Filed to story: The CEO’s Wife Is a Secret Boss Novel (Allison & Jeremy) Free Online
“I’m sorry to wake you, darling.” Landon felt a little bad. Yet, he was reluctant to retract his hand.
“Landon. are you. wanting to do it?” Lauren had been conditioned by him. She was being too considerate and tuned in.
Landon sighed. He pulled her in by the waist. “It’s alright. Otherwise, you won’t be able to get a shuteye again tonight.”
“You seem very happy.”
Lauren closed her eyes. She listened to his racing heart. “Your heart is beating really fast. Also, when I was asleep, I think I heard you laughing. What made you so happy?”
Landon took a deep breath. He kissed her on the forehead. In a loving voice, he explained, “I am finally going to marry you, Lauren. I can marry you with my head held up high.
“You will be able to become the wife of the Harper Group’s president. You are going to be acknowledged by everyone. You will no longer be in the shadows.”
Lauren’s eyes shot open. There was a sparkle in her eyes.
Landon continued seriously, “I plan to meet your father within these two days. I will bring you along. I want to ask him for your hand in marriage. I want to do this officially.”
Lauren gaped. Her lips trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Landon had been addressing her as his “darling” every day. Even so, she only ever treated it as his pet name for her. She had never demanded marriage from him.
What was more was that Sophia had been sentenced to death for murder. Since then, she never dared to hope that she’d really be able to marry him. All she wanted was to accompany him in silence.
“Landon. You. You don’t need to force yourself.”
“Force myself? You’re saying that I’m forcing myself?”
Landon was so worried that his voice cracked. His love and passion for her burned like a fire within him. He squeezed her tightly in his arms. “No, Lauren. I’m not forcing myself. My dream is to marry you. That’s all I wish for in my life.”
They spent a few days preparing. Landon and Lauren picked a restful day to visit Seaview Manor.
“Mr. Landon? Ms. Lauren? You’re here!” Rory was the first to come out and greet them.
“How have you been, Mr. Rory?” Lauren linked arms with Landon. Her smile was as bright as the sun.
“I’m good. I feel even better after seeing you.”
Rory observed Lauren closely. Her cheeks were rosy. It appeared that Lauren had gained some weight. He figured that Landon had been taking good care of her. In fact, he was treating her very well. With that, It made Rory feel more at ease too.
“May I know if Mr. Javier is around, Mr. Rory?”
Landon was smiling warmly. He held on to Lauren’s hand tightly. “I wish to see him. I have something very important to discuss with him.”
Rory noticed that Lauren was blushing. He had a pretty good guess about what it was about. He couldn’t hide the glee on his face.
“Mr. Javier is home. I will go to him right away and…”
“Lauren, you’re back.”
Before Rory could finish his sentence, he heard Javier’s voice coming from behind him.
Both Landon and Lauren looked up.
Javier was walking down the stairs slowly. He was in his casual homewear. Betty was tagging along behind him. She was dressed more modestly now.
Landon almost couldn’t recognize her. Didn’t she use to be very flashy? At first glance, he actually thought that Liana had made her return from overseas.
“Dad. Hi, Dad.” Lauren tightened her grip on Landon’s hand. She was clearly more nervous than earlier.
Javier acknowledged her greeting. Then, he looked over at Landon. The gaze in his eyes turned cold instantly.
“You’re finally willing to come back home, Laurie.” Betty forced a friendly smile on her face. “It’s been so long since I saw you. I really missed you.”
“Lauren.” Javier had a glum expression on his face. His tone was frigid. “Now that you’re home, don’t leave. You’re not a wild child whom no one cares about. You are part of the Walsh family. What would others think if you’re always staying out?”
“That’s right, Laurie.” Betty furrowed her brows. She had a concerned look on her face. “You are only in your early 20s. You are still in your youth. What’s all this business about cohabiting with another man?
“Your good reputation will come to ruins once people learn about this. Mr. Landon is a man, so it doesn’t really matter to him. But you are a woman. You are the one on the losing end!”
At that moment, Lauren’s throbbing heart began to tremble. Blood drained from her face. She was like a terrified kitten stuck in a tree.
She pursed her lips. Out of reflex, she let go of Landon’s hand.
Landon felt slightly short of breath. He grabbed her hand almost in an overbearing manner. He held her hand so tightly that he nearly cut off the blood circulation in her hand.
“She was with me. So what? Is that any of your business?”
Landon shot a sharp look at Betty. He stared at her coldly while she tried to hide the glee on her face.
“There’s something that I’ve never realized before. I didn’t know you were such a conservative woman, Ms. Betty. That’s vastly different from your usual behavior.”
Betty’s heart missed a beat. She turned pale. “You… What are you blabbering about?”
“I wasn’t blabbering. Just head out of Seaview Manor and ask anyone from the upper-class society in Solana City. Just ask them about your reputation and how wild your conduct is. It will all become as clear as day.”
Landon curled the corner of his lip into a wide smirk.
“I have a number of friends who have messed around with you before. Have you forgotten about them? I can remind you if you need me to. Who knows if Mr. Javier also knows of them.”
Javier inhaled sharply. His eyes were bloodshot. He glared at this useless daughter of his.
“Dad. That’s not true. He’s slandering me! He’s being mean to me!”
Cold sweat formed on Betty’s forehead. She almost lost her footing and fell down the stairs.
Her life had always revolved around sex and pleasures. She partied hard and had a lot of one-night stands. She was famous for being a promiscuous woman in Solana City. Thanks to her own actions, her reputation was already down in the ditches.
She had been pretending to be a well-behaved and pure daughter in front of Javier. This was an image she worked hard to portray in front of him.
However, Landon was now exposing her on the spot. She panicked.
Javier decided to ignore Betty for now. He focused his gaze back on Lauren.
“Come over here, Lauren.”
His command was short and sweet, yet intimidating at the same time.
“Dad. ” Lauren spoke in a soft and weak voice She couldn’t bring herself to step forward.
The look in Javier’s eyes dimmed. He repeated sternly, “Get over here.”
“Mr. Javier, I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you,” Landon explained in a solemn tone. He had a fiery look in his eyes.
“We can talk about it right here.”
Javier looked down at him. He didn’t even have the patience to invite him to take a seat. “But you’d better keep it short. Otherwise, you’re going to delay our dinner time.”
He had ceased his arrogance and instead adopted an attitude of contempt toward him.
Betty hid behind Javier and sniggered. She felt like Landon had just been served with his payback.
During the Jesseltons’ party previously, Landon wanted to avenge Alyssa. In order to do so, he challenged Javier in public. He drew the line with the entire Walsh Group. This incident became a trending topic in the social circles in Solana City.
Men hated being humiliated.
Landon was the one who embarrassed Javier in the first place. He was now being treated like a doormat. It served him right.
“Mr. Javier, I’m here today to formally ask for Lauren’s hand in marriage.”
Landon disregarded Javier’s ridicule. He took a few deep breaths. He was still holding on to Lauren’s hand. His hands were trembling due to his nerves.
“I love Lauren. She is the only one whom I will marry. I will make her the happiest woman in this world.”
Upon saying that, he turned to look Lauren in the eyes. His loving gaze was as deep as the sea. He welled up with tears.
“Please give us your approval for Lauren to marry me.”