30 Days Till I Divorce My Husband novel Chapter 585

Staring at the man in disbelief, Leonora listened as he rambled on, "Look at you, already 28. You've probably been on tons of dates and got rejected because of your age, right?"

"Considering you look okay, I'm willing to give it a shot. But let's be clear—you're not getting any younger. If we don't tie the knot soon, you'll hit 30 and end up being someone's stepmom."

"And let's drop the dowry talk. I can't stand how people treat weddings like business deals."

"It's a marriage, not a sale. What kind of backward society are we living in?"

His arrogance, his belittling comments, and the assumption that she should be grateful for his attention made Leonora's head pound. Over the past two years, she'd been on plenty of dates, but it was always her rejecting them, not the other way around.

What did he mean by saying she'd just be stepmom material in a couple of years? And dowry? Seriously?

Leonora felt her brain overheating. They'd only met for a few minutes, and he was already talking about marriage, criticizing her, and obsessing over her age. Where did he get such nerve?

Glaring at him, the usually calm Leonora was about to lose it. Taking a deep breath, she locked eyes with him and tried to stay composed. "Mister, you're what, 35? With that figure, I can't tell if that's your height or your waistline. And you have the nerve to criticize me?"

"So what if I'm 28? Did I drink your water or eat your rice? Where do you get off feeling so superior? I'm still seven years younger than you, and honestly, you look 53, easy."

She wasn't exactly being fair, but she was too ticked off to care.

"From where I'm standing, you're still single at your age probably because you're a cheapskate. You don't want to offer a dowry and are likely looking to mooch off the woman's family. With that attitude, you should stay home and stop embarrassing yourself."

If it weren't for her extreme irritation and his continuous provocations, Leonora wouldn't have been able to fire back so sharply.

She was livid. Peyton really had some nerve setting her up with such a jerk. What a waste of time; she could have been at home, sleeping.

Leonora's words left the man pale with rage. "You bitch, what did you say? Say that again."

He stood up, slamming the table and pointing at her. As Leonora grabbed her purse and stood to leave, the man seized her arm. "You think you can just insult me and leave? You're not going anywhere until you apologize."

"Let go," Leonora demanded, turning around angrily.

"You think I'll let go just because you said so?"

"Let go." Before he could finish his sentence, his wrist was suddenly gripped tightly by someone else.

For a moment, it felt like his bones would be crushed. Scowling, he turned to see who it was and yelled, "Who the hell are you? Mind your own business!"

As the man released her, Leonora looked up to see Taylor standing there. She exhaled in relief but also felt incredibly embarrassed. How had it come to this, that every time she ran into Taylor, it was in the most awkward situations?

Leonora wasn't afraid of the man; she just felt mortified that Taylor had seen her in such a situation. After all, he was her ex.

When most people run into their exes, they hope to appear dignified, yet here she was, looking more defeated each time.

Noticing her discomfort, Taylor suggested, "Let's go somewhere else to eat."

Taylor had asked Blake to look into the man Leonora was supposed to meet today, learning he wasn't quite right in the head, which is why he had shown up. Probably her family was misled by the matchmaker, praising the man's family background, which led to the arranged date. In fact, it was just like that.

To someone like Taylor, most people seemed just so.

Before long, having gotten into the car with Taylor, Leonora awkwardly said, "I'm sorry for the trouble." Then she added, "And I'm really quite embarrassed."

To her apologies, Taylor simply smiled and said, "That's their problem, not yours. If your family tries to set you up again, tell them to do a thorough background check first."

Then, he added, "I'm worried they might try to turn this against you. I had Blake record everything just now. I'll send it to you later."

Taylor was well-prepared, concerned that Leonora might have a hard time explaining herself, worried her parents might think she was being too picky.