CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER 26: WE GOT MARRIED BECAUSE OF THE BABY

Hearing this, Caden Hawthorne furrowed his brow. Why did this sound so strange?

Could it be that, in her heart, she was just his contract wife?

Caden thought to himself, yeah! They were originally in a contract marriage, and he had indeed overstepped just now.

Thinking of this, Caden said indifferently, "Rest well, I’m leaving now."

With that, he turned and left.

Watching Caden’s departing figure, Vivian Lynch furrowed her brow with a hint of confusion in her eyes, feeling that he seemed unhappy. Could he be angry?

Vivian murmured to herself, "Did I say something wrong just now?"

As night fell, Caden stayed alone in the study. Sitting on the sofa, he fiddled with a string of Buddha beads in his hand, his expression turning complex.

Suddenly, a phone ringing pulled him back from his thoughts.

Caden came back to his senses, picked up the iPhone from the coffee table, and answered, "Hello..."

Zachary Sutton’s anxious voice came through the phone, "Master Hawthorne, have you seen Weibo?"

"What’s going on?" Caden frowned slightly.

"Someone’s badmouthing sis-in-law online, and you didn’t know? Wait a minute, I’ll send you the link right away."

After saying this, the other party hung up.

Caden’s eyes narrowed sharply, just about to open WeChat when his assistant, Bryan Coleman, called.

"President Hawthorne, it’s not good. Someone’s put dirt on the young madam online."

With a stony face, Caden immediately instructed, "I already know. Find out the source of these smears for me immediately. By any means, I want results within an hour."

"Yes."

After hanging up, Zachary sent a link. Caden clicked on it and saw the news headline: "Pure College Girl, Internship Period, Knowing Third as Third, Being Kept by an Old Man..."

The content included some photos—a few of Vivian being photographed in luxury cars, her photos in a shopping mall, as well as a video, along with analyses of the brands of clothing she wore.

Meanwhile, Vivian still didn’t know she was being smeared online. She lay tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, still thinking about Caden’s expression when he left earlier.

She got up and walked to the window, looking at the night outside, feeling a surge of indescribable melancholy.

"Is he really angry?" Vivian was at a loss, "Why is he angry?"

"How annoying, I don’t want to think about it." Vivian knew very well that everything she had now was brought to her by the child in her belly.

Since she would lose it sooner or later, why should she care so much?

An hour later, the assistant reported the investigation results to Caden.

"President Hawthorne, we found out that it was Sean Sinclair’s close secretary, Jessica Hart, who did it. She hired people to release dirt on the young madam online, probably bearing a grudge because you banned her across the industry last time."

Caden’s eyes were cold as he clenched his fist, "I originally spared her, considering she was Vivian’s classmate. I didn’t expect this woman to be ungrateful and push her luck. Since she insists on courting disaster, I’ll fulfill her wish."

With that said, Caden immediately ordered, "Contact the PR department at once, and counterattack for me."

"Yes, President Hawthorne."

Meanwhile, Zachary also found some clues and was sending him a voice message.

[Master Hawthorne, I just helped you check. The account that broke the dirt is a recently graduated male college student, probably from the same school as the sis-in-law.]

Caden replied, "Use all connections and resources to find this person."

[Understood. When Master Hawthorne gets angry, the entire Aethelgard Circle suffers. Haha, it seems our Master Hawthorne has true feelings for this sis-in-law.]

Caden: "Less nonsense, hurry and eliminate the negative public opinion online for me."

[Understood, I’ll arrange it right away.]

Soon, the Hawthorne PR team launched a counterattack, blocking those malicious smearing accounts one by one.

After some effort, the negative news online gradually subsided, and the trending searches also dropped.

When Caden went to Vivian’s room, she was already asleep in bed.

He squatted down, looking at her sleeping face, and gently reached out to tuck her quilt before sitting on the bed and quietly watching her.

Caden gazed at her serene sleeping visage. Even asleep, her appearance was pleasing to the eyes, like a sleeping beauty.

Caden leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her smooth, white forehead.

Soon, Caden’s chilly thin lips left her forehead. He gazed at her tenderly, secretly vowing that he would never allow anyone to hurt her.

After leaving Vivian’s room, Caden softly closed her door, just about to return to his own room to rest.

Unexpectedly, he encountered Riley Hawthorne at the door, her eyes gazing at him with an eerie look.

Caden was startled by her, paused momentarily, then spoke irritably, "Riley, where’d you pop out from?"

When did this girl appear?

"Brother, I should be asking you this! You just snuck out of sis-in-law’s room, what are you plotting?"

Riley suddenly realized something, widening her eyes, "Brother, you didn’t do that to sis-in-law, did you?"

Hearing this, Caden furrowed his brow tightly, "Little kids shouldn’t talk nonsense. I was just checking if she had her quilt covered."

"Brother, you’re simply a beast! Sis-in-law is pregnant and you still won’t let her off?" Riley couldn’t believe it was as simple as tucking in her quilt.

Caden’s face immediately turned dark, and he knocked Riley on the head, "Riley, what’s going on in your head all day? Do I look like someone so desperate?"

Riley yelped, rubbing her head, and muttered quietly, "Brother, don’t deny it. We all saw you trying to kiss sis-in-law today."

Caden’s expression darkened further, "That was just an accident."

But Riley was relentless, "An accident? Brother, stop pretending. I think you like sis-in-law."

"Stop talking nonsense. I’m just marrying her for the child." Caden’s expression became stern, implying that he and Vivian had no emotional foundation, and he was simply taking responsibility because she was pregnant.

"Humph, Brother, you just won’t admit it. You’ll regret it later." Riley rolled her eyes, not believing the whole marrying for the child story.

She knew her brother best. If he didn’t want to get married, not even ten bulls could drag him to do it, especially since he believed in Buddhism and wasn’t interested in matters between men and women.

If it was just because Vivian was pregnant and he needed to be responsible, he definitely wouldn’t agree to marry her.

So, her brother absolutely married Vivian because he liked her and had a sudden change of heart.

"That’s enough. Go back to your own room." Caden didn’t want to continue the topic, with a hint of sternness in his tone.