Convincing her

The atmosphere at the rehearsal dinner was very good. Everyone ate and drank to their heart's content, except for the designated drivers.

Ethan's mother also ended up showing up and staying for a while because she was just too curious about what was going on. But she didn't stay for long since she felt like she was spoiling the fun for the youngsters, so she left after thirty minutes.

Leanna was so excited and her mood was so high that she was all over the place with Ethan closely hovering over her to see if she was uncomfortable.

"We thought your relationship was still young, Dr Blackwell," one of Ethan's colleagues commented with a smile.

"I'm starting to feel envious, when will I get married with my tight schedule?" another one complained, making Ethan laugh happily as he held Leanna in his arms.

"It will happen to you too… eventually," Ethan added at the end of his statement. Who told your family not to own the hospital you work at? Ethan thought conceitedly but did not say anything and just kissed Leanna's cheek, causing her to redden instantly.

"Let's go, I knew it was a mistake to come," his colleague said jokingly, causing them to all laugh.

"Please, enjoy yourselves, don't hold back, there's enough food and drinks for everyone," Leanna said with an elegant smile.

"How did this talkative, goofy guy get such a wife? Do you have any friends?" one of the doctors asked Leanna jokingly, but she nodded seriously.

"Really? Can you introduce them to me? I'll be happy even if they are half similar to you," he said, his voice tinged with excitement. Leanna smiled and pointed to her friends, who were currently being accompanied by their boyfriends. The doctor was left tongue-tied.

Looking at the long-haired one who was walking around like he did not put anything in his eyes, and the dark-haired one who was skillfully interacting with others while occasionally pulling his girlfriend next to him when she strayed too far giving her a dimpled indulgent smile every so often.

Then there was the one with the black hair and black eyes, whose tattoos could be seen through his wrist and the knuckles of his fingers standing next to a glamorously beautiful blonde like he was her bodyguard. Unfortunately, he met his gaze.

The right side of Brian's lip curved up into a smile that did not reach his eyes and he nodded in his direction and the poor doctor only remembered to breathe once Brian stopped paying him any attention.

Leanna's actions of innocently showing the doctors her friends amused Ethan, and he couldn't help but laugh at his colleagues.

"Can you introduce us to your single friends? I thought I saw my life flash before my eyes," the doctor who had been stared at by Brian said.

"Huh? Maybe my classmates? They'll come to the wedding," Leanna answered thoughtfully.

"Classmates?" one of them asked.

"Ethan, you cradle robber," another said as he looked at Ethan with wide eyes.

"If you can afford to do it too you can try, besides, you are so old already, do you want to compare yourself to me?" Ethan asked after being called a cradle robber, whose cradle did he rob? There was just a five-year age gap, okay?

The thirty-two-year-old doctor was speechless. Did he really dedicate his time and effort to teach this brat? Leanna had never seen Ethan behave like this before, so it quite amused her.

"Old?" she asked curiously.

"En, he is more than ten years older than you!" Ethan reiterated. 

"Do you believe that I will ruin your honeymoon?" the "old" doctor asked.

"I will apologize first to this senior, my wife and I will go greet the other guests," Ethan said causing the doctor who was called a senior for the first time by Ethan to turn red from exasperation. Leanna couldn't hold back anymore and a burst of bell-like laughter escaped her lips. 

Ethan paused in surprise as he had never heard Leanna laugh like this. Hell, even her friends curiously looked in their direction since it was the first time they heard Leanna laugh so openly. Normally she was quite discreet when laughing, so this was a first for them too.

Ethan, who has always tried not to overwhelm her with his true personality:…

He had learned to be more careful around women because he would always be told that he was too talkative and his jokes would sometimes be inappropriate to the mood, so he had held back those impulses whenever he dated. Especially with Leanna, since he liked her so much and didn't want to say something inappropriate. But seeing her laugh like this made him come to a realisation.

He liked everything about her, the fact that she was outwardly cold and didn't say too many words but instead expressed her love with her actions.

He liked how she would act strong even when it was difficult for her and the entire process of soothing and comforting her so she could rely on him more.

Things that would frustrate other men he loved. Things that other men would love, he also loved. Shouldn't it be the same with her?

Leanna, who was unaware of how she had managed to make Ethan reach a critical conclusion that was going to propel their relationship to another level, finally stopped laughing.

Her face had even turned red from laughing for too long, and she even used her hand to fan her face since it felt so hot.

"Are you okay?" Ethan asked, and Leanna nodded as she leaned against him.

"Please excuse us," Ethan said to his colleagues and left with Leanna so she could sit down.

"I'm okay, I'm not tired at all," Leanna said for the nth time as Ethan forced her to sit down.

"I know, but just ease my worries," Ethan said and wanted to give her the jacket that she had already returned earlier.

"Can't you see I'm sweating? Do you want to cover me up as well?" Leanna asked, feeling flummoxed. 

"You are cold?" Ethan asked and shrugged his jacket back on.

"I'm not, I'm fine," Leanna said with a smile and stretched out her hand towards his face, her cool fingers caressing his cheek.

"How cute," Leanna said helplessly as her fingers moved towards his ear. Ethan caught her hand in his and pulled her closer to him, his arm going around her waist and leaning down to nibble on her lips. A wolf whistle immediately rang out in the venue and shouts of encouragement ensued after that.

Leanna, who was almost carried away by Ethan's momentum, was brought back to reality and tried to pull away on reflex, but Ethan did not let her go, seemingly encouraged by the crowd.

When Leanna was finally let go, she hid her face in his neck causing Ethan to laugh at her shyness. He then leaned down and whispered something in her ear which caused her to forget her embarrassment and look up at him.

"I love you too," Leanna answered to his words with a blinding smile. Seeing that Ethan was about to go in for another kiss, Leanna stood up abruptly.

"I- I have to go fix my lipstick," she said hurriedly and walked towards Laura.

Laura the scapegoat:…

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