Ch. 186..190: My Sugar And Your Spice Chapter 186-190

Chapter 186

What Brianna found was a news report concerning Leo.

The headline was, ‘Elyse Clayton’s On/Off Relationship with the Rich Young Master Finally Blossomed’, and the sub headline was, ‘The Alstons officially announce their engagement date’, followed by the date.

The main text wrote about the story of Leo proposing to Elyse on the hospital rooftop a few days ago, and she agreed to the engagement. However, he was worried that his lover might have a change of heart, so he brought the engagement forward to keep her heart.

The more Amelie read, the harder it was to continue reading, and she pursed her lips silently.

Even though she knew that it was only a matter of time before Leo and Elyse got married, it still made her very uneasy, especially after she found out that Elyse had ganged up with Ashton to take Brianna away.

Leo had repeatedly verified for himself that Elyse had a vile character, but he still held her dearly in his hands, giving his whole heart to her. What sort of mentality was this?

She was even a little suspicious about whether Elyse had saved the universe in her past life. Otherwise, why would a man be so loyal to her?

As Brianna could only read a few words, she couldn’t understand such a lengthy news report, and the reason for her excitement was seeing her father in the news.

She became puzzled and rubbed her big eyes, asking, “Mommy, why did Daddy take a picture with this strange lady? What’s written there?”

Amelie gently drew the report out of her palms and held her in her arms. “Listen to me, Bria. We’re separated from Daddy and the Alston Family. So, Daddy will get engaged and marry another woman in the future, and this lady will be his future wife.”

Although she knew that Brianna’s opinion of Leo had changed recently, she didn’t want to hide the truth from her. The last thing she wanted was to see her darling daughter pin any hopes on him, and neither did she want Briar to be hurt when she found out about this from someone else. Therefore, she decided to take precautions in advance.

“Really?” The smile on Brianna’s face disappeared immediately, and great disappointment took its place instead.

She bit her lip, played with her tiny fingers, and hung her head quietly as she processed the news.

Amelie felt her heart wrenching when she saw Brianna in this state, but all she could do was stroke her head over and over as a form of comfort.

“I’m tired. I want to go to bed,” Brianna said after a while.

Amelie took it that she was tired from playing in the kindergarten during the day and brought her back to her room without thinking further.

After Brianna climbed into bed, Amelie tucked her in carefully, kissed her on the forehead, and stayed behind a few more minutes before finally leaving the room.

Behind the tightly closed door, Brianna bit her nail and opened her eyes. The scene where Leo played with her during the day kept replaying in her mind.

Her father, at that time, seemed to care about her and loved her. So, why did he suddenly abandon her and her mother to marry another woman?

In her mind, she actually thought that her parents would reconcile.

Outside the door, Amelie stood for a while, aware that they were divorced and everything about Leo was unrelated to her. So, she shook her head as she dismissed any unnecessary thoughts by throwing that news report to the back of her head and quickly helped Steven over for dinner when she saw him returning home with a bunch of groceries in his hands.

Usually, Steven would let Brianna eat first while he insisted on waiting for Amelie to return. Then, at the dinner table, he always kept piling food on Amelie’s plate, worried that she would not be well- nourished.

Since she was a child, she grew up showered in Steven’s love and never lacked familial love.

Although she was raised in a single-parent family, she never felt she was any less because of the absence of a mother. Therefore, she believed that Brianna would grow up strong, just like her.

“Have some as well, Dad.” She added some more food to Steven’s plate. “Don’t just worry about me. I’m a grown-up who can take care of myself now.”

Steven chuckled as he laid his eyes on the food on his plate. “In my eyes, you’ll always be a little girl. My sweet, little girl.”

After dinner, she went to the study, reviewed the manuscript for the new platform, and had a meeting with the influential figures who had just joined to discuss their work for a while.

When it was almost midnight, she finally returned to her room to retire for the night.

Just as she was about to turn off the lights, her phone beeped from a text Julia had sent her.

