Chapter 209: 209

Chloe sent Ellena a cold emoji.

"I'm serious. Anyway, you're single now."

After reading Chloe's message, Ellena was reminded of the marriage certificate.

The certificate circulating online bore Edward's and Naomi's names.

After marrying Edward, Ellena had never actually seen their marriage certificate. Neither she nor Edward knew whose name was written on it.

The photo had been given to Naomi by Cyrus.

With that certificate, Naomi had successfully portrayed herself as the victim. No matter how chaotic her private life had been, as long as she was Edward's legal wife, Ellena would forever be labeled a mistress.

Realizing her words were inappropriate, Chloe hurried to explain.

"No, that's not what I meant..."

"It's okay," Ellena comforted her.

After ending the call, Ellena went to find Edward.

Edward had not gone to work these past few days. Instead, he had been dealing with her scandal.

On the first day, Martin's supposed homosexuality became a trending topic.

On the second day, two celebrities publicly announced their relationship.

Now, it was already the third day. Public attention had largely shifted elsewhere, and very few people were still discussing Ellena.

Moreover, every celebrity involved in those trending topics belonged to D-Fronts Media.

Ellena knew better than anyone that all of this had been arranged by Edward.

The only unresolved issue was the marriage certificate.

As for Naomi, she had not been having a good time lately.

Jayden had confined her to the Smith family villa, forbidding her from leaving or meeting Cyrus.

Jayden knew Naomi's personality too well. If he allowed her outside now, she would definitely say something reckless to the media.

At present, he only wanted peace between the Smith and Arnoult families.

...

The door to Edward's study was slightly open.

When Ellena gently pushed it open, she immediately heard Edward's furious voice.

"Do you really think I don't know that my mother's death was related to you? What shameful things did you do to please Jayden? And now you want to interfere in my marriage?"

Only a desk lamp illuminated the study.

Edward stood in the shadows, his voice cold to the bone.

Suddenly, he sensed someone at the door.

Seeing Ellena standing there, he paused and immediately hung up.

Ellena walked in.

"I want to ask about the marriage certificate."

Edward narrowed his eyes. Suppressing his anger, he softened his tone.

"You don't need to worry about that."

"I just want to know what exactly happened."

Ellena's emotions were complicated.

She definitely loved Edward.

After learning that they might not even have a legal marriage certificate, she had felt strangely relieved.

If they had never been legally married, then one day, if she chose to leave, she could walk away freely.

Edward was too dangerous and unfathomable.

From the moment she chose him, she had already prepared herself to become a moth flying into flames.

But now, she unexpectedly discovered that there might still be a retreat available.

Edward looked at her steadily.

The expression in his eyes gradually deepened.

At first, Ellena met his gaze directly. However, under his intense scrutiny, she gradually became guilty.

It felt as though Edward had completely seen through her thoughts.

She quickly looked away.

"If you don't want to tell me, forget it."

After a moment of silence, Edward suddenly said, "After this matter is over, let's hold a wedding."

His calm voice echoed throughout the dark study.

"A wedding?"

Ellena stared at him in surprise.

"What?"

"We've never held one before." Edward continued naturally. "During this time, you can think about where you'd like to spend our honeymoon. We can travel anywhere, whether domestically or abroad."

His tone left no room for refusal.

However, Ellena still said, "There's no need to make such a fuss. We can talk about it later."

She simply was not interested right now.

Edward naturally sensed her indifference.

Although Ellena had neither cried nor argued with him, she was clearly no longer as invested in their relationship as before.

The moment she finished speaking, Edward's expression darkened slightly.

...

For the next few days, Ellena neither went to work nor left the villa.

She devoted all her attention to writing her script.

The following morning, Edward went out early.

Ellena did not ask where he had gone.

After writing for a while, she became tired and went downstairs for water.

She casually turned on the television and sat on the sofa.

Unexpectedly, the screen immediately showed Naomi being interviewed by reporters.

Naomi looked haggard. Her face was pale, making her appear as though she had just recovered from a serious illness.

Yet when Ellena had seen her two days earlier, she had looked perfectly fine.

On television, Naomi mechanically answered the reporters' questions.

"I uploaded the photo of the marriage certificate."

"I only wanted to enter the entertainment industry and become famous."

"The marriage certificate was fake."

"Ellena is Edward's legal wife. I wanted to create publicity by using this incident."

As she spoke, Naomi's face remained numb and expressionless.

One reporter boldly asked, "Miss Naomi Smith, were you forced to admit that the marriage certificate was fabricated?"

The moment she heard the question, Naomi's eyes widened in terror.

"No!"

She suddenly screamed.

"I forged the marriage certificate! I took the photo myself! Ellena is my younger sister. I couldn't do something like that to her! I was wrong!"

The reporters continued questioning her.

However, Ellena was no longer paying attention.

She knew Naomi too well.

There was no way Naomi would suddenly admit her mistakes out of guilt.

Her public confession definitely had something to do with Edward.

Ellena simply did not know what method Edward had used to make Naomi so terrified.

After changing several channels and discovering they were all broadcasting the same interview, Ellena finally gave up and switched to an old movie.

Halfway through the film, Edward returned.

The moment he saw her, he walked over, brushed aside her bangs, and lowered his head to kiss her.

Ellena instinctively turned away.

Edward froze briefly, but he still kissed her cheek.

His voice was unusually gentle.

"Tomorrow, we'll go try on wedding dresses."

As he spoke, he pulled her into his arms.

Ellena immediately resisted.

"I'm still working on my script. I'm busy."

"When we're done trying on dresses, you can continue writing."

"No. I just happen to have some inspiration right now."

Edward's expression instantly turned cold.

He gripped her chin, as though his patience had finally reached its limit.

Through gritted teeth, he said,

"Ellena Smith, try rejecting me one more time."