Chapter 257
Marina actually understood Daron.
If she were in his shoes, she’d probably make the same call.
Since Leo had already stopped playing nice, Daron didn’t need to show any more compassion.
Giving Leo too many chances would only end up trapping Daron himself.
Harris had personally raised Daron, so he understood exactly how things worked.
But at the end of the day, most parents couldn’t help but worry about their kids.
Harris was no exception.
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Over the next few days, Marina was practically glued to Daron’s side, running around so much she barely had time to catch her breath.
Garret was almost fully recovered from his injuries.
So Daron arranged for him to head back home.
Leo had been entrenched in Frency for years, so he knew exactly how to trip Daron up.
When he made his move, he went all out.
Just as Daron wrapped up the guild business, the branch office got slapped with a bunch of lawsuits.
By the time he finally sorted everything out, a whole week had already passed.
The annual celebration for Zamora Group was just around the corner.
Daron had to head back to Vrufield to run the show.
Of course, Marina went with him.
During this time, Elnora kept calling Marina to check in on her.
Neither of them ever mentioned the whole matchmaking thing.
Marina had totally forgotten about it herself.
If Waylon’s friend request hadn’t popped up, Marina would’ve totally forgotten about their arrangement.
She stared at the friend request for a while before finally hitting Accept.”
As soon as she accepted, Waylon sent over a voice message.
She meant to convert it to text, but her finger slipped and the message played right away.
Waylon’s voice came through.
“Marina, it’s Waylon. Elnora said you’re flying back to Vrufield today. What time does your flight get in? Want me to pick you up?”
Waylon’s voice had this casual, almost careless tone, with a little upward twist at the end.
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Marina hurried to turn down the volume, but she was a second too late. Daron, who’d been sitting next to her with his eyes closed, had already opened them and was just looking at her, totally unfazed.
“That’s the guy they set you up with?” Daron asked, his tone cool
Marina nodded.
“Yes,” she said.
Daron looked away from her and said offhandedly.
“Just hearing his voice, I can tell he’s a total flake. Seriously, how did your sister end up picking a guy like that for you?” Marina’s eyes flickered with awkwardness, and she a sheepish little smile.
“Yeah, I picked him myself,” she said, a bit self–deprecating.
Daron, who’d just closed his eyes, opened them again. “So you’re not even being picky anymore, just settling for whoever comes along just to get married?”
Marina gave an awkward smile, a little embarrassed. “Mrs. Crosby is super easy to get along with. She’s really kind and down–to–earth. Plus, their family is crazy generous with the bride’s gift.”
Daron sounded intrigued. “How generous are they?”
Marina answered, “All the properties together are worth over 3 million.”
Daron let out a dismissive ‘tsk‘, clearly unimpressed.
“Even the bride price can’t beat the premium I shelled out for your Ross Group shares,” he remarked.
Marina gave an awkward smile. “Obviously, not everyone’s in your league.”
Daron smirked. “You know they can’t compare to me, right?”
Marina just went silent.
‘There’s just no way to keep this going, Marina thought, exasperated.
Thankfully, after that, Daron didn’t say anything else to make things awkward or kill the conversation for Marina.
He closed his eyes again, his voice deep and commanding as he spoke.
“Just let me know when we get to the airport,” he said.
Marina nodded, murmuring, “Mm–hmm,” before lowering her gaze to her phone.
Waylon sent over another voice message.
This time, Marina didn’t bother listening to it. She just replied right away.
Marina: [Thanks, you don’t have to come get me.]
As soon as her message went out, Waylon sent another voice message right back. Marina let out a soft sigh, didn’t bother replying, and just put her phone away. By the time they arrived in Vrufield from Frency, it was already late at night.
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Chapter 257
Marina grabbed her suitcase from the crew and trailed after Darn toward the exit.
Daron stopped in his tracks and, without a word, took her suitcase right out of her hand.
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Marina was caught off guard for a second, but when she saw Darn heading for the VIP channel, she quickly followed after him.
The driver had been waiting at the arrivals area. When he saw them, he quickly opened the car door, then took both suitcases from Daron and loaded them into the trunk.
Daron glanced over at the other side of the arrivals area,
motioned for Marina to get in first.
Marina nodded and was bending down to get in the car when a man’s voice called out.
“Marina!”
She was about to turn her head to see who was calling her when, out of nowhere, someone shoved her from behind. She lost her balance and ended up plopping down onto the seat.
Daron got in right after her, expressionless, and said in a deep voice,
“Move over,” he said.
Marina nodded and shifted over a little, then asked,
“Did you hear someone calling me just now?”
Daron looked indifferent, his expression unreadable.
“No,” he replied.
Marina just went, “Oh.”
The next moment, Daron snapped at the driver, his voice icy.
“Drive,” he commanded.
The car shot off from the airport.
Just then, her phone screen lit up.
It was already late at night in Vrufield, and even though Marina had her phone on silent, the glowing screen was impossible to miss in the dim car.
She grabbed her phone and checked. It was a number she didn’t recognize.
‘Seriously, who’s calling me at this hour?‘ Marina thought, a hint of confusion in her eyes. She was just about to answer when Daron’s deep voice spoke up right beside her.
“Don’t disturb my rest,” Daron said, his voice low and cold.
Marina shot him a look and saw his eyes were already shut.
She thought about how handling the Frency branch had him working nights on end, barely catching a few hours of sleep.
She’d had way more downtime than him, barely any overtime, and she still felt wiped out.
She could only imagine how worn out Daron must be. He was probably running on fumes at this point.
09:54 Wed, Feb 11
Chapter 257
She just hung up.
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Almost immediately, a message popped up.
Waylon: [Marina, my car’s right behind yours.]
Marina blinked in shock. She never thought Waylon would actually show up at the airport.
No wonder I heard someone calling my name just now,‘ she thought.
Just as Marina was hesitating about how to reply to Waylon, Daron, who’d been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke up in a deep voice, “Head to the company.”
The driver swung the car around and made straight for Zamora Group.
Marina found her excuse.
Marina: [Sorry, I didn’t notice you earlier. I have to head back to the office for some overtime. You should get some rest. Thanks.]
Waylon replied almost instantly: [It’s okay, I can just wait outside your office until you’re done working late.]
Marina frowned, staring at the message for a long moment before finally sending a reply.
Marina: [Waylon, did my
sister not mention the conditions I set? Was it her idea for you to come pick me up?]
Waylon: [Elnora told me about your conditions, and I’m happy with them. That’s just the kind of married life I’m looking for. I checked the flights from Frency to Vrufield myself and took it upon myself to come pick you up. Thought I’d give you a little surprise. We’re about to get married, right? Isn’t it normal for a husband to pick up his wife when she gets back from a work trip? Wouldn’t it be nice to start building some feelings between us a little early?]
Marina was speechless.
She just looked at that wall of text for a long time, not even knowing how to respond.
If she wasn’t afraid of disturbing Daron while he was resting, she would’ve just laughed out loud at how dumbfounded she felt.
Marina: [Sorry, Mr. Crosby, but I never really thought about developing any romantic feelings between us. I only agreed to talk because you said you wanted to get married just to deal with your family.]
After sending the message, Marina put her phone away without waiting for a reply.
She just felt uncomfortable. She really didn’t like this whole situation.
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09:54 Wed, Fed IT
Chapter 258
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
