Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 89 - 089 Nervous? Are you naturally not fond of smiling?

Chapter 89: 089 Nervous? Are you naturally not fond of smiling?

Civil Affairs Bureau?

License registration!

Wyatt Hale immediately perked up.

Zoe Bell had just received her Passport Card today, and though she knew he said "as soon as possible," she hadn’t expected it to be scheduled so suddenly. Sensing her surprise, William Hale’s eyes arched slightly, "Do you have other plans for tomorrow?"

"No," Zoe Bell shook her head.

It was just that her mind was filled with what Lucas Bell had said. When she turned her head, she saw that conspicuous bunch of hyacinths.

"Sister-in-law, this is from my brother," Wyatt Hale interjected.

Zoe Bell hugged the flowers, her eyes and brows curved into a smile as she glanced at William Hale, "Thank you."

Once she took the flowers back to her room, Wyatt Hale excitedly approached his elder brother, "Bro, what time are you going to register tomorrow? Take me with you."

"Why would you go?"

"I’ll film it, responsible for capturing your and sister-in-law’s important moments, beautiful instants."

"Beautiful instants aren’t captured with a camera."

"Then how are they captured?"

"With the heart."

Wyatt Hale was so grossed out that he got goosebumps all over, and he scurried back to his room to begin bombarding the Greenland Trip Squad chat group.

Sharp Knife: [Guys, breaking news, my bro is taking my sister-in-law to register tomorrow.]

Old Sir Hale: [Just going to register?]

[Little rascal, when you brought her home before, those who didn’t know thought you had already sealed the deal. Turns out, you’re still an unwed wild man in the end.]

Everyone: [...]

Wild man?

Only the old master dared to say that.

[Rushing home to get the Passport Card, I thought you had already settled that girl, looking so nonchalant about it.]

Sharp Knife: [He’s faking it.]

[Recently, the brother who grew up with my sister-in-law came back. They’re not related by blood, and he likes her too. My bro gets so jealous when he sees them talking. They’re just catching up as siblings, and he even goes to follow them...]

One thing led to another, and Wyatt Hale spilled all of his big brother’s secrets.

Old Sir Hale: [Where’s your dad?]

Sharp Knife: [He’s out playing with my mom, leaving me to face the Demon King alone, poor little helpless me.]

Inside the group, Old Sir Hale initiated a large transfer.

Reminding Wyatt Hale to capture William Hale and Zoe Bell’s moment of registration tomorrow.

Sharp Knife: [Grandpa, so generous!]

[Mission will be completed.]

——

Meanwhile, Zoe Bell, who took the flowers back to her room, trimmed and arranged the hyacinths in a vase. Memories flickered through her mind like a slideshow.

Could it be, from the moment she got into William Hale’s car...

Step by step, he led her into a trap.

The rainy night she was thrown out of the Bell Family, his appearance was too coincidental.

Are there really such coincidences in this world?

After her bath, she lay in bed, and William Hale hadn’t returned to the room. However, being able to sever ties with the Bell Family smoothly was enough to make her too excited to sleep, plus the fact that they were going to register tomorrow made it even harder for her to fall asleep.

Zoe Bell didn’t know when she fell asleep, only remembering that William Hale didn’t return all night.

He had already left work early to come home today, and he probably wouldn’t be able to go to the office tomorrow since he had to finish all the urgent work.

As night fell, Zac Cruz sat beside him, already yawning incessantly.

My dear dad,

Spare the working man!

I really can’t hold on much longer.

Every day, for those few stinking bucks, I lose hair, and now my life’s nearly gone too.

He felt he would die suddenly sooner or later.

But William Hale was full of energy, and a cup of coffee had him going strong for most of the night. By the late hours, probably craving a smoke, he somehow found a pack of mint candies and was munching noisily on them.

"Want one?" William Hale saw Zac Cruz eyeing the candy.

Zac Cruz smiled and took one.

The sugar was mild, but the mint flavor was intense, going straight to the brain!

It was over,

and I couldn’t feel the least bit sleepy anymore. It was too invigorating.

Not until four in the morning did William Hale finish his work.

"Sir, would you like to go back to your room to rest?" Zac Cruz still had to sort out the documents and communicate with the company’s department heads after work began.

"No need, I’ll just take a quick rest here."

He was afraid that at this hour,

he might disturb her rest.

**

The next day

It was already September, yet the trees remained lush with foliage.

Zoe Bell got up early, purposefully dressed in a white shirt paired with a soft-colored long skirt, applied light makeup, and took her Passport Card and identity card downstairs.

She breathed deeply several times, feeling inexplicably nervous.

Upon going downstairs, she saw Wyatt Hale; this morning, he was cooking.

"I made coffee, no sugar or milk added."

Whole wheat bread, cut-up grilled chicken breast, and asparagus.

"Where’s Wyatt?" Zoe Bell glanced around the living room and saw no sign of Wyatt Hale.

"He might be sleeping in."

She got up early and after breakfast, it was just past seven. They weren’t far from the Civil Affairs Bureau, and it would be too early to go there now. Soon, Kyle Lowe arrived, followed by several others, one of them carrying a camera.

"What is this?" Zoe Bell looked towards William Hale.

"Taking pictures," William Hale explained. "I heard that the marriage photos taken at the Civil Affairs Bureau are not very appealing."

So he specially arranged for someone to come over to take the pictures needed for their marriage certificate.

Zoe Bell hadn’t thought that much about it.

It was all an act—whether the photos looked good or not...

Does it matter?

Or perhaps, as Lucas had said, he liked her, which is why he cared about the details.

Given William Hale’s status, he must have met countless beautiful women, and they had only met two or three times before their arrangement to marry.

Love at first sight?

William Hale seemed like a restrained, rational person at a glance. Would something as sentimental as love at first sight occur to him?

Zoe Bell felt she didn’t possess such charm.

The photography studio’s setting, backdrop, lighting, and equipment setup were all completed swiftly.

Yet the attention was concentrated on Zoe Bell and William Hale.

Ever since the Bell Family’s welcoming banquet, not only in Greenland but probably in Capital City as well, everyone knew about their relationship. The previous incident involving her and Lucas Bell had spread like wildfire, with many people waiting to see a spectacle.

Waiting for Zoe Bell to be abandoned by Wyatt Hale.

This...how?

Are they actually getting married?

Wasn’t it said that William Hale was just playing around?

"We’re almost ready," the staff from the photography studio said, then looked at Zoe Bell, "Let’s style you up a bit."

Zoe Bell nodded and sat on the sofa, letting the stylist work on her hair and makeup.

"What kind of style do you like? Updo, or would you prefer your hair down? The modern Chinese style makeup is also very popular right now, and it would match your temperament."

When the two were sitting on a bench, Zoe Bell could clearly smell the scent emanating from him, the sense of invasion too strong.

"Relax, look at the camera," the photographer said, adjusting the angle.

"Come on, a little closer please."

Zoe Bell pursed her lips and shifted closer to William Hale. It was a bit stuffy in September, the air conditioner was on in the studio, cooling the skin, but the place where their arms touched seemed to generate a bit of warmth.

Her hands, resting on her lap, unconsciously tightened on the hem of her skirt.

This was a wedding photo, after all!

"Relax your expression a bit, we’ll try taking a couple of shots," the photographer said with a smile.

"Could you two get a bit more intimate?" the photographer struggled to keep smiling.

Zoe Bell, after all, was trained in dance, where managing one’s facial expressions on stage was crucial. She could maintain a smile, but William Hale’s face was stern, giving the photographer a bit of a headache.

He really wanted to say:

Are you naturally averse to smiling?