the two-faced Adopted Girl Who Melted CEO's Ice-Cold Heart
Chapter 173: What Would You Do If One Day I Married Someone Else?

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: What Would You Do If One Day I Married Someone Else?

The night was deep, and the vintage-style streetlights in front of the Leclair mansion emitted a hazy amber glow.

Ignatius Leclair stood beneath the towering sycamore tree at the entrance, his gaze lingering on the carefree smile that graced Delphine’s delicate face. His eyes flickered slightly—when she was with Leah, she seemed happy, comfortable, and trustful of the other.

Such an intimate bond, impermeable to outsiders, deepened the shadows in Ignatius Leclair’s expression.

Standing in the night, the man spoke coldly and distantly, "Delphine, it’s time to go back."

When he saw the smile on her face stiffen abruptly, then vanish, replaced by her usual indifferent, emotionless expression, he sneered coldly.

Leah heard him and turned, casting a sidelong glance at Ignatius Leclair, muttering under her breath, "Hypocritical scoundrel."

"Mr. Leclair, even though Delphine was fostered in your family, it doesn’t mean she was sold to your family. If you can’t protect her, maybe you should just notify me earlier to take her away," Leah said.

Ignatius Leclair replied indifferently, "Miss Squire can barely protect herself."

"Stone Leclair never truly cared about Delphine. With today’s uproar, you’ve tied her to your family’s sinking ship—this is the real harm done to her," Ignatius Leclair spoke lightly. As long as his stance remained firm, Stone Leclair would hesitate and wouldn’t dare retaliate against Delphine. But now that it’s been revealed that Delphine is connected to the Squire siblings, how could Stone not exploit her?

This commotion had thoroughly complicated matters.

Upon hearing this, Leah’s delicate brows furrowed. She glanced at Delphine, then at the enigmatic Ignatius Leclair, and chuckled coldly, "Father and son of the Leclair family truly are cut from the same cloth—both insidiously cunning."

"Go back and tell Griffith Squire that partnering with a tiger is akin to seeking one’s own death." The man glanced again at Delphine, noticing her slight movement, as she extended her slender, jade-like hand.

Delphine detected his displeasure in his gaze, bit her lip, and reminded Leah to be cautious when she returned. When Leah impatiently waved her off, Delphine finally walked toward Ignatius Leclair, extending her hand to grasp his that had never withdrawn.

His palm was cool, and with force, it locked around her fingertips. Without sparing Leah another glance, he pulled Delphine inside, ordering someone to shut the door.

Within the courtyard, Ignatius Leclair came to a halt, standing beneath the pomegranate tree that had been planted decades ago. He abruptly dragged her into his arms, pressing her against the twisted, robust trunk of the ancient tree, and asked in a deep voice, "Today, when Jocelyn Yeager and Bessie Leclair met each other’s families, what were you thinking?"

Delphine, pinned against the pomegranate tree, lifted her gaze from his handsome and icy features upward. She could still see the ripe pomegranates hanging from the branches. The Leclair family had always had few descendants. While the Leclair matriarch was still living, she planted two pomegranate trees in the courtyard, symbolizing abundant offspring and prosperity. Decades later, the branches flourished into a dense canopy, and the fruits grew large and sweet. Yet the Leclair’s lineage remained sparse as ever.

The aristocratic life, full of intrigue and calculation, naturally lacked the warmth and tenderness enjoyed by ordinary families.

"I give them my blessings," Delphine said faintly.

The anger in Ignatius Leclair’s expression grew more evident. She was truly heartless. Jocelyn Yeager was willing to marry Bessie Leclair for her sake, and he didn’t believe she was oblivious to Jocelyn’s affections.

Only when she was with the Squire siblings did she seem to possess real flesh and blood.

"What if one day I were to marry someone else? What would you do?" The man asked coldly, his tone sharp and indifferent.

Delphine froze for a moment. He was the heir to the Leclair family, the old patriarch’s prized treasure. Naturally, he was bound to marry and start a family, and whoever entered the Leclair mansion would certainly be a distinguished lady from another prominent family.

The union of Stone Leclair and the Howard family’s heiress was already a precedent.

It was only then that she realized—when she was younger, driven by pure affection, she had plunged headfirst without questioning the future. But even then, she had always known deep down that there was no future for them.

Delphine raised her eyes to meet his breathtakingly cold and handsome face. She attempted to speak, but the words caught in her throat.