Theo whips his head to Leila and repeats, "Wife?!"
Leila shakes her head and whispers back, "No. You have no arranged marriage or engagement or anything like that. It's just one of Miranda's antics."
Suddenly Miranda leans close and says, "It's not an antic. I'm being serious. I want to be in-laws with your mother. I like you, Thea. You're absolutely beautiful. You're perfect for my Liam. Imagine how cute your children would be."
Both Leila and Theo jump a little. But Leila quickly regains her wit, rolling her eyes. In a steady voice she says, "Don't listen to her, Thea. You are free to choose whoever you want to marry."
"Aw, Lei! You're ruining my dream! Liam is very handsome! I think he's even more good-looking than Arthur! And he's very smart, gentle, kind, and has a lot of money!"
"He graduated top of his class. Linus is grooming him to be the next CEO of Monfort Industries. He doesn't smoke, doesn't gamble, doesn't have a lot of lady friends. Have I said he's a gentleman? Well, he is. He's very polite to women. He'll treat you like a princess. You wouldn't have to work for the rest of your life. And," Miranda is practically selling her son, pausing only to take a breath.
Then she continues without missing a beat, "You will not have problems with your mother-in-law. Me! I'm a great mother-in-law. I'll love you like my own daughter. I'm—"
"Okay, okay, stop. Just stop. I'm not saying Liam is all of that or not all of that. And I'm not denying that your painted picture is very tempting. But I just want Thea to have the freedom—to choose whoever she wants to marry!"
"—to choose whoever she wants to marry," Miranda echoes at the same time. "Look, I understand. I do. I completely do. But just hear me out." She grabs Leila's hands with an exaggerated pleading look.
"Let them meet. And let nature take its course. Please, Leila? Pretty please?"
Leila takes a deep breath. "Linus is still on the line." She raises her voice. "Hi, Linus. I guess we're coming over to your apartment."
Miranda gasps. "Oh my god! Linus! I'm sorry, baby!" She hurriedly turns back to the phone.
Leila faces Theo again and whispers, "I'm sorry, Thea. We can't return like this. We're drenched. We need to get out of these clothes fast. And you still need to take your medicine and wear the pads."
Theo can see that, even though Leila sounds apologetic, she's already made up her mind. And once she decides, it's hard for anyone to change it.
Sam, who knows Leila better than Theo, doesn't wait for further instructions. He starts the car and heads straight toward the Monforts' penthouse in the city.
Leila sits back and dials Maurice's number to inform him of the situation.
Theo, sitting in the front passenger seat, turns toward the windshield and gazes at the city like he always does.
Sam's phone rings—it's Arthur. He takes the call and quickly explains the overall situation.
The car glides out of the basement, only to face a police roadblock.
Spotting the black car, an officer steps forward, motioning for it to stop. He raps sharply on the driver's window.
"Excuse me, sir. Can you give me your name and state your business here?"
Sam replies evenly, "My name is Samuel Mora. We're trying to get out of the Pavilion's basement and return to—"
"I didn't ask that." The officer cuts him off, his voice rising. "I can see you're coming out of the basement. What I want to know is why. Why are you coming out when everyone else is trying to get away from the fire?"
Then his gaze shifts to the passenger seat. He freezes. White hair. Striking features. Wow…
Sam's expression darkens. His eyes flick to the officer's name and badge number.
"What's going on here?" another officer approaches, frowning. "Why is there a car coming out of the basement?"
The second officer leans down, catches sight of Sam, and pales. "Mr. Mora! I didn't realize it was you, sir. My apologies!"
The first officer blinks in shock at his partner's reaction. Samuel Mora. Everyone in the force knows that name. The first officer beats himself for not recognizing the name faster.
Sam Mora—personal assistant to Arthur Montrose, the young CEO of Montrose Corporation. Their flagship product, the Aegis, has become standard issue for police units, credited with saving countless lives.
And Sam Mora himself is the corporation's liaison with the police. Even the Arvion Chief of Police treats him with the utmost respect.
The first officer keeps bowing his head and apologizing, while the second officer quickly runs to open the roadblock.
Sam doesn't say anything as he drives away, but when he passes the first officer, he gives him a sharp look.
The officer can only gulp and close his eyes tight. I'm dead.
The rest of the drive to the penthouse is smooth.
Once again, Sam pulls into a basement parking lot. This time, a tall man in a black suit is waiting at the basement lobby. Sam recognizes him as one of Linus Monfort's bodyguards. I bet he's the one Mrs. Monfort left behind. Poor guy.
As an employee himself, Sam knows how Linus Monfort will handle the man. He will most definitely lose his job. Even if Mrs. Monfort pleads on his behalf, this man will never work at Monfort Industries again.
The black car stops at the basement lobby. Sam gets out and nods to the man before circling around to Theo's side. The bodyguard moves to open the passenger door.
Miranda steps out, smiling apologetically at the man. "I'm sorry. I'll talk to Linus. It wasn't your fault. I'm the one who ran away."
The man gives a bitter smile. "No, Mrs. Monfort. It was my fault. No matter what you did, I shouldn't have lost sight of you. It was negligence on my part. Mr. Monfort has already given me another assignment. I'm just here to finish my duty with you."
Miranda presses her lips together. She knows Linus is very strict with his employees—and the man is right. He shouldn't have lost her.
With that, Miranda leads Leila, Theo, and Sam toward the private elevator to the penthouse. Sam follows behind, arms full of shopping bags. He knows exactly why Leila wants to stop here.