Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain
Chapter 34: A KISS ON THE BACK OF HER HAND

Chapter 34: A KISS ON THE BACK OF HER HAND

Hundreds of years ago, before this country became a republic, it was a great kingdom that was famous for the story of a princess who loved a prince from an enemy kingdom. However, because of the political situation at that time, of course, they couldn’t be together.

Therefore, the prince called a very famous gem craftsman and asked him to make a ring that he would present to the princess.

The stone of the ring was a rare gemstone, a very rare mineral in the world.

The price of the ring became very expensive because the princess and the prince managed to unite their kingdoms after they were very old, and their partners had died.

They waited fifty years to be together, and the ring was always on the princess’s hand.

That was the story of the ring, and the host looked very excited to recall the tragic story; his expression obviously didn’t match the bitter end of the story.

"I don’t like this story," Hazel murmured. "But I like the ring." She turned to look at Ranon. "You will get it for me, right? I want a romantic gesture; we have discussed it."

Ranon tightened the coat that Hazel was wearing around her neck; from the outside, it looked like he was taking care of her, but for Hazel, it almost felt like he was going to choke her.

"Pretend that you don’t know."

"Oh, okay." Hazel grinned. Her eyes flickered greedily at the ring that was on full display on the big screen. The luster of the blue color of its gem was very pretty. "You are being very generous. We need to put it on our prenup that this ring will be mine even after our divorce."

"You need to see yourself. You look scary." Ranon furrowed his brows; Hazel was smiling from ear to ear. He moved her face away from him.

"That’s not polite to say something like that to your woman," Hazel reproached him lightly, though she sat down on her seat and relaxed as she stared again at the ring on display. The ring was so gorgeous, and she liked shiny and sparkly things.

Well, to be fair, she liked expensive things.

However, she should have guessed it. Arlo was here with Aubrey for this purpose. He came here because he wanted the ring too. He was going to present the ring to Aubrey. She was pregnant after all; unless she got an abortion, she would start showing now, and it was not something that you could hide forever.

Sooner or later, Arlo needed to take responsibility and marry Aubrey.

Hazel wondered whether her father already knew about the pregnancy. What would he think about it? What would he think if his golden child was a whore who was impregnated by her future brother-in-law? Would he still take her side?

Hazel didn’t think she would find the answer.

"Five million."

Ranon’s deep voice snapped Hazel’s attention back to him. He talked to the small mic that was put in front of each seat for them to bid. The big screen in front of them showed numbers eleven and seventeen.

Eleven was Ranon’s number, while seventeen was Arlo’s.

"Seven million."

Arlo glanced at Ranon briefly, but his expression showed nothing.

"Ten million."

"Twelve million."

"Fifteen million."

Hazel tugged Ranon’s sleeve to get his attention. "You are not going to lose this, right?" Well, at this point, she simply didn’t want Arlo to get the ring because she was being spiteful. Even if it was not a valuable ring like that, and it was simply a piece of paper, she was not going to let him have it, especially when she saw the naked greed in Aubrey’s eyes as she eyed the ring. "Think of this as an investment. You can’t lose this item."

Ranon was speechless. He had never said that he was going to back away from the bidding, but Hazel was so eager to get the ring.

"Twenty million!" Arlo became agitated now. Aubrey had been whispering something in his ear, and you could see that he was pissed.

Hazel recognized that stern expression, and she really wanted to laugh at his face. Now he knew how Aubrey could be very frustrating.

And Hazel knew how to make that man become even more frustrated. She tugged Ranon’s sleeve to get his attention again, which made the man look at her with the same irritation on his expression. It seemed Ranon felt what Arlo felt as well.

"What?" Ranon was about to end this bidding by doubling the number, but Hazel stopped him. She pulled him down and whispered in his ear. "No." Ranon disagreed with her idea. He was not going to waste his time.

"Please... do it for me, please..." Hazel gave him her innocent look. "Just do it that way."