She grabbed her phone and squinted while she read through the text, ‘Did you see the news that Leo Alston is going to be engaged?’

Her soft brows knitted together at this text, but they relaxed in the end as she calmly replied, ‘Yeah.’

Immediately, Julia followed up with voice messages. “That shameless couple has no limit to their public display of affection, and they suddenly sent their wedding invitation. What do you think they mean by this? Didn’t Elyse embarrass herself enough on her birthday? Does she want to embarrass herself again?”

She even included a photo of the wedding invitation card she received.

Amelie tapped to view and saw the wedding invitation with Leo and Elyse’s names, and the edge of her lips froze.

“Elie, since they’re so shameless, we don’t have to give any regard to their reputation as well. So, we can make a huge ruckus this time and give them an unforgettable engagement ceremony!” Julia said, angry and loud like firecrackers.

Amelie’s fingers paused on the screen and didn’t move for a while. Meanwhile, Julia had already thought of all sorts of ways to embarrass Leo and Elyse, and Amelie’s phone kept beeping from the messages she sent without stopping.

Amelie could help but laugh at her ideas as she listened to Julia’s angered rambling and replied, “It’s their business that they’re getting engaged. I’m running a verified account with millions of fans, and I don’t want to be involved, never mind create a publicity stunt for them.”

“Damn!” It dawned on Julia suddenly, and she cursed. “I almost fell for it if you didn’t mention it. Alston already knows that you’re Foxy, and they’re using this engagement to increase Clayton’s popularity, aren’t they? If we do anything on that day, we will ruin only our reputation. The more criticisms there are outside, the more it will ruin our reputation, and Clayton will have all to gain from this! She wants to use us to increase her popularity, eh? Well, she can keep dreaming!”

Amelie pursed her lips silently and didn’t say anything else, seeing that Julia had realized the situation for herself.

Nevertheless, Julia was still hopping mad. “Elyse Clayton and Leo Alston are simply a scumbag and a shameless slut! Four years ago, they made use of you once and even painted themselves as the victims, and four years later, they wanted to pull another trick again. If we don’t do something, I can’t quench the anger in my heart! So, Elie, we have to think of a way to get our revenge on them!”

“The best revenge is to ignore them,” Amelie replied. “So, just pretend that you didn’t receive this invitation.”

On the other end, Julia was quiet for a long time and finally said, “Yes, I’ll do just that. But before we do that, I have to show them something.”

After she said that, she sent a text, ‘Let’s just wait and see.’

Amelie couldn’t guess what Julia was up to, but she didn’t ask. Of course, if anyone were to ask her why she would probably say something along the lines of ‘plausible deniability’. Thus, she didn’t pay it any mind and went straight to bed after switching off her phone.

On the other end, Julia’s long fingers—with aqua green nails that she had painted—danced across her keyboard.

“Bingo.” Once she was satisfied, she tossed her phone aside.

The next day, Elyse sat in front of the mirror; although she was still dressed in the patient’s garb, it was clear that she was delighted.

At the end of the day, Melissa was a foolish woman and would do anything for the sake of her reputation.

With Melissa’s help, her engagement with Leo was finally on the agenda.

A smirk spread across her face, carrying traces of glee and elation.

This time, not only did she want to be engaged to Leo, but she also wanted to make use of Amelie and Julia to increase her popularity.

Back when Leo was investigating Amelie, she also asked Ashton to investigate the matter, and that was when she found out that Amelie was Foxy!

It was amazing that she turned out to be Foxy, and it would be even better if she showed up with Julia to make a scene at the engagement. The bigger the stir they caused, the more famous she would become, and in turn, the higher her chances to make a comeback.

She tapped the table’s surface lightly as a triumphant glint flashed in her eyes.

“There’s a parcel for you, Elyse.”

While she was thinking about that, Michael came in with a delivery box in his hand.

“Why is there a delivery?” she asked, turning to him in confusion.

She had been resting for the past few days and didn’t buy anything online.

“Maybe your fans know that you’re sick and sent you a gift,” Michael said after thinking about it.

