection when River told them about her decision. "We only have this. You can’t turn away from your family’s legacy!"

"Legacy?" River furrowed her brows. She stared down at Paxton and then looked at the other men in the room. There were at least a hundred of them. "What legacy are you talking about here?"

What they were doing right now was business. They should know that, but most of them thought otherwise.

Arthur took them from the street and trained them. He became a figure that they followed blindly, which was why they were very loyal to him, but even so, Arthur saw their loyalty as a benefit, and River was obvious about that.

"This is the only place for us; where else should we go?" Other men from the crowd asked the question that was on the minds of most of the people present now. "Are you abandoning us?"

River crossed her arms. "I dismiss this organization. I have transferred a good amount of money to your bank accounts; it will be enough for all of you to start a new life."

What she said caused an uproar among them, as they immediately checked their phones. A wave of shock washed over them when they saw the amount in their balance.

Of course, they got a fantastic amount of money, since Ranon tripled the number that River had prepared for them so that they wouldn’t give her a hard time.

If money were the problem here, then it was not a problem to begin with for Ranon.

Seeing the number, the protest died down significantly. Even the twins, who were very vocal about River leaving the organization, were speechless.

River then added her final words. "If you want to stay, you can follow Rye; he will still be in the business."

After those parting words, River walked out of the basement. She climbed the stairs to head toward the backyard garden, where she found Ranon and Ashlyn.

Their little girl was being grumpy; she folded her arms in front of her chest and pursed her lips, while Ranon looked very patient, trying to talk to her.

"What happened?" River approached them. It was rare for Ashlyn to act out; she was an obedient child.

Seeing her mother, Ashlyn immediately rushed toward River and hugged her leg, while Ranon approached her too.

"Children fight," Ranon replied. He kissed River’s cheek.

"Fight? With whom? Bryer?" The only child in this house was Bryer, unless someone brought their child here, which was impossible.

"Yes."

Ranon then told River about what happened. Apparently, Ashlyn was upset because Bryer told her that she didn’t have a mother, either, and that River was not her mother.

"Why did he say that?" River picked Ashlyn up and hugged her protectively. She was upset, while Ashlyn buried her face against her neck, upset, too.

"I don’t know how it started."

"Ugh, that boy!" River was annoyed and was about to find her nephew, but Ranon stopped her. "What?"

"No need to be angry; our daughter has taught him a lesson," he said, and River frowned. "She clawed his face."

Ashlyn lifted her head when Ranon told River what she had done. She pressed her lips, annoyed with her father, and then buried her face again on River’s neck, holding her even tighter.

"She did?" River was surprised.

"Yeah." Ranon caressed Ashlyn’s head, but she swatted his hand away.

They were going to leave after River was done with her business, but she wanted to see Bryer again for the last time.

She didn’t hate the little boy, but seeing him gave her a complicated feeling. Moreover, she believed Rye and Biel would take care of him better. Bryer deserved someone who would care for him genuinely, and River knew she couldn’t be that person.

And while River met with Bryer, Ranon and Ashlyn waited for her in the car. The little girl pressed her face against the car window when River walked away from her, as if she feared being abandoned, though Ranon had assured Ashlyn that River would come back.

Seeing Ashlyn stirred a bittersweet feeling within River. She sensed that Ashlyn was aware that River was her mother, despite their strikingly different appearances. However, River couldn’t help but wonder how Ashlyn came to this realization. What emotions did her daughter have when she realized that?

With that, River entered the house and found Bryer with Biel in his bedroom. The little boy was still crying, and when River saw him, Ranon was right; Bryer had two long scratches on his face.

River remembered she had cut her daughter’s nails a week before; they got long so fast.

"River..." Biel saw River enter the room, and Bryer lifted his head. He looked at River fearfully before he moved closer to Biel.

River walked across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. She looked at the wounds on Bryer’s cheek closely; they were not deep, but they would be sore when they got wet.

"River, don’t be angry; Bryer has apologized to Ashlyn." Biel caressed Bryer’s head.

"I am sorry, Aunty," Bryer said in a small voice. He was still scared to look River in the eyes. "I will not say it again."

"Why did you say that?" River asked gently. Her annoyance disappeared when she saw this little boy. If only she didn’t have complicated feelings about him, she would love to take care of him and raise him with Ashlyn.

However, she knew that she couldn’t look at Bryer without thinking of his parents. She didn’t want this feeling to subconsciously make her treat him unfairly.

Bryer didn’t answer River; he kept his head low, but when River gently caressed his head, he cried again.

"Why does she have a mother and father, and I don’t have any?" Bryer lifted his head and looked at River with tearful eyes.

His eyes reminded River of Aubrey’s, but not the Aubrey that she knew in the past few years. It was Aubrey when she was little, when she looked at her with curiosity and followed her around, calling River her sister.

"Why don’t I have a mother?" Bryer cried even more.

That was a question that River couldn’t answer. His eyes filled with pain, the kind of pain that a child around his age shouldn’t experience.

It would be great if River could take him, since she couldn’t have another child with Ranon, giving Ashlyn a sibling, but... everything was still fresh. And despite the deep sadness for this little boy, River couldn’t bring herself to do that.

It was a commitment that she was not confident about. In the end, letting him be with Rye and Biel was the best decision for all of them.

Biel couldn’t hold back her tears, either; she hugged Bryer tighter. She couldn’t call herself a mother because she looked more like his grandma instead.

And when River returned to the car and her little family, Ranon knew River was a bit down; whatever conversation she had earlier had dampened her mood.

River kissed Ashlyn’s cheeks gently and hugged her without saying anything, as Ranon drove them back home.

***

Greyson was livid when he learned that Ranon had another woman. It was not even a year, but Ranon had someone else? Did he have this relationship before Hazel died?

When Greyson was deep in thought, his phone rang, and he saw on the screen that it was Logan, who was calling him. Logan had been trying to contact him and come home for the past few weeks because he couldn’t access his money to survive out there.

However, Greyson ignored his second son completely. He had closed all of his access to money and used his connections to make Logan unable to get a job.

This would be the last time this son of his caused him trouble. The news about him having a young child had blasted the media and tarnished the family’s name. It took so long for Greyson to fix his image.

Dylan was also furious with it. He had zero contact with his younger brother and threatened to beat him up if he saw him again.

He ignored the phone calls because he was waiting for a report from his subordinate, which came a few seconds later.

In the email, it was the details of who River Lozen was and her relationship with Ranon.

From the report, he could see that River and Ranon had never been in contact, as far as his men knew, but the death in the Lozen family had been a headline for the past few days, and River Lozen was the last family member who survived.

"What?!" Furious, Greyson finally picked up the phone when Logan relentlessly called him for twenty minutes straight.

"I don’t care what you do, but my son is sick!" Logan screamed into the phone from the other end. He was panicked and furious. "I need the money!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Go ask for the money from your stupid friends!" Greyson then hung up the call and took his car key. He didn’t turn off the phone but only silenced it.

Thereafter, he drove to Ranon’s place.

To his annoyance, he saw that the woman was playing with his granddaughter in the living room when he stepped inside.

"Stay away from my granddaughter!" Greyson roared angrily. He hastened his step and immediately carried Ashlyn in his arms. "Get out of this house!"