"That’s ridiculous."

"Please..." Hazel rested her chin on Ranon’s shoulder. Her face was so close he could see her brown eyes dilated.

Beside Ranon, Lucian and Valerie looked at the two of them with a frown; they couldn’t hear what they were talking about as they spoke in a low voice, but they could see how Hazel coaxed Ranon into doing something.

"Get off my face," Ranon said sternly. He nudged her cheek so he could push her face away from him. She was too comfortable being too close for his liking.

However, Lucian and Valerie were not the only people who stared at Ranon and Hazel, because right now, Arlo had his eyes on them too.

He narrowed his eyes when he saw that familiar gesture. He almost stood up and approached them if it was not for the fact Ranon pushed Hazel’s face away from him and Arlo could see her face. That was not the face he was looking for. It was not her, but oddly enough, she acted like her.

He recognized that gesture. River didn’t do it often; he could count it on one hand whenever she tried to act spoiled, but she always did that.

Hazel Rose. This was not the first time he saw similar habits like River’s. Who was she actually?

Arlo furrowed his brows; he felt uncomfortable with the whole thing, and the host started to count. His mind was all over the place as he fixed his eyes on that woman.

"Twenty-one million," Ranon said. He glared at Hazel, who was beaming because he listened to her demand.

"Twenty-five million."

"Twenty-six million."

"Thirty million."

"Thirty-one million."

And finally, Lucian and Valerie, and also Arlo, understood what Hazel wanted from Ranon. She wanted to prolong this bidding, getting Arlo frustrated. But for what? Arlo didn’t remember he had any grudges against Hazel, unless that woman was holding a grudge against Aubrey for her invasive approach for the second time.

"Forty million."

"Forty-one million."

Ranon couldn’t understand why Hazel wanted to piss off his opponent; he wondered if she knew him privately. But he was sure the Barlowe family had never had any deals with the Rose family. They were in different fields.

But soon, he was getting bored with this, and Hazel could tell that. "No." She shook her head when he was going for an exorbitant amount of money to end this. "He will stop. Just a little bit more." She glanced at Arlo, and she caught him staring at her.

"What is it? An ex?"

Hazel startled with the question. In a way, Ranon was right. Arlo was an ex. Someone that she wanted to flay alive. But right now, she was not River. She was Hazel, and Hazel didn’t know Arlo.

"That woman approached me before. That one, the one beside that man. I don’t want to piss that man off; I only want to upset her. We met them in the Imperial Restaurant, remember? She approached me again before and accused me of the same thing."

"Seventy-one million," Ranon said mindlessly to the mic, as his attention was on Hazel. "And what did you say?"

"I said, I don’t want her ugly man. My man is better in any aspect than hers." Hazel didn’t forget to flatter him. "My man has better looks, body, stamina, and money."

Ranon laughed at her statement, and without them knowing, Arlo stopped bidding on the ring, and Ranon won it for eighty-six million.

It was a great number; you could buy two grand houses with that money.

Hazel beamed when Ranon stood up to go to the podium where the host and the audience cheered for him, but to Hazel’s surprise, he took her hand, indicating that she was going to go up with him.

"No, I don’t want," Hazel said through her gritted teeth, though, her lips pressed into a thin line, an awkward smile.

"Come with me; you are going to humiliate me," Ranon hissed as he tightened his grip on her hand.

People cheered for them when they finally saw Ranon Leighton come with a woman to this event since he had never been with anyone on any occasion, especially a woman. They were excited to see Hazel, but she didn’t feel the same thrill at all.

"Let go of my hand and walk there alone; you will not feel humiliated."

However, instead of letting her go, Ranon leaned over and kissed the back of her hand, which made her shudder when his cold lips made contact with her skin.

People cheered. The ring was a symbol of love and commitment, and the fact that Ranon Leighton was kissing a woman’s hand was already shocking news.

The reporters started to flash their cameras.