Marina stood up, walked to the door, and sat back down on the sofa. During the ten minutes’ waiting, Marina repeated the procedure several times.
The Langdon’s was quite large. The car could only be parked in the front yard, and it would take time to walk from the yard to the house.
“Marina!”
Shawn walked to the door, looked inside the room, and grew a bit annoyed. There was the main house in the Langdon’s, but Marina could only live in such a crampy room. Shawn felt it quite humiliating.
“Mr. White, you’ve come!”
Marina looked up at the door as she heard the voice. Then her lips curved into a bright smile. It was a smile of joy, a smile that could be seen on Marina’s face only when she saw her family.
“Yes! I’ve come to see Marina!”
Shawn went in with a few shopping bags and put them onto the tea table. Then he walked in front of Marina and looked carefully at her.
The two hadn’t seen each other for at least half a year.
The Langdons seldom allowed Marina to go out. Whenever there was a charity banquet, Bailey would take her children there and Marina could only stay at home. Thus Marina seldom had the chance to appear in public.
Being a member of the White family wasn’t enough for her to attend the luxurious banquets.
In the circle of the rich, there were also many different levels. The White family was a rich one, but it was a member of the nouveau riche that the old money despised. Every time the old money mentioned the White family, their voices were full of contempt.
“Shawn, why did you again buy me purses?”
Marina heaved a deep sigh. She didn’t go out often, and in the past, the managers of the luxury stores would deliver to her house the latest arrivals of the year. Recently, Ryder’s dissatisfaction had precluded her from buying any new purses.
Ryder said that the luxury brands launched new products every month, but Marina seldom go out to socialize. Thus what she had brought could only be left in a corner collecting dust.
Ryder could give Norton tens of millions without hesitation, but at the same time, he was terrifyingly stingy to his wife.
“I bought you them just because you like them.”
Shawn’s words were quite simple but almost made Marina cry. Marina knew that no matter how she was, her dad and Shawn would always treat her well.
“The first day of the next month is Dad’s 60th birthday. Don’t forget it.”
Shawn went straight to the point.
“I won’t forget it,” Marina replied.
Marina would never forget that she would go back to celebrate her father’s 60th birthday.
Markus felt quite lonely all these years for he had no one but Shawn and Marina by his side. Now that Marina was married and couldn’t go home often, only Shawn could keep his dad company.
“Great. I’ve got the gifts prepared.”
Marina and Shawn were both quite excited when they talked about their dad. The topic brought many childhood memories back into their mind.
Though Marina wasn’t the female lead, she had a strong emotional bond with Shawn and her dad. They were the most important people for her.
“Marina, does Ryder treat you well?”
Shawn’s face darkened as he mentioned Ryder. He knew the family rules were just an excuse of the Langdons. What they really meant was to prevent Shawn from seeing Marina. How could the Langdons call their family a rich one when they couldn’t even ensure Marina’s personal freedom?
Ryder’s excuse was quite simple. He just said Marina wasn’t in good health and couldn’t see guests.
But Shawn knew that Marina was always in good health before she got married. If Marina fell ill, it was because there was something wrong with the Langdon’s.
Shawn had decided that if Ryder stopped him at the gate, he would just break in. Fortunately, Ryder didn’t cause him any trouble this time.
“Not bad,” Marina replied.
Marina decided that she would only tell Shawn good news. She didn’t want her dad and Shawn to worry too much about her. Apart from this, she had her own plan. Getting divorced was just a matter of time.
If it weren’t for Nicole, Marina wouldn’t have bothered to care about everything.
Marina admitted that she feared the demon-like Ryder.
“Marina, if you don’t feel happy here, just come back home. Though our family is not a super-rich one, Dad and I had fed you well before you got married.”
Marina couldn’t help laughing out.
“Shawn, why do you use the word ‘fed’? It seems as if you’re raising pigs!”
“Alright. We’ve brought you up to be a beautiful lady. Is that okay?”
Shawn apologized and continued to persuade Marina, “Rumor has it that Ryder was having an affair with another woman. Dad and I hired a private detective who has been following Ryder for a month, but nothing has been found yet. Ryder has hidden it too well from us!”
Marina blinked. She knew Ryder didn’t like to flirt with women. It was more likely that he was having an affair with a man. Marina still remembered that Norton kept asking Ryder for money after he spent several nights with Ryder.
Besides, who else apart from the female lead could make Ryder’s heart flutter? Even the female lead herself didn’t become Ryder’s wife before they experienced enough mutual torture.
Marina was not interested in such a storyline.
Ordinary people would be grateful as long as they could live a normal life. Who had the spare energy to play the death game with the demon-like Ryder?
“Shawn, let’s stop talking about me. I’ve been married. Dad is sixty years old, and you’re no longer young either. Why don’t you think of getting married?”
In the original book, Shawn was put in prison and died there without getting married.
Marina tried to persuade Shawn to stop flirting with the celebrities and young models. Those women came just for the money of the White family, and Shawn should get married to an ordinary woman and live a stable life with her. They could give birth to a child, who would bring Markus much pleasure, and if Marina divorced Ryder, she could also help to take care of her nephew and niece.
“I…”
Shawn was stunned by Marina’s question, and then he shook his head. He had never thought of getting married.
“Shawn, you’ve got someone in your heart, haven’t you?”
Marina smiled. The female lead had asked Shawn the same question, but Shawn seemed to have a strong dislike for it. Marriage used to be quite repellent to Shawn, but now Shawn seemed to be less sensitive to the topic.
“Maybe.”
Shawn wasn’t quite sure. Almost all the women he met loved money and luxury purses, but there was indeed a woman who was different. She dressed in cheap clothes but never felt inferior. She always wore a calm and confident smile.
Moreover, she was kind and patient, and thus she was different.
Every time Shawn saw her, she just gave Shawn a polite nod. She didn’t speak much, but what she said was always proper.
“Who are you talking about? Have I ever seen her?”
Marina’s eyes widened, and she got a horrible feeling. The woman Shawn was talking about was exactly the female lead in the original book!
“I’ve never seen her before, and I’m not quite familiar with her.”
Shawn shook his head. He didn’t even know if the woman had a boyfriend.
“She is Maeve Aston, a secretary of Duncan Group’s branch in Jin City.”
The Duncan Group was involved in a wide range of industries. Thanks to the help of the Duncan Group, the White family could ascend to a higher level.
Markus undertook a project of the undersea hotel then, and now, the undersea hotel had become a popular spot for international tourism.
Due to the business interactions between the two groups, Maeve often went to the White Group to get things settled, and this was how Maeve and Shawn got to know each other.
“It’s her?”
Marina sighed silently in her heart. Sure enough, no one could resist the powerful aura of the female lead. She was poor but capable, kind, and tough. She could endure any suffering and had little desire for money. This was probably the type of woman who could attract the rich young men most.
Now the two female leads met. If Shawn fell in love with Maeve, it would only speed up the process of Shawn and Marina going to their tragic ends. Marina knew she had to stop it.