That sounded reasonable to her, and she took the parcel from him before starting to unwrap it slowly.

Chapter 187

The package was wrapped securely. Inside the box contained a bunch of Styrofoam peanuts as well as another box. There was yet another smaller box inside it.

Even after Elyse had unpackaged several layers, she still couldn’t make out what it was.

Michael stood beside and snickered when he watched the scene. “It must be a costly gift to be wrapped into so many layers. Could it be an expensive piece of jewelry?”

Although Elyse felt like it wasn’t expensive, she also felt it must be something special, seeing how it was wrapped in such a way. Although she was getting impatient, she still unboxed it patiently.

In the end, the huge box had transformed into a small envelope about four inches thick. When Elyse grabbed it, she felt something hard inside.

“Oh my, is it a credit card?” Michael could only think of such a gift.

Elyse had always pictured herself as a star. Hence, her followers would not send her meaningless things. Since Elyse didn’t know what it was, she ripped open the envelope. Instead of a credit card, a red card fell out of the envelope.

The moment she caught sight of the red card, her expression froze. Her heart was beating fast, and she felt like she was being slapped in the face.

On the other hand, Michael had also seen the card. “Isn’t this the invitation you sent out yesterday? Who would send it back?”

There were only a few people whom Elyse had given the invitation. Although she was not respectable enough to do so, the Alston Family was. Everyone wanted to receive the invitation, so Michael couldn’t

figure out who would send it back. However, Elyse knew who the sender was—after all, only two people were bold enough to do this.

As she suppressed her anger while picking up the invitation, she saw Julia and Amelie’s names written on it.

“Damn it!” Not only was her plan ruined, but her invitation was also sent back to her in such a state.

At that moment, Elyse felt like she had been slapped by Julia and Amelie.

“Why did you send the invitation to them?” Michael saw the names on the card and looked at Elyse disapprovingly.

“It’s none of your business!” Elyse snapped at him. After all, she had another motive other than using them to become famous.

During her engagement party, the crowd would certainly gossip about her cheating on Leo four years ago. By then, she would be humiliated. Hence, Julia and Amelie’s arrival would divert their attention away from her. If anyone were to humiliate or embarrass her, she would pretend to be the victim and win the others’ hearts.

Moreover, she even planned on blaming Amelie for what had happened. She would emerge as the winner, and Amelie would be the loser. At the same time, she would expose Amelie’s identity as Foxy and make her the street rat.

However, Amelie had ruined such an excellent plan. Not only that, she had even humiliated Elyse by sending back the invitation!

As Elyse thought about it, she gripped her knuckles tightly, causing her freshly manicured nails to fall apart.

Although Michael was upset that Elyse had scolded him, he also realized that something was amiss when he looked at her expression. “What’s going on?” he asked in concern.

Hearing his words made Elyse suppress her frustration and cross her arms together, looking as arrogant as usual. “It’s nothing. There’s no meaning to this. As long as I am Leo’s fiancée, I will be the winner. After all, the Alston Family will put me on a pedestal if they want a better reputation.” As she spoke, she smiled confidently.

…

On the other hand, Leo was sitting in the car with his eyes closed.

After he parted ways with Melissa, the company’s overseas branch encountered several issues. Hence, he went abroad in a hurry to solve the problem, only returning today while feeling exhausted. His face was tired, and his eyes were bloodshot due to the lack of sleep.

When he got into the car, he closed his eyes and rested. Beside him was his assistant, Eugene.

All these years, Eugene had been Leo’s trustworthy right-hand man. However, he stopped working to be by his wife’s side during her pregnancy. As such, Leo had asked Laura to be his temporary assistant.

Now that Eugene’s child was a year older, Leo asked him to return to work. He also brought Eugene abroad to solve the company’s issues. Although Laura was outstanding, she was a woman, so it would be inconvenient for her to run around with Leo.

While Leo was resting, Eugene dealt with the company’s business. At the same time, he had organized the documents that Leo needed to inspect. Then, he looked at the news. At that moment, his expression changed drastically.

