Devoted Love:The Billionaire's Precious Wife

Just as Cathy reached for her wallet to settle the bill, Rosemary's hand shot out, stopping her dead in her tracks as her eyes locked onto Romeo.

Cathy was taken aback, Rose was expecting Romeo to foot the bill?

"Isn't Cathy treating us to dinner?" Romeo asked with a devilish grin, seemingly plotting to tease Cathy a bit.

"Cathy's treat was for me, but now that you're here, you're the eldest; shouldn't you be picking up the tab?"

Romeo hadn't actually planned to let Cathy pay. Seeing his fiancée so protective of her, he smiled, and quickly took care of the bill.

Cathy didn't expect Rosemary to save her over a thousand bucks just like that. She whispered into Rosemary's ear gratefully, "Thank you, Rosemary. Next time, when Romeo's not around, I'll treat you to dinner."

"I heard that." Romeo helped Rosemary into her coat, "Next time, I'll take her abroad with me; we'll work together. If you want to treat, treat us both, or don't bother."

Cathy was left speechless. Romeo was true to his businessman roots, playing a "buy one, get one free" game with her.

At the Earwood family residence, Harriet stormed home, fuming, only to find her father Addison on a call. Unable to contain her agitation, she whined, "Dad."

Addison had no time to spare for her. He was answering a super important call at the moment; he signaled with his hand for her to keep quiet.

Harriet, with frustration brewing inside her, noticed an elegant invitation on the coffee table. It was for a New Year's gala hosted by a children's charity foundation, inviting the Earwood family to attend.

This gala was known to invite many high-profile individuals, including the Collins family!

"Alright, alright, no problem. See you tomorrow night." Addison wrapped up his call, his face beaming with excitement. He turned to his daughter, "Now, who's got my little girl all riled up? What happened to

your face?"

"Dad, I've been bullied! Look, even my neck were squeezed!"

Upon closer inspection, the slap mark on her face was evident, and the bruises on her neck were alarmingly clear.

"Who did this??" Addison's anger flared, "I'm going to make them pay!"

Just as Harriet was about to name the perpetrator, she had a better idea. She tapped the invitation on the table, "That person will be at the gala tomorrow."

The invitation included a list of guests, partly to showcase the organizer's network and ability to draw such a high-class crowd at once, and partly to lure more attendees. Some wealthy individuals would otherwise snub such an event, but if they saw someone they wanted to network with on the guest list,they'd gladly attend.

"Who is it? I'll take care of that person today! Attend the gala?! Not a chance."

Outside the police station, a swarm of reporters had gathered. Martin emerged from inside, the epitome of still poise and grace.

A barrage of flickering lights went off as all the reporters swarmed him, clamoring for a statement.

Exiting alongside Martin was his attorney, Lawyer Archibald, who addressed the reporters, "Mr. Cooper has provided audio recordings that prove he was unaware of his subordinates' actions. They were

coerced by someone else to take the fall. As for who that individual is, the police will reveal it once the investigation is complete. Please make some room."

Martin's driver pulled up the car, and his bodyguards began to clear a path through the crowd.

"Mr. Cooper, could you shed some light on what you discussed with your two associates before their demise?"

"Mr. Cooper, are you allies or adversaries with the Collins family?"

"There's a rumor on the internet that you're dating Serena Lott. Is there any truth to this?"

At the mention of Serena, Martin's stride halted. The press, sensing a juicy story, unleashed a barrage of queries.

"Do you mind Serena Lott's past?"

"Do the Cooper family approve of your relationship with her?"

"She's reportedly done some unsavory things to the Collins family. Is that true, or is she being framed?"

"Are you planning to marry her?"

"Are you and Serena Lott living together?"

Martin's gaze settled on the reporter before him, "I've seen the online gossip. Yes, Serena and I are in a relationship, and we're planning to get engaged soon."

"Engaged???"

All the reporters were stunned. Despite the poor reputation the girl had, Martin still intended to propose? Was that for real??

"Mr. Cooper, is this true love, or are you using the engagement to deflect from the current scandal?"

"Are you trying to distract us from the investigation into your associates' deaths?"

"Do you think Serena Lott is a good girl?"

"Do your parents support this marriage?"

"I love her deeply, and we'll announce the engagement date in a couple of days," Martin stretched out and signaled that he was done with the interview and then got into his car.

"Mr. Cooper, please, don't go. Mr. Cooper."

The reporters chased after the car, hungry for more details.

At Forena Villa.

This led to the public digging into the wealth of the Cooper family and Martin's prowess.

Serena's lips curled into a smug smile; she couldn't be pleased more, "These losers wouldn't dare make a peep if actually threatened with legal action."

She took a bit of an apple joyously as she continued scanning the comments.

Her social media was flooded with more than one message from the netizens asking for a tutorial on how to win over a wealthy heir and to have him proudly declare an engagement.

The words hit Serena like a dagger to the heart. It had to be someone she knew! How could she let Martin see such a comment?!

Serena deleted the message without hesitation. But that only seemed to fuel the commenter's fire, who began to relentlessly paste the same message over and over, flooding her comment section with hundreds of copies, each followed by a taunting challenge. [Go on, keep deleting.]

Serena was fuming.

"Serena."

Just then, Martin returned. In a panic, Serena logged off and locked her screen before wheeling towards him with open arms.

Martin wrapped her in a warm embrace.

"I'm just so relieved you're back safe." Serena hugged him as tears brimmed in her eyes, "It's all good as long as you're okay. I know someone's been smearing your name. They're so cruel. Why did they

have to pick on you? If only I could get my hands on them, I'd tear them limb from limb."

Martin chuckled and stroked her back, "Don't worry. I had a recording of a call with one of my guys at the time, and although another guy only managed to send me a text before he died, previous call records can prove my innocence."

"As long as you're okay." Serena released him and flashed a bright smile, though concern quickly creased her brow, "You announced our engagement so quickly. What if your parents see?"

"The reporters were already asking about us; I had to clarify things and give you a proper status."

Martin said, gently patting her head, "Don't worry about my parents; I'll continue working on them. I heard from Dora that you didn't eat a bite of dinner after I left."

"I was worried about you." In truth, once the servants were out of sight, Serena had indulged in a fair amount of snacks. With the abundance at home, a few missing packages would go unnoticed for a while.

At that moment, Dora knocked and brought in the dinner freshly prepared in the kitchen. Martin had asked her to bring it up.

"I'll feed you," Martin told the girl in the wheelchair tenderly.

"You haven't eaten either. We can eat together. Don't worry about my hand, I can still manage a spoon."

Martin was amused by her again, "If you're worried about me, I'll eat while feeding you."

Serena feigned to blush at that.

Dora set the meal on the coffee table in the room, smiling knowingly, "Well, I'll leave you two alone then."

She exited to give them privacy.

Standing under the shade of the trees, Cathy was sharing amusing stories with Rose when suddenly,the lights of the restaurant dimmed, and all the street lamps and illuminations went dark.

"What's up with the power outage?" Cathy's words were cut short as Rosemary yanked her back.