The Supreme Soldier in the City
Chapter 345 - 352: To Leave or Not to Leave

Chapter 345: Chapter 352: To Leave or Not to Leave

In front of Gina Lopez, James Brown put on his clothes, turned his head to look at Gina, James wanted to say something, but in the end, he just shook his head and walked out of the bedroom.

Having lived with Gina for so long without their relationship escalating, it was somewhat ironic that he ended up being intimate with Gina just as he was about to be free from their entanglement.

After freshening up, he came out of the bathroom and saw Emily Lopez. Emily said to James with a grin, "Brother-in-law, did you sleep well last night?"

James smiled and replied, "Of course, I slept great. I’ve been worried about mom’s illness these days, and now that there’s nothing wrong, I finally had a good night’s sleep."

Emily squinted her eyes and looked at James, "You’re really dutiful, brother-in-law. If my mom heard this, she’d surely be moved to tears."

Laughter from Mrs. Lopez, Emily’s mother, came from behind them, "Indeed, James has been more filial than both of you put together. Humph, I really raised you two for nothing all these years."

Turning around, Emily took Mrs. Lopez’s arm and said cheerfully, "Yeah, brother-in-law is great. With him here, my sister and I can finally be free."

"What freedom? Didn’t you say you found a boyfriend? Hurry up and bring him over for me to see. Now that your sister’s affairs are settled, I still have to worry about you."

Emily suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, Mom, you really kick away the ladder after crossing the river, don’t you? I’ve just...just settled my sister’s matters, and you’re already rushing me."

Mrs. Lopez cleared her throat and said, "Now that your sister is settled, naturally, it’s your turn."

James felt as if Emily was about to say something just now but then she changed her words, and it seemed somehow related to him. Moreover, they both clearly knew about his and Gina’s relationship, but now that the illness was gone, it seemed like the mother and daughter had completely forgotten that James and Gina were together because of the illness.

At this moment, Gina came out and upon seeing her mother and sister, her expression instantly became a bit unnatural. Emily immediately went up to her with a grin and said, "Gina, you seem a bit different from usual today."

Gina felt suddenly panicked, but she composed herself and said, "Of course, it’s different, isn’t mom’s illness cured?"

Emily tilted her head and looked at Gina, "No, it’s not that you’re happy, you seem a bit awkward. You didn’t do something bad, did you?"

Gina felt even more panicked and coughed dryly, "There’s no such thing. What bad thing could I possibly do? Excuse me, I need to wash my face." After saying that, she pushed past Emily and went towards the bathroom.

Then Emily called out from behind, "Hey, Mom, don’t you think my sister is walking a bit awkwardly today?"

Mrs. Lopez nodded and said, "Is she? I didn’t notice."

"Definitely. I just feel my sister is uncomfortable walking. Sister, you don’t have any discomfort in your legs, do you? Have brother-in-law take you for a check-up."

Gina didn’t actually feel any discomfort while walking, but having read some books on physiology, she knew that women might feel a bit uncomfortable after their first time. So, with Emily’s comments, Gina suddenly felt as if her walk was indeed different from before, which made her even more nervous. "There’s nothing wrong. Don’t talk nonsense." She quickly entered the bathroom and shut the door.

At this point, Mrs. Lopez nodded and said, "It does seem like she’s a bit uneasy walking."

"Brother-in-law, what’s wrong with my sister?" Emily blinked her big eyes at James.

Mrs. Lopez also looked at James at that moment, which made James feel extremely awkward. He obviously knew why Gina was acting this way, but he couldn’t voice it. Clearing his throat, he said, "It’s nothing, just a little twist."

"Well, that’s good to hear." Emily winked at James again, her smile somewhat meaningful.

James felt Emily must have realized what had happened and that she was doing this on purpose to make him and Gina feel awkward. But since it had already happened and could not be hidden, if she had figured it out, then so be it.

Now that Mrs. Lopez was well, James and Gina finished breakfast and prepared to leave.

However, before leaving, Mrs. Lopez and Jonathan Lopez called the two to the living room, while Emily sat beside her mother with a smiling face, watching them.

Mrs. Lopez then fixed her gaze on James and said softly, "James, what do you think of our Gina?"

James felt uncomfortable under Mother Lopez’s scrutiny, already guessing what she meant to say, "Gina is a good woman, she’s beautiful, and she’s also very competent."

Mrs. Lopez nodded and said, "I know the two of you got married because of me. Now that I’m not ill anymore, I don’t know if you two can still be together. Can you be frank with me, whether you’ll leave Gina now that I’m well?"

James Brown hadn’t answered yet when Gina Lopez broke in, saying: "Mom, you don’t have to worry about our business, we will handle it well."

Mrs. Lopez immediately glared and said: "You can handle it well? If you could handle it, I wouldn’t have had to fake sickness to make you get married!"

