Chapter 561 Tonight is Our Wedding Night!
Johnny scooped up Angelina and stepped into the elevator, with Lola trailing behind.
The doors slid shut, cutting off any curious onlookers.
When they reached the top-floor CEO office, Lola was a bit surprised. Everything was just like she left it, even the snooker table was still in place. The furniture hadn't budged an inch. It was like she never left.
Johnny noticed her looking around and said, "I've been swamped, no time to play. You can show Angelina the ropes when you get a chance. She's got long legs; she'll probably be tall. It's a good game for her."
Thinking about Angelina's illness, Lola's heart ached. She gently patted Angelina's head after a few moments.
Johnny watched her quietly. After a long pause, he finally said, "If you were so worried, why didn't you come back sooner? Didn't you find out a year ago?"
Lola had sought out the best specialists and only turned to Johnny when she had no other options. She wouldn't have involved him again if there had been any hope.
Lola lowered her eyes, and Johnny didn't push the topic. He set Angelina down on the sofa in the lounge area, where two takeout boxes from a five-star hotel waited. He opened them one by one.
There were Angelina's favorite eggs.
Angelina sat on her dad's lap, nibbling at her food, and asked softly, "Daddy, are you and Mommy fighting?"
Johnny glanced at Lola. She was staring out the window, her eyes a bit red. His heart softened, and he whispered, "Finish your meal. You have a court session this afternoon."
His tone was much gentler than before.
They didn't want to argue in front of Angelina, so Lola sat down.
She didn't have much of an appetite and ate very little.
After feeding Angelina, Johnny looked at her and asked, "Not to your taste?"
He noticed she was even thinner than before. Weren't women supposed to gain some weight after having kids? Why had Lola gotten skinnier?
Lola responded softly, "I haven't been eating out much these past few years."
Johnny kept eating, his voice a bit rough after a while. "Does Darren cook well?"
Lola couldn't help but glance at him.
Johnny didn't look up, like he had just asked a casual question. Lola nodded. "It's okay."
"How good is 'okay'?" he suddenly asked again.
Lola couldn't help but say, "Johnny, can we not talk about him?"
Johnny looked at Lola. His gaze was a bit cold, and Angelina started crying. "Daddy is so mean! I miss Darren."
Johnny's previously gloomy face suddenly looked a bit flustered. He hadn't expected a two-and-a-half-year-old to be so sensitive, even though he hadn't raised his voice. But Angelina could sense his anger.
Nowadays, Johnny didn't coax Lola much, but he was very good at soothing Angelina.
When she cried, Johnny's heart ached.
He stopped eating and held the little girl on his lap, wiping her tears with a tissue.
Angelina lay on his shoulder, crying sadly.
Lola couldn't do anything from the side. Johnny looked at her and said calmly, "You finish your meal. I'll have the driver take you to the law firm later."
After saying that, he carried Angelina to the lounge.
He wiped her face with a warm towel and coaxed her to sleep. Johnny even had a set of pajamas for her in the office. The pink onesie was super comfy, and with her little belly full, it was perfect for a nap.
She asked Johnny to lie down next to her so she could rest her head on his warm, cozy stomach.
Johnny agreed to everything.
Lola went downstairs by herself. She used to be the executive president of Vertex Innovations Group, so most of the employees knew her.
Earlier, Johnny had been joyfully handing out gifts.
Now, as Lola went downstairs alone, many female employees started gossiping, saying things like how getting married and having kids made women less valuable and how men stopped caring.
Lola sat in the car, and the driver had also heard the gossip.
Jared cleared his throat. "Don't mind what those people say. They don't understand! Johnny really cares about you!"
Lola smiled faintly. Johnny resented her now.
Maybe there were still feelings, but he was very bothered by the three years she spent with Darren, which made him unpredictable.
She thought that maybe after having the child, he would find life with her boring and want to be free.
Lola leaned lightly against the car seat. Jared, driving, happily talked about his family and his hopes for the future, even mentioning Frederick and Charlotte.
Lola didn't know how to explain to her parents.
She had once loved Johnny deeply, but now their marriage felt more like a grudge.
A wedding wasn't really necessary.
She hadn't brought it up, and surprisingly, neither had Johnny.
Lola went to the law firm, and at three in the afternoon, she called Johnny to remind him to wake Angelina and give her medicine.
Johnny's attitude was lukewarm.
It seemed the warmth from getting the marriage certificate had faded!
When Lola hung up, she couldn't help but think, 'Besides his anger at me, maybe another reason is that he is hitting menopause early! His temper is really hard to handle!'
Her own temper wasn't great either. She used to love Johnny, and he was willing to indulge her.
Now, their feelings had faded, and he no longer indulged her, making it hard to get along.
Lola tried to be patient.
After the court session, she went to the hospital to see Darren.
She bought a bouquet of flowers Darren liked. When she walked into the ward, Darren looked quite well, leaning against the headboard and quietly reading a book, which seemed to be a parenting manual.
When Lola entered, he didn't look up, as if he knew she was there. "You're here?"
Lola took a vase from the cabinet and arranged the flowers. Then she looked down at the book and said calmly, "Didn't you read this before? Why are you reading it again?"
Darren looked up calmly, his gaze falling on her stomach. "Aren't you about to have a baby? It's always good to review."
Lola just looked at him gently.
