So he’d had it prepared in advance!
[That guy’s so crafty. He had a fake result ready ahead of time, waiting until we got suspicious before showing it to us. He’s taking advantage of the fact that we can’t demand he get retested. If word of this gets out, it’ll damage the Lục family’s reputation.]
[This test result is completely fake. He bribed the doctor to make up the results.]
Everyone’s expression was grim.
Riley Carter seemed lost in thought. He glanced at Lục’s father, then went back upstairs.
It seemed Avery Reed was determined to adopt this boy.
Worse yet, he seemed certain the Lục family would agree to his request, and had the boy serve as a demonstration.
This is hilarious. The boy’s eyes practically screamed, “I want to be a rich young master,” but he was pretending to be well-behaved.
[And this is what he calls well-behaved? No wonder. A biological father looking at his precious son thinks everything he does is wonderful.]
[I’m pretty sure Avery Reed and Emma Walker coached the kid beforehand.]
The eldest sister suddenly cried out in alarm and frantically grabbed the boy by the collar. “This necklace… This necklace…”
“Avery Reed, give me an explanation!”
“Why is that child wearing the necklace?”
10
The eldest sister hadn’t said anything, so I hadn’t noticed the necklace around the boy’s wrist.
[Come on, big sister. How can you not figure this out?]
[Avery Reed had been cheating on her. His student, Emma Walker, had been his lover for five years.]
[If you don’t divorce a filthy man like that, I really won’t respect you!]
A flash of panic crossed Avery Reed’s eyes.
A thought flashed through the popcorn-munching system in my head, and I chuckled to myself. [So that’s it. I get it now.]
The kid hurriedly reached to snatch the necklace back, but the eldest sister was too worked up to let go of him.
The child, who was usually loud and unruly at home, showed his true colors at once.
He shoved his eldest sister away and snapped, “This is the necklace Mom gave me!”
“I know! You and that student of yours, Emma Walker, have something going on!”
His eldest sister pointed at Avery Reed. “Avery Reed, explain yourself!”
“Morgan Anderson, stop making a scene. It’s just a necklace. There are plenty of others just like it out there. It’s just a coincidence.”
Unfortunately, Avery Reed’s excuse did nothing to convince anyone.
I cut him off, leaned toward the child’s ear, and whispered something.
Right after that, he charged at Avery Reed and punched him. Then he sat down on the floor and burst into loud sobs.
“Dad, you lied to me! You and Mom both lied to me!”
“I don’t want to stay here anymore. I want to go home. Dad, take me home!”
At the word “Dad,” his eldest sister’s face turned deathly pale.
“You betrayed me…”
Avery Reed was at a loss for words. In a fit of anger, he slapped the child across the face. He no longer looked as calm as he had a moment earlier.
“Morgan Anderson, listen to me. How could I ever betray you?”
“It’s all a misunderstanding. Calm down. How could you think that? I’ve sacrificed so much for you, and all I’m asking for is one wish. Can’t you do this for me?”
[You piece of trash! Even now, you’re still trying to manipulate my sister!]
“You dared to betray my sister? I’ll never forgive you!”
My older brother, Avery Carter, had been roused by the commotion. Ever since he’d been deceived, he’d been in a bad mood.
Wasn’t there someone perfect to take it out on?
After Avery Carter had hit Avery Reed a few times, the child saw what was happening and rushed forward, wailing as he tried to protect him. “You bully! Don’t hit my dad!”
“Dad, let’s go home and find Mom.”
“Don’t sell me… I’ll be good…”
At the crucial moment, Riley Carter said, “My brother had the appraisal agency investigated. You bribed the appraiser and falsified the results.”
“Avery Reed, do you have anything else to say?”
After hearing that, Avery Carter grew even angrier. “I’ll kill you, you backstabbing bastard!”
Avery Reed shamelessly accused Riley Brooks of not giving him the warmth he wanted, of making him wait on her all the time, of looking down on him, and of refusing to have a child with him even though he wanted one.
He even claimed the child’s mother had seduced him, leaving him unable to control himself.
Luckily, my eldest sister had seen through him and didn’t even want to look at him anymore.
“Since you’re so unhappy with me, let’s get divorced.”
Avery Reed didn’t want a divorce. Everything he’d spent years building up depended on leeching off the Lục family.
He wept and begged, tears and snot streaming down his face.
[Liar! You disgusting piece of trash!]
[Just you wait. You’ll get divorced and walk away with nothing!]
Avery Reed left, looking dejected, with the child in tow.
The Lục family would be waiting to hold him accountable.
Riley Brooks’s eyes reddened as she took my hand. “Tri Tri, thanks to you, I finally saw who he really is.”
I blinked a few times. “Ha ha, what can I say? The kid was easy to fool.”
Mẹ Lục was curious, too. “What did you tell the child?”
“I said, ‘Your mom and dad don’t want you anymore. They’re going to sell you.’”
The way Avery Reed had acted really did make it look like he was selling a child.
Everyone burst out laughing. Even Riley Carter smiled faintly, his eyes full of amusement.
[Actually, Emma Walker was the one who really wanted to win.]