"Ah?" Gina Lopez and James Brown’s eyes widened in disbelief as they looked at Mrs. Lopez.

Only then did Mrs. Lopez realize that, in her agitation, she had slipped up, and her face became full of embarrassment, while Jonathan Lopez at this moment could only offer a wry smile and shake his head, saying: "I told you not to do this, but you insisted on it. You can’t keep your mouth shut, can you? James, if you want to blame anyone, blame us. Indeed, we lied to you on purpose. It’s because we really think you are a great kid but there was no progress with Gina, so we came up with this idea."

At this point, James Brown really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He never imagined it was all a hoax, but the hoax didn’t actually make him feel any resentment. He gave a wry smile and said: "Mom, Dad, you guys are... really taking pains."

Gina, however, was a bit angry. She stamped her foot and said: "Really! Do you know how many things I have to deal with in my company? How many things have I missed because of your meddling?"

Mrs. Lopez’s eyes sharpened as she retorted: "I lied to you two, so what? I’m just worried about you, aren’t I? Both of you are 26 and not in a hurry to get married. When do you plan to do it? Do I really have to get sick before you think about marrying and having children?"

Those words left Gina speechless. Suddenly, she saw Emily Lopez covering her mouth and giggling secretly, and immediately turned her ire towards Emily, saying angrily: "Was it your idea, wasn’t it?"

Emily Lopez tilted her head back and replied: "Yes, it was my idea, what about it?"

Mrs. Lopez waved her hand and said: "We admit our mistake, but now give us an answer, are you two going to be together or not? Don’t keep me guessing."

"Yes!"

"No!"

Both Gina Lopez and James Brown spoke at the same time, but their answers were diametrically opposed. James Brown gave an affirmative answer, while Gina Lopez gave a negative one.

Hearing their contrary responses, Gina’s parents and Emily were all somewhat surprised. Logically speaking, it was James Brown who was coerced into this situation, and according to Emily’s recounting, Gina was also interested in James Brown, but it was always James who didn’t agree. So the one who should be disagreeing ought to be James, but why was it Gina now?

After exchanging glances with James Brown, Gina immediately said: "Since mom is not sick, then our marriage agreement naturally doesn’t count anymore. How could we possibly live together?"

James Brown shook his head and said, "We..."

Gina quickly cut off James’s words and said: "I said we can’t be together, so we can’t. You don’t have to persuade me. We will proceed with the divorce procedures when we get back."

At this time, Mrs. Lopez suddenly became annoyed, slapped the sofa and shouted: "Gina Lopez, are you trying to anger me to death? James now wants to live a good life with you, and you don’t want to? As a woman, are you so eager to have a second marriage before anything else? If you keep this up, I think I will be driven to illness even without being sick." At the end, she couldn’t help coughing, not pretending this time, as her pneumonia was not yet fully resolved, and she got so angry and anxious that she couldn’t catch her breath, turning her face bright red.

Gina was startled and hurriedly went over to rub her mother’s chest, saying, "Mom, don’t be angry, ah. I was forcing him to do this. How can he be happy living with me while keeping resentment in his heart?"

"Why can’t it be happy? With time, feelings between men and women will grow. James, I’m asking you, did you really mean what you said just now?"

If it had been yesterday, James Brown would have immediately insisted on splitting up with Gina Lopez, but after what happened last night, he now found himself unable to say so. Looking at Gina, he said, "Gina, let’s try to be together. Like mom said, if we separate now, you’ll have rushed into a second marriage for no reason."

Hearing her mother getting really angry, Gina finally nodded and agreed: "All right, let’s give it a try."

Mrs. Lopez then smiled with relief and said: "That’s better. A couple’s feelings are cultivated. Just live together and things will work out."

Jonathan Lopez sighed and said, "James, this is a matter for life. We’ve tricked you once and can’t force you any longer. If you can get along with Gina, we’ll be happy. But if you can’t mesh well together, and decide to split up later, we will also support you."

Emily jumped up and exclaimed: "Don’t worry, the two of them can’t just casually part now. The raw rice has already been cooked into finished rice. After a while, there will be a baby, and then they definitely can’t separate."

Gina felt extremely embarrassed about the raw rice becoming cooked rice in such a muddled way; she really wasn’t used to this. Meanwhile, Mother Lopez laughed, saying: "Yes, yes, have a child soon, having one sooner is better."

At that moment, Gina remembered something. She was not in her safe period, and even though things were muddled last night, she really didn’t want to accidentally get pregnant now. She was at a loss for what she would do.

At this point, James Brown could only reply with a dry laugh, realizing that now he truly was a married man. Emma Campbell wasn’t a big issue, but explaining this to Melody Yoody, that was going to be impossibly difficult.