Chapter 168
Seeing Lysander in this light momentarily lifted her spirits. She smiled and said, “Well, I’m here now. Just had a couple of rough days, but today is much better.”
Looking at her exquisite little face and smile, Lysander instantly felt relieved. His Elara seemed to be coming back to herself.
Glancing inside, he noticed his father chatting with Barrett and said, “I’ll head in and greet everyone.”
Elara nodded and, after a moment, followed him inside.
Once inside, Lysander approached Wyatt. “Dad,” he greeted.
Wyatt gave him a sharp look and quipped, “Oh, you’re back. There’s something I need to ask you.”
Lysander took a seat. “What’s that?”
Wyatt’s expression was scrutinizing. “The other day when Orson left, what exactly did you give him?”
Lysander replied, “Nothing much.”
Wyatt’s brows raised. “Nothing much? Yesterday, I was about to check on your father–in–law, but Patricia showed up, crying her heart out.”
Wyatt recalled that Lysander had dismissed Orson not long ago. However, Lysander hadn’t intended to stir up trouble for
Orson.
At first, Wyatt thought something felt off, but he dismissed it, hoping his son had finally grown a bit more diplomatic. However…
The moment Orson returned home, he was met with a scathing confrontation.
Patricia did her investigation and uncovered a list of women connected to Orson. He had many women outside their marriage.
True to her temperament, she couldn’t hold it in and stormed straight to Wyatt to announce her intent to divorce Orson. Not only had Lysander shared his findings with Patricia, but he’d also forwarded the information to Orson’s workplace, leading to Orson’s suspension.
In the past, Patricia might have stepped in to protect him or smooth things over.
But now, thinking of all the women Orson had on the side, she wanted nothing more than to blow up the situation as publicly as possible.
Looking at Wyatt, Lysander remarked, “It’s really unfortunate, isn’t it, to lose such a ‘trustworthy‘ subordinate?”
Wyatt, irked by the sarcasm in his voice, retorted, “You could’ve come to me directly. I wasn’t prepared for this at all.”
Lysander shrugged, unbothered. “Someone lacking personal integrity will crash sooner or later. The real issue is that you let him off with a slap on the wrist every time.”
Orson had long ago let his success and Wyatt’s lenience go to his head, confusing who held the authority and often disregarding Wyatt as his superior.
Wyatt sighed and looked at his uncompromising son. “He was close to retirement.”
Lysander replied coolly, “If he wasn’t worried about his retirement, why should I be?”
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Chapter 168
Wyatt went speechless.
He looked at his unyielding son and let out a helpless sigh. He’d wanted to scold Lysander, but he found he couldn’t.
The fact was, it wasn’t Lysander’s fault.
If Orson hadn’t had so many skeletons in his closet, there’d have been nothing Lysander could have used against him.
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That evening, the Hawthorne family had dinner at the Kensington family’s place. The atmosphere had noticeably improved.
Wyatt looked at Elara and said, “Elara, when you and Lysander are available, let’s arrange a wedding. I’ve explained everything that happened that night to everyone. They know you’re a good person who wouldn’t spread gossip.”
Elara nodded. “Thank you, Wyatt.”
She began to address Wyatt by his first name. After she spoke, Lysander glanced at her.
Seeing his look, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lysander replied, “Nothing.”
After dinner, the Hawthornes headed home, though Lysander lingered behind.
The two of them didn’t go back inside but remained outside in the garden. The weather of the evening was comfortable.
He looked at her and said, “How about I stay a bit longer before I go?”
“Do you have something to do?” she asked, turning to him.
Lysander said, “No.”
Elara asked again, “Then, where are you planning to go?”
“I just thought that if I stayed, you might not be thrilled to see me,” he said.
“Go take a shower and get some rest,” Elara replied, observing Lysander. “I can tell you’ve probably not been sleeping well.”
She walked with him back to his room. The lights inside were still on.
Elara leaned against the headboard, watching Lysander resting his head on her lap, his hand clasping hers, not letting go.
He had been sleepless for two days, unable to get proper rest.
“Why haven’t you been sleeping?” she asked softly.
“Worried you’d be upset. I couldn’t get any rest,” he murmured.
He opened his eyes and glanced at her. “I went through so much to marry you. I thought getting married would settle everything. But for some reason, I’ve had this constant fear of losing you for the past few days.”
Elara smiled faintly, her eyes misting over. “Evelyn came by today to talk with me. She said a lot, and it helped me sort things out. I realized I was just feeling down.”
She added, “But looking back, who am I to take offense? If some people look down on me, isn’t that natural? I’ve decided that I can’t keep going in circles around you.”
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Chapter 168
Lysander looked at her intently. “What do you mean?”
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Elara declared, “I’m going to work hard so that, one day, when people talk about you, they’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s Elara’s husband!“”
Lysander chuckled.
Elara said, “You think I’m joking? Of course! You’re too remarkable. Who could compare to you?”
Lysander had a good family and a brilliant mind. Dealing with him was no easy feat. But no matter what, Elara knew she couldn’t give up on herself.
“You can do it,” Lysander said, his voice reassuring.
Elara gently covered his eyes with her hand. “Now, sleep. I’ll read for a bit.”
Lysander smiled. “Alright.”
A few days later, Elara was at the office in the afternoon when Crispin stepped into her office. “Elara!” he greeted.
She looked up. “What brings you here?”
“I came to fill you in on what’s going on with the Swift family!” Crispin said, grinning. “Orson and his wife divorced, did you hear?”
“Oh,” Elara replied.
“He used to be so arrogant, all because of his wife’s backing! Now, they’re divorced and he’s been exposed. I hear he was into all sorts of shady stuff.”
Crispin continued, “Pretty soon, he’s going to end up behind bars! I mean, of all people, he chose to mess with Lysander. Doesn’t he know how much Lysander dotes on his wife?”
“So it was Lysander behind it all?” Elara asked.
Crispin replied, “Who else could it have been? We gathered photos of Orson with his mistresses and sent them to his wife.“”
He continued, “If she’d continued supporting him, he might’ve survived this, but once she learned about his affairs, she went public with everything!”
That was just how Patricia was. When she cared about Orson, she gave everything. But once betrayed, she wouldn’t hesitate to destroy him.
“What about Juan?” Elara asked, suddenly remembering her. She figured the Swift family’s fall shouldn’t have affected Juan.
“Oh, she’s doing great! I told her about what happened, and she’s actually thrilled. Her father was never good to her. Now that he’s got what he deserves, she’s happier than anyone.”
Crispin added, “And from now on, no one from the Swift family will bother her. We’re planning to send her away in a few days.”
Elara frowned. “Send her away?”
