Chapter 336: Chapter 333: This Voice, He’d Recognize It Even in Ashes (7)
But this was all beyond his control. If he truly had a handle on the situation, Lillian Bancroft wouldn’t have been the one with the most votes today.
The meeting concluded, and a new Supreme Leader had been chosen.
The nation celebrated—a time of joy for some, and sorrow for others.
A little over half an hour later, Lillian Bancroft returned. The first thing he did was hug their child, then he unlocked the shackle on Chloe Marshall’s ankle. Seeing her hesitation, afraid to take a full step, his heart ached. He pulled her into a forceful embrace. "My wife, if you behave from now on, I won’t put this shackle on you again."
Chloe Marshall knew exactly why. It was because he had the child. He knew she would never abandon her baby.
This was just a different kind of leash.
"Fine."
He released her and said softly, "I’ve come to take you to the Imperial Palace. We’ll be living there from now on. It’s a place of treachery and intrigue. When I’m not by your side, you must be careful. Don’t eat any food or use anything given to you by anyone else. Only from me, understand?"
"Why is it always ’only from you’? Aren’t you a bit too tyrannical?"
He smiled. "Because I would never harm you. I want you and Dorothy to live a good life. They, however, desperately want you dead, simply because you’re the only one I’ll ever have eyes for."
Chloe Marshall nodded. "I understand."
He held the child in one arm and took her hand with the other as they walked out the door.
"What about our luggage? It isn’t packed."
"I’ll have it packed and sent over. This afternoon, I’ll begin the process of adding you and Dorothy to the Bancroft Clan’s official family registry. And I’ve already taken care of the marriage certificate."
Chloe Marshall was furious. "A marriage certificate? I never agreed to marry you, I never agreed to be your wife, and I certainly never went to register a marriage with you! How could you make such a decision on your own?"
"Without a marriage certificate, Dorothy can’t be entered into the family registry. She won’t be officially registered. You’re my wife. Who else would you marry?"
"Do I even have another choice?"
He nodded. "You do. Die, or marry me."
’What kind of tyrannical ultimatum is that!’
"Am I supposed to go out looking like this?"
He looked her over, then made a phone call. They went back inside.
Five minutes later, a makeup artist and a stylist arrived and began to get her ready.
Chloe Marshall had her own agenda. If she couldn’t leave, she might as well make a grand, public appearance. She hoped Ethan Ellsworth would see her and come for her.
But she’d forgotten that Lillian Bancroft was now the Supreme Leader of Harrowin. Even if the Ellsworth Family held a high status in Fravia, their influence couldn’t possibly surpass that of a nation’s leader.
If Lillian Bancroft forbade the Ellsworth Family from approaching Chloe Marshall, they would have no way of reaching her.
The only advantage to this was that the Ellsworth Family, and the netizens of Fravia, could confirm that Chloe Marshall was still alive.
Once her makeup was done and she had changed her clothes, Lillian Bancroft stood there, dumbfounded. His eyes were fixed on her.
She looked like a completely different person.
He walked closer to her. "Remember, you are now the First Lady of Harrowin. Conduct yourself with dignity. Also, I won’t permit you to see any men from Fravia, with the exception of your brother. Don’t even think about it. You need to consider carefully: will you leave on your own and abandon our child, or will you stay here with her?"
’I could curse him a thousand times over,’ Chloe thought. Her mind flashed back to their wedding night, when she had treated him like a complete fool, even giving him a massage—
’And now? He was no fool!’
Taking a deep breath, Chloe Marshall forced a smile. "You’re overthinking things. I have no such intention."
"You know better than anyone whether you do or not."
Chloe couldn’t help but wonder, ’Can he read minds?’
"Let’s go."
They went downstairs.
Lillian Bancroft held Dorothy in one arm and once again took Chloe Marshall’s hand with his other.
The handsome man and beautiful woman were driven slowly to the main gate of the Imperial Palace.
On either side stood Harrowin’s honor guard, arranged in several rows, each holding a rifle. A long, dazzling red carpet stretched out from the main gate, where domestic and international news media had gathered.
The car door opened slowly. Lillian Bancroft stepped out, holding Dorothy. He then extended his hand back toward the car’s entrance, and a fair, delicate hand was placed in his palm.
A high-heeled shoe touched the ground, and every camera lens swiveled to focus on the emerging Chloe Marshall.
With a captivating glance and a faint smile, she stepped out of the car, waving to the members of the press.
Camera flashes went off incessantly. Lillian Bancroft led her by the hand onto the red carpet. He took a microphone and began a brief address.
"Now, I would like to formally introduce to everyone, both here in Harrowin and abroad, the woman standing beside me: my wife. And in my arms is my daughter, Dorothy Bancroft. I declare to the entire world today that I will only ever take one wife in this life—the First Lady of Harrowin!"
That last sentence took Chloe Marshall by surprise. He said he would only marry one wife, but previous Supreme Leaders of Harrowin were required to take three. Yet he made such a declaration on his very first day in office.
Chloe Marshall also noticed he hadn’t mentioned her given name.
She understood his reasoning.
The applause thundered on for a long time.
In Fravia, however, the news sent shockwaves through the entire nation.
The kidnapping of Chloe Marshall had already been a huge story. Now, the fact that Harrowin’s new First Lady bore a ninety-nine percent resemblance to her was, to say the least, shocking.
Skeptical voices flooded the internet, with many suspecting that Chloe Marshall had been tempted by the Supreme Leader’s high status and abandoned Ethan Ellsworth, which led to—
Theories like this, and many others, began to spread.
Naturally, the news was bound to reach the Ellsworth Family.
Mrs. Ellsworth happened to be watching the news. When she saw the live broadcast from Harrowin, she was almost certain that the First Lady was Chloe Marshall.
She immediately called Ethan Ellsworth.
Ethan Ellsworth was in the middle of recording a new album, so the call went unanswered.
Mrs. Ellsworth waited for a long time, calling again and again, determined to get him on the line. She finally got through.
"Son, you need to come home, quickly," Mrs. Ellsworth urged anxiously.
"What is it?" His voice was calm.
"Just come home! Something terrible has happened. I can’t talk about it over the phone."
Hearing the urgency in her voice, Ethan Ellsworth quickly agreed. "Alright, I’m on my way."
He rushed back to the Ellsworth estate with his assistant, Alice.
When Mrs. Ellsworth saw him, her face was flush with excitement. She rushed forward, grabbed his arm, and began speaking, her words tumbling out incoherently.
"Son, you won’t believe it! Chloe... she’s still alive!"
Ethan Ellsworth had never seen her so agitated. He, however, remained perfectly calm. "Mom, were you dreaming?"
