The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

Morrison sounded impatient, “Spit it out.”

Riley coughed awkwardly again. “It’s pretty obvious that Mrs. Witt adores you.”

Morrison glanced at him coldly through the mirror. “Of course, did I need you to

tell me that?”

If it was so obvious, why hadn’t he pointed it out before? Now, after stirring up

this whole mess, did he really need Riley to state the obvious?

Riley, undeservingly scolded, stayed quiet for a moment.

Morrison shifted in his seat, fell silent, then suddenly asked irritably, “What are

you trying to say?”d2

Enter title…

Riley slowed the car down a bit, “Mr. Witt, it seems Mrs. Witt has returned to

your place?”

Morrison leaned forward and sure enough, he could see the car heading

towards the direction of their house. A flicker of brightness crossed his stony

face, but it didn’t last long as he leaned back into his seat, his expression

tangled.

She was home, yes, but with her fiery temper, he hadn’t quite figured out how to

approach her yet. He rubbed his temples and suddenly thought that maybe, just

maybe, he could take the Witt family to greater heights. Compared to dealing

with Rose, striking a high-stakes deal seemed like a piece of cake.

Should he thank Rose for bringing out his hidden capabilities? This was tough.

Way too tough. He had made his bed, now he had to lie in it. If he had known it

would come to this, he would have avoided doing those regrettable things in the

past.

How the tables have turned.

Having worked alongside Morrison for years, Riley knew his boss had the

emotional intelligence of a rock, yet there wasn’t much else to fault him for.

Loyalty was a given after all these years.

“Mr. Witt, Mrs. Witt loves you so much, she won’t want to see you struggle.”

At this, Morrison paused, then looked up at Riley. “What do you mean by that?”

Riley continued, “She wouldn’t want to see you in trouble, nor see you pitiful.

Women are actually quite easy to appease. Especially someone like Mrs. Witt

who loves you, she’ll be even easier to win over.”

Morrison’s gaze sharpened, “Go on.”

“You’ve always been too proud, but now that you’ve decided to throw your pride

out the window. Um, I mean…”

Riley coughed awkwardly, catching Morrison’s stern look in the rearview mirror,

and suddenly felt a chill. “What I mean is that since things have come to this,

doing something even more surprising can’t hurt.”

“What sort of things?”

Riley cleared his throat forcefully and after a moment of silence, he spoke, “In

the trunk, I’ve prepared something for you. I guarantee it’s a foolproof plan. If

you’re willing to do it, it will definitely work.”

Morrison furrowed his brows, “You prepared it in advance?”

Riley gave a sheepish smile, “For some reason, I thought you might need it, so I

kept it in the trunk.”

—

Upon arrival at the villa, Megan and Molly were just stepping out, and upon

seeing his car, they didn’t approach. Instead, they stood at the entrance, clearly

waiting for him.

Riley parked the car and hastily opened the door for Morrison. Morrison had just

said some embarrassing things to Molly, and now he felt a bit awkward seeing

her. But compared to the past few days with Rose, this was nothing. With Rose,

everything felt natural. Even his own mother didn’t make him feel as comfortable

as Rose did.

“Are you leaving?”

Megan glared at him, huffed, and turned away, refusing to engage.

Molly wore a schadenfreude grin, “I’ve brought the lady back to you, and she’s

still in a foul mood. You made this mess, you fix it. But if you can’t smooth things

over, don’t come running back to us. I’ve given you plenty of good advice, and if

you end up embarrassing us. Well, that’s on you.”

Morrison, hands in his pockets, mumbled a vague acknowledgment.

“He’ll figure it out? With his emotional intelligence of a brick? If he can’t make it

right with Rose, a divorce is in order. He can pack up and leave the Witt family.

I’ll adopt Rose as my granddaughter and find her a proper suitor. Anyone dares

to cross her, I’ll flay them alive,”

Megan ranted on, then gave Morrison a fierce look and whacked him with her

cane. “Out of my way!”

Morrison stepped aside as Molly helped Megan down the steps.

As they were leaving, Morrison turned around. “Not staying with all this snow?”

