"That's good, Rhea. If anyone bullies you again, you can hit them back. My brother says that self-defense is not illegal!" Linda Brown handed Rhea Vale a tissue and patted her shoulder.
Rhea's mood improved a lot. She nodded to her best friend and forced a smile.
Linda said, "If you're upset, you should just cry! You have no idea that your forced smile is even uglier than your crying face."
That night, Drake Brown came home from work. He deliberately put his coat over his arm. Drake looked decent, and he was full of righteousness. He looked like a meticulous person, but when he was with Linda, he always had a friendly smile on his face.
Being around Linda had really made Rhea feel at ease. The attentive Rhea noticed the coat over Drake's arm. She thought, 'He does not need his coat right now, but he's carrying it with him.'
Only when she saw Drake's hands did Rhea realize that he was deliberately using the coat to cover something in his hands.
When Linda walked over, Rhea reminded her, "Look at what your brother is holding under his coat!" When Linda heard this, she took the clothes from her brother's hands, catching him off guard.
Then, Drake quickly used the clothes to cover what he was holding again. He asked, "Little gluttonous cat, do you want a drink?"
"My brother is the greatest!" Linda smiled, and her eyes sparkled. Her brother doted on her and gave her whatever she wanted.
Drake looked at Rhea, and a trace of unpredictability flashed in his eyes. "Sugar-free, don't worry. You guys have fun. I'll get going now."
Linda took the milk tea and pulled Rhea back to her room. The two of them chatted happily.
When she was with Linda, Rhea forgot that she was already married. Everything seemed to be the same as before. She was still the daughter of the Vale family, the precious treasure that the Vale family cherished in their hearts, the eldest daughter of the Vale family that no one dared to provoke. She did not need to restrain her temper, and she did not need to suppress her anger.
She liked her freedom to begin with. She did not like being confined to a bedroom that was only dozens of square meters wide so that she would not get into another argument. When she was with her best friend Linda, Rhea forgot all her worries and chatted with her until it was late.
...
However, Rhea did not know that the Ashford family was looking everywhere for her.
Riven Ashford realized that he could not wait any longer, so he called his subordinates and asked them to focus on the Ashford family and start looking for Rhea. He then called his best friend for help.
Sam Black, who was about to go to sleep, received a call from his best friend. "What? Who's Rhea Vale? You're married? F*ck, my brother is married, and I didn't know? What's the situation now? Did you lose your wife?"
His string of questions gave Riven a headache. He changed from his usual cold demeanor and patiently replied, "I'm married. Rhea Vale is my woman. She's lost now."
"Wait, let me pinch myself. Am I dreaming?" Sam acted like he had just heard a big joke. He could not come back to his senses for a long time. He simply could not believe it.
Riven said, "I'll give you three seconds to wake up. Get up immediately and help me look for her."
Sam was so shocked that he fell off the bed. He now knew that he was not dreaming. His good friend had secretly gotten married. Not only did he get married, but his wife was nowhere to be found.
Thus, a few minutes after Riven hung up, his cell phone was flooded with calls from his good friends who were living abroad. They all called to ask, "Riven, I heard from Sam that your wife ran away with someone right after you got married?"
Riven knew that Sam's big mouth would cause him trouble. If he was not so anxious, he definitely would not have told him about this.
"Brother, logically speaking, that wouldn't happen to you! Your charm isn't too bad. Why did your wife run off with someone else right after you got married?"
Riven took a deep breath. "If I didn't need Sam now, I would definitely sew his mouth shut!" No, he would just use a strong medicine to poison him!
"I'm not angry, I'm not angry. As your good friend, I'll go back and accompany you right now." Jack Phill heard that his good friend's wife had run away with someone else and immediately decided to check in with Riven.
At this time, good friends needed to be by his side so they could accompany him through this period of darkness.
Jack decided to go help, and so did three of Riven's other friends—Peter Lopez and Nick Jones. They all claimed that they wanted to help, but in reality, they just wanted to see what kind of woman could make the great Riven Ashford settle down.