Chapter 185


    Melissa’s face stiffened.


    Leo’s words made her angry and embarrassed


    It was embarrassing to be questioned like that, and it ticked her off because she was his mother. It was


    natural for her to arrange his marriage. What he said meant that he didn’t take the engagement


    seriously!


    But she knew that this wasn’t a time to quarrel with him.


    Instead, she took a deep breath and said, “You saw the situation. Elyse was so upset. What if she


    really went through with it? Plus, all the reporters were here. How would you exin it to them? Either


    way, it will impact her and her family. I trust that you won’t want that to happen either.”


    She couldn’t help but sneak a nce at Leo after speaking. When she saw that he didn’t intend to


    refute, she discreetly breathed a sigh of relief.


    Melissa took a few steps toward him and continued, “It’s just an engagement, not marriage. If you don’t


    want to be with her, you’ll have chances to break off the engagement in the future. Now is not the time.”


    …


    Downstairs, Ashton stood in front of Elyse’s bed, pacing in circles.


    He couldn’t help but reprimand her, “You know how dangerous that was, Elyse?! Don’t you dare do


    such dangerous things again in the future!”


    Elyse listened to his words indifferently. Her face was a nk mask.


    After listening for a while, she muttered, “I’m tired. Come back again tomorrow.”


    Ashton stopped pacing as soon as he heard her request. Nodding, he stated, “Okay, I’lle back


    tomorrow, then. Listen to me and be obedient. Stop thinking about what you have and don’t have.”


    It was when Ashton left that Michael decided to approach his daughter.


    He sat closely beside his daughter.


    Then, he quietly said, “This Ashton guy really cares about you, so much more than Leo. If it doesn’t


    work out, don’t get hung up on him. You should consider Ashton.”


    Elyse immediately changed her tune and rolled her eyes at her father. “Ashton is just an ordinary guy.


    Not only is he not the only son, but he’s also not a capable man. Being with him is like throwing myself


    into a pit of fire!”


    Michael was so surprised by his daughter’s outburst that he choked before quickly covering it up with a


    cough. His fists were clenched tightly.


    “But Leo doesn’t care much about you. If the reporters weren’t there, he would’ve rejected the


    engagement long ago.”


    “Do you think I’m a fool? Didn’t I get what I wanted before I got down?” Elyse said craftily. “Do you think


    Melissa came here on her own? She’s the kind of woman who only cares about her reputation and


    shows off her wealth all day long. Do you think she has time to ask about my affairs?”


    Michael immediately understood everything with her exnation. He looked proudly at Elyse. “As


    expected of my daughter. She’s just as smart as I was when I was young!”


    However, he was immediately clouded by worry again.


    “This engagement isn’t a joke. Although Leo didn’t deny it in front of the reporters, he isn’t someone


    who can be manipted easily. If he doesn’t buy your act, we will die of embarrassment.”


    “Didn’t you say that even if he doesn’t care about me, he would still care about Elie?” Elyse wasn’t


    worried at all. “As long as my sister is still on his mind, he won’t humiliate us!”


    These words assured Michael. “Good. That’s good.”


    He also wished for a powerful son-inw.


    That way, they would be respected.


    Michael was overjoyed with her n. Before leaving, he hurriedly told Elyse that she must take good


    care of her body.


    When everything had quietened, Elyse took out her phone and checked the news.


    This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    As she had nned, the news of the couple getting engaged was all over the Inte.


    The corners of her lips twitched into a smile and a cunning gleam appeared in her eyes.


    Melissa wants to fool me with a promise of engagement, but it isn’t that simple.


    Elyse then sent a short message to someone.


    …


    On the other end, Melissa had left the hospital and was driving off in a car.


    She had initially made an appointment to y poker with her friends but after the things that happened,


    she simply had no energy to go.


    She rubbed her temples and thought about how she could postpone the engagement indefinitely and


    finally peel off Elyse like an unwanted ster.


    Just as she was deep in thought, her phone rang.


    It was Genevieve Yancey. She was a long-term friend whom Melissa often yed poker with.