“Seeing you just irks me. Staying would shave years off my life.”

Morrison sighed.

As the car carrying them drove off, Morrison’s gaze shifted to Riley. “What have

you prepared for me?”

Riley then hurried to the car’s trunk, fumbled around, and finally emerged with

something in hand.

Morrison, curious, walked over and upon seeing what Riley held, his face

darkened. “This is what you’ve had ready for me?”

Riley offered an awkward smile, “Yes… yes, it is.”

“So you thought I’d inevitably need it, huh?”

Riley didn’t answer this time. Even though it was true, saying it out loud was

definitely a no-go. Silence was akin to agreement.

Morrison, frustrated, gave Riley a smack on the head, “Getting bold, aren’t

you?”

The hit wasn’t hard, but Riley chuckled, “So, are you going to use it?”

“Get lost.”

Morrison grabbed a handful of snow and tossed it at him, then turned and strode

towards the villa.

Riley looked down at the onion in his hands, shaking his head with a hint of

regret.

What a waste.

Even though he didn’t catch Mr. Witt actually cutting onions, just knowing the

incident had happened was like having a juicy secret in his pocket. Sometimes,

he’d dangle it over Mr. Witt like a carrot, half-threatening to spill the beans,

which was always good for a laugh.

Just as he was wallowing in disappointment, the object he was holding was

suddenly snatched from his grasp.

Looking up, he found Morrison already turning on his heel, clutching the item

with an icy expression.

Riley stood there, dumbfounded. It wasn’t until Morrison walked inside and firmly

shut the door behind him that Riley was jolted back to reality, catching a few

snowflakes that had begun to fall.

Was it really that cold outside? Even Mr. Witt’s ears had turned a frosty shade of

red.

—

Inside, Morrison stared at the onion in his hands, and a muscle twitched in his

jaw. Damn Riley, he had actually prepared this for him.

The living room lights were on, but it was eerily quiet. No sound came from

elsewhere on the ground floor.

Rose was probably upstairs.

Looking down at the washboard again, he felt as if he’d been stung, and quickly

averted his gaze.

Ruffling his hair in frustration, he paced back and forth in the living room,

clutching the washboard. After several long minutes, he finally stopped at the

foot of the stairs.

He stared up towards the second floor for an eternity, his feet raising and

lowering indecisively. If he went up there this time, he would be done for in front

of Rose. Forever.

“Mr. Witt, since you’ve already thrown dignity out the window, what’s one more

embarrassing act?” Riley’s words, though irritating, seemed to make an

annoying amount of sense.

But could he really go through with it?

He remembered the times he and Rose had locked horns, both too stubborn to

give in, a battle of wills. And now, here he was, on the back foot, but to cut

onions in front of Rose…

He was still wrestling with the idea when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling

it out, he saw a message from Molly with a video attachment.

He frowned in annoyance, about to lock the screen, but then another message

from Molly popped up.

[Do yourself a favor and watch it. Some things you don’t see coming, and you’ll

regret it when it’s too late.]

Hesitantly, Morrison opened the video, which started with a black screen and

white text: “Treat your wife well when you’re young, or else…”

Or else what? Reluctantly, he played the video, which turned out to be a

cartoon.

A middle-aged man sat in a wheelchair, watching as a beautiful woman danced

in the park with another man.

They were shown having tea together, with the woman laughing and chatting

with the other man while the wheelchair-bound man slid unnoticed down a

slope.

In the last scene, the woman was pushing the wheelchair-bound man by a lake

when they encountered the same man she had danced and chatted with.

Whether by accident or design, the wheelchair rolled into the lake.

Initially baffled, Morrison finally got the message after watching the video again

from start to finish.

[Treat your wife well when you’re young, or else…]

Otherwise, she might fall for someone else in her later years.

Dancing, having tea, casual encounters with another man, all while ignoring

him, treating him coldly, or even plotting his demise….

The thought of Rose with another man filled him with a choking rage. He shoved

his phone back into his pocket and, without hesitation, stomped up the stairs.

But just as he reached the bedroom door, he slammed on the brakes. After