She didn't know how to tell Darren that she and Johnny had gotten their marriage certificate, nor did she want to say she was forced into it, as that would seem hypocritical.
She also wouldn't say that after the baby was born, she would take him away and return to Novaria.
Lola thought that if Darren really reached that point, she hoped he would stay in the country, knowing the Hawkins Family would always have a place for him.
But Lola didn't say any of this. She just adjusted the bouquet to look its best, then asked him about his condition. Half an hour later, the housekeeper brought over a meal, and she personally watched him eat.
Darren's appetite was still good. So she felt somewhat relieved.
As she was leaving, Darren looked at her back and suddenly spoke, "You're with him now, aren't you?"
Lola's back tensed slightly.
Darren's tone remained calm. "I heard it from the housekeeper."
Lola responded, "Yes."
Darren looked at her back, his hand resting on the bedclothes slightly curling, but his tone remained gentle and composed. "That's good. Angelina does need a father like Johnny."
Darren couldn't provide anything. He was still a burden to Lola!
But in Lola's heart, he was family.
Lola turned back, walked to the bedside, gently and tenderly stroked his hair, and then hugged him lightly.
Darren's illness was merely being prolonged; to put it bluntly, it was buying time with money.
The medical expenses were staggering.
They had spent tens of millions of dollars over the past three years; an ordinary person would have long lost their life. But Lola was willing to use everything to save him.
Darren was also in pain; he had gritted his teeth and persevered these three years. He wanted to stay with Lola and see for himself that Angelina could recover.
He didn't want to die yet!
After a long while, Darren patted her lightly. "Go back. Don't make yourself unhappy because of me."
Lola wanted to say something, but he wouldn't let her.
When she returned to the villa, it was already 9 PM. The car stopped, and Lola opened the door to get out.
After taking just a few steps, she bumped into Johnny. Johnny steadied her.
In the dim light of the villa courtyard, they could only feel each other's warm breath. Lola felt this was too close and took a step back.
Johnny let go of her. He lit a cigarette but didn't smoke it, holding it between his fingers, his tone slightly irritated. "Went to the hospital to see Darren?"
"Yes. Do you have to control this too?"
Johnny simply said, "It's 9 PM now, Angelina is already asleep! Lola, do I need to remind you? You're married now. If you insist on taking care of Darren, shouldn't you consider your husband's feelings or think about Angelina missing her mom?"
Lola didn't want to argue and walked past him. "I'll be more mindful in the future to make you happy!"
As soon as she said that, she was pinned against the car door.
Johnny extinguished the cigarette, turned to her. In the moonlight, her face was pale, with dark circles under her eyes, indicating she hadn't slept well last night and had cried this afternoon.
Johnny gently touched her face, his voice low. "Do you know how to make me happy?"
Lola's face turned cold. She looked him up and down, then said, "I remember you need to abstain for a week! Besides, aren't we doing this to have a child? Until the next safe period, I don't think we need to be in contact."
Johnny stared at her face. After a long while, he chuckled lightly. "Can't handle it after just one day? You've been cold to me all day, but you went to comfort Darren instead."
Lola interrupted him, "Did you marry me just to mock me? Johnny, I wanted a child without telling you. If you can't handle it, we can find another way!"
"I'm not allowing you to see Darren! What if one of my conditions is that you never see Darren again?" He said directly, "I care a lot about his presence!"
Lola wanted to say she couldn't do that, but she didn't want to argue with him now.
She only said, "I'll come back earlier in the future!"
After speaking, she pushed past him and walked into the house.
Johnny remained in the night, slowly taking out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.
Lola entered the dining room.
She saw a table full of dishes, very sumptuous, mostly her favorites, but almost untouched.
Was Johnny waiting for her?
Lola felt a pang of discomfort in her heart. She slowly sat down at the dining table, looking at the cold dishes.
Besides the dishes, there was a velvet box and a silver candlestick.
It was clearly a candlelight dinner, probably to celebrate their newlywed status.
Footsteps sounded behind her; it was Johnny. He threw his coat over the back of a chair and sat across from Lola.
She then noticed he was still wearing the same clothes from the morning. The tie pin he wore today was particularly nice; she rarely saw Johnny dress so formally. Lola's lips moved, and she said softly, "If you wanted to have dinner with me, you could have called."
"Would you have come home if I called?"
Lola lowered her eyes, then watched as Johnny put the box away, seemingly not planning to give it to her anymore. She just silently ate.
After one bite, Johnny took the dishes away, his tone not very good. "They're all cold. What if you get a stomachache?"
Johnny went into the kitchen, reheated the dishes, and brought them back. He got himself a glass of red wine. Lola frowned. "You just had surgery; you can't drink."
Johnny pushed the glass towards her, indicating she should drink. "Today is our wedding night."
Lola picked up the glass, swirled it gently, and finally took a small sip.
Johnny watched her for a long time before asking, "Did you tell Darren? Is he okay with you marrying me? Didn't he make a fuss?"
Lola put down the glass. She looked at Johnny and slowly said, "Just because we're married doesn't mean you can keep mocking me! Darren is very important to me."
Johnny interrupted her and smiled nonchalantly. "Don't worry; I'm very magnanimous now. I'm afraid he can't handle our relationship, knowing the person he likes is with me every night. It would drive him crazy, wouldn't it?"
Lola stood up.
"Sit down!" Johnny's voice was stern. "Did I allow you to get up? I said, this is our wedding night!"
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