A Matter of Wife and Love
Chapter 145

Chapter 145

"L-Leo?"

Hesitantly, she turned to Leo with trembling lips. Wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, the man standing in front of her fashioned a short buzz cut and had a rather stumpy physique.

His face was rounded, coupled with a pair of crafty eyes. On both sides of his lips was some facial hair, and he looked a little like a successful person.

While others didn't know who he was, Elyse knew him very well.

But the more she knew, the more terrified she was. Her ears rumbled, and she was so weak that she lost the strength to stand upright.

Her legs turned wobbly. She wasn't sure how much Leo had found out. Hence, she could only try to deduce from his facial expression.

Leo had awakened from his drunken stupor from earlier, and his handsome face was void of all emotions. His eyes were deep like an ocean, and his lips were pursed into a line. He did not urge her for clarification.

However, a thick cloud of cold air shrouded him, and it engulfed her silently, taking her breath away.

Her fingers tightened and loosened repeatedly, and she gritted her teeth as she decided to bluff her way through. No matter how much he found out, it will be okay as long as I don't admit to anything! So, she put up a confused and pathetic stance. "Who's this gentleman? Why did you bring him to my place so late at night?"

As an actor, she could easily put her acting skills to use even at a time like this effortlessly masking the nervousness she was feeling a second ago with a sweet smile.

On the other hand, Leo didn't immediately expose anything and merely studied her face

The beautiful face before his eyes was the same as it had always been, but the owner of this face was so strange to him that he could no longer recognize her anymore.

Even though Elyse used to act irresponsibly in the past, she would at least speak honestly, unlike now where she was still trying to play dumb when the person was already at her door.

Overwhelmed with exhaustion, he stopped beating about the bush with her. "This is Elliot, the one who was interviewed. Are you sure you don't know him?"

Solemn and icy, his eyes were so dark that she couldn't read anything in them, but the flash of sharp light he emitted seemed to indicate him having read her mind a long time ago. He had seen her clearly for who she

was!

That put an end to Elyse's pretense. She shuddered and almost couldn't hold her own weight.

Leo's gaze was indifferent. Despite knowing that Elyse would be completely exposed if "Elliot" opened his mouth he didn't ask him to do so because he wanted her to admit it herself that she was the one who nlanned

Without a doubt, Elyse could also tell what was on his mind.

She was the one who found both "Elliot" and the person who wrote the interview. When she was doing a bad deed, she didn't feel too much about it, but when her deeds were exposed, the embarrassment was more than she could put into words, not to mention that she had to admit it personally, which was not far off from public humiliation!

Biting her lip tightly out of embarrassment, she didn't want to say anything, and neither could she bring herself to do it.

Despite that, Leo merely stood there silently as he let her confront "Elliot", as though he wouldn't call it off unless she started talking. If this confrontation continued, it would attract the attention of more people.

Elyse was well aware that, although her popularity had waned, many people were still watching her because of her relationship with Leo.

If someone snaps pictures of this situation, it will only spell trouble when people start to question my relationship with Leo.

At the thought of this, she grabbed his sleeve and looked up at him with puppy eyes. "Leo, I was wrong. I made a mistake, okay? I asked him to pretend to be Elliot for the interview because I feel so insecure. Recently, Amelie has been constantly popping up in our lives, and you keep your relationship with her ambiguous. I'm scared, Leo. I'm scared that she'll snatch you from me." Right in front of "Elliot", she even went on tiptoes and placed her arms around Leo's neck. "Leo, I'd lost you for four years. Do you have any idea how I spent those four years? Every night, I had nightmares filled with scenes of you leaving me. My depression came from the anxiety my heart is carrying!"

Leo kept his silence as he pulled her arms away and took a step back to keep a distance from her.

Massaging his forehead, he then waved to the bodyguards standing outside. They understood his order and dragged "Elliot" toward the exit.

Distress and panic were written all over "Elliot's" face as the bodyguards dragged him away, but he kept looking back, saying, "Mr. Alston, I'm begging you. Please let me go! Miss Clayton promised me a million if I can successfully upset you. I was overtaken by greed for a second, that's why I... But I didn't harm anyone!"

His confession was the last thing Elyse was expecting, and her face turned scarlet from the sudden rush of blood. She wanted to throw her temper at "Elliot," but Leo's presence stopped her. So, she explained. "Hear me out, Leo-"

"What are you going to explain? Are you trying to tell me that you plotted all this to make me upset so that I'll go and look for Amelie to fight for the child's custody? Since when you started colluding with my mother?"

Dumbstruck, Elyse stood there like a statue with her mouth hanging, her eyes filled with shock and emptiness.

Never did she imagine that Leo could replace "Elliot," who was hidden away so well, and even found out that she was in cahoots with Melissa.

Leo rubbed his temples silently.

Previously, he didn't think that Toby would lie to him, so it didn't occur to him that Ashton would give him false news. Once this lie was uncovered, many things could be easily explained, and replaceing this "Elliot" would be a piece of cake.

"I-I did this for your own good! Mrs. Alston wants to have Bria, and Bria should be by your side since she's an Alston. I don't want you and the Alstons to be criticized when we're married in the future. Also, I wish to be a qualified mother and take good care of Bria," Elyse tried to redeem herself. Sniffling aggrievedly, she almost burst into tears. "Leo, honestly speaking, doing this doesn't benefit me at all. If Bria comes back, I'll become her stepmother. What will the public think of me? They'll assume that I could even become a stepmother just to marry a rich man. With that, our feelings for each other will be denied by them. In the end, they'll just see me as a superficial, money-grubbing woman. But why did I still choose to do this despite knowing that I'll be misunderstood? That's because I love you! Leo, I was wrong in the past and didn't treasure your love. It's my turn now to care for and love you. As long as it's beneficial for you, I'm willing to do it, even if it means risking you misunderstanding me."

By the time Elyse finished speaking, her face was already flooded with tears, looking aggrieved, pitiful, and humiliated. She thought that after she had said so much, Leo would be moved, at least, and come over to hug and comfort her. After all, not everything she just said was a lie; they also showed sincerity.

There was a time when he wooed her love, and now that she had given all of herself to him, there shouldn't be a reason for him to be unhappy.

Despite that, Leo merely stood there quietly. His eyes were icy, void of all traces of emotions in them.

Panic raced through her chest, and she threw herself at him. "Leo, I know you're unhappy that I did this, but I can't rid this feeling of insecurity of me. Let's get married! We're going to be together, anyway. As long as we're married, I'll have nothing to worry about anymore." Hugging Leo's waist tightly, Elyse buried her face into his chest and closed her eyes. "When that happens, no matter what you decide to do and whether to bring Bria back or not, I'll listen to you."

But Leo didn't answer and stretched his arms to the back. One by one, he pried her fingers open, took a step back, and kept a distance from her once more.

Refusing to give up, she wanted to hold him again, but a deep voice that tore her apart like thunder rammed into her ears.