Chapter 3

Lorraine was lost for words. After a while, she said, "I can't even begin to tell you how wronged I feel, Mom. My phone's been reachable this whole time, and no one has called me. How's it possible that he couldn't get to me? He didn't need to call me anyway. We've already met." "Do you think you can just say whatever you want and lie to me through your teeth because you're out of the house, Lorraine? Mr. Moore wasted so much time waiting for you when you didn't show up! Who the hell did you meet?" Irene snapped. Lorraine was taken aback by Irene's outburst. She asked cautiously, "Are you being serious, Mom? Is my blind date still waiting for me at the café at Glendale Grand Hotel?" "Of course!" Irene was so angry that she was close to having an aneurysm. Those orchards were the only things Lorraine cared about. She had arranged for Lorraine to go on so many blind dates, but none of them had led to anything. Today, Lorraine had even gone so far as to stand her blind date up! The matchmaker was so pissed that she swore not to introduce Lorraine to anyone else in the future. It took a lot of persuading and appeasing on Irene's part to quell the matchmaker's anger. "That can't be. Mom, I swear I met Logan at the hotel. I had a really good impression of him, so we went ahead and got married. We just got everything done half an hour ago! I'm finally married, Mom. You don't need to keep nagging me anymore," Lorraine said. Irene fell silent. Lorraine continued, "One more thing—this matchmaker's a liar. She said Logan's an only child, right? He has a younger brother! She also said he's only 28, but he's actually already 31. Also, he has adopted the children of a dead friend. They're four this year and adorable. I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them. "The matchmaker might've lied about everything under the sun, but at least she was truthful about Logan being honest and kind. Look at how he adopted his friend's kids and raised them like they're his own children despite being unmarried!" Irene still didn't say anything. Lorraine had married someone she just met. Yes, the man she married was named Logan Moore, but there wasn't anything about him that matched the information the matchmaker had provided. What in the world was going on? Irene's brain short-circuited. She just couldn't wrap her mind around the matter. She finally found her tongue after a while and asked, "Have you really gotten married, Raine? Send me a photo of the marriage certificate. And where are you right now?" "I'm getting new glasses done at the optometrist. I told you my old pair broke after someone ran into me outside the hotel, right? I need a new pair." "You didn't have your glasses on during your blind date?" "No. How could I wear them when they were broken?" Irene snarled, "Send me a photo of your marriage certificate and your newlywed husband right this instant!" Lorraine was severely short-sighted and blind as a bat without her glasses. She wouldn't even be able to discern her family members if they were to walk right past her when she had her glasses off. Irene suspected Lorraine had married the wrong guy. Lorraine noticed the urgency in Irene's tone and linked it to the things the matchmaker had said. She finally realized something was amiss and hurriedly pulled out her marriage certificate. She checked it to see that the groom's name was Logan Moore. There was nothing wrong there. She took a photo of it and sent it to Irene along with a photo of Logan. Less than a minute later, Irene called to scream at her, "Why didn't you ask him more questions, Lorraine? This might be Logan Moore, but he's not the Logan Moore you were supposed to meet! "I told you to bring a photo of him along, didn't I? Yet you didn't heed my words and forgot the photo. Look what's happened now—you met the wrong guy! He's not the one you were supposed to meet!" Lorraine was rendered speechless. Had she really gotten the wrong guy? That man was Logan Moore, wasn't he? Irene explained that the Logan she was supposed to meet wasn't the Logan she had married. They just happened to share the same name. Lorraine was dumbfounded. What could she do now? She and Logan were already married. She calmed down after a few minutes and told Irene, "It doesn't matter who I marry since I have to marry someone, right, Mom? This Logan I've married might be a bit older than we expected, but he's the one I met and spoke to. He's the one I like." Irene had nothing to say in rebuttal. Judging from the photo Lorraine had sent to her, the Logan Lorraine had married was much more handsome than the Logan she was supposed to go on a blind date with. In fact, he looked like quite a good match for Lorraine. They looked good standing together. If there was one thing that made her keep her reservations, it had to be that Logan's gaze was too sharp. He didn't look like the easygoing type. She asked, "Do you know what he does?" "He's a construction worker. Didn't you see his outfit in the photo?" Irene scrutinized the photo. Logan was indeed wearing a construction worker's outfit, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't an actual construction worker. "Is he with you now?" "No. We went our separate ways after leaving the courthouse. I needed to get new glasses and fertilizer. I didn't want him with me." Irene fell silent. Then, she snapped, "You're much too gutsy for your own good, you brat! How could you marry someone without finding out more about him? Do you know anything about his family? What if he turns out to be part of a gang or something? "Don't come crying to me when you find out something's wrong with him. There's also the fact that you're now the stepmother to two young children!" Lorraine said indifferently, "You're always saying that our dogs will roll around laughing if I ever manage to marry, right? You and Dad keep pushing me to get married, and it's getting annoying. You guys make it sound like I'm 37, not 27. "Since I met someone and had a good impression of him, I figured I'd just marry him and get it over with. That way, you guys won't nag and take jabs at me anymore. You make it sound like I'm a disgrace to the family for being unmarried at 27." She paused, then continued, "Look, just relax. Your brand-new son-in-law can't be a gang member. He's an honest and kind construction worker. Besides, what's wrong with being a stepmother? It saves me the hassle of going through labor to become a mother! I need to go, Mom. Go make yourself an iced coffee to calm down." Lorraine hung up without waiting for a response. She didn't want Irene to continue ranting and raging at her. Irene had been constantly urging her to get married, but now that Lorraine had, Irene was berating her for blindly marrying someone. Lorraine had gone on those blind dates with marriage in mind. Since she and Logan had a good impression of each other and were alright with the arrangement, what was so bad about cutting to the chase and getting married? It saved so much trouble. Now that she had taken care of her marriage, she could focus on her orchards without worrying about anything else in the future. Summer was coming, which meant the cherries and mangoes would start ripening. She had to quickly buy fertilizer and head back to the orchards to pick the fruits with her workers. Then, she had to contact the fruit merchants to pick the fruits up. … Moore Corporation's 68-story office building was located in the busiest part of Glendale's city center. It wasn't the tallest building around, but it was a place that countless elites wanted to step into. The CEO's office was on the top floor. Logan came out of the lounge, having already changed out of his construction worker's outfit. He now wore a black suit. He sat behind his desk and thought about Lorraine, his newlywed wife. So, he pulled out his phone and called his special assistant, William Cornell. When the call was answered, he said, "I want you to investigate someone for me, Will."