Married at First Sight Chapter 4561 – Old Mr. Lafond didn’t press Romina. He gave her time to think.
After a long silence, Romina finally spoke.
“Grandpa, I admit River is a good man—someone any woman could trust her future with—but he’s not the right one for me. Our families run businesses in the same industry. We’re competitors. If he were just an employee, sure, I’d try to recruit him and make him one of us. Then maybe we’d have a chance. But he’s not. He’s the boss of Yantail.
Yantail survived and thrived under his leadership. He’s emotionally invested. There’s no way he’d walk away from that. And since we’re rivals—deadlocked competitors—even if we admire each other a little, we could never be husband and wife. If we did get married, we’d never fully trust each other. We’d always be worried about company secrets getting leaked.
It’d get to the point where we wouldn’t even sleep in the same room. We’d be terrified that one of us would talk in our sleep and accidentally give something away. Grandpa, don’t overthink it. River and I aren’t possible.”
Old Mr. Lafond was silent.
What she said made sense.
Unless River gave up Yantail—sold off his shares and stepped away—there was no real chance for them.
But Romina couldn’t make that kind of sacrifice either. Lafond Group wasn’t just hers. Even if she got married, she’d still be a Lafond. River would never fully trust her.
So if any sacrifice were to be made, it would have to come from River.
But realistically, why would he?
For someone who climbed from nothing to CEO, that kind of achievement was huge. Men valued their careers—River especially. There was no way he’d throw it all away for romance.
It really was impossible between them.
Old Mr. Lafond sighed. “You’re right, Romina. I got a little carried away thinking maybe you two could make it work. If you could, I believe you’d be happy together.”
He added, “Unless River agreed to merge Yantail with the Lafond Group, there’s barely a chance. But that’s unlikely. Forget it—maybe you two were just destined to be rivals, not partners.”
Then he suddenly remembered something and quickly said, “Since River’s not an option, why don’t you go see Maddox? He’s not as outstanding as River, but he’s a great match for you.”
Romina’s expression dropped. “Grandpa, must I get married? Can’t I stay single? I could live with you forever. I’m happy now. What’s so great about marriage? If I end up marrying into a bad family and get treated poorly, I’ll be miserable. Isn’t it easier just staying here as your daughter?”
Old Mr. Lafond shook his head. “Sure, it’s fine while your parents and I are still around. But one day, when we’re gone, and you’re an old lady, will your brothers, sisters-in-law, and their kids really tolerate you? Even if you’re wealthy—when you’re sick or bedridden, who’ll look after you?
You could hire a caregiver, sure, but do you know how many bad caregivers are out there? Some abuse their patients, steal from them, even poison them. What happens if you’re trapped in your own body, helpless?”
Married at First Sight Chapter 4562 – Old Mr. Lafond continued, “Even if you leave everything to your nieces and nephews, thinking they’ll care for you—what if they’re heartless? What if they force you to transfer your assets first? Once that’s done, they could do anything—even kill you.
Romina, even your own children can turn on you, let alone relatives. But at least your own children have a slightly better chance of being dependable. If you stay single forever, I won’t be able to rest in peace after I die. Do you want your grandpa to die full of regret?”
Romina sighed in defeat. “Fine, Grandpa, I’ll get married. I’ll find someone. I’m going to see Maddox now, thank him properly, and treat him to dinner. And I need to buy ten new suits for that jerk River. No wonder he didn’t fight back when I slapped him. He even let me pour wine on him. He was waiting for me to fall into this trap.
If we weren’t sworn enemies, I’d say he planned it just to make me buy him new clothes—now he’s got a full wardrobe.”
Last time, she’d only given him one new outfit.
She remembered how River had asked for more clothes. She’d bought some for her eldest brother, and River had seemed jealous.
Following her grandfather’s suggestion, Romina stood up and left.
She first called Maddox to check if he was free. She wanted to treat him to a meal to thank him for helping her keep the incident under wraps last night.
It wasn’t public knowledge, but she knew that rumors were probably still floating around in high society.
As long as no one said anything to her face, she’d pretend they didn’t know.
Maddox sounded concerned when he picked up. “Are you feeling okay? You were pretty drunk. Do you have a headache?”
He’d been drunk before. He knew how awful the hangover could be—so painful it made you want to slam your head against the wall.
Romina said, “I slept it off. Woke up naturally. I drank some honey water, too. I’m good now. You free? I want to treat you to a meal and thank you for last night.”
Maddox laughed. “It was nothing.”
“But I can’t make it tonight,” he added. “I’m out and won’t be back in time. Let’s do it another day. By the way—did you and River fight last night? Did he come after you for revenge?”
He was genuinely curious about how things turned out between them.
Unintentionally, Maddox had become a spectator in their ongoing drama.
Romina had already left the house. Her driver was waiting outside—she didn’t dare drive herself, even though she felt fine.
As she got into the car, she replied, “I was too drunk to do anything. I don’t even remember what happened. He said I took advantage of him. Today, he brought his sister-in-law to my house and said he wanted to propose—asking me to take responsibility! Maddox, you were supposed to keep an eye on me! Why’d you let me mess with River? Now I’m the one who owes him.”
Maddox laughed. “You were drunk! How was I supposed to stop you? You broke free from my hold, marched over to River, and wouldn’t let him leave. I told you not to drink so much—did you listen? You only asked me to cover for half an hour, and in that time you were already out cold. Romina, this one’s on you—not me.”
Romina sighed, “Ugh, I’m so unlucky this time.”