    Melissa sat up hurriedly and puffed up her chest before answering the phone. “Madam Yancey, I’m so


    sorry. I’ve already told Madam Freeman I won’t be joining youdies today. You can go ahead.”


    Genevieve’s voice rang out from the other end of the line. “It’s alright. I understand that you’re too busy


    witnessing your son propose to your future daughter-inw.” Her voice sounded condescending.


    She was giggling over the phone. “Congrattions, Mrs. Alston!”


    Melissa’s face tugged into a frown.


    She knew reporters had already spread the news of the engagement. However, Elyse was not her


    choice of daughter-inw and she didn’t want to talk about it at all.


    She reluctantly answered everything Genevieve asked with only a few words.


    However, Genevieve waspletely oblivious to Melissa’s displeasure and continued to chat happily.


    “Your daughter-inw is as arrogant as she was four years ago. Your son has already proposed to her


    and yet, she’s still sitting on her high horse. Why don’t they get married straight away instead of getting


    engaged? This marriage wouldn’t be like the one four years ago, right?”


    What happened four years ago was a big humiliation to the Alston Family. Melissa’s expression


    darkened when she heard Genevieve mentioning it so carefreely. She was getting more and more


    upset by the minute.


    If she didn’t value her reputation as much, she would have started cursing Genevieve out.


    Melissa discreetly took a deep breath to hold back her annoyance before saying calmly, “An


    engagement seems good. We’ll take things one step at a time.”


    “You see, the people on the Inte will always go too far, talking about this and that. A lot of


    assumptions will surface. As soon as the news of Mr. Alston and Miss yton’s engagement spread on


    the Inte, the citizens made up a lot of rumors. A lot of people are saying that the Alston Family


    didn’t want Elyse yton at all and that Elyse forced your hand to call the engagement. Before long,


    you will try and find a reason to call off the engagement. s, the Inte alwayses up with ugly


    assumptions.”


    By the time Melissa hung up the phone, her face was already pale as a ghost.


    She quickly went on news webpages and sure enough, just like Genevieve said, every bit of the news


    was covered with the engagement of Leo and Elyse. To top it off, there was a long list ofments.


    Most of them were as Genevieve said.


    Melissa grumbled to herself, This means that my ns have been foiled!


    Thus, if she were to cancel the engagement, it would prove all the rumors true. It would truly be a p


    in the face.


    Melissa was so angry that her hands shook and her lips trembled. She was about to crush her phone in


    rage.


    “Damn these bast*rds!”


    She forced herself to calm down after a while.


    At this point, the Alstons could not announce their stance. This would only cause people to specte


    even more.


    Unwilling to lose to these people, Melissa sighed in annoyance. Then, she called Laura and instructed,


    “Make an official announcement on the engagement of Leo and Elyse, stating that they will get


    engaged in ten days!”


    …


    By the time Amelie reached home, it was alreadyte.


    When she entered, she saw Bria sitting at the dining table ying on the phone.


    There was a smile on her cute face. The girl seemed like she was in a great mood.


    Amelie walked over and gently patted Bria’s shoulders before softly saying, “Why are you using


    Grandpa’s phone? What did I say about phones?”


    To protect her innocence, Amelie never allowed Bria to y with a phone.


    Bria’s face flushed with embarrassment and she avoided her mother’s eyes. “Mommy, I saw a picture


    of dad.”


    The little girl had just met Leo in the morning and even spent a few hours ying with him.


    Now, when she saw a photo of her father, she was very happy.


    She lifted the phone and showed it to Amelie with a bright smile.


    Although Amelie was fighting for the child’s custody, she didn’t have an issue with Bria meeting Leo.


    Even though there was a lot of disagreement between the two, she didn’t intend to deprive her child of


    her father.


    Therefore, she wasn’t angry that Bria was looking at Leo’s photos.


    When she saw Bria’s expectant eyes, she cooperated and looked at the phone.


    It was only then that she saw the headline.


    Her face immediately froze and her smile dropped.