âWhat took you so long?â On the other end of the phone, Melissaâs voice was in haste and impatient.
Hearing her words, Elyse rolled her eyes in disdain, unhappy with Melissaâs attitude. Just as she was about to retort, she heard Melissaâs words. âLeo just came back and refuses to hold the engagement. I have done everything I can to help you. Now, itâs up to you if the engagement will go through.â
When Elyse heard her words, she was stunned. âWhat do you mean? Did you not inform him about the engagement?â
She knew that Melissa couldnât have gotten Leo to agree to this matter. Hence, she asked Melissa if she had tried persuading him all this while.
However, Melissa didnât reply to her. The only sound coming from the phone was the beeping toneâ
Melissa had hung up on her.
At that moment, Elyse was furious. She gripped her phone tightly and almost threw it away. However, she stopped herself since there were still many people outside the room. If they were to know about this matter, she would be doomed.
Thinking about this, Elyse clutched the phone tightly and leaned against the wall while breathing heavily. Her eyes were filled with dissatisfaction. After all, there was no way she would give up when things had come to this point.
She gritted her teeth tightly, almost drawing blood.
At this moment, Doniaâs voice rang by the door. âDid something happen, Elyse?â
Hearing her voice, Elyse turned around and was met with her questioning gaze. Doniaâs gaze was like a light shining on her, making her nauseous. However, she suppressed the feeling and said, âIâm fine.
Iâm just nervous and tired, thatâs all.â
When Donia heard her words, her expression softened. Then, she nodded and looked at her watch.
âThere is still some time before the ceremony. Iâll take the girls out of the room while you get some rest.â
âSure.â Elyse maintained her composure, not wanting to let Donia notice her nervousness.
Only did she fall to the ground when the crowd had left.
As Melissaâs words filled her mind, she pulled her new hairdo in frustration, not caring if she would mess it up. At this moment, she was only thinking about how to make Leo agree to this engagement.
After some time, the door opened, and Elyse raised her head abruptly. She saw Leo entering the room with a cold expression.
Leo was a stern and quiet person, and it was getting hard for Elyse to get closer to him after everything that happened. Although he looked at her silently, Elyse still felt her heart thumping wildly.
At that moment, she managed to get up. âLeony.â As she spoke, she darted toward him and tried to hold his hand.
However, Leo took a step back and said, âI just found out that I have an engagement to attend to.â
âWe will be engaged anyway, so why not sooner?â Elyse forced a smile and acted innocent. âHowever, I just got a call from Mrs. Alston, and she told me that you didnât know the exact date of our engagement. Iâm sorry about that. If I had known about this sooner, I would have reminded you.â She secretly pushed the blame onto Melissa.
Leo didnât expose her lies and said, âItâs not too late. After all, the engagement will be called off anyway.â
Although Elyse knew what he was implying, she still acted surprised. âWhat do you mean, Leony? It wouldnât matter even if you donât know the engagement date, right? After all, we are going to get engaged soon.â Then, she bit her lips in disappointment. âAre you going to break your promise? If thatâs the case⦠you should have told me sooner. How will I walk out of this matter now that things have gotten to this point?â She didnât try to push his limits. Instead, she acted as if she didnât know what to do.
As Leo looked at her, he couldnât help but soften his gaze when he saw her state.
Elyse saw the look in his eyes and felt happy. Then, she lay her head on his shoulder as she explained, âI have my reputation to uphold, Leony. I have sent all the invitations, and many guests have arrived.
What will they think of me if we were to call it off abruptly? I would be doomed.â
Although Leo didnât push her away, his words were cruel. âItâs easy. We can tell the public that you regret being engaged with me. Iâll be the one who gets dumped instead.â
Hearing his words, Elyse looked at him in disbelief.
âA-Are you willing to ruin your reputation just to call off the engagement?â
Leo looked at her calmly.
He had long disregarded his so-called reputation.
At that moment, Elyseâs eyes were filled with horror. She looked at him with tears in her eyes as she spoke. âEven so, my reputation will still be ruined. Everyone will say that I am an ungrateful woman who manipulated your feelings. They will never look at me the same way. Moreover, they will think that I am an ill-mannered woman. Iâll lose my job by then!â
âI can get you whatever you want, be it an advertisement or a movie role,â said Leo.
Hearing his words, Elyse felt like she was being pushed to the edge, and there was no escape for her.
She tried to speak but didnât know what to say. The only thing she felt was resentment.
âLeo!â Elyse cried out as tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked at Leo miserably and said, âHow can you do this to me? How can you put me in this state? Ellen would be disappointed in you if she were to know about this!â
When Leo heard her words, he frowned in disdain and said, âIs this why you have nothing to fear? Do you think that you can threaten my mother with your death and force her to hold this engagement because of Ellen?â
When Elyse heard his words, she stopped crying and stared at him dumbly.
At this moment, she realized that Leo was an intelligent man. He would have seen through her disguise with ease! All this while, he never exposed her lies since he respected her. However, she had overstepped his boundaries.
Knowing that Leo had seen through her disguise, Elyse put down the act and said, âEven so, your mother has agreed to everything.â
âThat is why you can take our familyâs name and rack it to the mud,â replied Leo as he nodded.
His intentions were clear. He would endure whatever it was that Elyse had blamed on them. However, there was no way he would participate in this engagement!
Seeing that Leo was stubborn, Elyse was frustrated.
As Leo looked at his watch, he decided to end their conversation. âListen here, Elyse. I can respect you and give you whatever you want. However, that doesnât mean you can intervene in my life and control me!â he warned her.
When Elyse heard his words, she took a sharp breath and was startled.
âEugene will be here to call off the engagement.â After that, Leo turned around and opened the door, wanting to leave.
However, as soon as he walked out of the door, a bright light flashed across his eyes. Leo raised his hand to block the light and realized a bunch of reporters was outside the door.