“What’s wrong?” Although Leo was taking a rest, he was still aware of his surroundings. When he felt something was off with Eugene, he opened his eyes and asked about it. His clear eyes showed that he was fully awake.

Hearing his words, Eugene hummed in response and gripped his knuckles. “I’m just surprised to see that you are engaged.”

When Leo heard his words, he closed his eyes and said, “Don’t fret about it.” However, he had different thoughts in his mind.

I have to talk to Elyse about this. Being grateful isn’t the same as falling in love. There is nothing between us. Speaking of which, Amelie didn’t respond to the news when it has been spreading around for such a long time. Am I really that unimportant to her?

For some reason, Leo thought about Amelie. As he thought about her, he let out a mocking smile. After all, why would Amelie care about him when she was just using him to experience the life she never had? Moreover, they were divorced.

As he thought about it, he became more upset.

Although Eugene knew Leo was in a bad mood, he wondered why. However, he didn’t ask about it and said, “The engagement date is just around the corner. Do you need me to order a set of suits for you? Or are you going to choose it by yourself?”

At that moment, something snapped in Leo when he heard the man’s words.

Just as Eugene was about to put his phone away, Leo snatched it from him. In that split second, he looked at Leo in surprise. However, Leo didn’t seem to be calm as he scrolled through the phone quickly. While doing so, he furrowed his eyebrows deeply.

“Is something the matter, Mr. Alston?” Eugene asked. From his experience, he knew that something was bothering Leo.

Suddenly, Leo clasped the phone to his side. He had used so much force that his fingers changed their form.

“Make a U-turn and head back to the Alston Residence!” he ordered.

Chapter 188

At the Alston Residence, Melissa had gotten many calls to congratulate her. Although she was unhappy about it, she could only feign happiness. After all, she couldn’t keep a low profile when news about Elyse’s suicidal attempt had spread around the town. At this moment, everyone knew about Leo and Elyse’s engagement.

After Melissa was done with the calls, she told Miss Potts to do her nails. In the meantime, she was thinking about ways to make Elyse give up on marrying Leo without affecting the Alston Family’s reputation.

While Miss Potts was doing Melissa’s nails, she looked at her worriedly. “Mr. Alston hasn’t returned in days. I’m afraid he still doesn’t know that you have chosen the engagement date. What if he refuses to do it?”

Hearing her words, Melissa lowered her eyes without thinking much about it. “I’ve already made it clear to him before, so it doesn’t matter if he knows or not.”

When Miss Potts heard her words, she opened her mouth and tried to say something. However, she kept quiet in the end. She was just a maid, so she could not interfere with her master’s business.

Just as they were talking, the door swung open. Melissa was immediately startled, and the two women looked over.

Leo stood by the door, radiating an intimidating presence with a serious look on his face.

“Mr. Alston!” Miss Potts called out hastily. Although she had met him countless times, she was still intimidated by his presence.

In that split second, Melissa snapped out of her trance and said, “When did you come back? How’s work?” Then, she signaled Miss Potts to leave while she stood up from the couch and walked toward Leo.

Her face was filled with concern, and she tried to hold his hands. However, Leo avoided her hands and said, “Who decided the date of the engagement? Why didn’t you ask for my permission before making a decision?” he snarled.

When Melissa heard his words, she froze for a second before saying, “I was the one who chose the date. I’m sure you know we are on edge with Elyse’s matter. Everyone is asking us about this, and some even think that we’re lying. I’m doing this to stop the rumors.”

“Are you saying that you plan on letting me marry Elyse?” questioned Leo.

“That’s impossible! This is just an expedient measure!” Melissa denied it without hesitation.

Leo smirked when he heard her words. “Do you think that this will stop them from talking about it? As long as I don’t marry Elyse, the Alston Family will be the town’s gossip!”

“What…” Melissa didn’t think much about it. When she heard Leo’s words, she realized that things were indeed tricky. However, she was still composed as she said, “It’s fine. We’ll find a way to make Elyse cancel the wedding.”

