A Night of Desire

Chapter 187: The Secret Marriage Game?

Seth looked at River Sterling. Having been put on the spot by Linden Jennings, River shot him a resentful glare. Linden, however, sat leisurely on the sofa, a faint smile on his lips as he returned the look.

’So what if I ask? It’s not like Seth is going to eat me alive,’ he thought.

He stuck his hands in his pockets, looked at Seth, and asked bluntly, "Seth, you’re in a terrible mood today. Did someone piss you off? Was it Clara Grant?"

At the mention of Clara Grant’s name, Seth’s eyes visibly darkened. River saw it clearly. "I knew it. Besides Clara Grant, probably no one else can make you lose your cool like this."

He had barely finished speaking when Seth’s cold gaze swept over him. "Is ’Clara Grant’ a name for you to be using?"

"Sister-in-law. ’Sister-in-law,’ is that okay?" River pouted and quickly corrected himself. "Speaking of which, what did our sister-in-law do to you? Looking at you... you’re clearly sexually frustrated. Did she not let you touch her?"

The words had just left his mouth when a pen came flying at his face. He reacted quickly, tilting his head to dodge it. He looked shocked, but there wasn’t a trace of fear in his voice.

"Hey, Seth, that’s harsh! I rely on this face to attract women. What am I supposed to do if you disfigure me? If I can’t find a wife, are you going to give me yours?"

"It would be for the best if you were disfigured. Then you couldn’t go around corrupting young women anymore," Linden, who had been enjoying the show from the sidelines, said, adding insult to injury.

"It’s not like I’m corrupting yours."

"You wouldn’t dare!"

"You treat yours like a treasure. Of course I wouldn’t dare."

"What do you mean, I treat mine ’like a treasure’? My Poppy is a real treasure." Speaking of Poppy Vance, Linden’s expression softened considerably, his tone filled with adoration.

Speaking of Poppy Vance, he hadn’t seen her in several days and actually missed her quite a bit.

River dramatically wrapped his arms around himself and gave a theatrical shiver. "Not every man dotes on his woman like you do. Right, Seth?"

"You don’t mess with a friend’s wife. Even if Seth gave his girl to you, would you dare take her?" Linden crossed his legs and said nonchalantly.

River Sterling was a few months younger than Seth Quinn, and Linden Jennings was two months older than Seth, making Linden the eldest of the three.

"Seth and she aren’t married yet. If they’re not married, she doesn’t count as a ’friend’s wife.’ At most, she’s just Seth’s woman. Haven’t you heard the saying, ’Women are like clothes, but brothers are like arms and legs’?"

River shot Linden a sidelong glance and said with a smirk, but the corner of his eye was watching Seth’s reaction.

’Since I can’t tease Clara Grant in person, teasing Seth is a good alternative.’

But unexpectedly, right after he spoke, Seth dropped a bombshell with a deadpan expression, leaving both him and Linden utterly stunned.

"But we’re already married."

"What?" River shot up from the table, his face a mask of shock and disbelief. But he also knew Seth would never lie to them. "You and Clara... sister-in-law are married?"

Even Linden was surprised enough to uncross his legs. He asked, "Seth, for real? When did this happen?"

"Of course it’s real. We registered our marriage a month ago." Seth raised an eyebrow, seeming quite pleased with their reaction.

"Seth, that’s not cool. You got married a month ago and you’re only telling us now? Do you even see us as brothers?"

River protested indignantly. He did the math—they were already married back when that ’scandal’ hit the news, and Seth had kept it from them even then.

"It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you. It’s that she wasn’t mentally prepared to make our relationship public yet," Seth said, sounding just as helpless.

"You mean, you two are in a secret marriage?" Linden also found it a bit incredible.

"Mm, you could say that. Except I took it upon myself to tell my family, her mother, and now you guys. Oh, and a few other irrelevant people."

Linden, River...

’He’s told "irrelevant people," so how the hell does this still count as a secret marriage?’