CHAPTER 12: THE MOTTO OF THE OLIVER FAMILY 

"You saved me, so I will make my daddy marry you!" Marry her? Marry her? Marry her? A second ticked by. Content © 2024.

Then another one.Then three more seconds passed.There was dead silence inside the ward as the adults looked at each other.

When they finally recovered themselves...

"Pfft!" Luke spat out the mouthful of water he had been drinking.

He covered his mouth, trying to catch his breath in the middle of his violent coughing.

"Precious, what did you just say?" The little girl only shook her head and delivered her reply casually.

"Well, Beautiful Auntie has been disfigured.She's no longer as pretty as before! Uncle Luke, didn't you tell me that men are the most superficial visual animals that value appearance above all else? Since Beautiful Auntie is now disfigured, she would have difficulty finding someone to marry her in the future.But then she became like this in order to save me.Even though I want to, I'm still too young to take responsibility.And since Daddy is my sole guardian anyway, of course it's only right that he would assume responsibility for Beautiful Auntie!"

Luke gaped at his niece.

She had effectively rendered him speechless.

It took him a moment to collect himself then he finally said, "You say that your Beautiful Auntie has been disfigured, and still you want your Daddy to marry her?"

His point was that Precious should have been worried her father might not like her Beautiful Auntie.

The child rolled her eyes.

"Uncle Luke, do you honestly think that my Daddy is as superficial as you?" Luke's jaw hung wide open yet again.

"Ha ha," Wendy laughed awkwardly.

"Precious, stop joking around."

"I am not joking!"

The little girl took Wendy's hand and looked up at her with bright, hopeful eyes.

"Auntie, I've liked you a lot since the first time I saw you. Won't you be my Mommy?"

Wendy's lips tightened into a line.

How was she supposed to answer that question? "The thing, Miss Finch, is we do not like being indebted to other people.It would be best that you make a request."

Wendy was in an utter loss.

‘What the hell?’ She had never encountered anyone who was so earnest in making others demand a favor from them.

Though she had only met Precious twice, it was perfectly clear that the girl came from an extraordinary family.

The same could be said of her father.

If she was not mistaken, the white shirt he was wearing today was something handmade from Italy.

His high-end apparel aside, the man also exuded such a powerful aura, which was easy to tell that he was far from the ordinary, common folk.

He was subjecting her to that same powerful gaze at the moment, and Wendy found herself unable to think coherently, let alone make any sort of request.

"Well," she said with a frown.

"Can you give me a few days to think it over?"

Ryan's face shifted almost instantly, and it felt like the temperature inside the ward had suddenly dropped by several degrees.

Wendy's fingers trembled under the pressure.

Wow! A single reaction from this man and her arms were now filled with goose bumps.

She had asked for an extension on the request because she honestly couldn't come up with anything today.

Was she being unreasonable? It was obvious from the man's expression that he was extremely unhappy about it.

Frightened and helpless, Wendy thought she might cry right there and then.

She looked to Luke for help, and the younger man grinned.

"What's this, Miss Finch? Do you have a crush on my brother and want to buy some time to seduce him?"

Wendy's eyes widened in stunned horror.! ! ! What the hell?

“Is that what his brother was thinking, too? Is that why he was suddenly scowling at me? Oh my God!"

What a total misunderstanding this was turning out to be.

Wendy felt a shiver run down her spine.

She racked her brains trying to come up with something to ask this scary man.

She was scrambling with her thoughts for a good while before Ryan spoke again.

"Become my daughter's mother!"

"What?"

Wendy choked on the air she was breathing, and she started to cough, so hard that tears came to her eyes.She must have misheard him.

"What did you say?"

"Precious needs a mother!" Ryan answered impatiently.

Wendy turned to Luke again, but this time even he was looking stunned at his brother's words.

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed.

"Exactly what do you mean, brother? Do you intend to marry Miss Finch? You're really going to make her Precious’ mother? You actually fell in love with a woman! Oh my, this is all too sudden."