“Do you think that will happen? From the moment she used you to hold the engagement, she never planned on canceling it!”

“What do you mean? Are you saying that…” Melissa trailed off, and the confident look on her face was gone. She had a grim expression while her fingers clutched her dress tightly.

Is this all just a setup? Have I been fooled by Elyse?

At that moment, realization dawned upon Melissa as she uncovered the truth.

“Announce that the engagement will be called off right now!” Leo ordered without hesitation. With that, he turned around and left.

Hearing his words, Melissa seemed to have thought of something and stopped him from leaving. “It’s too late, Leony. The engagement is today. It’s starting soon, and guests will be arriving any moment now. How can you expect me to cancel the engagement?!” She looked nervous to the point that she didn’t even have the time to blame Elyse.

“Even if Elyse set this up, there’s no going back. Please play along, Leony. We’ll talk about it after the engagement, alright?” In the end, she valued the family’s reputation more than anything else.

After all, if the engagement were to be canceled, the Alstons’ reputation and hers would be ruined.

Although Leo knew what she was thinking, he still felt disappointed by her words.

“Is reputation that important to you?” he asked.

“I…” For the first time, Melissa didn’t know how to answer. After some time, she whispered, “I’m doing this for your own good. Since you’re a busy man, how are you going to live with a ruined reputation?”

When Leo heard her words, he lowered his head and said nothing. Needless to say, her words did not persuade him.

“Leony…” Melissa was a nervous wreck.

Leo removed Melissa’s fingers that were gripping his clothes and said, “I’ll deal with this matter. All you have to do is stay put at home.” Then, he left.

When Melissa heard his words, she was frustrated and stomped her feet. As she tried to chase him, two bodyguards blocked her way. “Mr. Alston has asked us to keep an eye on you, Mrs. Alston.”

Since she couldn’t chase after Leo, she could only throw a tantrum at the guards. However, they simply ignored her. In the end, she could only call Elyse for help.

Meanwhile, Elyse was in the dressing room as she donned the most expensive dress. Melissa had hired a famous designer to make the tailored evening gown.

At that moment, many people surrounded her. Some were doing her makeup, and some were tidying her dress. Everyone was watching her with envy.

Donia Watson, Elyse’s agent, looked at her with bright eyes. “Oh, Elyse. It’s a good thing that Mr. Alston cares for you. Don’t think of fooling around after the engagement, though. I have a few scripts, and you’ll be famous if you star in several movies this year.”

It had been a long time since Donia last talked to her with such a good attitude. Moreover, her words seemed like she was flattering Elyse.

Once Elyse was engaged to Leo, she would not want to be a celebrity anymore. After all, she only needed to show her love for him in public. However, her status skyrocketed after she became engaged to Leo, and many would offer her opportunities because of him. Moreover, other celebrities associated with Elyse would gain popularity as well.

When the others heard Donia’s words, they all went to flatter Elyse. Some even wanted to be her bridesmaid for free.

As they surrounded Elyse, Elyse raised her chin proudly and ignored them.

All these years, she had been pretending to be a generous person and did stuff she hated to maintain her public image. However, she wouldn’t have to put up with the act anymore once she was Leo’s fiancée.

As Elyse squinted her eyes and thought about how the others’ gaze would be on her and Leo, she felt delighted.

“Miss Elyse, can you teach me how to make a wealthy man fall in love with me?” Among the people, one of them couldn’t help but ask for Elyse’s advice.

Everyone had heard about what happened between her and Leo. Many people were jealous of her, for she was still together with Leo despite cheating on him and going abroad.

When Elyse heard the woman’s words, she looked at her and smiled coldly. “This isn’t an easy task. After all, you have to be smart.”

When the woman heard her words, her expression changed drastically.

Is she saying that I’m stupid? the woman thought to herself.

As she thought about it, she was furious and wanted to scold Elyse. However, she didn’t dare do so and could only endure the humiliation since Elyse had a higher status than her.

