Married a Secret Billionaire by Breaking Wave

"Renee, listen to me." Cordelia held onto the last glimmer of hope. "The past is already in the past. If you keep

digging into it, you'll only become more miserable. And if Toph sees you suffering, do you think he'll feel any

better?"

"Aunt Cordelia..."

"I'll arrange the best psychologist for you." Cordelia gently stroked Renee's hair. "You're just unwell, and I believe

you will get better."

Renee remained silent, the darkness in her eyes deepening.

The butler lightly knocked on the door and walked over to hand Le Fari to Cordelia.

Renee stiffened. When Toph tried to put the ring on her earlier, she pushed him away. She realized she had acted

impulsively. This time, she decided to take the initiative and get the ring back.

"Aunt Cordelia, this..."

"There's no rush." Cordelia put up a hand with a gentle but firm gesture. She signaled to the butler, who

immediately brought a jewelry box over.

After Cordelia placed the ring inside, the butler locked the box.

"Toph mentioned that the ring was too big for you." Cordelia chuckled. "I'll have the craftsman adjust it to fit you

properly. We can't have people saying that the Hamertons don't even have a properly fitting ring."

"Aunt Cordelia, it's really not a big deal!" Renee hurriedly protested, "I can take care of the resizing myself..."

"Let me handle it." Cordelia looked at her as though she could see through her very soul. "Renee, I'll keep the ring

safe for the time being. After all, it's an heirloom of the Hamertons. If it gets lost again, none of us will be able to

bear the responsibility."

"No, it won't happen again! Absolutely not!"

"We can't be too sure." Cordelia got up and took her hand with a smile. "Your marriage to Toph is postponed

anyway. There's no rush to wait a little longer. Once the ring is resized and you're all better... I'll have Toph wear it

for you himself!"

Renee bit her lip without saying anything.

"It's my birthday today, and I can't keep the guests waiting for too long." Cordelia looked at Renee. "Accompany me

to the hall."

"Alright." Renee softly agreed, linking her arm with Cordelia's and slowly walking out of the flower room.

Before leaving, she glanced at the box in the butler's hand. It felt like a thorn had lodged in her heart.

With the wedding date uncertain and now the ring gone, her insecurity was only growing stronger.

Renee looked at Cordelia resentfully. The knot in her heart seemed to tighten a little more. -

For several days, Toph had been moody. Even when gaming with Chris, he would play a couple of rounds and stop.

He would then sit alone on the couch, looking at his phone—sometimes distressed, sometimes elated.

Chris took off his headphones, retrieved two cans of beer from the fridge, and patted Toph on the shoulder. "Having

an identity crisis?"

"Get lost!" Toph grinned like a simpleton.

Chris frowned. "You've been acting strange for days... What happened?"

"Renee finally replied to my messages!"

Toph showed his phone to Chris.

As Chris looked at the messages, he sensed something odd.

Lately, Renee has been responding minimally to Toph's messages. When she did reply, it would often be after he

had sent several texts in a row. Her responses were usually quite vague, often just saying, [Hmm, okay.]

Despite that, Toph's mood would immediately lift whenever she did reply. If she ignored him, he would be like that,

absentminded even when playing a game.

Chris returned the phone, his tone serious. "Do you think your way of interacting is normal?"

Toph's expression dimmed, and after a long silence, he muttered under his breath, "No, it's not." "If it's not normal,

then why do you indulge her?" Chris did not like seeing his cousin being treated unfairly. "From your chat history, it

seems like every time you send a bunch of messages and are about to give up, she suddenly replies with one

message, and you're filled with hope!"

Toph looked at Chris in a daze.

"Toph, I think she's not as simple as we think." Chris took a sip of his beer. "Back in the military, we learned about

psychological warfare. I think she's pretty adept at it. Keeping you hanging but not completely ignoring you, always

giving you a glimmer of hope and stringing you along!"

"D-Don't assume things!" Toph gave him a sideways glance. "Renee is not that kind of person!"

"Toph, can you be a bit more mature? Have you not analyzed the things she's been saying to you?"

Toph lowered his gaze and said nothing.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about it or didn't understand. He simply had an optimistic nature and didn't like to

think negatively, especially when it came to someone he loved deeply and wanted to keep loving.

He believed Renee was going through a temporary rough patch. Like his mother had said, she was just not feeling

well and would improve.

As long as he gave his love unconditionally, treated her with all his heart, and stood by her to take care of her, she

would eventually sense it, wouldn't she?

Chris sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "To put it harshly, I think... she's manipulating your emotions. But

these things are often hard for those involved to see!"

"Enough, stop talking!" Toph was agitated. "Chris, you don't know her. She was very kind in the past!"

"But people change. I just don't want you to get hurt." Chris looked at him. "Toph, you've been very well sheltered,

and all you see are the good things in life. You can't see how wicked people can be!"

"I said stop!" Toph sprang up.

Chris's words were harsh, cutting through Toph's numb emotions like a sharp knife. He understood that Chris meant

well, but it left him struggling for breath under the pressure.

After a long silence, Chris finally broke it by giving Toph's back a gentle pat, accompanied by a deep sigh.

The ringing of a phone call shattered the tension in the room.

Chris reached for the phone and noticed Lena was calling. He hesitated, surprised since she should have been at

work by now.

"Hello, Lenny."

"Chris!" Lena sounded quite excited. "Hurry, come to the hospital! Right now!"

"What happened?" Chris' heart dropped, his mind flashing with the picture of Lena beating someone up for some

reason. "Y-You didn't get into a fight selling houses, did you?"