Supreme Mars novel Chapter 16

The moment Caroline and Rebecca returned home, the rest of the family members who were waiting with baited breath in the living room rose to their feet.

"How did it go? Do we have any chance of getting through?"

Rebecca released a defeated sigh but said nothing else.

Jonathan could tell from a single glance that something was wrong. "Caroline?" he said in a nervous tone. "It didn't go well, did it?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "It's all Leo's fault. He screwed things up completely. And now we've just become the laughing stock of the whole event!"

A worried look formed on William's face. "Leo? What on earth did he do? Where is he now? Is he okay?"

"Why are you acting concerned about him? He was there to sabotage our plan!" Caroline then recounted the whole story to everyone, exaggerating the details to spice things up.

"It's always Leo's fault! Why does he keep reemerging like a cockroach that refuses to die?"

"It was all his fault that we were brought down by those Lawson gangsters five years back. And now here he is, screwing up our plans again! Why can't we catch a break from him?"

"Enough is enough. He needs to be taught a lesson!"

"..."

Curses rang out all of a sudden.

William was the only one who hadn't said anything. He sat there silently with an inscrutable look on his face. "Did he really?" he asked, breaking his silence. "Did he really ruin our plans?"

"Why would I lie about this?" Rebecca fired back confidently. "He scuppered our chances. He should be disowned!"

The crowd all echoed in agreement.

"I agree."

"Me too."

"Ditto."

A smug look spread across Rebecca's face. "Everyone wants Leo gone, William," she thought. "As the head of the family, surely you wouldn't ignore the wishes of your own kin."

"Quiet!" William shouted, then furrowed his brows and fell into another silence.

After a long while, William broke his silence. "It's still too early for us to be having this discussion. I'll head to the venue with Caroline and Rebecca tomorrow. We'll talk after that. Thank you all for coming."

William headed upstairs, leaving Rebecca and Caroline behind with dumbfounded looks on their faces. They could tell that William was still trying to defend Leo.

A dark look formed on Rebecca's face. "Let's wait for one more day to pass, then. I'd like to hear what he has to say when the result comes out tomorrow."

Lydia drove the car into a high-end residential area called Violet Residences.

She parked the car in the garage, opened the door, and said, "Come in."

"Thank you." Leo walked in with a million thoughts swirling inside his mind.

This was his first time entering a woman's house in five years. Not just any woman's house, but the house of a woman he'd loved and missed for five years. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't excited or nervous.

Emilia fell asleep sometime after dinner even though it wasn't even 9 p.m.

Without Emilia chattering incessantly, Leo and Lydia became extremely awkward around each other.

Lydia, in particular, was highly territorial. She had never invited a man into her home before, let alone Leo, a man she had just met. Even though he was her husband and the father of her daughter, he was still technically a stranger at this point.

Eventually, Leo broke the ice. "I thought you'd ignore me," he said with a strained smile.

This question stupefied Lydia. "You didn't want to come here?"

"No." Leo quickly waved his hand. "Of course not. I was just… surprised, that's all."

"Why didn't you fight back earlier?" Lydia asked in a cold tone.

She then took a sip of tea and said, "Leo Cohen. An orphan raised by William Ford. The childhood sweetheart of Caroline Ford, William's daughter. You were forced to marry Kate Lawson five years ago when the Ford family was facing a financial crisis, but you ran away on the eve of your wedding day. Then you disappeared for five whole years. Have I got the gist of things?"

"You had someone look into my background?" Leo's expression changed slightly.

Lydia's expression remained calm and composed when she spoke next. "I prefer the phrase 'getting to know you better.'" Lydia studied him for a moment. "I hope Emilia can be braver than that."

A bitter smile tugged at Leo's lips. He didn't fight back not because he didn't have the courage to do so but because fighting back would ruin his plans.

"I'm going upstairs," Lydia said.