At this moment, Elyse’s phone rang. When she saw that it was Melissa, she smiled even brighter. “Excuse me for a moment. My mother-in-law is calling.” Then, she ignored everyone and walked away as she answered the phone.

Chapter 189

“What took you so long?” On the other end of the phone, Melissa’s voice was in haste and impatient.

Hearing her words, Elyse rolled her eyes in disdain, unhappy with Melissa’s attitude. Just as she was about to retort, she heard Melissa’s words. “Leo just came back and refuses to hold the engagement. I have done everything I can to help you. Now, it’s up to you if the engagement will go through.”

When Elyse heard her words, she was stunned. “What do you mean? Did you not inform him about the engagement?”

She knew that Melissa couldn’t have gotten Leo to agree to this matter. Hence, she asked Melissa if she had tried persuading him all this while.

However, Melissa didn’t reply to her. The only sound coming from the phone was the beeping tone— Melissa had hung up on her.

At that moment, Elyse was furious. She gripped her phone tightly and almost threw it away. However, she stopped herself since there were still many people outside the room. If they were to know about this matter, she would be doomed.

Thinking about this, Elyse clutched the phone tightly and leaned against the wall while breathing heavily. Her eyes were filled with dissatisfaction. After all, there was no way she would give up when things had come to this point.

She gritted her teeth tightly, almost drawing blood.

At this moment, Donia’s voice rang by the door. “Did something happen, Elyse?”

Hearing her voice, Elyse turned around and was met with her questioning gaze. Donia’s gaze was like a light shining on her, making her nauseous. However, she suppressed the feeling and said, “I’m fine. I’m just nervous and tired, that’s all.”

When Donia heard her words, her expression softened. Then, she nodded and looked at her watch. “There is still some time before the ceremony. I’ll take the girls out of the room while you get some rest.”

“Sure.” Elyse maintained her composure, not wanting to let Donia notice her nervousness.

Only did she fall to the ground when the crowd had left.

As Melissa’s words filled her mind, she pulled her new hairdo in frustration, not caring if she would mess it up. At this moment, she was only thinking about how to make Leo agree to this engagement.

After some time, the door opened, and Elyse raised her head abruptly. She saw Leo entering the room with a cold expression.

Leo was a stern and quiet person, and it was getting hard for Elyse to get closer to him after everything that happened. Although he looked at her silently, Elyse still felt her heart thumping wildly.

At that moment, she managed to get up. “Leony.” As she spoke, she darted toward him and tried to hold his hand.

However, Leo took a step back and said, “I just found out that I have an engagement to attend to.”

“We will be engaged anyway, so why not sooner?” Elyse forced a smile and acted innocent. “However, I just got a call from Mrs. Alston, and she told me that you didn’t know the exact date of our engagement. I’m sorry about that. If I had known about this sooner, I would have reminded you.” She secretly pushed the blame onto Melissa.

Leo didn’t expose her lies and said, “It’s not too late. After all, the engagement will be called off anyway.”

Although Elyse knew what he was implying, she still acted surprised. “What do you mean, Leony? It wouldn’t matter even if you don’t know the engagement date, right? After all, we are going to get engaged soon.” Then, she bit her lips in disappointment. “Are you going to break your promise? If that’s the case… you should have told me sooner. How will I walk out of this matter now that things have gotten to this point?” She didn’t try to push his limits. Instead, she acted as if she didn’t know what to do.

As Leo looked at her, he couldn’t help but soften his gaze when he saw her state.

Elyse saw the look in his eyes and felt happy. Then, she lay her head on his shoulder as she explained, “I have my reputation to uphold, Leony. I have sent all the invitations, and many guests have arrived. What will they think of me if we were to call it off abruptly? I would be doomed.”

Although Leo didn’t push her away, his words were cruel. “It’s easy. We can tell the public that you regret being engaged with me. I’ll be the one who gets dumped instead.”

Hearing his words, Elyse looked at him in disbelief.

