Rules of Engagement
Chapter 58 I Have Lost You Forever

A company commander looked over and saw Soren and Elsa standing not far away. He immediately stood up and nudged Johnny, "Here comes the leader and the journalist."

Johnny also stood up in response. The first person he saw was Elsa. She was standing in the crowd, her face flushed constantly, and her lips were slightly compressed. He had seen her countless times in the past and had even dreamed of her. This time, he just couldn't remove his eyes out of her body.

But his eyes were soon burned by her hand. Her hand was held in another man's hand and their fingers were interlocked. That man looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where they had met before. Everyone in the company had the same hairstyle, wore the same clothes and had similar figures. Moreover, the man was a very low-key person since he accompanied Elsa to the interview. He hid his special qualities that could not be neglected.

What's more, Johnny's gaze was fixed on Elsa at that time. It was natural for him to ignore the man sitting next to her, which was Soren.

Johnny was stunned. Looking at the confident look on Soren's face and the impressive temperament he had as well as his shoulder mark, he knew he would lose Elsa forever. Elsa was with a special man whom he could never compete with.

The company commander nudged Johnny and said, "Hurry up! We're meeting the female journalist."

Then, Johnny was pushed by the company commander towards the direction of Elsa. Elsa tilted her head to see what was happening. She wanted to see what was inside. She had never imagined that she and Johnny would meet in such an occasion. Soren also saw Johnny.

Cindy had just come out of the bathroom and came to Johnny. She firstly saw Soren, who was so outstanding that he was easily stood out from the crowd. "Wow, so handsome! He is so handsome. Don't you know that he has a girlfriend? Have they got married? Cindy exclaimed.

With the strong desire to befriend Soren, she touched her good-looking face and put red lipstick on her sexy lips. She felt even more confident. She was especially impressed by Soren's social status and military rank. The second she saw him, she knew that she had an opportunity to make friend with somebody really important. The more she befriended such high-ranking military personnel, the more benefits she would potentially get in the future.

The company commander saluted, "Good morning, Soren." Then, he decided to follow suit and greeted Elsa, "Nice to meet you, my lady!"

He wanted to praise and say "You're so beautiful", but he didn't dare to be frivolous. After he finished speaking, he went back. All the other people went back after greeting Soren and Elsa. None of them dared to disturb them too much.

Only then did Cindy noticed Elsa. Noticing that Soren was holding Elsa's hand with an intimate look, she asked in great surprise, "You... You two..." Seeing that they had no other choice, Soren took Elsa's hand and walked towards them. "Good morning, I'm Sore, Elsa's husband," he said. On the other hand, Cindy was surprised and absentminded.

Now, it was really Elsa's turn to introduce. With sweat in her hands, she said, "This is my husband, Soren. "And, this is Johnny and Cindy." After saying that, she found that it was not as difficult as she thought, and she felt unprecedentedly calm.

But before she could finish her words, Cindy interrupted her and said, "Haven't you married Greenwood already? All the people in the newspaper had seen him pick you up after work. You two just looked so intimate and loving each other. Last month he told us personally that you were going to get married and you even asked for a marriage leave."

Cindy was cynical and really good at doing harmful things to others and bringing disgrace to herself by speaking her mind.

Elsa despised her and thought Cindy had become even more foolish since the last time they met each other. Soren had a general idea of Elsa's affair with Greenwood and knew what kind of person he was. But he didn't ask about their relationship. "Really? Maybe you both made a mistake. When Elsa asked for a marriage leave, she actually married me," said Soren, trying to defend Elsa.

"But Greenwood once told me that..." Cindy was not ready to give up. She had a vague feeling that she must have mistaken something, although she had no clue what it was. But deep down in her heart, she didn't want to admit it.

"Did Elsa tell you that? Marriage is a matter of two people. Couldn't Greenwood lie just to embarrass Elsa?" Soren raised his voice, pretending to be annoyed. He was sure that, according to Elsa's character, this kind of thing would not spread around in the company. But she always kept a low profile. She didn't even tell others about her husband. On the other hand, he really wanted to know Elsa's friends and colleagues. He wanted other people to know him as Elsa's husband.

Elsa shook her head. She had never talked about this before. When her marriage was known by other people and she went to ask for a marriage leave at the director's office, the director casually said something about her marriage in the meeting room. Shaking her head, she said, "I'm sorry. I never told you that I was gonna get married in my company. You must have got me wrong. I'm sorry that I didn't introduce Soren to you until now. I just thought my family affairs had nothing to do with my work, so I didn't say much."

