A Matter of Wife and Love
Chapter 188

Chapter 188

At the Alston Residence, Melissa had gotten many calls to congratulate her. Although she was unhappy about it, she could only feign happiness. After all, she couldn't keep a low profile when news about Elyse's suicidal attempt had spread around the town. At this moment, everyone knew about Leo and Elyse's engagement.

After Melissa was done with the calls, she told Miss Potts to do her nails. In the meantime, she was thinking about ways to make Elyse give up on marrying Leo without affecting the Alston Family's reputation. While Miss Potts was doing Melissa's nails, she looked at her worriedly. "Mr. Alston hasn't returned in days. I'm afraid he still doesn't know that you have chosen the engagement date. What if he refuses to do it?"

Hearing her words, Melissa lowered her eyes without thinking much about it. "I've already made it clear to him before, so it doesn't matter if he knows or not."

When Miss Potts heard her words, she opened her mouth and tried to say something. However, she kept quiet in the end. She was just a maid, so she could not interfere with her master's business.

Just as they were talking, the door swung open. Melissa was immediately startled, and the two women looked over.

Leo stood by the door, radiating an intimidating presence with a serious look on his face.

"Mr. Alston!" Miss Potts called out hastily. Although she had met him countless times, she was still intimidated by his presence.

In that split second, Melissa snapped out of her trance and said, "When did you come back? How's work?" Then, she signaled Miss Potts to leave while she stood up from the couch and walked toward Leo.

Her face was filled with concern, and she tried to hold his hands. However, Leo avoided her hands and said, "Who decided the date of the engagement? Why didn't you ask for my permission before making a decision?" he snarled.

When Melissa heard his words, she froze for a second before saying, "I was the one who chose the date. I'm sure you know we are on edge with Elyse's matter. Everyone is asking us about this, and some even think that we're lying. I'm doing this to stop the rumors."

"Are you saying that you plan on letting me marry Elyse?" questioned Leo.

"That's impossible! This is just an expedient measure!" Melissa denied it without hesitation.

Leo smirked when he heard her words. "Do you think that this will stop them from talking about it? As long as I don't marry Elyse, the Alston Family will be the town's gossip!"

"What..." Melissa didn't think much about it. When she heard Leo's words, she realized that things were indeed tricky. However, she was still composed as she said, "It's fine. We'll replace a way to make Elyse cancel the wedding."

"Do you think that will happen? From the moment she used you to hold the engagement, she never planned on canceling it!"

"What do you mean? Are you saying that..." Melissa trailed off, and the confident look on her face was gone. She had a grim expression while her fingers clutched her dress tightly.

Is this all just a setup? Have I been fooled by Elyse?

At that moment, realization dawned upon Melissa as she uncovered the truth.

"Announce that the engagement will be called off right now!" Leo ordered without hesitation. With that, he turned around and left.

Hearing his words, Melissa seemed to have thought of something and stopped him from leaving. "It's too late, Leony. The engagement is today. It's starting soon, and guests will be arriving any moment now. How can you expect me to cancel the engagement?!" She looked nervous to the point that she didn't even have the time to blame Elyse.

"Even if Elyse set this up, there's no going back. Please play along, Leony. We'll talk about it after the engagement, alright?" In the end, she valued the family's reputation more than anything else. After all, if the engagement were to be canceled, the Alstons' reputation and hers would be ruined.

Although Leo knew what she was thinking, he still felt disappointed by her words.

"Is reputation that important to you?" he asked.

"I..." For the first time, Melissa didn't know how to answer. After some time, she whispered, "I'm doing this for your own good. Since you're a busy man, how are you going to live with a ruined reputation?" When Leo heard her words, he lowered his head and said nothing. Needless to say, her words did not persuade him.

"Leony..." Melissa was a nervous wreck.

Leo removed Melissa's fingers that were gripping his clothes and said, "I'll deal with this matter. All you have to do is stay put at home." Then, he left.

When Melissa heard his words, she was frustrated and stomped her feet. As she tried to chase him, two bodyguards blocked her way. "Mr. Alston has asked us to keep an eye on you, Mrs. Alston."

Since she couldn't chase after Leo, she could only throw a tantrum at the guards. However, they simply ignored her. In the end, she could only call Elyse for help. Meanwhile, Elyse was in the dressing room as she donned the most expensive dress. Melissa had hired a famous designer to make the tailored evening gown.

At that moment, many people surrounded her. Some were doing her makeup, and some were tidying her dress. Everyone was watching her with envy.

Donia Watson, Elyse's agent, looked at her with bright eyes. "Oh, Elyse. It's a good thing that Mr. Alston cares for you. Don't think of fooling around after the engagement, though. I have a few scripts, and you'll be famous if you star in several movies this year."

It had been a long time since Donia last talked to her with such a good attitude. Moreover, her words seemed like she was flattering Elyse.

Once Elyse was engaged to Leo, she would not want to be a celebrity anymore. After all, she only needed to show her love for him in public. However, her status skyrocketed after she became engaged to Leo and many would offer her opportunities because of him. Moreover, other celebrities associated with Elyse would gain popularity as well.

When the others heard Donia's words, they all went to flatter Elyse. Some even wanted to be her bridesmaid for free.

As they surrounded Elyse, Elyse raised her chin proudly and ignored them.

All these years, she had been pretending to be a generous person and did stuff she hated to maintain her public image. However, she wouldn't have to put up with the act anymore once she was Leo's fiancée. As Elyse squinted her eyes and thought about how the others' gaze would be on her and Leo, she felt delighted.

"Miss Elyse, can you teach me how to make a wealthy man fall in love with me?" Among the people, one of them couldn't help but ask for Elyse's advice.

Everyone had heard about what happened between her and Leo. Many people were jealous of her, for she was still together with Leo despite cheating on him and going abroad.

When Elyse heard the woman's words, she looked at her and smiled coldly. "This isn't an easy task. After all, you have to be smart."

When the woman heard her words, her expression changed drastically.

Is she saying that I'm stupid? the woman thought to herself.

As she thought about it, she was furious and wanted to scold Elyse. However, she didn't dare do so and could only endure the humiliation since Elyse had a higher status than her.

At this moment, Elyse's phone rang. When she saw that it was Melissa, she smiled even brighter. "Excuse me for a moment. My mother-in-law is calling." Then, she ignored everyone and walked away as she answered the phone.