“A-Are you willing to ruin your reputation just to call off the engagement?”

Leo looked at her calmly.

He had long disregarded his so-called reputation.

At that moment, Elyse’s eyes were filled with horror. She looked at him with tears in her eyes as she spoke. “Even so, my reputation will still be ruined. Everyone will say that I am an ungrateful woman

who manipulated your feelings. They will never look at me the same way. Moreover, they will think that I am an ill-mannered woman. I’ll lose my job by then!”

“I can get you whatever you want, be it an advertisement or a movie role,” said Leo.

Hearing his words, Elyse felt like she was being pushed to the edge, and there was no escape for her. She tried to speak but didn’t know what to say. The only thing she felt was resentment.

“Leo!” Elyse cried out as tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked at Leo miserably and said, “How can you do this to me? How can you put me in this state? Ellen would be disappointed in you if she were to know about this!”

When Leo heard her words, he frowned in disdain and said, “Is this why you have nothing to fear? Do you think that you can threaten my mother with your death and force her to hold this engagement because of Ellen?”

When Elyse heard his words, she stopped crying and stared at him dumbly.

At this moment, she realized that Leo was an intelligent man. He would have seen through her disguise with ease! All this while, he never exposed her lies since he respected her. However, she had overstepped his boundaries.

Knowing that Leo had seen through her disguise, Elyse put down the act and said, “Even so, your mother has agreed to everything.”

“That is why you can take our family’s name and rack it to the mud,” replied Leo as he nodded.

His intentions were clear. He would endure whatever it was that Elyse had blamed on them. However, there was no way he would participate in this engagement!

Seeing that Leo was stubborn, Elyse was frustrated.

As Leo looked at his watch, he decided to end their conversation. “Listen here, Elyse. I can respect you and give you whatever you want. However, that doesn’t mean you can intervene in my life and control me!” he warned her.

When Elyse heard his words, she took a sharp breath and was startled.

“Eugene will be here to call off the engagement.” After that, Leo turned around and opened the door, wanting to leave.

However, as soon as he walked out of the door, a bright light flashed across his eyes. Leo raised his hand to block the light and realized a bunch of reporters was outside the door.

Chapter 190

The reporters quickly surrounded Leo and bombarded him with questions.

“Since today is your engagement day, Mr. Alston, have you decided when the wedding will be?”

“Will Miss Clayton still be acting after the engagement, or will she quit the job? Have you guys talked about this?”

“I heard that Miss Clayton’s dress is handled by Mrs. Alston. A famous designer created the dress, and she even checked on the work progress. Does that mean Miss Clayton and Mrs. Alston are on good terms?”

When Leo saw the reporters, he gritted his teeth and wore a cold expression. Then, he snapped his head toward Elyse as he glared at her.

She ignored his gaze as she approached him with a smile. Then, she linked her arm with his and snuggled her head on his shoulder.

“You told me you will protect and respect me for the sake of Ellen,” she whispered to him. “Now, it’s time for you to show your respect to me.” A hint of provoke flashed across her eyes.

If Leony refuses to be engaged with me, I will force him to! Thinking about it, Elyse smiled brightly at the reporters.

Since they stood close together, the crowd, who was unaware of the truth, was sure they were a lovely couple when they saw her smile. At that moment, they raised their cameras and took pictures of them.

During the whole process, Leo had a cold and unnatural countenance.

Although the crowd felt it was a shame that they could not get a picture of him smiling, they did not mind since they knew he had a cold personality.

Despite Leo’s grimace, Elyse could feel that the arm she wrapped around was not as stiff as before, seemingly a sign that he had agreed to play along with her.

Initially, she was nervous. However, at that moment, she looked proud. I knew it. No matter how unwilling Leony is, he will never embarrass me in front of the public. Loyalty is his weakness and my tool to use against him. Today, I am going to shine with this opportunity! I don’t care what will happen next.

In recent times, she was doubted and criticized. Thus, now that she could be herself, she hung her head up high looking proud.