"What?... How could it be possible? Are you kidding me, Elsa?" Cindy shook her head in surprise. If Elsa just married a normal man, then it didn't matter who the man was. Maybe Cindy could make Elsa a laughingstock. But how could she marry an excellent and kind man? Cindy was extremely jealous of her. She didn't want to believe it from the bottom of her heart.

"Cindy, I know you are a journalist, but you just don't believe what we said even though we said nothing but only the very truth. You're really suspecting. However, it seems that you really believed what a liar told you a long long time ago. I really doubt how you did your job as a journalist," said Soren angrily.

Cindy was dumbfounded. Even Johnny himself was a little confused. He heard from others that Elsa and Darren Greenwood got married. He even managed to get the information from Jane who almost knew everything about Elsa. Nevertheless, he never thought he got the false information.

Cindy was angered by Elsa's pretending. However, she didn't dare to expose Elsa's lie in front of Soren. She got so exasperated that she stammered, "Elsa... You're so sly. I...I..."

Soren's face darkened. With just a glance, he had startled Celine. She suddenly shut her mouth up. Johnny suddenly came to his sense. This was other people's place. He and Cindy were reporters. If they made a mess there, they could be kicked out.

"Cindy, please be careful with your words! Our marriage is a legal one approved and blessed by the civil affair bureau. Elsa is my beloved wife and I will never allow anybody to speak ill of her. Do you understand?" said Soren, a bit angry.

Hearing that, Elsa frowned too. "It's none of your business. Did I lie to you? When and where that happened? Don't ever call me a liar! I'm warning you."

Soren disliked the skittish tone and the way Cindy looked at and considered other people. So he loved Elsa more when she bravely rebuked Cindy. He put his arm around her waist and said softly, "Don't be angry. It's not worth it."

Soren said so casually and softly as if he was protecting Elsa.

Cindy was about to say something more, but was stopped by Johnny. Soren turned around and said, "Cindy, if you're not in the right mood to finish your interview, please get out of here. We're busy right now." It was very clear what Soren meant. He didn't want to see Cindy and Johnny there.

What Johnny knew was that it was not difficult for Soren to throw them out of that building considering his military rank. Soren could refuse to answer any question from the Linchuan Daily if he liked. After all, the Ling Chuan daily was not a special military newspaper. It was only used to do some insignificant reports every year.

"Alright, Cindy, don't waste time. Elsa's marriage is none of your business, and you're not in the position to judge. Do your own job. That's good for you. That's the only thing which matters." When he finished, all the lights in the studio went off, and the show started.

Johnny took Cindy's hand, casting a last glance at Elsa and Soren and left. There was no other seats available near Soren and Elsa, so they had to choose two seats far away from the stage.

Soren took a seat next to Elsa.

"Elsa," Soren said softly and held her hands into his.

In fact, she wasn't really mad at her. She knew exactly what a kind of person Cindy was, and she was prepared to meet her at such an occasion. Besides, she had already forgiven Johnny.

In fact, Soren didn't mean to say anything. Hearing her voice as calm as usual, he also felt relieved. He asked, "Are there so many people in your company too difficult for you to get along with?"

"Yes, but not many. Not all of them is as mean and stupid as Cindy. Most of them are ordinary people just like me. They just want to do their own work in peace and make no trouble. Cindy is an exception. You know what? I don't think she will change ever. She will be what she is for the rest of her life," Elsa replied.

"Haha, you're right," Soren said with a smile

"By the way, thank you for rescuing me from her unreasonable conduct," Elsa whispered in the dark.

"Don't be silly. It's nothing," Soren answered. When she called his name affectionately, she almost sounded like a stranger.

"I don't know what to say. You're a good man. Maybe..."

Perhaps she should thank him because he had married her and he had fallen in love with her. Was he over-protecting and spoiling her? Elsa was unable to replace the proper words to express her true thoughts in her mind.

The host's voice passed through the receiver, which happened to make up for Elsa's pause. Soren didn't say anything more, but fixed his eyes on the stage.

Some artists started to dance and sing songs on the stage. Under normal circumstances, Elsa didn't like those songs. She didn't have much feelings. However, now when she was listening to those songs carefully with Soren sitting next to him, she found them quite shocking and beautiful, especially the song "My Motherland." Suddenly, she felt so proud of her motherland and would do anything to help it ride ou the storms.