Only Precious seemed to be happy with how things were turning out.She jumped up and down and applauded her father.

"Daddy! You made the right decision!"

Ryan ignored her and frowned at Wendy as he waited for her reply.Wendy was flabbergasted.

Wasn't he asking her to make a request just a while ago? Why was he suddenly demanding something different from her? Or perhaps, did he think that letting her be Precious’ mother was the most sincere reward he could offer? It was very confusing.

But she realized one thing—Ryan was definitely full of himself!

"Why?"she asked softly, afraid of antagonizing him any further.

Ryan's expression changed slightly, and his cold demeanor receded.

"Because you saved her."

So what? Was that all? She had saved his daughter, and in return, he had to marry her? ‘Oh my God!’ Precious was still young and did not understand everything, and that was why she had made such a ridiculous request.

But what about Ryan? He barely knew anything about her, and here he was, asking her to marry him! Luke was right.

This was happening too fast.Like father, like daughter.

Wendy finally saw where Precious get her willfulness from!

This man might be gifted with good looks, and his face and figure might be totally her type, but she could not bear his aura at all.

"Sir"

"Ryan Oliver."

"What?"

"My name."

His frown was deeper now, and he was slowly running out of patience.

Ryan Oliver?! Why did that name sound somewhat familiar to her? Deciding not to think too much on it, Wendy proceeded with caution.

"Mr.Oliver, you might feel obligated to do this because I saved your daughter.But...Well...You don't have to so sacrifice yourself like this."

"I am only abiding to the Oliver Family motto," Ryan said in a monotonous tone.

"The motto says we need to repay every favor bestowed upon us." Luke stared back and forth between them while nibbling at his fingertips.

Did the Oliver Family have such a motto? Why had he never known about it? Wendy pressed at her temple.

"Please don't joke with me, Mr.Oliver.Like I said, it was all pure coincidence.I'm just another actress trying to make a name for myself.My life's dream is to act, earn a lot of money, and enjoy male company when I have time.In contrast, a man like yourself is the cream of the crop in the market.I don't dare attach myself to you in such a way.Or in any way, for that matter."

Ryan scowled again.

He looked like he was about to say something, but the door of the ward suddenly burst open and a small figure rushed into the room.

"Mommy!"

"Honey!"

Wendy opened her arms to Ray, but the little boy suddenly stopped just beside the bed.

He stared at her bandaged head and asked in a weak voice, "Does it hurt?"

"Yes, it hurts very much!"

Wendy put both hands over her head and pretended to be in pain.

"Stop doing that! Lower your head."

Wendy did as the boy said and leaned toward him.

Raymond stood on his tiptoes and blew on her injury.

ULF Ve im bine "Swoosh! It shouldn't hurt anymore since I swooshed it.Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, yes, I feel much better now.It doesn't hurt at all!"

The little boy heaved a dramatic sigh of relief before realizing belatedly that there were strangers in his mother's ward.

The moment his eyes drifted over to Ryan, he frowned.

"It's you?"

Ryan's expression shifted again.

Except for Precious, he had always had an aversion to children.

He thought them noisy and detestable.

But this small boy before him didn't seem annoying at all.

In fact, after seeing the way he frowned just now, trying to act all serious...

Ryan found himself thinking how the boy actually looked cute.

"Do you know me?"

"I see you in the news all the time!" Ryan raised his eyebrows at that.

Roger had been leaning against the door, observing the room.

He straightened now, and walked inside with a smile.

"Ryan, Luke! How have you been? What a coincidence this is, the girl Wendy saved was actually Precious!"

Wendy looked from one man to another.

"Do you know each other?" she asked.

"Yes, we've been best friends since we were very young."

Roger walked to the bedside and poured a cup of warm water for Wendy.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm okay now."

"That's good then."

Luke was silent the entire time, his eyes flitting back and forth between Wendy Finch and the little boy who had barged in.

All sorts of probable backstories had been sprouting inside his head.

He leaned toward Roger and asked, "Roger, is this little boy really Miss Finch's son?"