[She believed Avery Reed when he said he had my eldest sister wrapped around his finger. She thought that even if Riley knew the child was hers, she couldn’t do anything about it. So she deliberately had the child wear that necklace to show off to my sister.]
[But who could’ve guessed that this very necklace would ruin their whole plan?]
11
The matter was resolved perfectly.
Avery Reed had an affair, left with nothing, and was accused of professional misconduct and having a disreputable private life. In the end, the school fired him.
I heard that afterward, he had trouble finding work wherever he went, and spent all day at home beating Emma Walker.
Not long after, Emma Walker got involved with another lover, broke one of his legs, and then told him a secret.
Actually, the child wasn’t Avery Reed’s biological child, either.
The test results that day had been accurate after all.
Avery Reed thought he’d bribed the person conducting the test, but he had no idea Emma Walker had already gotten there first and teamed up with the examiner to fool him completely.
Riley Carter told me about all this later.
I laughed like crazy.
12
Over the next few days, Riley Carter seemed like someone had taken over his soul.
Every day after work, he stopped by the flower shop to buy me flowers, making Riley’s parents look at me differently.
When he came back from business trips, he brought me local gifts, sometimes food and sometimes a few luxury items.
Until one day, he brought home flowers I was allergic to, and my whole body broke out in red welts.
I couldn’t take it anymore and confronted him outright. “Do you think I got that 10 million too easily, so you’re deliberately trying to get back at me?”
Riley Carter looked embarrassed. “It was my fault for misunderstanding you before. I just wanted to make it up to you.”
But he hadn’t known I was allergic to roses.
I gave up:
“Riley Carter, why don’t we get divorced?”
“I really can’t get used to you acting like this.”
Riley Carter shook his head, his silence making his refusal clear.
“My mother has passed away. I don’t need your money to pay for her treatment anymore. And now I understand—nothing ever happened between us.”
I didn’t understand. “Why don’t you want to get divorced?”
Riley Carter still said nothing.
Could it be about the money?
"If it's about the money, I can refuse the 500 triệu in compensation." I said firmly.
[If it doesn't belong to me, then just let it go.]
[Luckily, I still have 10 million. That's enough for me to live on for the rest of my life. If I save up, maybe I could even hire a few male models.]
Riley Carter suddenly asked, "Riley Cooper, what kind of person do you think I am?"
He looked very serious.
Honestly, Riley Carter really is my ideal type.
Whether it's his looks, height, aura, personality, or the way he treats people, I truly appreciate and like all of it.
I answered honestly, "You're great—handsome and wealthy."
[Most importantly, he knows how to keep himself pure, and he's so innocent.]
[I really like that kind of person.]
"So, would you like to give us a try?"
Riley Carter's face slowly turned red, clearly visible. "I want to pursue you. Will you give me a chance?"
So all those flowers and gifts these past few days were his way of courting me?
I stared at him, finding it really hard to say no.
He's rich, good-looking, genuinely innocent when it comes to love, and his character isn't bad at all.
During the time I've spent with him, I've felt his sincerity.
Anyway, I don't have feelings for anyone else. Why not give it a shot?
Riley Carter grew uncomfortable under my gaze. "If you feel pressured, I can give you more time to think about it."
"No need to think. I'll give you this chance."
But I still wanted to ask him, "Do you like me for who I am, or just for my looks?"
"If it were just my looks, how could you confess to me when my face was covered in red welts?"
Riley Carter smiled, his expression relaxed. "As long as it's you, I like you."
Ever since he opened up, Riley Carter has become much more clingy.
He really knows how to please me—now he only brings home valuable things.
Mẹ Lục took my hand and coached me: “It took that boy forever to come around. You need to know how to keep him interested—don’t agree too quickly.”
“Men are like that. If they get what they want too easily, they won’t know how to cherish it later.”
Mẹ Lục really lived up to her reputation. Her words were downright philosophical.
Riley Carter would never imagine that his own mother was trying to “mess with” him.
One night, Riley Carter got drunk and kept insisting he wanted to sleep in the same bed as me:
“Other married couples sleep together. Why can’t we?”
He looked so aggrieved that my heart softened, and I let him get into bed with me.
Riley Carter said he wanted to tell me a secret.
I leaned closer to listen, but all he dared to do was plant a feather-light kiss on my lips.
Then he curled back under the covers, revealing two ears bright red.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to tell me a secret?”
“Yeah. I was going to tell you that… I can hear your thoughts.”
I froze. [So he already knows I’m not the original Riley Cooper?]
He leaned closer. “I know. You’re the one I’ve always loved, not her.”
That was good enough for me.
After hearing him say that, I could see this marriage continuing.
I slept soundly that night.
The next morning, when I opened my eyes, Riley Carter was propped up beside me, gazing at me fondly.
His voice suddenly rang in my head.
[What do I do? My wife looks so sweet just after waking up. I really want to kiss her!]
Riley Carter clearly hadn’t said a word.
Me: [?]
So now I can hear his thoughts, too?
Oh my God.
What kind of CEO spends all his time thinking about kissing?
(The End)