<b>Chapter </b><b>259 </b>


    However, the concern from her two uncles warmed Briar’s heart.


    $79


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    For years, she had lived in constant danger. An ordinary person would have broken down long ago, always teetering on the edge of life and death.


    No matter how resilient or quick to learn she was, there would always be a day when she could not hold on


    anymore.


    The quietpanionship and unconditional protection from her grandfather and two uncles always gave her a seemingly endless reserve of strength.


    This strength allowed her to remain calm and rational in every life–or–death situation, enabling her to navigate one crisis after another.


    She did not have arge family. Her mother was gone, and her grandfather had also passed away. Now, her only remaining rtives were her two uncles.


    At the dining table, Briar felt inexplicably down. She sat quietly with her eyes lowered, listening to the idle chatter between Ashton and her two uncles.


    Suddenly, a warm hand rested on her head. Briar looked up and met Ashton’s smiling eyes. “Honey, I left our marriage certificate in the car. Go and get it.”


    “Huh? What?” Briar was startled. She immediately looked at her two uncles across the table, only to see their brows twitching and a hint of murderous intent in their eyes.


    But their lips were curled into smiles, a clear effort to appear friendly and weing.


    Briar had been lost in thought and wasn’t paying close attention to their conversation.


    ‘So, did this mean Ashton has already won over them?‘ she thought. ‘Getting a marriage certificate without their permission was a huge deal. How on earth did Ashton manage to calm my uncles down with just a few words? And they were even forcing smiles?‘


    “Alright, I’ll go get it.” Briar didn’t dare ask how Ashton had won over her uncles, fearing their barely suppressed anger would be unleashed on her.


    She got up and strode toward the main entrance, practically fleeing the scene.


    But what Briar didn’t know was that as she turned toward the door, out of her sight, her two uncles had already thrown their knives and forks at Ashton.


    Fearing Briar might hear, Ruben and Larry attacked Ashton in silence.


    The three of them started fighting, but considering Ruben’s and Larry’s age andck of professional training, Ashton handled the two–on–one situation with <b>ease</b><b>. </b>


    Ruben and Larry were furious


    10:04 <b>Sun</b><b>, </b><b>Sep 21 </b>


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    Ashton dodged and weaved, only defending and never attacking. What a joke. He didn’t dare fight back.


    If he even dared to throw one punch, the two old men would immediately fall, y dead, and then run to Briar to badmouth him.


    At that point, Briar would find fault with Ashton.


    Ashton’s self–awareness “saved” his life.


    When Briar returned with the marriage certificate, Ruben and Larry could only re angrily at Ashton, having found no excuse to speak ill of him to her.


    Ruben looked at Larry, who immediately understood and was about to “nder” Ashton.


    If they couldn’t beat him, they could at least pin a false charge on him.


    But who was Ashton? This cunning fox had long seen through their intentions. Before Larry could even speak, he clutched his arm and let out a soft, pained sound.


    The sound was faint, but–perhaps intentionally–it was just loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear.


    Briar walked into the dining room and heard them as well.


    Briar scanned the dining table, noticing that while the tableware seemed neat, many tes were out of ce. She walked over to Ashton and asked, “Ashton, what’s wrong?<b>” </b>


    Ashton’s voice held a suppressed pain. “Oh, it’s nothing. I must be tired from our trip today. I was sparring with your two uncles earlier, and Larry knocked my arm out of its socket. I know it was an ident, though. I don’t me him.”


    After speaking, Ashton perfectly timed the release of his hand from his arm. Then, in full view of everyone, his right arm dropped, dangling and swaying as if it were genuinely dislocated.


    Presenting the facts as evidence, Ashton looked pale.


    Larry watched in astonishment as the young man used such a despicable trick, ying the victim right in front of them. His jaw dropped, and for a moment, he was too stunned to say a word in defense.


    The corner of Ruben’s mouth twitched wildly.


    They had been careless!


    So that was why the young man was only defending and not attacking earlier. They had thought he wouldn’t dare to fight back, but it turned out he was waiting to spring this trap on them.


    He knew they would deliberately speak ill of him in front of Briar, so he used their own tricks against them, beating them to the punch and leaving them with nothing to say.


    Ashton smiled. “Darling, my arm hurts so much! Can you help me?”


    <b>Sep </b>


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    ‘Heh! Who needs pride? Could pride win her sympathy?‘ Larry thought.


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    “How could you be so careless?” Briar said, even though she could tell there must be some kind of misunderstanding.


    But, as everyone knew, Briar was powerless against Ashton’s good looks.


    With Ashton acting so “delicate,” so “innocent,” and so “aggrieved” toward Briar, she couldn’t possibly resist.


    She shot Ashton a look, signaling him not to overdo it. ‘Couldn’t you see that they are practically grinding their teeth?‘ she said with her eyes.


    Ashton immediately straightened up. He sidled up to Briar with his arm dangling, letting her put his dislocated arm back in ce.


    Amused and resigned, Briar reached out. With two sharp cracks, Ashton’s dislocated and limp arm was immediately back to normal.


    Ashton ignored the furious res from his two uncles across the table. “Thanks. You’re the best.”


    Veins throbbed at the temples of Ruben and Larry as they reined in their fury. They had miscalcted; Ashton was <b>so </b>shameless<b>. </b>


    They thought, ‘Isn’t the renowned crown prince of Shoneport said to be cold, cunning, and smooth? Why, then, is this man acting like a fawningpdog, shamelessly showing off his affection?‘


    Briar pushed Ashton back into his chair. “Sit still and behave yourself!”


    Ashton sat obediently, no longer moving or making a fuss.


    Briar cleared her throat and ced the marriage certificate in front of her two uncles. “Uncle Ruben, Uncle Larry, this is our marriage certificate…”


    In truth, Briarcked confidence as she spoke, feeling like a mischievous child who had caused trouble and was too scared to confess to her parents.


    The reason was simple: she was a coward.


    Back then, Briar was so mesmerized by Ashton’s handsome face that she couldn’t resist, and just like that, it was a done deal.


    Now that she thought about it, Ashton hadn’t simply gotten married on his way to arrest someone. He had clearly arrested someone on his way to get married.


    They thought, ‘But what’s the use of realizing it now? They are already married!


    Ruben and Larry were speechless.


    Unlike in Dasmieca, where marriage certificates are two separate booklets, Qathana’s was just a single A4- sized paper with an official seal.


    But with that official seal, it was legally binding.


    Even if Ruben and Larry refused to acknowledge it, they had no choice.


    <b>10:05 </b><b>Sun</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>21 </b>