Ch. 4697: Married At First Sight Chapter 4697

Chapter 4697

“Mr. Johnstone, what are you doing here at this hour? It’s too late to talk business—and I was planning to take Romina out to dinner.”

Maddox smirked. “What’s wrong with that? Romina and I have been on a blind date before.”

That one sentence made River bristle with jealousy.

He had never been on a blind date with Romina, yet she had gone on several with wealthy young men. Thankfully, her standards were high and none of them impressed her.

River had known about her blind date with Maddox, but back then he hadn’t realized he had feelings for her. When he heard about it, he even whispered to Romina that Maddox would never be able to handle her strong temper, and that their date would be a disaster.

He was right—nothing came of it, and there was no follow-up.

Yet somehow, the two had started seeing each other again. Maddox had become Romina’s public plus-one at banquets, and Eaglioncile’s upper class assumed they were a couple. The elders in both families had even begun talking about marriage.

Once River realized his true feelings, he began to see Maddox as his biggest rival.

One evening at a banquet, River overheard that Romina tended to flirt with men when she was drunk. Ignoring Maddox’s presence as her date—and despite the fact that he and Romina were supposed to be sworn enemies—he stepped in, whisked her away, and sent her home.

That single act set off a chain of events.

“So what if you two went on a blind date?” River now said, leaning in close so only Maddox could hear. “Romina’s kissed me, hugged me, and we’ve had… moments. She even promised she’d take responsibility for me.”

The truth was, the story of Romina drunkenly flirting with her rival—only for him to demand she “make it right”—had already spread through Eaglioncile.

Maddox gave River a long, measured look before saying flatly, “Mr. York, you’re shameless.”

“To win over your future wife, you’ve got to have thick skin,” River shot back. “That’s not shameless—it’s persistence.”

Maddox: “…”

If that was persistence, then maybe his own sense of decency was going to cost him.

“Didn’t you say Romina was your matchmaker—introducing you to a girlfriend? Now you’re chasing the matchmaker herself?” Maddox asked, half-sneering.

River chuckled. “The girls she introduced weren’t right for me. Romina is a much better match. That’s why I’m here—to tell her we should just have dinner together from now on. No more matchmaking.”

Truth be told, Romina had only introduced women from within Lafond Group—mostly new employees who had been smitten with River at first sight. Those blind dates never lasted, and the women often resigned afterward, which didn’t hurt the company much.

River had only been set up with two or three women through Romina, but each of them had noticed how attentive he was to her during the dates. They all concluded the same thing: River York was hopelessly in love with Romina Lafond.

Vice President Lafond and President York—they looked like they were made for each other.

Though River wasn’t originally from Eaglioncile, he had risen to prominence in just a few years. People could see he was powerful, but few knew his true background. River didn’t flaunt it, and Romina respected that. If he didn’t share, she wouldn’t pry.