It was then that Leo’s phone buzzed. Then, he withdrew his occupied arm and grabbed his phone. It’s Amelie!

When Elyse saw the number, her heart sank. However, she quickly smiled again and thought, Amelie has always been up against me. It’s time to teach her a lesson. Since she chose to call Leony at this moment, I will let her know how blissful I am right now!

As she thought about it, she acted virtuous and said, “Hurry up and answer the phone, Leony.”

Many reporters were close to him and saw who was calling him. After many incidents, they knew that Amelie was his ex-wife. As such, many were excited to see what would unfold and nodded thoughtfully when they heard Elyse’s words.

Her words would make the crowd feel like she was a kind-hearted woman. On the other hand, it would also show that the feelings she and Leo had were strong enough to withstand Amelie’s call.

This was what Elyse had wanted; she was thrilled and felt like a genius who could manipulate others. She acted as if she was blessed and the woman Leo truly loved.

Hence, the reporters praised them. “You two are so in love with each other.”

“You guys are so sweet.”

Hearing their words, Elyse giggled and looked at them with bright eyes. “I’m sure you guys will have a happy life like me.”

Just as her words fell, Leo answered the call, “Hello?”

However, Bria’s voice sounded from the other end of the phone. “Daddy! Quick! Save Mommy and Grandpa!”

“What’s the matter?” His face changed drastically when he heard her words.

“We were shopping at the grocery store when the racks fell. Mommy pushed me away and went to save Grandpa. I can’t find them…” She sobbed.

For some reason, Leo had put his phone on speaker. Thus, everyone overheard what Bria had said.

In the meantime, the joyful Elyse froze and twitched her lips, digging her nails into her skin. Amelie is doing this on purpose! She is pretending to be in an accident when today is my engagement day!

Although Elyse was furious, she did not show it on her face and asked with concern, “Oh my. Although the paramedics will be at the store, we still have to send someone to the rescue. We can’t let them…” Before she had finished her words, Leo darted toward the door, saying, “Which store are you at?!”

Looking at him, she was speechless. Initially, she said those words because she thought he would only send someone to save Amelie; she wanted to mislead people into thinking that he had listened to her.

However, he decided to rescue Amelie himself! Not only that, he did not even bid her goodbye. At that moment, it was clear that Amelie was more important than her.

Elyse felt like she was being slapped across the face. The prouder she was in the beginning, the more miserable she was now!

Then, she raised her head and saw that the reporters were looking at her in silence. The envy in their eyes was replaced with enlightenment.

Elyse had done this upon herself and wished that the ground would swallow her up. After all, it was she who hired those reporters. She did it to subdue Leo, but she never thought she would humiliate herself!

As she thought about it, she decided she could not stay here any longer and quickly chased after Leo.

Meanwhile, he rushed to the garage as soon as possible and jumped into the car. Just as he accelerated, another car came his way, and they almost crashed into each other. Then, Elyse jumped out of her car and slammed her hand against his window with puffy eyes.

“What are you doing?” Leo lowered his window and looked at her with a darkened expression.

“What am I doing? Where do you think you’re going, Leony? Are you planning on leaving me behind and saving Amelie? Have you ever thought about the possibility that she might be fine and was just trying to stop us from being engaged?”

When he heard her words, Amelie’s face flashed across his mind. To him, he felt like she would not have done such an outrageous thing.

“Go away!” he ordered her.

However, Elyse would not oblige since she had already seen the reporters rushing toward them. Thus, she grabbed the window and said with teary eyes, “Don’t you dare forget that Ellen had donated her

cornea to you. You can’t do this to me. I am her only sister! You can’t betray her!” She pursed her lips while tears brimmed her eyes, making her look pitiful. However, deep down in her heart, she was sure that as long as Leo was grateful for Ellen, he would never escape from her!

Then, she stopped moving, trying to force him out of the car. On the other hand, the reporters were getting nearer. The closer they were, the more confidence she felt.

Just as she was feeling proud, her hand was suddenly pushed away. Next, a loud bang sounded.