Chapter 22 Mermaid
In their white uniforms, the security officers of Oceania stood in stark contrast to the black-clothed men standing behind Peter.
“Mr. Sharp, are you planning to stop me?”
Peter strode forward and looked at Victor Sharp with a grim expression. “Do you still want Oceania to continue operating in Emerdale?”
Victor was also under great pressure at the moment but he still forced a smile on his face. “Mr. Lawson, it doesn’t seem right to break up a wedding like this. Don’t you think you’re being a bit rude?”
“Rude?”
Peter’s sneer intensified. “Go ask Lydia Henderson about that. She’s the one being rude by lying to me and faking this entire wedding. You’ve been fooled by her appearance. Did you really think she’s a good woman?”
“Mr. Lawson, don’t talk nonsense or you’ll have to pay the price…”
Victor’s face darkened after hearing Peter slander Lydia in such a manner.
He had met Leo Cohen in person. He was a young man that he could not get a firm read on at all. How could this wedding be fake?
“Either way, I’m the only one who can be Lydia’s husband. No one else is worthy.”
Peter glared at Victor and added, “Step aside if you know what’s good for you. Don’t think you’re a hotshot just because you’re the manager of Oceania. I can shut this place down tomorrow if I feel like it.”
“Mr. Lawson, is that really necessary?”
Victor looked upset. Knowing how influential the Lawsons were, he knew it would be easy for Peter to shut down Oceania’s business.
“Yeah, that’s how I like doing things. What can you do about it?”
Peter looked at the guests around him. “Ladies and gentleman, you all agree that I’m the only one worthy of Lydia, don’t you?”
Following a brief moment of silence, the representatives of the other families began to take Peter’s side.
“Mr. Lawson, you’re a perfect match for Miss Henderson.”
“It’d be devastating if they don’t end up together.”
Caroline and her mother were about to pay lip service as well, but William stopped them with a glare.
Noticing this, Peter narrowed his eyes at him. “It’s you Fords again. Don’t you think your situation is already bad enough?”
“If you can’t have something, you’d rather destroy it. Someone like you doesn’t deserve Miss Henderson,” William retorted.
Caroline and Rebecca became anxious after hearing his words, while the other guests looked at him like he was a fool.
They felt that William, along with everyone else, would be better off stroking Peter’s ego right now, rather than go against him.
It seemed that the Fords would meet their demise soon.
“Mr. Sharp, have a drink with me.”
Suddenly, an indifferent voice came from behind the crowd.
Everyone turned around and saw a young man in a black suit walking toward them with a faint smile.
“Leo!”
Caroline and Rebecca looked as if they had seen a ghost. “How did you get in?”
No matter how they racked their brains, they could not figure out how Leo was allowed entry.
Leo ignored them. He went straight to the chair beside William and sat down.
“Mr. Cohen.”
To everyone’s surprise, the manager of Oceania made a beeline for Leo.
Leo handed him a glass of wine. He pointed to his adoptive father and made the introduction. “Let me introduce you to someone. This is my dad.”
Victor immediately offered a toast to William. “Mr. Ford, I apologize if our hospitality today didn’t meet your standards.”
“It was perfect. Don’t worry about it.”
William raised his glass in return, feeling flattered.
Peter’s expression grew darker. Not only did Victor refuse to give way to him and his men, but he even ran off to entertain other guests.
“Mr. Sharp, who is he?”
Leo took a sip of the red wine in his glass. “This is pretty nice.”
“Mr. Cohen, that’s from my private collection. This bottle is from the year 1988.”
Victor ignored Peter and entertained Leo instead.
“Victor Sharp, I’m talking to you. Can’t you hear me…”
Before Peter could finish his sentence, Leo splashed the wine onto his face.
The red liquid wet his clothes and hair, and a few drops even ran down his cheeks.
Silence.
The entire place fell deathly silent.
Everyone widened their eyes and looked at Leo in utter disbelief.
Caroline and Rebecca were so shocked that their jaws practically fell on the floor.
That bastard just flippantly splashed wine on Peter Lawson!
But that was not the end of it. After that, Leo went up to Peter and slapped him right across the face.
Peter’s cheek swelled at once, and five clear fingerprints were left behind on his skin.
Leo looked down at him and said emotionlessly, “Open your eyes wide, and take a good look at me.”
Leo had his back against Peter the entire time. It was not until Peter was slapped that he got a clear look at Leo’s face.
He took a step back. “Leo Cohen!”
He was not the only one shocked. So were the other guests present.
Leo Cohen; the man who should have married into the Lawson family but mysteriously disappeared on his wedding night five years ago?
“I thought he was dead.”
“How is he still alive?”
“He has some nerve coming back to Emerdale and showing up in front of the Lawsons like this…”
Whispering voices came from all directions.
Caroline and her mother looked annoyed. “This piece of trash only knows how to bring us trouble…”
“Shut up!”
William glared at them before refocusing his attention on Leo.
He had a feeling that his son had undergone a complete transformation, and was no longer the naive young man from before.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
Ignoring the whispering voices, Leo said coldly, “You were slandering Miss Henderson, weren’t you? Repeat those words again for me. Exactly as you said them.”
Peter had also snapped back to reality. He began laughing. “You’ve got some guts, Cohen. You actually had the balls to come back here. What are you doing? Sticking up for that bitch?”
A dangerous glint appeared in Leo’s eyes. “I said, repeat yourself.”
Having his face splashed with wine and slapped, Peter looked furious enough to murder someone. “I said, I’m the only one who can be Lydia’s husband. No one else is worthy!”
The moment he uttered the last word, a dangerous glint flashed in Leo’s eyes. He grabbed Peter by the neck and hoisted him up with one hand.
This stunned everyone. Peter was 6 feet tall, but Leo was able to lift him like he was a child. Just how freakishly strong was he?
“Argh…”
With his throat squeezed, Peter was struggling like a fish out of water and his face went completely red.
He lowered his head and saw a pair of cold eyes that seemed devoid of all human emotions. Those eyes stared at him like he was already dead.
Then, Leo walked to the railing and tossed him straight into the Emerdale River.
With a floundering splash, Peter fell in, screaming like a pig being slaughtered.
“Save… me… I don’t… know how to swim…”
He choked on the water and sank beneath the water’s surface before he could finish his words.
In a luxurious suite on the cruise ship, a mother and daughter stood by the window. The little girl in her mother’s arms said innocently, “Mom, look! What a big mermaid!”
“Mermaids are all female. That’s a man, sweetie.” The young mother said sweetly.
Everyone at the wedding was stunned. Victor was the first to react. “Save him!”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.