Adrienne didn’t know what to say. She was rely teasing when she said Lennox didn’t seem eager to marry her anymore, hence his prolonged delay. However, now that he was asking her hand for marriage, she felt a mix of surprise and confusion. She couldn’t help but question whether Lennox truly wanted to marry her or if he was just trying to appease her.
"Are you sure you want to marry soone like ? You know why I’m marrying you, right?"
When she proposed marriage between them three years ago, Adrienne just wanted to secure her future by avoiding being forced to marry Alistair Han. She had never expected Lennox to grow fond of her, and his sudden change of heart left her feeling uncertain.
In the end, she was marrying him not out of love but out of her need for security. Since Alistair had declared his intention to marry her, Adrienne needed to marry Lennox as soon as possible. Adrienne knew that marrying Lennox would provide her with the financial stability and protection she needed, shielding her from the unwanted advances of Alistair.
Despite her initial reservations, she hoped that over ti, their relationship would evolve into sothing more than just a ans to an end. She questioned whether his proposal was based more on duty than on love, though, and these uncertainties persisted. After all, he was a businessman, and their marriage was part of their contract.
Lennox cupped her face and smiled at her. "My sweet, sweet Addie. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to marry you. I will marry you in a heartbeat."
Adrienne’s heart fluttered at Lennox’s words, but a lingering doubt still nagged at her. She wondered if Lennox truly understood the depth of his feelings and if their marriage would be more than just a contractual obligation.
anwhile, Lennox couldn’t wait to put the wedding ring he had commissioned three years ago in Adrienne’s finger. As they stood there, he silently hoped that their feelings would transcend the boundaries of their agreent and blossom into sothing truly genuine.
"Alright. Let’s marry at once tomorrow. You better not regret marrying , Mr. Qin." She said in a playful tone.
"Your Uncle Reese would be dissatisfied if he knew you were going to marry like this. I don’t take him as soone who would easily give your hand in marriage." Lennox comnted. "You should return now before they notice your absence. Let’s continue this discussion later, Mrs. Qin."
Adrienne nodded. She gave Lennox a gentle smile before turning to leave. Irina, along with Kalista, were waiting for her, and Leigh was nowhere in sight. Adrienne surmised that Lennox had sent her youngest bodyguard on an errand.
By the ti she arrived, Prosecutor Ji had already finished his speech. Valerie ca to her and hooked her arms around her, bringing her back to their small group.
"You have so guts to annoy Alistair Han like that, Val." Adrienne whispered to her friend while keeping a smile on her face.
Valerie chuckled softly, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Well, soone had to stand up to him. Besides, it’s not like he scares ."
Adrienne nodded in agreent, grateful for Valerie’s unwavering support all this ti.
"I won’t allow you to marry soone like him, Addie." Valerie continued, "I don’t trust Alistair Han at all. Since your boyfriend isn’t here to save you, I have to make sure you won’t marry another man. I haven’t t him yet, but he owes a lot."
Adrienne smiled and said nothing. Valerie had no idea that Lennox had stepped forward and forced Alistair to step back. Even Adrienne hadn’t expected him to show up today. But she was grateful for Lennox’s presence, knowing that he would always protect her.
As Valerie continued to rant, Adrienne couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief, knowing that she had soone who truly cared for her by her side. Valerie’s three friends were discussing in hushed tones when the two arrived.
"What’s going on?" Valerie asked curiously. "Did sothing happen while Addie and I were away?"
"Oh, it was nothing." Diana responded, "We were just talking about Ayla Jiang."
Stephanie glanced at Adrienne. "I noticed that you aren’t close, even with your cousins."
Valerie frowned. "You have no idea. Addie used to be Ayla’s shadow before, and people would usually compare them, forcing Adrienne into the bad light. However, Addie grew a backbone and realized she was being forced to beco a backdrop for Ayla Jiang. Now look who’s the backdrop for whom. At this rate, Ayla Jiang would be living in Addie’s shadow and have to endure being compared to her every single ti. "
Her three friends remained silent, understanding Valerie’s point. While it’s true that Ayla Jiang was more popular between her and Adrienne Jiang since she joined the showbiz, her influence and wealth were far inferior to those of Adrienne, who was now earning hundreds of thousands every month even before she graduated from the university, though not many knew of it.
"Your father would surely cough blood if he knew your net worth, Addie." Katherine comnted. Over the past years, Adrienne has beco acquainted with Valerie’s three friends, but she was the closest with Katherine Shen.
"Even if he knew, what could he do about it?" Adrienne shrugged. "He was the one who disowned in the first place. He was banking on Elise anyway."
"What a foolish way to asure soone’s worth," Katherine remarked, shaking her head. "Money doesn’t define a person’s value or success. You’ve proven that with your own accomplishnts."
"But you have to be careful, Addie." Katherine reminded Adrienne. "It’s not easy to beco the target of Alistair Han. Since you humiliated him today, he might do sothing drastic to force you into marriage. I suggest keeping your bodyguards close, wherever you are. Alistair Han is known to be soone who doesn’t accept ’No’ as an answer."
"I just did." Adrienne pointed out, crossing her legs as she looked at the rest of the guests. "Even if he wants to marry , it would be impossible. I am not interested in him, and I won’t let anyone force into a marriage I don’t want. Besides, I have my own plans that don’t involve being tied down in marriage with him."
"Well, between Alistair Han and Lennox Qin, I would choose Lennox Qin without question." Diana laughed behind her hand.
"What about Lennox Qin?" Stephanie joined their conversation and gave Adrienne a teasing look. "I would have never thought you were acquainted with him. How lucky are you, Miss Jiang, to be able to get the attention of that man of all people?" She added with a teasing tone.
Adrienne’s expression slightly softened as she thought of her plans with Lennox tomorrow morning. The long wait was over, and finally she would beco Lennox Qin’s wife.
"I suppose I’m lucky in many ways." She smiled genuinely this ti but didn’t explain further. Adrienne wanted to keep her marriage with Lennox Qin in the anti, until she was sure that her father and Alistair wouldn’t interfere or try to sabotage their relationship. She knew that revealing her plans too soon could potentially give them an opportunity to ddle, and she wasn’t willing to risk that.
"But I heard he’s already taken." Stephanie comnted, piquing Adrienne’s interest. "The Qin family tried to arrange for soone to marry him after his accident using the excuse to chase away the bad luck, but Lennox Qin vehently refused. At first, the Qin family thought he refused because Audrey Xiao married his elder cousin, Jacob Qin, but that wasn’t the case. It was said that he was in a long-term relationship with soone, and he plans to marry her, but no one could tell who’s the mysterious bride."
"You surely know a lot, Steph. I’m sure Lennox Qin wanted to keep her safe from his family. After all, marrying him would also an his wife would get involved in his family problems." Valerie comnted before taking a sip from her drink.
"But I’ll have to say only an outstanding woman could make Lennox Qin settle down. He’s loaded with money, that’s true, but he also has a lot of enemies. His dating record isn’t known to the public, so not many knew whom he dated before being engaged to Audrey Xiao. I wonder what kind of woman made him agree to marry."
Adrienne remained silent and chose to swirl the sparkling water in her glass. It wasn’t like she hadn’t asked the sa question before. Until now, she wondered what Lennox saw in her and why he fell for her.
She had always been intrigued by Lennox’s mysterious past but never questioned him about it. She couldn’t help but wonder if there was sothing about her that made her different from his previous partners, or if it was simply a matter of fate bringing them together. Regardless, she knew that she had found a connection with Lennox that went beyond his wealth and enemies, and that was enough for her to hold onto their relationship with hope and curiosity.
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